Different relays have different life cycles.
AND, keep in mind that this spec was specified for a relay when switching
between two STABLE STATES.
If you run full QSK with the relay following the keying, sometimes the relay
is in transition when it gets a command to go the other way. It must
overcome inertia and change directions. THIS IS ADDITIONAL WEAR AND TEAR on
the relay.
THIS type of operation is not considered in the specs.
Also, when Phil wrote that paper on QSK, he was referring to the open-frame
relay used in ALL Ameritron amplifiers.
I guarantee you that this relay will NEVER WEAR OUT when trying to follow
QSK keying. . .
BECAUSE IT WILL BURN UP LONG BEFORE IT WEARS OUT! (hi)
UNFORTUNATELY AMERITRON IS HOPELESSLY BEHIND THE POWER CURVE WITH THEIR
DEPLOYMENT OF THIS RELAY!
I would remind people at this point to keep in mind that there are 3 VERY
different kinds of relays used for T/R switching in the linear amplifiers
that we use. The differences are HUGE!
You'll find pictures and short description of these on my web site,
Here: http://www.dj0ip.de/ten-tec-stuff/misc-stuff/linear-amp-relays/
ALTHOUGH AMERITRON publishes a switching time of 15mS for its relays and
[falsely] advertises them as "fast- nearly as fast as some QSK relays"
[puke], these relays are DIRT SLOW.
In reality they switch with 17 to 20mS delay, depending on the situation.
*** AS MEASURED LAST WEEK BY BOB, K4TAX. ***
Phil is absolutely right!
(sorry Gary)
NEVER-THE-LESS, there is still a way to have near QSK with the slow
Ameritron Amps (without the expensive QSK-5) and still hear in between
words; just not in between dit, dahs, or characters. It's just a matter of
proper time sequencing. I've been doing it with these amps for 30+ years.
As long as you can hear between words, there is no tangible disadvantage
between QSK that can hear between dits. OK, perhaps you notice someone is
transmitting when you are... 1/10 second later than with true full QSK. If
you are willing to accept this, you can avoid burning the relay.
In order to do this, you will need an external keyer that has adjustable
time sequencing. There are a few of these on the market (i.e., WINKEY,
MFJ-495, etc.) AND several rig interface boxes such as the "MicroHam
MicroKeyer II" have adjustable delay (time sequencing) parameters. If you
understand the timing, it's a piece of cake to set this up. With devices
like that, you may use any keyer - EXCEPT the rig's own built-in keyer.
73 - Rick, DJ0IP
(Nr. Frankfurt am Main)
-----Original Message-----
From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of GARY HUBER
Sent: Monday, March 17, 2014 4:40 PM
To: TenTec Reflector
Subject: [TenTec] QSK or not?
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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