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BT
| | Posted on Sunday, April 06, 2003 - 6:26 pm: | 
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I just recently purchased a real nice Maco 750. Brought er home and hooked er up and then the neighbors called and said that I was turning their hot tub off evertime I keyed it up (as well as slopping the TV). Here is my setup - any ideas would be great!
Galaxy 99V
Maco 750
wattmeter
switchbox
Antron 99
RG8u coax
The Antron is mounted to a mast only 2 feet in the ground (trying to do this low key so it isn't noticeable). The hot tub is right on the other side of the fence. The Antron has one 9ft ground rod attached to the mast. Would it help to raise the antenna or move it further from the hot tub? Also I just ordered a low pass filter. Not too worried about their TV, but the hot tub is a scary deal to me. I would assume that it is the control box for the hot tub... |
bruce
| | Posted on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 4:49 am: |
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rasing it would help the most but the idea of a hot tub full of boiling water dumped over my radio would be scary ....... |
Tech671
| | Posted on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 5:54 am: |
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Welcome to the world of sweep tubes. I don't forsee a cure using that amplifier. |
Simon
| | Posted on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 9:44 am: |
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1) Fit lowpass filter right at the radio.
2) Mount antenna as high as possible
3) Move antenna away from hot tub.
4) Fit filter (AC & High pass) at TV and AC filter on hot tub.
5) Reduce power
6) Get help from a local expert if these steps downt help. Try Ham radio club.
try the above in the order given and then in various combinations - one or more of them will help. Note normally reduce power would be first option but I'm assuming that that is the last thing you actually want. |
bruce
| | Posted on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 11:47 am: |
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NOTHING will help EXCEPT puting chokes on the wires going to the tub .... raising the antenna ...or moving it MUCH farther away and if you must cut power why have the amp ...as for a ham club well how do you explane what your doing ????? |
Czar
| | Posted on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 11:48 am: |
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671 is right ,the Maco is one of the crappiest,dirtiest sweep tube amps made !!! I also do not think any filtering at radio or amp will help.Sell it and try to get a better amp,thats about the only REAL cure for problems from these amps ! |
Xlaxx
| | Posted on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 12:21 pm: |
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BT-
My Galaxy 1000 box is like that too,... I don't run it much.
I agree with 671, some amps are bleeders, but what I have read about the Antron 99's on this forum is that they splatter a bit. Sounds like you need to raise that antenna up off the ground.
How high is the antenna now?
Is your limiter intact?
XLAXX |
Boxcar
| | Posted on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 5:04 pm: |
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I know how to fix it!! Move to Colorado, buy a house up on the mountains, purchase a super laser 500 beam and let BoXCaR key your radio up!! LOL!!! |
Topten
| | Posted on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 6:57 pm: |
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At least he only shut down the hot tub. I gotta believe that the limiter on his Galaxy is cut, get it reconnected. Besides getting the antenna up off the ground, add an eight foot ground rod and a ground plane kit to the A99. Run an 8 gauge copper wire from the ground rod all the way up to the ground plane kit. Yep, sell the Maco bleed box and get a good KLV amp. One more thing. if ya got cheap coax get rid of it too. Get some good heavy duty Belden wire. Good luck & let us all know how it works out. |
Simon
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 08, 2003 - 9:54 am: |
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XLAXX,
Check your theory - antennas dont splatter radios and dirty amps splatter. An antenna can and will only radiate what you send to it.
Bruce why do you thin the ham club was my last suggestion and not my first.. Secondly raising the antenna will help unless designed to do so (eg for repeaters) antennas radiate upwards not downwards and raising it will move almost all the rf away from the tub. For years I had my HF vertical sitting 6" above my tv antenna on the same mast - 500w and no tvi. When I had the same antenna sitting on a lower mast 15 feet away 10w was enough to wipe out the tv.
Of course you could always fit a bandpass filter in the amp (get a tech to do it)to reduce the crud being passed to the antenna |
Bluesman
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 08, 2003 - 5:36 pm: |
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Delete the Maco. |
N8fgb
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 08, 2003 - 7:10 pm: |
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A 99's have a cold solder joint where the center feed attaches to the raditor,which is why they are called splatter sticks.
Rich |
Xlaxx
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 09, 2003 - 12:18 pm: |
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Thanks N8fgb.
