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Hello there, no kidding, you fixed these things in the army, crazy.. Well some people like them, others not so much.. Thanks.. Skip

@VE6BGT yup. Except the military version. Basically the same. Spent about 15 years as a calibration tech. I didn't mind working on them or using them.

Thanks Richard for the great comments.. Your right about what to use for a program.. VB is so easy as is Basic with the PIC processors I use.. I guess if it was more than a hobby I would try to learn something new.. But I am having a great time just tinkering as it is.. Life is to short to start all over ha ha.. So as long as I can keep the old PC running !! As for the operation here I have been known to go way overboard, but thats the fun part.. Thanks, Skip

@@VE6BGT I don't know much about BASIC on PIC's - I work for Microchip as an FAE but work with our Ethernet switched and PHYs rather than MCU's. I've been with the company for almost 10 years and absolutely love being part of the company. It is a company that you become part of and become enmeshed in. We have a really great culture. I have a working QO-100 satellite system here uplinking on 2.4GHz and downlinking on 10GHz but that is as far as I have gone into the realms of extraterrestrial comms. I have got plans for 10GHz EME portable at some stage as it is my radio grail. Just to be able to say that I have ONCE bounced a signal off the moon and been heard. I don't know what your background is, but the construction and the ergonomics of your system are off the scale. Absolutely beautifully put together. The amount of time and effort you have put into it really pays dividends. Do you run HF / 6m much? I for one would be interested to se what you have done to build your lower frequency system and looking at the racks you have, it looks like just as much care and attention has gone into the construction of that.

Yes sure could be.. I dont think I mentioned that the power supply in the 1200 was repaired before I got it.. Usual tantulum caps burning up.. The service manual I have I found a few text mistakes in it.. supposed to be 12 volts in one area but is really 5 volts.. It happens.. Thanks, Skip

Thats crazy.. I have never had to fix a MUX problem like this.. Then have more than one on the same board, thats crazy haha... The zener thing didnt surprise me to much as that kind of regulator sure cant handle much of a load... Great stuff though, lots of fun to work on mostly haha... Thanks, Skip

@@jim9930 That sure could be what happened.. I have fixed three other 1200 likw this with bad power supplies, this is the first with all these problems.. Who knows.. Thanks, Skip

Hello again, wow I for got to mention in the video also that I had to change the memory battery in this IFR.. I did this one other time and put a holder on the board so that the battery would be easier to change.. Then I found when I tried the slide the CPU card back into the frame it wouldnt fit !! I then had to remove the battery holder and solder it on the back side of the board, the foil side.. It barely fit then.. So I knew better with this latest IFR battery fix.. crazy stuff.. Thanks, Skip

Oh wow really your in Thailand !! I had a friend who would go there every winter, said it was great.. I think he married a girl there also.. Well I have had a few of these IFRs myself, they were great units in their day I think, I sure like them... Thanks, Skip

Other than this last generator, the 2025, I have only worked on the 1200 and that one 7550.. The newer stuff looks more complicated ?? Like everything though a service manual sure is necessary... Thanks, Skip

@@VE6BGT Yeah the service manual on that thing is very necessary. I haven't swapped the screen out because I need to figure out how to get into the dang thing. I got the old one open but this one the case is being difficult and I don't recall what the trick was.

Hello again, thanks for the comments.. No I havent done any radio astronomy with my dish, yet.. Skip Tilly is trying to get me into deep space probe receiving though.. That has me interested.. Thanks, Skip

@@pe0sat hi again skip. Yes I had two of them. One was a spectrum analyser and the second was a RF test set. Both great bits of kit. I will love one here but finding one in Thailand is like finding hens teeth. 73. Paul De HS0ZLQ, G0MIH

Hello again, yes thats most of it with these things. having the right extension boards.. Even then the board your working on is sitting vertical and still hard to work on.. Thats why I liked the ribbon cable idea, oh yea you have to get it plugged in right or else.. Geez, ha ha..

