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The ATAS has to have a physical ground.? A friend tried the mag mount trick, had lots of problems, I helped him do a physical mount with a proper braid ground, he has not had any further problems.? My personal antenna is mounted on my toolbox in the back of my pickup.? At first had a few tuning problems and doubled the ground cables to each side of the box.? Works much better now.? I think that your mag mount is causing the problem.. If you can snag or borrow a Diamond door-edge mount (forget the part number...KS-400??) and try with that and a good ground, I bet it will work quite a bit better.
My old ATAS-100 is bumping a million miles mobile.? Still works well, only thing changed was to a longer whip "stinger".?
Andrew N4ABA
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Thank you for the pointers.
I will check each connection on the power cord tomorrow (we are camping - and these are daylight tasks for me). I believe what I am using does not have a fuse in line - but hoping it does and that is the issue. We pull our trailer off road a bit - and even on the hwy we get lot's of good jolts - so perhaps something has worked loose.
I do not have a physical ground on the antenna - just the standard Comet (I think) mag mount.I will look in to some strapping next time I am in civilization. But it has been successful in the past.?
This trip has convinced me that I want to look in to a lip mount on my car. I have been reluctant - thinking about the antenna sticking up on the front hood - or attached to the rear door (which opens upward) - the only choices on my Tahoe. But I do not tend to use the radio when driving - so I just have to have the lip mount installed all of the time - and then screw in the antenna when I am sitting somewhere (next to the trailer where I have the radio).?
And the next step is to install a socket for the coax inside and outside the trailer - so it doesn't run through the door the way I currently use it.?
But I have made perhaps 200 FT8 contacts in the last month from various locations in California, Arizona and Nevada. Sometimes with the Airstream plugged in to 110 (but still using 12-volt adapter from the radio) - but most of the time just running off of the Airstream battery.
Jim KM6GUO
On Wed, Apr 4, 2018 at 5:42 PM, A A n4aba@... [FT-857] <FT-857@...> wrote:
?
The ATAS has to have a physical ground.? A friend tried the mag mount trick, had lots of problems, I helped him do a physical mount with a proper braid ground, he has not had any further problems.? My personal antenna is mounted on my toolbox in the back of my pickup.? At first had a few tuning problems and doubled the ground cables to each side of the box.? Works much better now.? I think that your mag mount is causing the problem.. If you can snag or borrow a Diamond door-edge mount (forget the part number...KS-400??) and try with that and a good ground, I bet it will work quite a bit better.
My old ATAS-100 is bumping a million miles mobile.? Still works well, only thing changed was to a longer whip "stinger".?
Andrew N4ABA
|
The FT-857 draws 22amps at 100watts. Hook a volt meter to power input connector on radio and validate your loosing 2-3 volts. Check you batt and ground connections are ?solid. ? Increase your wire gauge feeding the FT857 if you have reduced the wire size and or increased the length feeding power to the radio. ? ?
The tune system on the antenna supplies ?two different positive voltages to the antenna through the coax. ?One triggers up and other triggers down. ? ? I expect the voltage drop to radio is confusing the logic in the antenna controller. ? If you install a dummy load and your voltage drop problem goes away, then your antenna may be drawing excessive current as if motor drive is binding. ? ? K0var
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
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I would suggest that the power leads (if there are separate leads or if it's fed through the coax) are causing the voltage drop. Also, have you made sure there's a really solid ground between the two vehicles?
|
Thanks all who commented.
Still wrestling with it..? Yes - the antenna is not physically grounded - relying on a mag mount. But it has worked¡ (Of course I can say that about any suggestion - because it worked until about a week ago). The power to all outlets remains at about 13 volts - even though the radio reports less.
I have cheated on the wire - just ordered a bigger gauge wire Also order battery connectors (all connections are PowerPole) with rings so I can get away from CLA
It tunes right now at 12M and 15M and fails at 18M and 20M. Sometimes the antenna does not go up and down - so the lack of voltage is impacting the tuning. But interesting that it tunes as 12M and 15M.
In about 10 days I will be back at my ¡®home¡¯ base - and will try my power supply connected to 110 and see what voltage readings I get on the radio.. (We are full timers in our Airstream - but periodically get back to a mailing address and a storage unit with supplies). I will also set up my tripod mount - although I don¡¯t expect any difference in results. I do run radials off of that - but do not connect a physical ground.
