V360CL 5A NEC TRPA

[VK3ZAZ]

running NEC 5A PAS at 400 watts
They are rated at 300 watts.
Peak Sync or Mean FM.
PRE-AMP if not bypassed is 15-20db
MID AMP 20db with RF limiter from 0.5 to 10db over drive.
Parallel pas 11-13db each
B++
28.000 VDC
0.5 minus 0.
30AMPS STIFF
If it sags it will be non linear.
BIASING zero to 0.72V
OPTIMUM Class AB1 650mV
TR101/102 2.5 AMPS to 2.7 AMPS terminal J4
TR201/202 203 204 0.8 to 1.5 AMPS terminal J5 and J6
MAX IDLE of all 3 AMPS per stage
Overall gain 28db.
SET THE BIAS
MAX O/P 300 W RMS/Peak SYNC before the rf limiter clips the waveform.
the v360CLs have a clipper..

Send me photos...and details of your settings.

I have an electronic scanned copy of the hand-book FYI..

I am also trying to track down any LOW BAND versions with the 46-52 MHZ CIRCULATORS
Prob SE QLD.
COL VK5DK picked one up so they do exist.
I can also get my hands on any number of VHF HI-BAND 2 PAs of this type for spares
Later this month

The VHF HI and LOW Band boards are similar it would be possible to swap circulators over between a dead PA and a live one.



CHECK YOUR SPLATTER I have heard it...

[VK5PJ]

For those who have one of these sitting on a shelf un-used, I would recommend you have another look at this beast or if you need a new PA for 144MHz, its time to ask around for one.

The steps to getting one going are not complicated, I took the high level drive option (as pioneered by Col, vk5dk) and replaced the BNC input connector with an N socket and a coax tail to put the drive power in after the driver stage. About 25W of drive gives me 300 out into my dummy load and the input VSWR did not register on my test meter when setting up on the bench so my solid state rig was happy to drive the NEC amp.

I pulled the power and bias off the driver stages to avoid any un-necessary smoke from these unused sections (4 solder joints)

As I did not have a NEC power / accessories connector, I opted to drill two holes in the back of the case and bring in two DC leads. One would probably have been enough in hindsight but its done now.

Powering it up for the first time was a dream come true, 5W in from my FT-817 immediately gave me over 50W without fuss. When using it on SSB I have not had any cause to run fans on this PA. Digital modes do take there toll and then some sort of fan is recommended for prolonged sessions on Meteor Scatter (FSK441).

Have you converted one of the NEC amplifiers? would love to hear from you.

Regards,
Peter, vk5pj

[VK5PJ]

Hi,
if your looking for resources on the NEC V360 amplifier, I have published a web page of my journey so far including pictures of the modules and some ideas on how to make steam (not smoke). Some PDF documents from the NEC manual (thanks to an anonymous benefactor) are also there

http://www.users.on.net/~pedroj/v360/index.html

Would also like to acknowledge the group of enthusiasts in the South East of S.A for their help, especially Col, vk5dk for his experiences with his own V360.

Any feedback or suggestions gladly accepted

[VK5PJ]

Thought it was time to update the status on my NEC amp for 144MHz,

it has been running faultlessly for more than two years now and gets regular use and abuse on digital and voice. These amps seem to be bomb proof and are very clean, more than I can say for some of the bricks I have owned.

If you have one of these amplifier module on a shelf some where and are not using it then please contact me or advertise it for sale as it needs to be in use and not gathering dust.

Regards,

[VK4CRO]

hi Peter , I agree they are a great brick on 144 , and 70cm as well , more needed to put on air.
73,s Cro

[VK5PJ]

Hi Ron,

and 70cm as well 73,s Cro

have not seen a 70cm version of these or are you refering to the modules that have been cut out of the bigger SBS UHF transmitters?

[VK4REX]

Hi Peter

You stated on your web page "Digital modes can be run at 200W out " maybe into a dummy load but not legally on air. We are limited by the LCD to 120 watts on all digital modes.

See the attached document produced by the WIA and vetted by ACMA, it states the regulation quite clearly. Quite a few are surprised by this and do not realize the implications.

Amateur Station Permitted Maximum RF Power Levels for Emission Modes.pdf

(18.23 KiB) Downloaded 422 times

Rex

[VK4MIL]

3.5 to 30Mhz ? what are permitted power levels above 30Mhz

[VK3ALB]

3.5 to 30Mhz ? what are permitted power levels above 30Mhz

The last column related to the high power trial which was for HF only. The trial is over.

