[MRIC] Appendix A - HF Voice

[brettham at aol.com]

Maryland ROs:

Here's the last part of the proposed Appendix A containing the 
equipment for HF voice. I will defer to those of you that know more 
about HF rigs than I to recommend the best rig, antenna tuner and power 
supply for an HF voice station. Bring your comments to the meeting 
Saturday. Thanks!

Brett Hammond
Chairman, MRIC
410-829-6749 (cell)

--------------------------
Equipment for Maryland RACES HF Voice Net

Since the Maryland HF Voice Net operates best using a Near-Vertical 
Incidence Skywave antenna, the antenna recommended for this application 
are horizontal wires (dipoles) capable of operating on 40 and 80 meters.

Total Estimated Cost for a HF Voice station: $4,500 (assuming 100-feet 
of feedline) excluding installation labor.


1. Voice HF Tranceiver

All band 100-watt HF transceiver that is simple to use with limited 
feature set capable of 24x7 continuous operation, with a proven track 
record and all other functionality required for successful long 
distance HF voice operations.

MRIC recommends one of the following:

ICOM IC-718 All-band HF Transceiver with the high stability crystal 
unit installed. This is a low cost commonly-deployed transceiver for 
Winlink2000 stations world-wide with demonstrated reliability.It 
requires a 13.8 VDC power supply and will draw 20 Amps. It has a UHF 
female (SO-239) 50 ohm antenna connector on the rear. Limited 
functionality and very simple to operate.

Approximate price: $650

or

Kenwood TS-2000 All-mode All-Band 100 watt HF Tranceiver – This is a 
very full featured tranceiver capable of receiving on two different 
frequencies simultaneously. Purchase with optional control software 
($100) if you want to control it with a computer via RS-232 cable.
Approximate price: $3,000

2. Voice HF Tranceiver Power Supply

Power supply for Winlink HF Tranceiver listed above capable of 
providing adiquate power out from a standard 115 VAC wall outlet while 
generating no RF interference.

MRIC recommends one of the following:

Samlex America SEC1235M, 30 Amp (continuous) switching DC power supply 
(115VAC to 12VDC). Includes both Volt and Amp meters built-in.
Approximate price: $140

or

ICOM PS-125, 25 Amp (continuous) DC switching power supply (115VAC to 
12VDC). No meters or controls.
Approximate price: $300

3. Voice HF Antenna

HF antenna for short distance NVIS operation, capable of transmitting 
and receiving on 40 and 80 meter amateur bands as a minimum, while 
generating no stray RF inside the EOC building.

Alpha Delta DX-CC Single Wire Dipole Antenna for 80, 40, 20, 15, 10 
meters – Center fed 82-foot wire.
Approximate price: $160

or

Alpha Delta DX-B Single Wire Dipole Antenna for 160, 80, 40, 30 meters 
– Center fed 60-foot wire with RF choke coils.
Approximate price: $110

4. HF Feedline Lightening Protection

A devi
ce to be mounted on the feedline within 2 feet of the feedline 
building entry point to prevent antenna lightening surges from entering 
the EOC building.

MRIC recommends the PolyPhaser IS-B50LU-CO Bulkhead Mount Lightening 
Suppressor for 1.5 to 400 MHz operation directly mounted on the 
bulkhead cable entry master ground bus (MGB), or grounded using 6 AWG 
copper strand wire with green jacket. MGB should be grounded to several 
10-foot ground rods 20 feet apart as a minimum, using 2 AWG stranded 
copper wire with green jacket. The IS-B50LU-CO has UHF female (SO-239) 
connectors on both sides, and supports up to 2 KW of HF, 375 Watts VHF, 
or 125 Watts UHF power out.
Approximate price for PolyPhaser alone: $65

5. Feedline and Connectors

The feedline and connectors will vary from site to site and depends on 
the specific installation.

MRIC recommends Andrew LDF4-50 half-inch hardline and the appropriate 
Andrew connectors to prevent stray HF radiation inside the EOC 
building. Attenuation per 100 feet is 0.46 dB at 50 MHz, 0.82 dB at 150 
MHz, and 1.45 dB at 450 MHz. When using the recommended ICOM-718 
tranceiver and recommended PolyPhaser, you will need the following 
connectors:
1 UHF male (PL-259) for the tranceiver
2 UHF male (PL-259) for the tuner
2 UHF male (PL-259) for both sides of PolyPhaser
1 UHF male (PL-259) for the HF antenna if required, and/or
1 UHF femal (SO-239) for the HF antenna if required
A
pproximate price for connectors and feedline: $250 plus $4 per foot.


6. HF Tuner

Tuner capable of supporting 100 Watt RF output on all HF bands and can 
be remotely controlled and powered by HF tranceiver to eliminate cables 
and provide tuning capabilities from the Winlink computer.

MRIC recommends the LDG AT-7000 Tuner that supports 100 Watts on all 
bands and can be remotely controlled and powered by ICOM HF 
transceivers.
Approximate price: $170

or

LDG Z-100 Tuner – Supports 100 Watts on all bands except 6-meter (50 
Watts). Requires no power once tuned. Also supports remote control and 
DC power from ICOM rigs.
Approximate price: $150