[Elecraft] Mobile from 117 VAC

Fred Jensen k6dgw at foothill.net
Mon Oct 9 17:45:27 EDT 2017


In my previous 2003 Chevy Silverado, I had my TS-850 on a picnic table, 
running off the truck battery with jumper cables to the PowerPole 
distribution block and the engine idling.  As soon as I sent the first 
CW, both front seats moved totally forward and then refused to move 
back, steering wheel now blocking entrance.  Antenna was a dipole in the 
tree, hanging over the truck.  Disconnecting the battery cable for a 
minute or so rebooted the seat computer and it began working. A 40W 440 
MHz transmitter affected the cruise control in a 1991 Ford Ranger. 
Fortunately, it just disengaged it rather than setting the speed target 
at 120 mph.

I got a 2017 Honda Ridgeline last Feb, I'm still working through 
understanding the "UI" for it, but given how much automation is 
involved, I will not put HF mobile in it.  Automobiles have changed 
since Dad let me put the PE-103 powered 10m transmitter in the trunk of 
the family Plymouth.  The seat computer in the Chevy [one of seven in 
the truck not counting whatever was in the radio] had 320 KB of ROM, 64 
KB RAM, and cycled at 100 ns, all just to move the seats back and 
forth.  The Apollo Guidance Computer had 32 KB of 16-bit hardwired core 
memory, 2 KB of read-write core, and cycled at 10 ms for most 
instructions, to go to the moon and back.

73,

Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW
Sparks NV DM09dn
Washoe County

On 10/9/2017 2:01 PM, Dauer, Edward wrote:
> So even if I conquer all the challenges of bonding and antenna-making and all the rest, there is still the risk that HF RF will affect some processor on the vehicle at the worst possible time and place?  How do we deal with that sort of problem?  Operate QRP only?



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