[TenTec] Using an Argosy in the field

[John]

Steve,

Thanks for the info.  I had suspected that the lighter plugs were not up 
to the demand of powering the Argosy.  Can I assume that the real power 
input to the Argosy is 50 W on high and 5 watts on low.  Actually the 
manual says 9 amps on transmit and 0.5 amps on receive.  RTFM wins 
again.   If I assume I talk 60 % of the time that comes out to about 4 
AH at full power.  Again, assuming figures don't lie that would give me 
about 1 .5 hours of operation at full power  with a 7 AH battery or 
about 6 hours at low power?   Does this line up with what you have 
experienced in the field?  I picked the battery size because that was 
the first battery I saw listed on Ebay.  What battery and size do you 
use?  This is a new area for me.  Also have you found a small charger 
for portable use?

Thanks,

John / WA1JG


On 3/27/2012 3:21 PM, Stephen Roberts wrote:
> John,
>
> As far as power, you have to consider the output of the radio. If you're going to only operate at 5W, then you could use a smaller SLA (sealed lead acid) battery, like the kind they use in security light backups or APC computer backup power units. Of course your mileage will vary depending on the battery's amp hour rating, your radio's current draw at transmit and how much time you're actually transmitting. As far as the car is concerned, you would probably be better off connecting directly to the battery itself rather than use the cig lighter power outlet. I know that many lighter outlets cannot deliver enough amperage to give you the power that you need. If you operate directly from your car battery or another battery of similar size, then make sure you follow the directions for the argosy and use the circuit breaker so you don't fry anything. And be careful. A car battery can kill you. Another option for power would be to use lipo or lifepo batteries. Another subject all t
>   ogether, but if you plan to do more QRP location stuff, it might be worthwhile to check them out.
>
> I'm going to be doing the same next month with my Argosy in Maine and I plan to take a BuddiPole, a painters pole mast and an end fed 10/20/40 dipole. I'll probably take a tuner as well for the Buddipole. I'll probably take my spare lawn mower battery along for power as I don't intend to stray too far from where I'm staying.
>
> 73
> Steve
> KB1WUD
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