On Mon,3/30/2015 5:37 PM, Kevin Stover wrote:
Because it's the piddely stuff like connectors and coax and dummy loads, etc...that will run you out of the hobby. Ask any boat owner. There is a reason why they call boats holes in the water you pour money into. Same thing for planes at engine overhall time.
The problem is that connectors and coax and dummy loads are the sorts of things that can cause things to grind to a halt if they fail, or are not of good quality. A dummy load or SWR bridge that's out of spec can cause us to make bad decisions about matching in our system, or to mis-calibrate it.
El-cheapo coax (or coax that's been wet inside) and junk connectors (and connectors that are badly installed) all cause failures that can cost big bucks. And all of these problems can be VERY hard to find.
I recently spent more than $1,200 finding and fixing a problem with my SteppIR that turned out to be a piece of coax (good stuff) that got stepped on near a connector (good connector). It was right outside the shack, jumping from 7/8-in hard line to my "ground entry window."
This stuff isn't as sexy as a radio or big antenna, but it's equally important. The way to economize on things like this is to find good stuff used/surplus, not cheap junk.
73, Jim K9YC ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [email protected]
