My Logbook

Sunday, September 27, 2026

Watch your settings

 Just a quick note that when working on a radio capable of 100w of power make sure you watch what power output you have configured at all times. This morning I was not paying attention and must have either left it high or somehow cranked the wrong know.  Either way the result was my radio pumping out, or attempting to, 100w of power while I was doing ft-8 for quite some time.  When my tuner started wigging out more than normal I decided to call it quits for the morning.  It was starting to warm up and I was getting hungry.  So I started putting everything away which included my antenna and all of that as it was Sunday and I am only setting things up on weekends or when I am specifically going to use the radio.  When I got to pulling my transformer down from the end of my antenna, it was HOT.  Not burn your fingers hot, but it was way hotter than it should be.  So I had been pumping out 100w across digital which that antenna is rated for 40w digital.  So not only was I putting way too much load on my radio and the tuner, but also doing harm to the antenna.    I'm not sure if I did permanent damage yet or not to anything...well, at worst on the radio I may have to replace some components. Same for the tuner.  The Xtenna antenna is a nicely packaged item that would be more of a pain to replace pieces.  

Either way, don't put yourself in that position.  Figure out how to make your power level obvious at all times.    Ugg.  

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