Jim
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
The FT-857 draws 22amps at 100watts. Hook a volt meter to power input connector on radio and validate your loosing 2-3 volts. Check you batt and ground connections are ?solid. ? Increase your wire gauge feeding the FT857 if you have reduced the wire size and or increased the length feeding power to the radio. ? ?
The tune system on the antenna supplies ?two different positive voltages to the antenna through the coax. ?One triggers up and other triggers down. ? ? I expect the voltage drop to radio is confusing the logic in the antenna controller. ? If you install a dummy load and your voltage drop problem goes away, then your antenna may be drawing excessive current as if motor drive is binding. ? ? K0var ____________________________________________________________ 
|
Are the batteries older? Proper voltages without a load may be good, but putting a load on one with even one bad cell will pull the voltage way below the 12 volts.
Just had to ask as I didn't see that asked it mentioned. If I missed it, sorry.
On Sat, Apr 7, 2018 at 12:20 AM, Jim Panttaja panttaja@... [FT-857] <FT-857@...> wrote:
?
Thanks all who commented.
Still wrestling with it..? Yes - the antenna is not physically grounded - relying on a mag mount. But it has worked¡ (Of course I can say that about any suggestion - because it worked until about a week ago). The power to all outlets remains at about 13 volts - even though the radio reports less.
I have cheated on the wire - just ordered a bigger gauge wire Also order battery connectors (all connections are PowerPole) with rings so I can get away from CLA
It tunes right now at 12M and 15M and fails at 18M and 20M. Sometimes the antenna does not go up and down - so the lack of voltage is impacting the tuning. But interesting that it tunes as 12M and 15M.
In about 10 days I will be back at my ¡®home¡¯ base - and will try my power supply connected to 110 and see what voltage readings I get on the radio.. (We are full timers in our Airstream - but periodically get back to a mailing address and a storage unit with supplies). I will also set up my tripod mount - although I don¡¯t expect any difference in results. I do run radials off of that - but do not connect a physical ground.
Jim KM6GUO
The FT-857 draws 22amps at 100watts. Hook a volt meter to power input connector on radio and validate your loosing 2-3 volts. Check you batt and ground connections are ?solid. ? Increase your wire gauge feeding the FT857 if you have reduced the wire size and or increased the length feeding power to the radio. ? ?
The tune system on the antenna supplies ?two different positive voltages to the antenna through the coax. ?One triggers up and other triggers down. ? ? I expect the voltage drop to radio is confusing the logic in the antenna controller. ? If you install a dummy load and your voltage drop problem goes away, then your antenna may be drawing excessive current as if motor drive is binding. ? ? K0var ____________________________________________________________
|
Good question. Two batteries in Airstream less than 12 months old. Also tried connecting to car battery. Same issue. Have now tried with antenna connect using different coax, and mounted on tripod same issue. Tripod mount uses two radials. On 17m, antenna does not go up and down. On 20m it does, but won¡¯t tune. One more experiment, using 110 power supply. Has to wait until I am ¡®home¡¯. If the doesn¡¯t give a clue, yaesu has suggested I send the antenna in.? Jim
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Apr 7, 2018, at 08:22, Joe Pugliano joe_aj3o@... [FT-857] < FT-857@...> wrote:
?
Are the batteries older? Proper voltages without a load may be good, but putting a load on one with even one bad cell will pull the voltage way below the 12 volts.
Just had to ask as I didn't see that asked it mentioned. If I missed it, sorry. Joe / AJ3O On Sat, Apr 7, 2018 at 12:20 AM, Jim Panttaja panttaja@... [FT-857]
?
Thanks all who commented.
Still wrestling with it..? Yes - the antenna is not physically grounded - relying on a mag mount.. But it has worked¡ (Of course I can say that about any suggestion - because it worked until about a week ago). The power to all outlets remains at about 13 volts - even though the radio reports less.
I have cheated on the wire - just ordered a bigger gauge wire Also order battery connectors (all connections are PowerPole) with rings so I can get away from CLA
It tunes right now at 12M and 15M and fails at 18M and 20M. Sometimes the antenna does not go up and down - so the lack of voltage is impacting the tuning. But interesting that it tunes as 12M and 15M.
In about 10 days I will be back at my ¡®home¡¯ base - and will try my power supply connected to 110 and see what voltage readings I get on the radio.. (We are full timers in our Airstream - but periodically get back to a mailing address and a storage unit with supplies). I will also set up my tripod mount - although I don¡¯t expect any difference in results. I do run radials off of that - but do not connect a physical ground.
