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Re: [TenTec] QSK or not?

To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TenTec] QSK or not?
From: bcarling@cfl.rr.com
Reply-to: bcarling@cfl.rr.com, Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>
Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 07:55:52 -0400
List-post: <tentec@contesting.com">mailto:tentec@contesting.com>
Ver yinteresting gary...
I have to wonder why some guys will spend $500 for an external accessory to do 
QSK with 
their linear amplifier.  The system in my TT 422 is so simple. A couple of 
simple boards and
a relay.

On 19 Mar 2014 at 22:28, Gary Smith wrote:

> That was a good breakdown, those are fun to do & read.
> 
> I look at it this way; I've been hamming 35 years and I ran QSK for 
> the last 33 years. I've never worn out a relay in an exciter. I had 
> the Corsair II since it was new & made the backup rig in 09.
> 
> In amps... The original SB220 had two that needed replaced. I put QSK 
> in it and that was good for several years using a RJ1A. I bought an 
> old Alpha several years ago and I had the amp less than a month & 
> needed to replace the HC-1A in it, no knowing the history of the 
> relay I can't speak for why it failed. I opted to replace it with one 
> of the RJ1A silicone encapsulated ones which was extracted from a 
> defibrillator unit I believe. It has had no trouble. I have a spare 
> in case it fails again but I'm not holding my breath. :)
> 
> Also, I have a remote QSK unit containing two RJ-1A's within which is 
> inserted in the line and offers bias control. I used that with an 
> Ameritron AL-1500 for several years to give me QSK, I've never had 
> any trouble with it and I bought it used. 
> 
> 
> 
> 73,
> 
> Gary
> KA1J
> 
> > I operate QSK and have the past thirty years using TenTec equipment.
> > 
> > One reason given by others for not running QSK is that the relays wear out 
> > sooner in the transceiver and amplifier.
> > 
> > from http://www.ad5x.com/images/Presentations/QSKals500als600RevA.pdf 
> > 
> > How Long will the Relays Last? 
> > What kind of life can you expect from the relays? The relay life is 
> > specified at 100 
> > million operations minimum at 36,000 operations/hour. The service life 
> > increases as the 
> > operations/hour decreases. So let´s use the standard PARIS text that is 
> > used for 
> > determining code speed. 
> > 
> > PARIS has 10 dits and 4 dahs = 14 relay operations/minute at 1 WPM. 
> > 
> > Assuming an average of 25WPM code speed, you would have 360 relay 
> > operations per 
> > minute. So, 100 million operations = 4630 hours. Now you normally operate 
> > 50% 
> > transmitting and 50% receiving during a QSO, so your relay operating time 
> > should 
> > double to 9260 hours. There are 8760 hours/year, which means you could 
> > operate 1.057 
> > years at 25 WPM before the relays exceeded their lifetime spec - IF you 
> > operate 24 
> > hours/day! But when you operate, you are probably listening more like 75% 
> > of the time 
> > and in a QSO 25% of the time. So this says that your relay operating life 
> > will be over 4-
> > years if you operate 24 hours/day. So what do you normally average in 
> > operating 
> > time/day? I bet it is not more than about an hour/day. But let´s say you 
> > average 4-
> > hours/day of operation (i.e. you are not married and have no kids, you 
> > don´t shop or eat
> > or sleep much, and you don´t hold a full-time job). So the relay life will 
> > extend to about 
> > 25 years! The bottom line - Don´t worry about wearing out the relays 
> > anytime soon.
> > 
> > 73 ES DX,
> > Gary - AB9M    -...-.-
> > _______________________________________________
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> > TenTec@contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
> > 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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