{"id":931,"date":"2016-10-12T08:58:38","date_gmt":"2016-10-12T08:58:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/soliloquyforthefallen.net\/?p=931"},"modified":"2016-10-13T07:44:05","modified_gmt":"2016-10-13T07:44:05","slug":"931","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/soliloquyforthefallen.net\/?p=931","title":{"rendered":"Building a Ham Radio Power Supply"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!--Title: Building a Ham Radio Power Supply Date: October 4, 2016 --><\/p>\n<h2>Ham Radio Isn&#8217;t Cheap<\/h2>\n<p>Much like shooting, ham radio is expensive. I think all fun hobbies are. But after spending $820 for the radio, I wasn&#8217;t in the mood (or the financial state) to drop another $100 to $150 on an <a href=\"http:\/\/www.alinco.com\/Products\/ps\/DM-330FX\/DM-330FX.pdf\">Alinco Power Supply<\/a>. Slick as spit, but not worth it.<\/p>\n<p>So, here is what I came up with:<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-931 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/soliloquyforthefallen.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/IMG_3069.JPG-convert.png'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/soliloquyforthefallen.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/IMG_3069.JPG-convert-150x150.png\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/soliloquyforthefallen.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/IMG_3067.JPG-convert.png'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/soliloquyforthefallen.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/IMG_3067.JPG-convert-150x150.png\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/soliloquyforthefallen.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/IMG_3068.JPG-convert.png'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/soliloquyforthefallen.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/IMG_3068.JPG-convert-150x150.png\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>My power supply has the following features:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hacker cred. I put it together, and it looks nice and works great, on 2M at least.<\/li>\n<li>Dual USB ports, for keeping a phone topped off.<\/li>\n<li>A cigarette lighter, for powering\/charging a baofeng or anything 12V compatible.<\/li>\n<li>Dual Anderson Powerpoles on the rear, for the ham&#8217;s favorite 12V connector<\/li>\n<li>Uses a standard computer power supply cable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So, here is my Bill of Materials:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B005P9CATU\/\">Anderson PowerPole Connectors<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B014UC9QNU\/\">Anderson PowerPole Chassis Mount<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00843KZP0\/\">PC Power Supply Socket<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00RJVJJCI\/\">USB\\Car Charger Socket<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00D7CWSCG\/\">12V 30A Regulated PC Powersupply<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.walmart.com\/ip\/Plano-Shot-Shell-Box\/37147032\"> Plano 121202 Shotshell Dry Box<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A few build notes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I crimped the powerpoles using my standard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.channellock.com\/908-wire-strippers.aspx?\">channelock wire strippers<\/a> and then soldered them with my hakko. This gives about as good as a connected as you can get.<\/li>\n<li>I used <a href=\"http:\/\/www.digikey.com\/product-detail\/en\/te-connectivity-amp-connectors\/2-34167-1\/A100524CT-ND\/2233387\">standard spade connectors<\/a> (though mine are from Menards), again crimped and soldered, to connect everything to the power supply unit.<\/li>\n<li>Most ham radios expect 13.8VDC, instead of the 12V this one was outputting. That&#8217;s okay, there&#8217;s a dandy reostat you can use to adjust the output power. I had mine set for 13.81V and its drifted to 13.84\/5. I suspect it has to do with the construction and actually powering the unit up. However, my 857 will tolerate a +\/- 10% range, so eh. I&#8217;ll adjust it again the next time I fire it up.<\/li>\n<li>Take care when making the AC Mains connections. I am using a cut\\trimmed piece of a PC power cord, with crimped and soldered spade terminals connected to the socket and to the power supply unit. I used some <a href=\"http:\/\/www.digikey.com\/product-detail\/en\/te-connectivity-amp-connectors\/640905-1\/A0904-ND\/172548\">push on connecters<\/a> to make a removable\/solid connection to my socket, then put heat shrink over the arrangement to make sure I had removed and electrocution hazard, as best as possible. 14VDC will tickle, 120VAC will kill, and<a href=\"https:\/\/soliloquyforthefallen.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/tumblr_o347wjDMHH1qz6f4bo1_1280.jpg\"> hurt the entire time<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Cut outs for the Chassis mount and PC powersupply socket were done with an x-acto knife, a ruler, and a little bit of caliper work. Everything fits perfectly. Lay out the holes you need, then visually check the marks are in the right place. Make light passes with the x-acto to cut through the plastic of the dry box.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Gardner-Bender-CTT-45-Cable-Tensioning\/dp\/B002YEE06K\">This is such a gadgety thing<\/a>, but it makes doing zip ties so much easier, tighter, and with practice the cut offs cleaner.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The total cost of the arrangement? Not counting the sundries I had on hand, $54.04. Not bad, a third of the cost and quite a bit more fun. You could do this even cheaper if you skipped the power powerpoles and the other features, but charging phones is good. When I first made it, I had the radio and a cut off power cord running directly to the power supply unit. It worked, and worked well, but I wanted to make things cleaner for sure.<\/p>\n<p>Questions? Comments? Leave them below. 73, and good night all.<\/p>\n<p><em>Edit: I posted this to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/amateurradio\/comments\/577djf\/my_homebrew_power_supply\/\">\/r\/amatuerradio<\/a> and generated a fair response.  I would like to highlight <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/amateurradio\/comments\/577djf\/my_homebrew_power_supply\/d8pq2iu\">Megas3300&#8217;s RF Choke<\/a>.  This is probably needed for mine as well, but so far I&#8217;ve only used this on VHF.  A proper HF antenna system awaits.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ham Radio Isn&#8217;t Cheap Much like shooting, ham radio is expensive. I think all fun hobbies are. But after spending $820 for the radio, I wasn&#8217;t in the mood (or the financial state) to drop another $100 to $150 on an Alinco Power Supply. Slick as spit, but not worth it. So, here is what&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more navbutton\"><a href=\"https:\/\/soliloquyforthefallen.net\/?p=931\">Read More<i class=\"fa fa-angle-double-right\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[108,120],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/soliloquyforthefallen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/soliloquyforthefallen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/soliloquyforthefallen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/soliloquyforthefallen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/soliloquyforthefallen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=931"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/soliloquyforthefallen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":943,"href":"https:\/\/soliloquyforthefallen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931\/revisions\/943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/soliloquyforthefallen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/soliloquyforthefallen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/soliloquyforthefallen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}