Jim KM6GUO
The FT-857 draws 22amps at 100watts. Hook a volt meter to power input connector on radio and validate your loosing 2-3 volts. Check you batt and ground connections are ?solid. ? Increase your wire gauge feeding the FT857 if you have reduced the wire size and or increased the length feeding power to the radio. ? ?
The tune system on the antenna supplies ?two different positive voltages to the antenna through the coax. ?One triggers up and other triggers down. ? ? I expect the voltage drop to radio is confusing the logic in the antenna controller. ? If you install a dummy load and your voltage drop problem goes away, then your antenna may be drawing excessive current as if motor drive is binding. ? ? K0var ____________________________________________________________
|
Will the antenna manual tune up and down from radio?? Here is the similar schematic atas-100 inside the antenna. ?You don't need to transmit to manual tune the antenna. ? If it moves freely to both ends you might be wasting your time sending in the antenna for repair. The tuning intelligence is in the radio using VSWR?? ? ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Apr 7, 2018, at 4:50 PM, Panttaja panttaja@... [FT-857] < FT-857@...> wrote:
?
Good question. Two batteries in Airstream less than 12 months old. Also tried connecting to car battery. Same issue. Have now tried with antenna connect using different coax, and mounted on tripod same issue. Tripod mount uses two radials. On 17m, antenna does not go up and down. On 20m it does, but won¡¯t tune. One more experiment, using 110 power supply. Has to wait until I am ¡®home¡¯. If the doesn¡¯t give a clue, yaesu has suggested I send the antenna in.?
Jim
?
Are the batteries older? Proper voltages without a load may be good, but putting a load on one with even one bad cell will pull the voltage way below the 12 volts.
Just had to ask as I didn't see that asked it mentioned. If I missed it, sorry. Joe / AJ3O On Sat, Apr 7, 2018 at 12:20 AM, Jim Panttaja panttaja@... [FT-857]
?
Thanks all who commented.
Still wrestling with it..? Yes - the antenna is not physically grounded - relying on a mag mount... But it has worked¡ (Of course I can say that about any suggestion - because it worked until about a week ago). The power to all outlets remains at about 13 volts - even though the radio reports less.
I have cheated on the wire - just ordered a bigger gauge wire Also order battery connectors (all connections are PowerPole) with rings so I can get away from CLA
It tunes right now at 12M and 15M and fails at 18M and 20M.. Sometimes the antenna does not go up and down - so the lack of voltage is impacting the tuning. But interesting that it tunes as 12M and 15M.
In about 10 days I will be back at my ¡®home¡¯ base - and will try my power supply connected to 110 and see what voltage readings I get on the radio.. (We are full timers in our Airstream - but periodically get back to a mailing address and a storage unit with supplies). I will also set up my tripod mount - although I don¡¯t expect any difference in results. I do run radials off of that - but do not connect a physical ground.
Jim KM6GUO
The FT-857 draws 22amps at 100watts. Hook a volt meter to power input connector on radio and validate your loosing 2-3 volts. Check you batt and ground connections are ?solid. ? Increase your wire gauge feeding the FT857 if you have reduced the wire size and or increased the length feeding power to the radio. ? ?
The tune system on the antenna supplies ?two different positive voltages to the antenna through the coax. ?One triggers up and other triggers down. ? ? I expect the voltage drop to radio is confusing the logic in the antenna controller. ? If you install a dummy load and your voltage drop problem goes away, then your antenna may be drawing excessive current as if motor drive is binding. ? ? K0var
|
Greetings, i had very similar issues with my atas..... I finally stooped all the tail chasing and carefully disassembled my antenna...I found out small grit and dust, dirty grease like stuff.. the motor was binding on the smallest things??? completely cleaned everything with electrical cleanser before disassembly.after total disassembly, inspected every part, tuning balls coils, rod, motor..all of it. verified motor operated by itself. ETC!!! clean, clean!!! once satisfied, reassembled with? fresh grease made it better than factory new. You can do it, take your time, be very thourouh take lots of pictures, use a clean work table. you will save a LOT of money and frustration. Best wishes. KI6FHV Alex Garibay
? Higher?UP and Further In...Till We See Him Face to Face........Alejandro Garibay
On Monday, April 9, 2018 1:59 AM, "Panttaja panttaja@... [FT-857]" wrote:
?
Good question. Two batteries in Airstream less than 12 months old. Also tried connecting to car battery. Same issue. Have now tried with antenna connect using different coax, and mounted on tripod same issue.. Tripod mount uses two radials. On 17m, antenna does not go up and down. On 20m it does, but won¡¯t tune. One more experiment, using 110 power supply. Has to wait until I am ¡®home¡¯. If the doesn¡¯t give a clue, yaesu has suggested I send the antenna in.?
