SSB Advice

[btrayfors]

Chip,

Yep, those mechanisms and several more, including:

1. RFI from your onboard equipment/instruments getting into the receiver either by radiation or conduction thru existing wiring, including power cables;

2. Radiation from the intended RF ground or counterpoise (that radiates, too), getting into other instruments aboard;

3. Poor or degraded connections in the antenna/ground system;

etc., etc.

Point is, as you know, you need to separate the RF ground -- whatever kind -- from all other grounds on the boat and, insofar as possible, from the proximity to other wiring on the boat.

Physical connection to the seawater (thru-hull or grounding plate or whatever) isn't a bad idea -- and in some cases it may help bleed off static electricity and reduce noise -- but it isn't strictly necessary in most cases.

Nor is grounding of the transceiver itself (apart from the 12VDC power lead to the batteries). That often creates ground loops.

Of course all the books and instruction manuals will usually tell you to ground everything to everything, and just use lots of ferrites or RF chokes.

Bill

[NorthPacific]

Hi Bill,

Definitely 2. I counted 2 times to be sure to be sure :-)
One is the "Tuner receptacle" this is the one I should cut off.

The other is "DC Power receptacle"

Guess I would do same here as well?

Steve

[btrayfors]

Originally Posted by NorthPacific

Hi Bill,

Definitely 2. I counted 2 times to be sure to be sure :-)
One is the "Tuner receptacle" this is the one I should cut off.

The other is "DC Power receptacle"

Guess I would do same here as well?

Steve

Steve,

Yes, it's the tuner connector you might want to cut off, for reasons previously posted....especially if you're going to make up your own tuner cable.

Sorry...I misled you re: the power cable. The M710 generally comes with a short pigtail for the power cable attachment. It's the larger one with six pins. Some people modify these....I've seen just about everything. There are two on eBay right now with modified power cable connections.

Bottom line: the power cable connector which comes with the radio and power cable is just fine. Usually they come with a rubber boot.

It's the tuner connector which is troublesome.

Bill

[NorthPacific]

Hi Bill,

On the page 15 of the manual it is labeled cable 9 "DC Power receptacle" ? I will take photos at lunch. The radio is at present being displayed on the coffee table? Not sure for how long ? :-)

So if this is just for power why 6 prong?

Steve

[btrayfors]

Originally Posted by NorthPacific

Hi Bill,

On the page 15 of the manual it is labeled cable 9 "DC Power receptacle" ? I will take photos at lunch. The radio is at present being displayed on the coffee table? Not sure for how long ? :-)

So if this is just for power why 6 prong?

Steve

Our posts crossed. See my last.

Bill

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by nv5l

There are lots of ssb threads here. He's talking about the kiss-ssb grounding system and a gam antenna (search here or use google fir more info).

I don't use either, but I'm a ham and like doing my own thing. My only advice is to take everything you read with a grain of salt, especially when someone's trying to sell you something. And if you want to understand what's gong in, become a ham

Have fun and happy new year...

Ditto, ditto, ditto. Also a Ham and I will say that doing your own thing and learning along the way IS the way. The only advice I could offer would be to read anything by Gordon West. You'd laugh if you saw my simple set up and I really get out to a lot of stations. I have $30 tied up in my Antenna and RF ground plane.

[fairbank56]

Originally Posted by NorthPacific

So if this is just for power why 6 prong?

Steve

There are 3 positive and 3 negative wires, each group in parallel, so that smaller wire and smaller pins/connectors can be used.

Eric

[NorthPacific]

These are the photos!
[IMG]http://[url=http://www.cruisersforum.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=8754&c=517][img]http://cdn.cruisersforum.com/attachments/gallery/3/3/1/9/2/img_4617_thumb.jpg

or maybe not

[NorthPacific]

crap! It is on the gallery having probs getting it to load to the page.

[NorthPacific]

Back Of Icom 710 - cables supplied Cruisers & Sailing Photo Gallery

Sorry this is massive but shows the wires.

[NorthPacific]

Originally Posted by fairbank56

There are 3 positive and 3 negative wires, each group in parallel, so that smaller wire and smaller pins/connectors can be used.

Eric

Hi eric,

So what does the connection look like at the breaker-side of the bundle? Sorry if this is very obvious to you but never seen anything like this before. Talking about breaker how big? 30amp fuses I see.

[fairbank56]

The OEM power cord come's with 10' of 10 gauge red/black zip wire which is spliced to the 6 smaller wires at the plug.

Eric

[NorthPacific]

The OEM power cord come's with 10' of 10 gauge red/black zip wire which is spliced to the 6 smaller wires at the plug.

Please be gentle:-) this sounds like a line from star treK!!!!!! I have to ask, why not a big wire?

Steve

thank god for the internet. Still have my new (to me) beauty sitting on the coffee table. Guess I am not going to see if the bloody thing works until after the warrantee runs out! LOL

[Paul Elliott]

Originally Posted by NorthPacific

The OEM power cord come's with 10' of 10 gauge red/black zip wire which is spliced to the 6 smaller wires at the plug.

Please be gentle:-) this sounds like a line from star treK!!!!!! I have to ask, why not a big wire?

This is because the common "Molex" connectors used in the radio can only carry so much current per pin, and these pins are designed for a particular gauge wire. Three pins are wired in parallel and spliced to the heavy-gauge zipcord wire (three pins for positive, three for negative), allowing the radio to have a nice heavy-duty power connection. The SSB units can have high peak current demands, and a poor power connection is a common problem. Pay good attention to your power wiring -- it makes a difference!

[NorthPacific]

Cheers Paul ! What do I ask for ? to do the wiring correct!