[NLRS] W0ZQ equipment issue resolutions

[w0zq at aol.com]

Here is my version of Charles story.  For years people have complained about my 1296 signal quality, especially on SSB.  My investigations did not turn up any clues.  Finally I borrowed WA2VOI's 1296 transverter so that I could listen to myself.  I set everything up, removed the bottom of my 1296 transverter that was being tested, and listened to myself on Donn's rig.  No problem, everything sounded fine.  Boy, I don't know what these other clowns are talking about, everything sounds just fine !   I started to tear down the test setup and to put the bottom cover back on my transverter, and decided to listen one more time just to be sure.  Sure enough, I sounded like crap.  What the heck.  Cover off, OK.  Cover on, I sounded really bad.  Well, at least I found the problem now.  After some time poking around, what I found was that in this 1296 transverter design, the LO area is "protected" by a small metal can that is attached to the assembly with two screws.  Apparently, in my transverter, these two screws did not provide adequate connection to the ground plane, such that when the cover is in place and the internal E fields probably change, and/or rise, they couple into the LO and cause nasty FMing.   A simple fix was to add a few tack solder connections around the removable can to the ground plan to assure better grounding.  This fixed it.  My 1296 SSB should be just fine now.

I am putting the rovers station together later today.  Looks like ~ 20 to 40% chance of RS after 1:00 pm rising to around 50% during the evening hours, and nice wx (ie, no tropo) on Sunday.  Rovers, watchout for those storms and be safe.  Hope to work a bunch tomorrow.  

73, Jon
W0ZQ/R