[VK5PJ]

Hello Rex,

Hi Peter
You stated on your web page "Digital modes can be run at 200W out " maybe into a dummy load but not legally on air. We are limited by the LCD to 120 watts on all digital modes.
See the attached document produced by the WIA and vetted by ACMA, it states the regulation quite clearly. Quite a few are surprised by this and do not realize the implications.
Rex

not wishing to sound too smug but I have a high power permit for EME on 50/144/432/1296
http://web.acma.gov.au/pls/radcom/licen ... =1906620/1

I too have been suprised by the number of well respected hams that say they can run 400W of digital as thats what their license says, they seem to get confused as to what Py and Px really means and how it is applied as they argue its a SSB tranmitter so it should be SSB power levels LOL.

Peter.

[VK4REX]

Hi Peter

I see a couple of the comments asking what the power level is above 30Mhz, which confirms what you said. I wasn't specifically referring to your setup but trying to refer to the general lack of knowledge in the ham community.

Above 30Mhz the LCD states that for digital you can run 120 watts for an advanced license, 30 watts for a standard license and digital is not allowed for a foundation license.

If you have a high power permit (as you do and would be aware) it is only applicable to EME and not to terrestrial work as stated in the license conditions: (Again a lot are not aware of this stipulation)

Amateur stations cannot generally be authorized to operate outside of the provisions of an LCD.
However, upon approval of an application by a licensee, special conditions may be added by the ACMA to an amateur license authorizing the use of higher powers for Earth-Moon-Earth communications other than that contained in the LCD .

http://www.acma.gov.au/Industry/Spectru ... tion-paper

The lack of knowledge is part of the reason we failed in the high power license in the eyes of the authorities and continued flouting of the regulations may well cause us further grief in future determinations)

Rex

[VK2ZRH]

Just to clarify the application of a high power permit, it's not just for moonbounce (EME), but also for meteor scatter. The moon and meteors are generally described in the "high power" condition attached to the licence as "celestial bodies".

Peter VK5PJ's high power condition attached to his licence says (including the typographical error):

'A transmitter output power of 1000 watts is permitted on a no-interference/no-protection basis for for the purpose of reflecting signals from a celestial body on frequencies 50MHz 144MHz 432MHz and 1296MHz.

QED.

I was aware there are (or, perhaps were) extant high power permits attached to a few licences for other reasons, eg. ionospheric scatter.

[VK5PJ]

Hello Roger,
this is where it gets complicated, the ACMA person who called me on the phone during the approval process was very definite about this permit being for EME, when I even hinted it would be nice to use on M.S he went all wobbly on the subject and left me with the impression that EME was the only option that would be approved.

Just to clarify the application of a high power permit, it's not just for moonbounce (EME), but also for meteor scatter. The moon and meteors are generally described in the "high power" condition attached to the licence as "celestial bodies".

I am not going to play bush lawyer on this one as many of the definitions found via google searches list a celistal body as anything that can be seen in the sky at night, but that would mean a 747 with its navigation lights on is a celeistial body... the water becomes too muddy for me so I will stay with EME until a written ruling on anything different can be seen.
Regards,
Peter.

P.S maybe this should be its own thread or will it die soon.

[VK3DXE]

Back on topic.....

Rather timely thread. I've finally got around to pulling my V360 out with the intention of having it running in the next few months, spare time allowing.

Peter, I'd be interested in pics/explanation of where and how you set things up for 25w input. Looking at things, it seems pretty straightforward, but why re-invent the wheel?

[VK2ZIW]

What do I do with the V600DH ?
It's full of circulators, one between every stage!!
175MHz or there abouts.
Also 4x 100W 28V pager (148.025MHz) PAs?

[VK5PJ]

Hi Alan,
if you scroll up a few replies in the forum you will see a web link from me, it shows a link to a personal web page that I maintain to document these sort of projects.

Back on topic.....
Rather timely thread. I've finally got around to pulling my V360 out with the intention of having it running in the next few months, spare time allowing.
Peter, I'd be interested in pics/explanation of where and how you set things up for 25w input. Looking at things, it seems pretty straightforward, but why re-invent the wheel?

Now I initially attributed the drive point I selected (input to the final stage splitter) to Col vk5dk but it turns out he went in one stage earlier to where I placed my drive. There is a chain of discrete amplifiers before the main P.A splitter than amplify up from a 0dBm input. As I had a IC-275H as a driver (100W) I opted for the highest drive level input to avoid those "oop's moments" we all have at times.

hope some of that helps, these modules are just fabulous for a VHF ham, I can not speak too highly of them.

Regards,

[ZL2WHO]

[quote][/quote VK3ZAZ ]I am also trying to track down any LOW BAND versions with the 46-52 MHZ CIRCULATORS.
I have a good handful of 54-68Mhz circulators here. Should only need a slight tune for 6m. Happy to send across the pond if required.

73
Mark