The AM Forum

Wayne, WA1SSJ brought his new modulator - power supply down to my place to check out and fire up for the first time !

I was really impressed by the incredible construction job and attention to detail.  Almost "military like" in the number of screws, labeled wires, tiered levels, etc.  And, it worked and sounded every bit as good as it looked.

This power supply / modulator is designed to work with transmitters up to 500 watts carrier, and will modulate the carrier up to 200% positive !  The underlying topology is class H (analog).

Notice the stamped front panel with inlaid lettering.  Nice job !

Here's the front panel:
(http://www.classeradio.com/ssj_class_h_front.jpg)

Here's the inside:
(http://www.classeradio.com/ssj_class_h_inside.jpg)

Here is a closeup of one of the PC boards:
(http://www.classeradio.com/ssj_class_h_boards.jpg)

Here's a closeup of one of the meters:
(http://www.classeradio.com/ssj_class_h_meter.jpg)

pictures man!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow! Commercial/mil grade construction. Very nice. Can't wait to hear it on the air.

Very nice Job! The color matches my final.

Oh, the toroidal power transformer, rectifiers, filter capacitors and relays are beneath the top deck, so they can't be seen in the pictures.

needs black james bond crackle paint.

Those of us at Wayne's party two weekends ago got to see this, up close and personal. VERY nice construction and layout, right down the the stamped front panel!

Yup Wayne.....it sure is purdy......it looks as nice as it sounded yesterday. I hope the recording I sent you and Steve of its maiden voyage sounded ok.

(Why am I directing this to Wayne.........he dont have no puter!!!!)

Its the thought that counts.......  ::)

yes that makes Wayne the only one that has built a class e rig without internet support!! Hmmm.....................

This brings up an interesting question - that of "support" for building transmitters, and how great the amateur, and in particular, the AM community is, in giving its members support.  In my 35 + years of involvement, I have never seen anyone who did not have support of some sort, some more, some less, in building a transmitter - particularly a FIRST transmitter.  I will include myself in this category - even with all of the stuff I have designed and built from scratch - in the begining, I asked NUMEROUS people questions, and read many, many books.

Support comes in many forms - education through building kits, reading documentation about how to build things (like the old Handbooks), talking to other people and/or asking questions, taking apart existing transmitters and/or modifying them to gain experience, high school electronics class, radio clubs, radio get-togethers, elmers, etc., etc., etc.

I have personally helped hundreds of people with various transmitters and/or related projects over the years   8)

This support that we offer is really a very nice aspect of the AM community.  I see it all the time, and it's really great !!!  ;)

Regards,

Steve

Are those boards pre-assembled or do you need to put all those little things on there? Great job but I wasn't surprised having seen other projects that Wayne has done.

Hi Terry,

Those boards are kits that include the boards and the parts that go into the boards.   I'm *just* starting to send them out (there are a number of folks patiently waiting), now that they've been used by others besides myself, and are proven to be buildable, and to work properly :-)  Both Class H and PWM board kits are available.  Check out http://www.classeradio.com/parts.htm (http://www.classeradio.com/parts.htm) for more info !

Regards,

Steve

I am a defence tech and I think that that gear has a long way to go before it would be "battle ship class" have you ever tried to lift a  WSC-3, it's a tranceiver, do a search on it.

Obviously you have never experienced QIX-class construction ;D

Mike WU2D

Beautiful work Wayne.. I'm jealous! I doubt mine will turn out that nice. :(  But I'll do my very best to make it look nice.

I especially love the engraved lettering. I've been planing on looking into that myself I've already spent too much as it is on this thing, but I guess that's one thing I can always add later once I do get it up running and battle tested.

There is a lot to like in that picture.     Very nice work.   Where did that wonderful heat sink come from?

Jon

AMroo what do you have for homebrew pictures.....

Yeah, AMroo let's see some of your work.. It might be a good idea to put some ass behind the mouth before you go slamming someone else's efforts!

AMroo said:

I'll have to cut you a break here and say yes I did. You are absolutely correct that they are built like a battleship because, they were installed in battleships, cruisers, and aircraft carriers. I helped many an ET with those and fabricated circuit boards for their antenna couplers.

Desingning mil quality equipment at home requires a guy to be well versed in thermal, mechanical and electrical design. Not many people can wear all those hats at once.   

True Frank,

Designing Mil Quality equipment at home is harder because you are not supported by tax dollars - allowed cost plus - failure - test report - program re-assignment - failure again - another test report - a program extension - failure again etc.. until after 50 years you finally declare success decide that the product was an anti missile missle after all!

P.S it still don't work..but it looks good!

Mike WU2D

Yea Mike and once you build it you learn to love it.
Building a house you know where every mistake is hidden but after a while it lets you sleep at night.