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Old 12-02-2010, 16:18   #1
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DC Power Supply for Home SSB Hook-Up?

Hi -
I am interested in playing with my SSB for the next couple of months until I have the opportunity to instal it on the boat. What do I need in terms of a power supply? Is there a safe DC supply that will come cheaper than a car battery and a charger? Any specific product or supplier I should be looking at? Thanks!
-M
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Old 12-02-2010, 16:21   #2
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lawn tractor battery and charger?
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Old 12-02-2010, 16:48   #3
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The lawn tractor battery will work, as long as the charger is not running at the same time. If you just want to listen, a ground (pound in the ground house rod), and a long wire antenna will work fine. Anything else will require a tuned antenna or a tuner and long wire antenna or something like that.

I do believe that you would be operating outside of the law if you transmitted, without a ground station licence for the marine unit, to operate on marine bands. Listening is of course fine.

If you want more info, try finding some local Ham operators, or look into becoming one yourself. You can also power the unit with a DC power supply designed for HAM radios. Most likely you would need something of around 25 amps, for transmitting, much less for just listening.

If you already own a charger (even a cheap DC car charger) an old battery that won't start anything anymore will work for some amount of minutes before needing another charge. I have used "Dead" batteries in this way before to power a ham radio for listening.

Chris
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Old 12-02-2010, 17:03   #4
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At MPJA.com they have a variety of power supplies you can choose from. Depending on amp draw they are pretty reasonable. No battery required.
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Old 12-02-2010, 17:12   #5
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One thing to remember with batteries and radios. A radio uses alot more power to transmitt then it does in receive mode.
If you only want to play around for a half hour or so a day, then a small battery and charger would work. When charging, some AC signal can come through the charger. And this can have a bad effect on the electronics. I say can, because there are lots of variations in chargers and radios. It is just a good rule to not charge the battery while operating the radio.

You Might try Radio shack for a DC power supply.

Have Fun,
Scott
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Old 12-02-2010, 18:26   #6
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Mambo,

I use an Astron SS-30. Designed for this purpose. 25 amps continuous, 30 Amps @ 30% duty.

If you're gonna transmit you need a lot of power and short cables. The Astron is quiet and dependable.

Um Saudade
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