Jim
On Apr 7, 2018, at 08:22, Joe Pugliano joe_aj3o@... [FT-857] < FT-857@...> wrote:
?
Are the batteries older? Proper voltages without a load may be good, but putting a load on one with even one bad cell will pull the voltage way below the 12 volts..
Just had to ask as I didn't see that asked it mentioned. If I missed it, sorry. Joe / AJ3O On Sat, Apr 7, 2018 at 12:20 AM, Jim Panttaja panttaja@... [FT-857]
?
Thanks all who commented.
Still wrestling with it..? Yes - the antenna is not physically grounded - relying on a mag mount... But it has worked¡ (Of course I can say that about any suggestion - because it worked until about a week ago). The power to all outlets remains at about 13 volts - even though the radio reports less.
I have cheated on the wire - just ordered a bigger gauge wire Also order battery connectors (all connections are PowerPole) with rings so I can get away from CLA
It tunes right now at 12M and 15M and fails at 18M and 20M. Sometimes the antenna does not go up and down - so the lack of voltage is impacting the tuning. But interesting that it tunes as 12M and 15M.
In about 10 days I will be back at my ¡®home¡¯ base - and will try my power supply connected to 110 and see what voltage readings I get on the radio.. (We are full timers in our Airstream - but periodically get back to a mailing address and a storage unit with supplies). I will also set up my tripod mount - although I don¡¯t expect any difference in results. I do run radials off of that - but do not connect a physical ground.
Jim KM6GUO
The FT-857 draws 22amps at 100watts. Hook a volt meter to power input connector on radio and validate your loosing 2-3 volts. Check you batt and ground connections are ?solid. ? Increase your wire gauge feeding the FT857 if you have reduced the wire size and or increased the length feeding power to the radio. ? ?
The tune system on the antenna supplies ?two different positive voltages to the antenna through the coax. ?One triggers up and other triggers down. ? ? I expect the voltage drop to radio is confusing the logic in the antenna controller. ? If you install a dummy load and your voltage drop problem goes away, then your antenna may be drawing excessive current as if motor drive is binding. ? ? K0var ____________________________________________________________
|
I think Alex has a valid point! 1. ?Your antenna works on shorter length antenna bands.? 2. ?You noticed problems on longer antenna tuned lengths.? This is why I directed you to try to manual tune antenna, and look for a point that the internal clutch slips, ?movement of antenna is jerky or stops.?
K0var ??
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Apr 9, 2018, at 10:53 AM, Alejandro Garibay doghoppers@... [FT-857] < FT-857@...> wrote:
?
Greetings, i had very similar issues with my atas...... I finally stooped all the tail chasing and carefully disassembled my antenna...I found out small grit and dust, dirty grease like stuff.. the motor was binding on the smallest things??? completely cleaned everything with electrical cleanser before disassembly.after total disassembly, inspected every part, tuning balls coils, rod, motor...all of it. verified motor operated by itself. ETC!!! clean, clean!!! once satisfied, reassembled with? fresh grease made it better than factory new. You can do it, take your time, be very thourouh take lots of pictures, use a clean work table. you will save a LOT of money and frustration. Best wishes. KI6FHV Alex Garibay
? Higher?UP and Further In...Till We See Him Face to Face........Alejandro Garibay
?
Good question. Two batteries in Airstream less than 12 months old. Also tried connecting to car battery. Same issue. Have now tried with antenna connect using different coax, and mounted on tripod same issue.. Tripod mount uses two radials. On 17m, antenna does not go up and down. On 20m it does, but won¡¯t tune. One more experiment, using 110 power supply. Has to wait until I am ¡®home¡¯. If the doesn¡¯t give a clue, yaesu has suggested I send the antenna in.?
Jim
?
Are the batteries older? Proper voltages without a load may be good, but putting a load on one with even one bad cell will pull the voltage way below the 12 volts..
Just had to ask as I didn't see that asked it mentioned. If I missed it, sorry. Joe / AJ3O On Sat, Apr 7, 2018 at 12:20 AM, Jim Panttaja panttaja@... [FT-857]
?
Thanks all who commented.
Still wrestling with it..? Yes - the antenna is not physically grounded - relying on a mag mount... But it has worked¡ (Of course I can say that about any suggestion - because it worked until about a week ago). The power to all outlets remains at about 13 volts - even though the radio reports less.