Hello Shawn and thanks for the comments.. Well I am not sure that I am a pioneer, I just like to build and tinker a lot.. I am PIC crazy as you can tell ha ha.. I had fun with the IFR until I blew that DVM board! Oh well things happen.. Thanks again.. Skip

I know what ypu mean about a stable camera.. Besides how would I hold the camera and play with two probes? Haha.. Yea this 1200 had a lot of issues. I didn't mention the couple of smaller ones it had ! Usually it's just the power supply, oh yea forgot to mention that, it wsx fixed before I got it ! Crazy.. Thanks.. Skip

Heh hello Dale.. Didnt know you were looking at my Nerd Channel ha ha... Good for a chuckle alright.. Skip

Boy that was quick, I just uploaded it... I do have fun, thanks.. Skip

That's what having fun With all those sophisticated toys is all about, not everyone has the privilege of being able to operate them.... Greetings....

Hi Skip, a great video as always. That is a nice little generator. I am glad is was an easy repair. Dave

Oh boy thats a good question.. I had to look that tube up and see what it was.. Its a big one, 7000 watts dissipation.. It would take a lot larger cooling system than what I am using on my amp.. If you add up all the eight tubes I am using in the two cavities thats only 800 and a littl more watts approximately.. That tube you mentioned is a lot bigger.. I think you would need bigger lines and a lot more water flow.. Thus then a bigger radiator system.. You need to talk to a engineer that can calculate all this for you.. I wouldnt want to even try !! Thanks, Skip

@ thanks for the reply…yeah I working on it, may end up using a chiller..we will see, thanks!

@@EyebexRadio1710amSoCal I would like to see that when your all done, let me know please, great stuff to work on.. Skip

@ I will keep you informed Skip. Also I subscribed to your channel. best, GWD.

Well it's just the hobby.. The challenge of getting it all going and successfully bouncing a signal off the moon.. For me I like the building part.. I don't contest at all, just make contacts.. I have built all the gear from 1296 up through the bands and 10 ghz is next.. I have friends who really push the limits, he is doing work on 24 and 47 ghz.. So it's just all in the fun of it.. Skip

@@VE6BGT Not knocking it, just trying to understand at what point, aside from EME, does a signal just bounce off everything besides the point ot point contact. You do have fascinating builds

OK I see what your saying.. Oh signals even 0:03 at 1296 mhz reflect off buildings etc.. With EME it's a goal not to be pointing anywhere close to a building, trees, other objects.. Everything emits a signal at these freq, natural noise, and this gets into the rx system and degrades your recieve sensitivity etc.. So you want the dish or ant pointing high to prevent this.. It's all fun.. Thanks, Skip

Oh please you dont want to imitate me ha ha.. Thanks, Skip

Hello, thanks for asking.. I have a number of Fluke meters.. The ones in the video are two model 87 and I think I had a 865 graphical meter also for one part.. I would have to go back and look.. Dont take me as just being a Fluke person, I have other brands also.. Skip

@VE6BGT you're no fluke lol

Hello Jason, well I am glad you enjoy my " Nerd Channel " ha ha.. I do have fun with it.. To bad about the weather there but thats normal, isnt it ?? Thanks, Skip

@@VE6BGT Very much so - and it's good ear training for me too, listening to EME CW is a different experience! Of course, being English, my go-to social crutch is mentioning the weather. Ho hum :) Look forward to the next installment, be it grubby water, logic control, electron-tube wrangling, whatever!

Hello again.. Thanks for asking.. This amp I featured in a earlier video if your interested in looking for it on my NERD Channel... Actually a couple of times and one was the in depth cleaning of the cooling system.. Its an old school amp by todays standards but I like it ha ha.. The tubes are Eimac 2C39 but more known as the 7289.. They had the thread on stem so that the cooling jackets would screw onto them.. The HP or Agilent is a E4406A transmitter tester.. I just use it as a spectrum analyzer but it will do a lot more.. Got it real cheap of Ebay.. Nice unit.. The subject of the cooling fluid has really been discussed every time I bring this up haha.. Lots of input on different liquids that I could possibly use.. It has to be non conductive of course so that rules out any anti freeze.. There is some liquids but things are really restrictive, mostly the cost ! Plus it has to have the same viscosity of water for the small pumps to be able to pump it along.. Distilled water is a very good cooling liquid and is dirt cheap.. But of course if you cant get it, well.... Ha ha.. I am sure its just a thing around here and it will be available.. I use the same water cooling system for my 13 CM amps, or 2.304 Ghz.. They are just heat exchangers so no voltage involved so I could use antifreeze for that.. But to have two completely separate water systems is to much !! Thanks, Skip

