[Drake] L7 High Voltage Lead

[Dr. James C. Garland]

Charles,
	My strong recommendation is to leave well enough alone and don't try
to modify the HV wire.  There is plenty of insulation around the HV wire and
the adjacent wires.  More importantly, the other wires strengthen the cable,
so if you trip over it or yank on it, it's less likely to break.  In
addition, in the original wiring, if you pull the connector out of the back
of the amplifier accidentally, then the HV shuts off.  That wouldn't be the
case if the HV had a separate lead and connector. 

In most respects, the Drake L4B is a much higher quality amplifier than the
L7 (although it doesn't cover 160m). But one of the L4B's shortcomings is
the HV cable and connector. That problem was corrected in the L7.

73,

Jim W8ZR


> Hi, All
> 
> A couple of years ago I bought a Drake L7 amp and matching power
> supply, both of which I'm finally getting around to re-building and
> modifying.  When I first checked out the power supply, I was appalled
> to see the high voltage lead included WITHIN the large cable that
> provides all the other operating voltages for the amp.
> 
> My question is this:  Does anyone on the list know if this has caused
> problems?  I mean, due to the confined space, does this HV lead have
> a tendency to short out?  Just doesn't seem like a good practice to
> me.  Since I'm no longer using the original PS enclosure (due to
> larger replacement caps) I'm considering taking the high voltage lead
> out through a separate, dedicated HV-insulated lead, but if Drake got
> it right and there's no danger with the original arrangement, I'll leave
> it be.
> 
> Any thoughts?
> 
> Charles - K5ZK