Building a M710 SSB tuner control cable

[foojin]

The tuner control cable (OPC-566) that came with my used M710 was pretty badly torn up. I am having a hard time finding a new one. Everyone seems to be out of stock.

The dongle at the transceiver end is in pretty good shape and the plug at that end of the OPC-566 is salvageable, I think. So I am thinking I will make one using the plug.

Seems simple—four thin, tinned copper wires of different colours twisted together. Is there something about the OPC-566 that would make this harder than it appears?

Cheers and thanks

[Brian.D]

Absolutely not. There is one wire for 13vdc, one wire for ground, one wire for start, and one wire for stop. I am sure you can get new connectors on ebay. I also believe they are Molex connectors. The connector looks like a 4-pin power connector (radio side) - this one?

The wire is probably (safest to use) 18AWG. Should be enough to handle the current on the 13vdc line. 16AWG if you do feel comfortable. Use a service manual (available on line) for the max current needed then use an AWG calculator to determine wire size for length of run.

I built one for my ICOM IC-707 to work with my MFJ-939. The 939 used an RJ8 plug, but the 707 used a 4 in-line Molex connector.

All above is JMHO

[foojin]

Thanks for the assurance Brian, will get on it.

[Brian.D]

If you can't find mating connectors, use 4 pin in-line connectors. Just make sure you heat shrink the cable'd ends to keep moisture out. And, lengths, voltage drop, current draw, versus wire size. Do your research.