I have cheated on the wire - just ordered a bigger gauge wire Also order battery connectors (all connections are PowerPole) with rings so I can get away from CLA
It tunes right now at 12M and 15M and fails at 18M and 20M. Sometimes the antenna does not go up and down - so the lack of voltage is impacting the tuning. But interesting that it tunes as 12M and 15M.
In about 10 days I will be back at my ¡®home¡¯ base - and will try my power supply connected to 110 and see what voltage readings I get on the radio.. (We are full timers in our Airstream - but periodically get back to a mailing address and a storage unit with supplies). I will also set up my tripod mount - although I don¡¯t expect any difference in results. I do run radials off of that - but do not connect a physical ground.
Jim KM6GUO
The FT-857 draws 22amps at 100watts. Hook a volt meter to power input connector on radio and validate your loosing 2-3 volts. Check you batt and ground connections are ?solid. ? Increase your wire gauge feeding the FT857 if you have reduced the wire size and or increased the length feeding power to the radio. ? ?
The tune system on the antenna supplies ?two different positive voltages to the antenna through the coax. ?One triggers up and other triggers down. ? ? I expect the voltage drop to radio is confusing the logic in the antenna controller. ? If you install a dummy load and your voltage drop problem goes away, then your antenna may be drawing excessive current as if motor drive is binding. ? ? K0var
|
Alex, Can you recommend a grease to use? Im not familiar with material used inside.
If there is internal plastic gears I assume a non petroleum grease compatible with plastics. ?Similar to grease used on garage door openers with plastic worm gear drive systems.? K0var
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Apr 9, 2018, at 10:53 AM, Alejandro Garibay doghoppers@... [FT-857] < FT-857@...> wrote:
?
Greetings, i had very similar issues with my atas..... I finally stooped all the tail chasing and carefully disassembled my antenna...I found out small grit and dust, dirty grease like stuff.. the motor was binding on the smallest things??? completely cleaned everything with electrical cleanser before disassembly.after total disassembly, inspected every part, tuning balls coils, rod, motor...all of it. verified motor operated by itself. ETC!!! clean, clean!!! once satisfied, reassembled with? fresh grease made it better than factory new. You can do it, take your time, be very thourouh take lots of pictures, use a clean work table. you will save a LOT of money and frustration. Best wishes. KI6FHV Alex Garibay
? Higher?UP and Further In...Till We See Him Face to Face........Alejandro Garibay
?
Good question. Two batteries in Airstream less than 12 months old. Also tried connecting to car battery. Same issue. Have now tried with antenna connect using different coax, and mounted on tripod same issue.. Tripod mount uses two radials. On 17m, antenna does not go up and down. On 20m it does, but won¡¯t tune. One more experiment, using 110 power supply. Has to wait until I am ¡®home¡¯. If the doesn¡¯t give a clue, yaesu has suggested I send the antenna in.?
Jim
?
Are the batteries older? Proper voltages without a load may be good, but putting a load on one with even one bad cell will pull the voltage way below the 12 volts..
Just had to ask as I didn't see that asked it mentioned. If I missed it, sorry. Joe / AJ3O On Sat, Apr 7, 2018 at 12:20 AM, Jim Panttaja panttaja@... [FT-857]
?
Thanks all who commented.
Still wrestling with it..? Yes - the antenna is not physically grounded - relying on a mag mount... But it has worked¡ (Of course I can say that about any suggestion - because it worked until about a week ago). The power to all outlets remains at about 13 volts - even though the radio reports less.
I have cheated on the wire - just ordered a bigger gauge wire Also order battery connectors (all connections are PowerPole) with rings so I can get away from CLA
It tunes right now at 12M and 15M and fails at 18M and 20M. Sometimes the antenna does not go up and down - so the lack of voltage is impacting the tuning. But interesting that it tunes as 12M and 15M.
In about 10 days I will be back at my ¡®home¡¯ base - and will try my power supply connected to 110 and see what voltage readings I get on the radio.. (We are full timers in our Airstream - but periodically get back to a mailing address and a storage unit with supplies). I will also set up my tripod mount - although I don¡¯t expect any difference in results. I do run radials off of that - but do not connect a physical ground.
Jim KM6GUO
The FT-857 draws 22amps at 100watts. Hook a volt meter to power input connector on radio and validate your loosing 2-3 volts. Check you batt and ground connections are ?solid. ? Increase your wire gauge feeding the FT857 if you have reduced the wire size and or increased the length feeding power to the radio. ? ?