Simon- Are you saying that TVI is only caused by a clipped limiter? I would have to disagree because the very close proximity to a radiating object the board in question can absorb what is being radiated from the A99. Omni directional antenna signals go up first then down, so everything is in the signal's path. I guess it's kinda like fog. I still think the A99 is too low to the ground, radiating on everything closeby.
When you or one says that something is "dirty" what are you or they implying? What does the term refer to?
Also, I am BY FAR NO technician, never claimed to be but I am learning more and more about this hobby on this fantastic forum, Thanks!... I'm going to sit back and read.
XLAXX |
406
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 09, 2003 - 7:35 pm: |
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hey guys,i am new to this forum but have learned a lot in past 3 days.now my ?.i have 2990dx,jogunn pistol antenna.radio mods about 75-80 watts .problem when i key down i key up answer machine next door.have chokes on coax behind radio.any help thanks 406 ,va |
bruce
| | Posted on Thursday, April 10, 2003 - 7:48 am: |
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406 you need to choke the answering machine ..... LET ME REFRASE THAT add chokes to the phone wires going to and from the machine. |
BT
| | Posted on Thursday, April 10, 2003 - 11:03 am: |
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Well some new news. I found out that this slop deal has been going on for awhile now. The amp I used before was a Hy Gain Foot Warmer. They said they were wondering why the hot tub was always turning off. So it wasn't the Maco itself. I am going to get up a new mast this weekend - try and get her up at least 10 feet off the ground. Thanks for all the help so far! |
Bigbob
| | Posted on Thursday, April 10, 2003 - 10:44 pm: |
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You key that 750 long enough the neighbor won't need a hot tub heater you'll do it for him. |
Simon
| | Posted on Friday, April 11, 2003 - 10:18 am: |
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XLAXX
No I didnt say that a clipped limiter isnt the only cause but I will say one of the most common ones. An overdriven radio (as can occur with a clipped limiter - amongst other reasons) is about the most common cause of RFI.
OK the term dirty is used, in the trade, to indicate a radio signal that contains more than the required signal that is it has harmonics, spurii and other garbage in it. A signal that only contains the required information is called a clean signal. Also note that my second suggestion (after fitting a filter) was to raise the antenna as high as possible. |
Xlaxx
| | Posted on Friday, April 11, 2003 - 2:54 pm: |
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Thanks Simon for the info.
XLAXX |
Moderator558
| | Posted on Saturday, April 12, 2003 - 10:18 am: |
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Try this it cant hurt but i think the ANT99 is to low and is known to create RFI the following link worked for me give it a try just disconnect the coax and wrap it about 7-8 times nearest the antenna connection as possible , again look at this link first
http://www.radiohc.org/Distributions/Dxers/coax-rf.html |
BT
| | Posted on Sunday, April 13, 2003 - 1:33 am: |
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can i wrap it around the mast? |
Moderator558
| | Posted on Sunday, April 13, 2003 - 9:26 am: |
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here is a picture of one just get the "loop" closer to the connector then in this picture
hope this helps
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BT22
| | Posted on Sunday, April 13, 2003 - 8:13 pm: |
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Well, I moved the antenna about 20 feet from where it was before - moved it up on a mast about 15-18 feet in the air. The coax and antenna are now both above the ho tub...and it is still slopping the hot tub control unit. I wonder if there is a way to put some ferrite (spelling?) coils to the wires that run to the control unit. Funny thing is, she called her hot tub dealer at first and told them about it turning on and the temp. going up and the dealer/serviceman asked her if a ham operator by chance lived nearby. This told me that this must be a common problem with them and RF. I ordered a real nice low pass filter (B&W FL-10/1500 TVI Low Pass Filter) last week. Any chance this will help at all? I spent almost a full day moving the antenna to a different location and I don't plan on moving it again! Maybe I should just buy their hot tub?? I also have the option to put up my Penetrator 500...thanks for all the help so far. |
Moderator558
| | Posted on Sunday, April 13, 2003 - 11:35 pm: |
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did you try the loops? Is the antenna grounded? that low pass is a waste of money IMHO
install these on the HOT TUB wires for the control box,
look on copper web page for CB ACCESSORIES THEN
go to SNAP ON CHOKES
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Simon
| | Posted on Monday, April 14, 2003 - 9:59 am: |
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Filters on the hot tub was number 4 on my hit list for.. |
