Saturday, Feb 19, 2022
After the report of my chirpy CW signal on my CW traffic net while operating the Drake TR-7, I decided to try to operate with a different, beffier power supply.
I moved a long-dormant Astron 35 amp power supply to the desk and gave it a try. It seemed to work better; at least the chirp was somewhat less. But cranking the rig up to full power, and she was in full chirp mode.
When i tried to check in on the CW net, I had left the power level high, so yeah, she was in full chirp mode. I cranked it down later, but the NCS commented later I was “chirping like a parakeet” …. hi hi.
Hopefully next time I’ll haul the Drake PS-7 upstairs and see if that makes a difference. The PS-7 cables are much larger than the power cable I scavanged, and I’m still hoping that it will better power the rig.
The Astron 35 amp supply was a big improvement; the dial lamps did dim as much as they did with the other supply, so it was a step in the right direction. We’ll see what changes that might make.
FILTERS! I found a place called Noble filters who makes 8-pole IF filters for the Drake TR-7 in 4 kHz, 2.8 kHz, 1.8 kHz and 450 Hz — at a cost of $49 each! That’s less than half the cost of an original filter — if you can find it! I’ll have two filters ordered the first of the week.
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