The tune system on the antenna supplies ?two different positive voltages to the antenna through the coax. ?One triggers up and other triggers down. ? ? I expect the voltage drop to radio is confusing the logic in the antenna controller. ? If you install a dummy load and your voltage drop problem goes away, then your antenna may be drawing excessive current as if motor drive is binding. ? ? K0var
|
Your voltages as reported are nominal and not a worry. This all comes back to the antenna needing a ground. The results will always be inconsistent as the antenna is using the coax as the other half of the antenna and the RF is capacitvely coupling to whatever is near the coax cable. Just moving the coax cable an inch closer/further to metal will allow the antenna to tune/not tune. A quick test: I used 10 feet of 1" braid and a hose clamp to attach it to the base of the ATAS-120A and just laid the braid on the roof of my car and everything started tuning. I even used 1" magnets to hold it down to the steel roof of the car - worked well for months like this but it started to affect the paint. Good luck and 73, Joseph W6JHP On Mon, Apr 9, 2018 at 6:59 AM, Jk mwblacksmith@... [FT-857] < FT-857@...> wrote:
Will the antenna manual tune up and down from radio?
Here is the similar schematic atas-100 inside the antenna. You don't need
to transmit to manual tune the antenna. If it moves freely to both ends
you might be wasting your time sending in the antenna for repair.
The tuning intelligence is in the radio using VSWR
[image: image1.png]
On Apr 7, 2018, at 4:50 PM, Panttaja panttaja@... [FT-857] <
FT-857@...> wrote:
Good question. Two batteries in Airstream less than 12 months old. Also
tried connecting to car battery. Same issue. Have now tried with antenna
connect using different coax, and mounted on tripod same issue. Tripod
mount uses two radials. On 17m, antenna does not go up and down. On 20m it
does, but won¡¯t tune. One more experiment, using 110 power supply. Has to
wait until I am ¡®home¡¯. If the doesn¡¯t give a clue, yaesu has suggested I
send the antenna in.
Jim
On Apr 7, 2018, at 08:22, Joe Pugliano joe_aj3o@... [FT-857] <
FT-857@...> wrote:
Are the batteries older? Proper voltages without a load may be good, but
putting a load on one with even one bad cell will pull the voltage way
below the 12 volts.
Just had to ask as I didn't see that asked it mentioned. If I missed it,
sorry.
Joe / AJ3O
On Sat, Apr 7, 2018 at 12:20 AM, Jim Panttaja panttaja@... [FT-857]
<FT-857@...> wrote:
Thanks all who commented.
Still wrestling with it..
Yes - the antenna is not physically grounded - relying on a mag mount....
But it has worked¡ (Of course I can say that about any suggestion - because
it worked until about a week ago).
The power to all outlets remains at about 13 volts - even though the radio
reports less.
I have cheated on the wire - just ordered a bigger gauge wire
Also order battery connectors (all connections are PowerPole) with rings
so I can get away from CLA
It tunes right now at 12M and 15M and fails at 18M and 20M.. Sometimes the
antenna does not go up and down - so the lack of voltage is impacting the
tuning. But interesting that it tunes as 12M and 15M.
In about 10 days I will be back at my ¡®home¡¯ base - and will try my power
supply connected to 110 and see what voltage readings I get on the radio..
(We are full timers in our Airstream - but periodically get back to a
mailing address and a storage unit with supplies). I will also set up my
tripod mount - although I don¡¯t expect any difference in results. I do run
radials off of that - but do not connect a physical ground.
Jim
KM6GUO
On Apr 4, 2018, at 8:52 PM, Jk mwblacksmith@... [FT-857] <
FT-857@...> wrote:
The FT-857 draws 22amps at 100watts.
Hook a volt meter to power input connector on radio and validate your
loosing 2-3 volts.
Check you batt and ground connections are solid.
Increase your wire gauge feeding the FT857 if you have reduced the wire
size and or increased the length feeding power to the radio.
The tune system on the antenna supplies two different positive voltages
to the antenna through the coax. One triggers up and other triggers down.
I expect the voltage drop to radio is confusing the logic in the
antenna controller.
If you install a dummy load and your voltage drop problem goes away, then
your antenna may be drawing excessive current as if motor drive is binding.
K0var
On Apr 4, 2018, at 9:30 AM, Jim Panttaja jim@... [FT-857] <
FT-857@...> wrote:
I am operating my FT-857 with an ATAS-120 out of my Airstream Trailer. I
have solar panels on the Airstream with two standard batteries. I connect
the FT-857 to power with a CLA.