@@VE6BGT Oh my God! 2C39'S Heck I have a few of them never used them! Time to get interested. Never knew they could pump out so much power. Best I look at the datasheets! AND find the tubes! Always wanted to do EME, as I remember back in the 70's reading about it on/with the Eimac AppNotes, and of course the ARRL books. Never did any Microwave stuff. But never to late. I'm on a hundred acres, middle of nowhere, and with some elevation, clear shot to the moon. Last night SHE was BIG! So are you using any wave-guides or just Heliax, LDF7? I did see Heliax at the back of the Amps. So if I'm in Ontario and you being in 6 land, would one be able to QSO, in other words, do "we" both need to see the moon at the same time? Cheers! 73's ve3aam

@@dalesmith8666 Well there are all kinds of them, some easy to water cool, other not.. They are a 100 watt tube normally.. Water cool them and you can push them a lot more and get away with it.. This amp has two cavities, four tubes in each and I can push it to over a kilowatt but things get real exciting at that level ha ha.. 700 to 800 watts its a breeze, no issues.. Have fun.. Skip

@@VE6BGT Ah yes, what I was thinking a quantity in a circle/cavity, much like the Old RCA TV transmitters that would use a few(5-7-9) 5762 Triodes...

@@dalesmith8666 You Bet, this one has four tubes per cavity.. I guess they built them for six even eight tubes but I was told it was hard to get the eight tube cavity all tuned up and working.. Better or easier to go with just four tubes in a single cavity and combine two cavities, thus eight tubes.. Far be it from me to take some good advice !! Skip

Hello again.. My neighbor has a RO system so I went over there to test it.. With the 1000 volt switch on the insulation tester it was not good at all. I dont know how his system is plumbed and I was taking the water sample right out of his kitchen tap so maybe along the pipes it picks up enough stuff to make it more conductive.. But still distilled water is better than RO water for insulation properties.. For me to install a RO and distilling system would be to costly and just not worth it, way cheaper to just buy the water, IF I CAN GET IT, ha ha... Thanks again.. Skip

Hello Gregory, thanks for reaching out to me.. The mesh is what's called hardware cloth.. You can buy it at different hardware stores in different sizes of the holes or squares.. I bought the smallest possible so that it would be useable at higher frequencies such as 6CM or 5.7 Ghz.. It is miserable stuff to work with and cut to size, lots of cuts and blood shed ha ha.. It didnt roll off perfectly flat and had a lot of "warped" sections so it took a lot of tie down points to hold it flat as possible. Thanks, Skip

@@VE6BGT Thank you for the quick reply, I guess it's like a woven galvanized or stainless steel mesh.

@@gregorydobson4307 Yes thats a good way of explaining it, just galvanized mesh.. Not Stainless for sure...

Hello and thanks for asking.. Yes its a combination if I remember correctly, the solar noise bouncing off it when it can, or the "dark noise" all natural objects emit at these higher frequencies.. Skip

You caught that!! OK then ha ha.. Thanks, Skip

Heh good to hear from you!! Glad you liked it.. ha ha.. Thanks again. SKIP

Hello and thanks.. With the EME dish I still feed 3.4 Ghz down the helix but again I have two preamp stages and then the poweramp at the feed.. That over comes the losses.. The recieve side the high gain preamp overcomes the losses in the long feed.. BUT with 6cm or 5.7 Ghz it's to lossy.. Everything is at the feed and the lower IF signal of 144 Mhz gets all the way back to the shack easily.. Skip

Well I try ha ha.. It isn't always that good!! Thanks again.. Skip

Hello Jac. Thanks for the comments.. Yea your right I should have phased them together, oh well later.. For sure was great to meet you guys!! I hear you caught covid also?? We did on the way back home, miserable thing!! Thanks Jac..

Glad you enjoyed it.. I haven't done any videos for a while so I guess about time.. Thanks, Skip

WOW! fancy meeting you here. I have a GPS stabilized oscillator with your name on it 🙂

No Mr. Murphy.. The cable used to run a small rotor down on the side of the tower.. I was just extending it to reach farther up.. No heat shrink, enough taking the soldering iron up there.. Good tape is good enough.. Murphy hit me when my climbing belt fell down past my arse and I couldn't get it back up again!! Ha ha, that was crazy..

@@VE6BGT 🤣🤣