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Neptune 50w amp repair(s)
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Is there anyone in the U.S. that knows and can work on the Neptune 50w external amp (manual band ) sold by 60dbm.com?
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I purchased one (used) almost a year ago and it does not put out any power on the 6m band. The other bands are fine.?
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Yes, I purchased it used and it arrived DOA for the 6m band. Buyer beware. My fault.
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Had a local tech look at it and he said there were some issues with the wiring and even with the schematic, was not able to fix the problem. I've since also replaced a whanky BNC connector and the power push on/off switch now needs to be replaced.
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Yes, I've contacted the supplier/builder in the Ukraine and he said send it and I'll look at it.But, with back and forth shipping costs and then the labor/parts costs I would be out more than I paid for the amp. I recently emailed them for specs on the power switch and still no response. I appreciate Ukraine is still at war with Russia but expected some response.
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So, while I currently have a 80m-10m external amp I would like to get it to work for 6m with my FT 817ND.
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Any suggestions?
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thanks,
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T, 73 |
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýHi Tony, ? I¡¯m not in the US nor do I have one of those amps however, I would suspect one of the relays on the 6m filter section as all the others seem to work OK. ? It could also be the circuitry driving the relays so that they don¡¯t activate at all. ? Check that the relays pull in when you set it to 6m. ? 73¡.Eric VK2VE. ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of AG3 - KI6DOZ
Sent: Saturday, 19 April 2025 09:48 To: [email protected] Subject: [ft817] Neptune 50w amp repair(s) ? Is there anyone in the U.S. that knows and can work on the Neptune 50w external amp (manual band ) sold by 60dbm.com? ? I purchased one (used) almost a year ago and it does not put out any power on the 6m band. The other bands are fine.? ? Yes, I purchased it used and it arrived DOA for the 6m band. Buyer beware. My fault. ? Had a local tech look at it and he said there were some issues with the wiring and even with the schematic, was not able to fix the problem. I've since also replaced a whanky BNC connector and the power push on/off switch now needs to be replaced. ? Yes, I've contacted the supplier/builder in the Ukraine and he said send it and I'll look at it.But, with back and forth shipping costs and then the labor/parts costs I would be out more than I paid for the amp. I recently emailed them for specs on the power switch and still no response. I appreciate Ukraine is still at war with Russia but expected some response. ? So, while I currently have a 80m-10m external amp I would like to get it to work for 6m with my FT 817ND. ? Any suggestions? ? thanks, ? T, 73 |
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After six months I finally found two problems with this Neptune amp and the 6m band output.
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A lead from one of the toroids in the 6m section was not soldered into the board and a post from one of the relays in the same circuit? had a bad solder joint and was not making contact.
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I decided I would go into the board one more time before throwing it out and began by checking the relays. They seemed fine. With 5X magnifying glasses I began looking at the solder points under the board and noticed a few had burned marks and poor soldering. Turning the board over I went over each item and that is when I saw one toroid lead was off to the side of the hole and was not even soldered to the board.
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To confirm I was not seeing things I took the board and looked at it from the bottom with a bright light above. Lo and behold there were two pin point light sources; one from the toroid and one from a relay contact! Some of the solder points looked brittle and cracked so I straightened out the lead on the? non soldered toroid? and attached it to the board. I then resoldered the relay as well.
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Powered it up and presto, 30w out with 2.5w going in from the FT817.
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I also found the correct right angle momentary tactile power button by taking a picture of it and letting Google identify it for me.
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I've still not heard from the maker but that is history. The amp has been working on the other bands and now it's back to spec.
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I want to thank those of you who gave me suggestions and trouble shooting. Now the 817 has a Mirage 2m 30w amp and the Nepture HF-6m 50w amp. All packed in a small case.
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73
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