[TenTec] Orion / NCL-2000

[Douglas]

> Date: Sat, 29 May 2010 09:46:51 -0700
> From: Michael Zeglen <kl7ai at hotmail.com>
> Subject: [TenTec] Orion / NCL-2000
> To: <tentec at contesting.com>
> Message-ID: <COL105-W44A95B866ACFBA165E427F7EC0 at phx.gbl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
> 
> 
> does anyone have input on interfacing a NCL-2000 with a
> ORION? Relays on NCL-200 are now 12v DC Gigavac relays. I
> only operate CW here.     


It should work fine as is with the Orion switching the 12 volt relay.

You may not be able to use full QSK depending on the switching time of your Gigavac relay.

I had a similar setup using an external Kilovac HC1 relay. Even with "hot switching" it lasted several years of heavy use. It was fine up to about 35 wpm in full QSK.

BTW, I've got a couple of National NCL2000's - great amps!
Their power supplies are rated at a full 1000 watts CCS output.

I'm currently switching one with my Paragon and the unmodified original National relay. I think there's about 60 VDC on the National relay. It doesn't seem to hurt the Paragon's switching circuit.

At the moment, I don't have 240V in the shack but still manage to get 1300 watts out of my NCL2000's on 120V, as long as key down time doesn't exceed about 10 seconds. Then the line breaker blows... I really should get 240V in here...
:-)

You do realize that there was a modification (covered in National bulletins) about modifying the ALC circuitry in the NCL2000? There was a leading edge spike in non-modified (71??? series amps). Yet, with the Orion's more modern precise ALC, there should be no need to depend on the NCL2000's ALC.

73,

Doug/WA1TUT