The ATAS-120 is mounted with a mag mount on my car next to the trailer.
When I try to tune the antenna - it works sometimes and not others..
Routinely the voltage (as reported by the FT-857) drops to 10.2 or lower
while tuning. I assume I just don't have enough juice (although the
Airstream reports that the battery is at 12.4 or even 13+ at the time).
But it does tune sometimes.
When tuned - no one 'hears' me. I have been trying for the last three days
on FT8 - and no contacts (though I report signals). When I transmit - again
the FT-857 reports a voltage drop to 10.x even though the base voltage is
reported as 12.x - matching what the Airstream reports it has.
Does this sound like just a voltage issue - the battery isn't delivering
enough (even though other measurements of voltage seem fine). Is there a
better intermediate battery that I should use - charging it from my solar?
With 200 watts of solar, I more than keep up with my needs in trailer this
time of year. Currently camping in Lee's Ferry, Arizona..
By the way - this has worked successfully within the last month in other
camped locations. So perhaps the voltage is a red herring, and my signal is
just propagating from this location.
Jim
KM6GUO
OI.__,_._
____________________________________________________________
*Doctor Warns: Stop Eating This Vegetable Immediately*
Gundry MD
<>
<>
[image: SponsoredBy Content.Ad]
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
|
The antenna should have Braided Ground strapping to control stray RF. I think a few years ago they were reporting some problems with the antenna acting up. I never had one but remember the problem had to do with some contact in the bottom of the antenna. Remember that you can always call Yaesu Tech Support in Ca. Its a free service
K3CLT
Chuck Tobias
On Wednesday, April 11, 2018, 8:46:21 PM EDT, Joseph Pankow falcongsr@... [FT-857] wrote:
?
Your voltages as reported are nominal and not a worry.
This all comes back to the antenna needing a ground. The results will
always be inconsistent as the antenna is using the coax as the other half
of the antenna and the RF is capacitvely coupling to whatever is near the
coax cable. Just moving the coax cable an inch closer/further to metal will
allow the antenna to tune/not tune.
A quick test: I used 10 feet of 1" braid and a hose clamp to attach it to
the base of the ATAS-120A and just laid the braid on the roof of my car and
everything started tuning. I even used 1" magnets to hold it down to the
steel roof of the car - worked well for months like this but it started to
affect the paint.
Good luck and 73,
Joseph W6JHP
On Mon, Apr 9, 2018 at 6:59 AM, Jk mwblacksmith@... [FT-857] <
FT-857@...> wrote:
>
>
> Will the antenna manual tune up and down from radio?
> Here is the similar schematic atas-100 inside the antenna. You don't need
> to transmit to manual tune the antenna. If it moves freely to both ends
> you might be wasting your time sending in the antenna for repair.
> The tuning intelligence is in the radio using VSWR
>
> [image: image1.png]
>
> On Apr 7, 2018, at 4:50 PM, Panttaja panttaja@... [FT-857] <
> FT-857@...> wrote:
>
>
>
> Good question. Two batteries in Airstream less than 12 months old. Also
> tried connecting to car battery. Same issue. Have now tried with antenna
> connect using different coax, and mounted on tripod same issue. Tripod
> mount uses two radials. On 17m, antenna does not go up and down. On 20m it
> does, but won¡¯t tune. One more experiment, using 110 power supply. Has to
> wait until I am ¡®home¡¯. If the doesn¡¯t give a clue, yaesu has suggested I
> send the antenna in.
>
> Jim
>
> On Apr 7, 2018, at 08:22, Joe Pugliano joe_aj3o@... [FT-857] <
> FT-857@...> wrote:
>
>
>
> Are the batteries older? Proper voltages without a load may be good, but
> putting a load on one with even one bad cell will pull the voltage way
> below the 12 volts.
>
> Just had to ask as I didn't see that asked it mentioned. If I missed it,
> sorry.
>
> Joe / AJ3O
>
> On Sat, Apr 7, 2018 at 12:20 AM, Jim Panttaja panttaja@... [FT-857]
> wrote:
>
>
> Thanks all who commented.
>
> Still wrestling with it..
> Yes - the antenna is not physically grounded - relying on a mag mount.....
> But it has worked¡ (Of course I can say that about any suggestion - because
> it worked until about a week ago).
> The power to all outlets remains at about 13 volts - even though the radio
> reports less.
