Power Supplies and Antenna issues
Anyone who has been with me for awhile knows that every now and again βMurphyβ of Murphyβs Law fame comes for a visit.
Things here have been going fairly well (Ham Radio wise) recently. I have been able to some contacts (mostly 20m SSB) during the daytime and also in the evenings (mostly 40m SSB) and considering the band conditions I think thatβs pretty good.
But (and you know there had to be a βbutβ!
After making some evening 40m ssb contacts last night I shut off the power supply and left the shack. I came back to the shack and turned on the power supply and the radio would not turn on.
I did a quick check and the power supply now had an output of 4v dc. Not what I was expecting as before I shut it down it was steady at 13.5v dc which is normal for this unit.
I then took the cover off and could not smell the βmagic smokeβ and there was no visible issues on the board itself. No burn marks on the board, everything attached and no signs of any thing out of the ordinary.
I did have a backup PS so Iβm still on the air with a 25 amp unit rather than the 30 amp unit that now is a paperweight.
The replacement from βThe Toronto Toystoreβ will set me back around $220.00 after shipping/taxes, so it wonβt break the bank and they have one in stock so βfingers crossedβ.
So, this morning I look out into my backyard and notice the counterweight attached to the end of my βStealthy Inverted Lβ is laying on the ground. A quick check found that the wire itself was intact butβ¦. (yup but again) the wire had slipped off on of the branches that support the horizontal section of the wire. This does happen every now and again soβ¦. 30 minutes later Iβm back on the air.
The plan now is to see if the band comes to life (the numbers are looking good) and I can get (more than) a few contacts in the log.
.
Ending on a positive note I was able to contact VE3FI Bill as he activated POTA CA-2376 as part of his cross Canada tour. I guess the antenna is working after all that.
73bob