Hi Michael,
Yes, I can provide an update.
The seller offered to send me some replacement Schottky diodes, which eventually arrived.? They turned out to be axial diodes, not surface mount, so that was good to see.? The board actually has pads for non-surface mount diodes, so it was actually fairly easy to pop the original ones off the board and get the new larger ones in place.
However, that didn't solve the problem.? Although, I think the power reading is now more accurately inaccurate... I'd say it's closer to exactly 10x actual transmit power than it was before... LOL
I'm also noticing that when TX stops, it takes a short time for the display to return to 'receive' readings (0 W, 0 SWR).? If I transmit with 5 watts, it shows around 50 watts.? Then when TX shuts off, the display reads 50W, 17W, 5W, 0.5W, 0... as it seems to refresh.? Slowly enough that I can read all the decrementing numbers, but quick enough that it's probably less than 1.5 to 2 seconds in total.
I'm guessing there's a capacitor involved, maybe a bleed resistor, but I'm in no way competent enough to find where or confirm.? If the wrong value of either surface mount component was placed on the board, somewhere, by the board builder, I'm wondering if this would be possible.
While waiting for the diodes, I ended up ordering another ATU-100 kit from a different seller.? I built it also (easier the second time for sure!).? So far, it seems to function properly and the display certainly indicates what I think the correct power actually is.? Having done it twice, the same way, I have to think the original unit has a problem from the seller.? Unless there's a cold solder joint somewhere that I should be blamed for.? I'd be grateful if anyone who is familiar with the schematic and operation could suggest where to look.
The bypass and auto switches are indeed momentary.? The only tricky part is connecting wires to the underside of the board for these switches.? The pads are very small and there's no hole to help you out.? A steady hand and it's not too bad, just a bit of a pain.? I'm actually a bit surprised that the board isn't set up to allow for these connections with holes and larger pads.
73
Brock VA7AV
