How to easily re-purpose a PC power supply one may find on the curb.

So you find an older XPS / Precision Workstation / Server on the curb. Grab it! Chances are the Power Supply still works. Here's the one I found. A BIG FAT one that attaches to the BOTTOM of a Dell Machine. 650 Watter. Pull it off, and salvage the wires inside the machine connected to "P3".

Almost any power supply will do... This one is rather nice. Remove Power! DUH. Remove Lid of PS. Cut wire ties (NOT the wires) that hold that snakehead mess of wires together so they are free.

YELLOW CIRCLE: On connector "P1" find the GREEN wire... pull ONE of the nearest BLACK wires and the green wire out of the connector, strip and solder/twist together. Cover with shrink tube for safety.

RED Circle: Bend the aluminum deflection fin...

In an earlier thread about the various switching power supplies available on Amazon, there were questions posted about the difference between the authentic American made MegaWatt 30 amp supply and the cheaper Chinese imitation supply. I've purchased both supplies and used them extensively with my Elecraft K3 and can now report on the major difference.

First, here are links to the two supplies in question:

MegaWatt 30 amp switching power supply:


Chinese 30 amp switching power supply:


The two supplies look identical, although the Chinese supply does not include an AC power cord. However, the performance difference is significant: The MegaWatt has no "hash", while the Chinese unit has terrible "hash". I took pictures of the interference on the Panadapter that shows the difference visually.

First, here's the Chinese supply:...

The IC-2730 is Icom's newest dual band (2m/440Mhz) mobile radio which features dual wide RX, 50 watt power output, large display, lots of memories, and crossband repeat. The price-point of this radio (I paid $349) demonstrates the competitive market for rigs in this category. While the price of this radio is pretty aggressive, Icom is packaging this radio in a similar manner to the ID-5100: No brackets for the body or face.



The above picture does not show the power cord, manual, or mic hanger, but it does show you basically what is included in the package. The construction of the body is typical Icom quality: sleek but tough. The mic is the same as the one included with the ID-5100; reports of audio quality have been great and it's also easy to use to control the radio....

Well I must say it's been the most challenging and learning project yet to date for me.
I started this with a Heathkit SB-221 chassis.
You can see from the pics where I started, and now countless hours since my Christmas vacation. The project is working!
My homebrew KW+ 6 meter amplifier is born.
60 watts drive equals 1000w PEP on SSB.
She will key down legal limit with 100 watts drive!
Pair of 3-500z EIMAC tubes @ 3150 vdc at 750 mA plate current.

CK/Warren/Crusher/Shockwave...I still have and issue with output at full 100w drive. I am getting audio distortion. I am guessing my limited experience with VHF building, my coax routing or orientation is the cause.
HEY it's clean at 1000 watts, why sweet blood over 4-500 more!!!!

Nobody will know the difference! Yes swing watchers NOBODY!

So if you see anything that jumps out at you, let me...

The new Icom IC-2730A dual band mobile with crossband repeat and optional bluetooth is now available for $370.



The rig features VHF/VHF, UHF/UHF dual simultaneous receivers as well as wideband receiver coverage. Adding bluetooth will cost you an additional $250 if you want to use the Icom bluetooth headset. Overall, this looks like a pretty nice radio.

VE7FMN, Fred sent me a Cooler KX Plus heatsink to try out for my Elecraft KX3, and I made a video of the simple install process. This heatsink really is made quite well; the finish and machining compliment the KX3 nicely. Here is the video of the installation procedure, plus a test at the end:



For a simple test, I ran the KX3 on 20 meters at 10 watts, FM mode into a dummy load until the rig gave a Hi Temp warning and folded the power back to 5 watts. With the stock heatsink, the Hi-Temp warning occurred after 8 minutes and 46 seconds. With the Cooler KX Plus, the keydown time extended to 27 minutes, 36 seconds until the warning. The starting PA temperature for both tests was 28 deg. Celsius and the rig folds the power back at just over 60 degrees.

It should be noted that the the higher you go in frequency with the KX3, the quicker it heats up. Adding an aftermarket heatsink allows you to operate at full power using high duty cycle modes,...

A couple of months ago, I stumbled across NR6C, Gregory's website where he detailed a modification that he came up with that upgraded the stock tuning dials on his Ameritron AL-800H HF amplifier. What caught my eye about this modification was how fast he claimed that he could tune up his amp after performing this modification. I have the same amplifier and thought this would be a great idea for me to try, as well.

In addition to the precision vernier dials, the key to this modification is the adapter plate and the shaft extensions that Gregory makes in his shop. I contacted him about obtaining the necessary parts and he was more than willing to help me out! He offered to send me the necessary parts and directed me to where I could order the precision verniers from Henry Radio on eBay, which is located here: http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5336136228&icep_item=330837447160. As you can see the the numbered dials make...

A short while ago I posted pictures of my installation of the Elecraft KX3 2 meter board. I also shot a video of the whole process, as well:

The new ThumbDV, a USB based version of the popular DV3000 AMBE™ board is now available for order from NW Digital Radio. By adding the ThumbDV to your PC, Mac, or Linux machine, you can now use your computer's mic and speakers to access the popular D-Star network. In addition, the AMBE-3000 chip supports other digital modes, such as DMR, System Fusion, dPMR, NXDN, P25 Phase 2 HR, and others (required software for these modes is in various stages of development). The price is $119.95 and is available direct from NW Digital Radio: http://nwdigitalradio.com/thumbdv-ordering-now-open

This is my attic 40/20/10 meter fan dipole that I installed in my attic today. In my opinion, it's a work of art! All I did was make spacers out of 1/2" PVC tubing the wire is spaced 6" off center. Then I combined my 40,20, & 10 meter antenna with a w2au balun that was part of my 10 meter antenna.
So far I am tuning around the bands and it is GREAT! Using my repaired MFJ-266 analyzer I am getting great SWR readings on 40,20,&10. I am able to tune 17, & 15 meters with my internal antenna tuner 12 meters is not happening but I can get that with my A99. I am going to get an IMax 2k in the spring to cover 10 and 12... for local talk



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