[Kenwood] How To Power The TS-480HX - Base, Mobile or Portable

[WD8ARZ]

Below are the items I use to power the system, base, mobile or portable.
This extra battery is not part of the vehicle, though the vehicle charges it
when running. Other wise a 15A 13.8 volt ac power supply does the charging
when not running the vehicle.

All this sounds more complicated and time consuming then it really is. Once
you do voice hf mobile install, most of what you need is already there. Add
the laptop and power supply system, gps and an appropriate antenna / auto
tuner that is fast enough, and your ale ready for the digital / voice
mobile. By the way, to listen to your mobile radio remotely, pick up one of
those TV wireless speaker / head phone systems on 900 MHz that run off
twelve volts. Works great!

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Dont worry about needing two power supplies to run the TS-480 HX version. It
is worth it even if you do. Here is great way to power the 200 watt HX
mobile radio version with only one light duty supply that supports base,
mobile, portable and emergency power all in one:
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Power gate PG40S backup power system to provide dual auto switching power
and charging of a Gel Battery, mobile or base. Doesnt get hot.
http://www.westmountainradio.com/SuperPWRgate.htm

Rigrunner 4008 (comes with battery case package) using Anderson Powerpole
connectors for power distribution to multiple equipment. Note that all
outputs are also RF filtered from each other, and fused.
http://www.westmountainradio.com/RIGrunner.htm

Sealed Gelled 73 Ah Battery to go into the DCtoGo Battery box.
http://www.westmountainradio.com/MKbatt.htm
http://www.westmountainradio.com/rigrunner/M24SLDG.htm

Powerpole Crimp Tool for making more cable to rig hook ups with spare
connectors.
http://www.westmountainradio.com/PWRcrimp.htm

Battery Fuse & Terminal Kit to protect vehicle cable feeding the
distribution system.
http://www.westmountainradio.com/rigrunner/battfusetermkit.htm

Couple Power Pole Connector to HF Radio Fused 6-Pole Connector. Beats
making up these manually! hi hi
http://www.westmountainradio.com/rigrunner/ppl-24.htm

For the voice HF Antenna I bought the Hi-Q 5/160.
http://www.hiqantennas.com/

To provide quick auto tuning of the HiQ antenna (with out having to bottom
out the antenna first when changing bands) N2VZ Turbo Tuner for the Kenwood
TS-480HX. Just push a button on the radio and the antenna self tunes from
six meters through 160 Meters. Sweet!
http://www.n2vz.com

The laptop needs to run on 11 - 14 volts dc while mobile. I dont recommend
most dc to dc convertors to supply ac while moving in the mobile as most
cause rfi.  When stationary for more than a few hours, say over night, the
battery voltage that the whole system runs on while doing hf  operations can
run down the battery enough that the laptop would fail and shutdown, killing
any digital operation support  (even though the hf rig system ran fine at
that voltage level). Fix for that was to also carry a ac power supply to
keep a charge on the battery while stationary (and a outdoor extension cord
for the hook up reach). Also note that when feeding AC power to the vehicle
when it rains in hot weather, you need a way to feed power cord in and keep
the rain out. Even a way to keep the hf rig cool if the vehicle is closed
up. Those side door window, top side shield covers work great for that need.
Keeps out the rain, lets in the air to circulate.

For mobile digital automatic band tuning switching, I use a long whip and a
auto tuner, such as the LDG AT-200PC, but you could use the PRO version. A
screwdriver antenna is not fast enough and you will burn out the motor
trying. LDG AT-200 PC auto tuner intended for program control. Software
control can select memory settings after the atu has been trained with
frequencies of interest. This means relay operations occur with out RF
arcing on the relay contacts. Once a frequency is pre-tuned, it goes into
memory and is reselected the next time in a fraction of a second. The AT-220
AT is the same auto tuner but no computer interface. Each needs to have each
frequency you will transmit on trained once and get added to the memory of
the unit for that frequency. PC controlled version means no RF on the relay
contacts in the atu as the relay selection process takes place before
transmitting.
(http://www.ldgelectronics.com/products.php?cID=1&pID=4&v=1)

Charge from the vehicle, or an AC power supply. When the battery is heavily
discharged, the rate is about ten to twelve amps during the early phase of
the charge. The way to keep the charging level down while operating, is to
connect the transmitter directly to the battery. That way no matter what the
power source, you use the battery for the load. On the base, I even use a
large UPS to feed the charging power supply
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For base and portable hf antenna, I use a 10-160 Meter Caroline Windom
Antenna. Install low for NVIS, high for low angle on the low bands.

Have fun guys and 73 from Bill - WD8ARZ
http://hflink.net/qso/