Monday, December 3, 2012

DOUBLE TROUBLE



Well, I've built another little antenna for the transmit side of the antenna analyzer and it works. Last night I dialed up 14.000 mhz, more or less. The analyzer is pretty damn sensitive so it bounces around a few cycles either way. Anyhow, I could hear the carrier on the HF rig and was able to tune to it. So I knew I was real close to dead on at 14.000.

I switched over to the frequency counter and pressed the PTT. The meter read 27.998, double the receive frequency!

I switched down to the 40 meter band and got the same sort of result, a transmit frequency twice the receive frequency. So now what?

I know the meter is accurate because doing the same thing on my 2 meter rig produces transmit and receive readings that are consistent with a radio that is working properly. So I have to assume the readings on the HF radio are accurate.

I'm figuring that there's some damage in the radio that will need to be repaired. The weird thing is that when I transmit the other hams I talk to can read me. They say I'm just off frequency a little. If I was broadcasting on an entirely different band I wouldn't think they could hear me at all!

The plot thickens. I'm going to have to find somebody at my radio club that knows these radios inside out. There's a bunch of guys at the club that have been doing this a long time. And I'm never afraid to ask for help.

The learning continues.

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