>
> I have cheated on the wire - just ordered a bigger gauge wire
> Also order battery connectors (all connections are PowerPole) with rings
> so I can get away from CLA
>
> It tunes right now at 12M and 15M and fails at 18M and 20M.. Sometimes the
> antenna does not go up and down - so the lack of voltage is impacting the
> tuning. But interesting that it tunes as 12M and 15M.
>
> In about 10 days I will be back at my ¡®home¡¯ base - and will try my power
> supply connected to 110 and see what voltage readings I get on the radio..
> (We are full timers in our Airstream - but periodically get back to a
> mailing address and a storage unit with supplies). I will also set up my
> tripod mount - although I don¡¯t expect any difference in results. I do run
> radials off of that - but do not connect a physical ground.
>
>
> Jim
> KM6GUO
>
> On Apr 4, 2018, at 8:52 PM, Jk mwblacksmith@... [FT-857] <
> FT-857@...> wrote:
>
>
> The FT-857 draws 22amps at 100watts.
> Hook a volt meter to power input connector on radio and validate your
> loosing 2-3 volts.
> Check you batt and ground connections are solid.
> Increase your wire gauge feeding the FT857 if you have reduced the wire
> size and or increased the length feeding power to the radio.
>
> The tune system on the antenna supplies two different positive voltages
> to the antenna through the coax. One triggers up and other triggers down.
> I expect the voltage drop to radio is confusing the logic in the
> antenna controller.
> If you install a dummy load and your voltage drop problem goes away, then
> your antenna may be drawing excessive current as if motor drive is binding.
>
> K0var
> On Apr 4, 2018, at 9:30 AM, Jim Panttaja jim@... [FT-857] <
> FT-857@...> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> I am operating my FT-857 with an ATAS-120 out of my Airstream Trailer. I
> have solar panels on the Airstream with two standard batteries. I connect
> the FT-857 to power with a CLA.
>
>
> The ATAS-120 is mounted with a mag mount on my car next to the trailer..
>
> When I try to tune the antenna - it works sometimes and not others..
> Routinely the voltage (as reported by the FT-857) drops to 10.2 or lower
> while tuning. I assume I just don't have enough juice (although the
> Airstream reports that the battery is at 12.4 or even 13+ at the time)..
>
> But it does tune sometimes.
>
> When tuned - no one 'hears' me. I have been trying for the last three days
> on FT8 - and no contacts (though I report signals). When I transmit - again
> the FT-857 reports a voltage drop to 10.x even though the base voltage is
> reported as 12.x - matching what the Airstream reports it has.
>
> Does this sound like just a voltage issue - the battery isn't delivering
> enough (even though other measurements of voltage seem fine). Is there a
> better intermediate battery that I should use - charging it from my solar?
> With 200 watts of solar, I more than keep up with my needs in trailer this
> time of year. Currently camping in Lee's Ferry, Arizona..
>
> By the way - this has worked successfully within the last month in other
> camped locations. So perhaps the voltage is a red herring, and my signal is
> just propagating from this location.
>
> Jim
> KM6GUO
> OI.__,_._
>
>
>
> __________________________________________________________
> *Doctor Warns: Stop Eating This Vegetable Immediately*
> Gundry MD
>
> http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3132/5ac59d64ed78a1d6327f1st02duc
>
> [image: SponsoredBy Content.Ad]
>
>
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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¡°The ATAS has to have a physical ground. A friend tried the mag mount trick, had lots of problems, I helped him do a physical mount with a proper braid ground, he has not had any further problems. My personal antenna is mounted on my toolbox in the back of my pickup. At first had a few tuning problems and doubled the ground cables to each side of the box. Works much better now. I think that your mag mount is causing the problem.. If you can snag or borrow a Diamond door-edge mount (forget the part number...KS-400??) and try with that and a good ground, I bet it will work quite a bit better.
My old ATAS-100 is bumping a million miles mobile. Still works well, only thing changed was to a longer whip "stinger".
Andrew N4ABA¡±
This^^^^
You MUST have a physical ground for this antenna to work.
PS: NEVER put a longer whip than original. If you have ever taken the ATAS 120 apart to clean/Service it, you would see that the coil is wound tighter within the band areas and much wider in others. It can mess with tuning.. I did replace mine, but with a ¡°stiffer¡± one of the same length. I had to drill out the hole on top, but it was worth it. The new whip stands up even at 90mph.
Bill Albert
AD5TD
Woodsboro TX
Sent from parchment and quill pen
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