Well Dee, I should have listened to you :)
Got my IC-910H back from Icom (Washington state). It took me over $50 to find out it was my old power cord to the radio! Heh.
So today when I got the radio back, I tried the old cord, still reduced output (70W 2M, about 40W 70cm). Hooked up the factory power cable (much shorter, heavier gauage), and it now meets spec: it puts out the full 100W (and a bit more!) on 2M and over 70W on 70cm.
The sheet with the radio said they had "touched up allignment [sic]" and verified it met overall specs. It included a reminder to verify power supply was in spec during transmit (which it was, as voltage didn't sag a bit), and mentioned the SWR foldback if SWR is excessive (which my match was fine). The power cable simply wasn't flowing sufficient current.
Four hours labor, no charge, since the radio was under warranty. Only cost was my shipping/insurance to them.
Rather than pretend that it didn't happen, I'll try to save somebody else the same problem and fess up ;)
Live and learn...even from other people's mistakes! Thanks for the sage advice, Dee! Next time I'll try to listen :)
73,
Mark N8MH _________________
Re: IC 910H query
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Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: IC 910H query From: DOMINICK INTERDONATO morsesat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Date: Fri, 08 Jan 2010 10:09:18 -0500 (EST)
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I agree with all you have suggested, Mark. I too had questions about power output on the 910. I discovered that the power to the radio was the culprit. Before you send it away, check and make sure you have #10 cables to the radio and your power supply delivers the correct voltage and current. Mine does and it meets Specs on VHF and UHF on "both" my 910's. One I have the 1.2ghz Module in. One I use for demos at field day and hamfests etc. Good luck. 73, NB2F
Dee
On Fri, Jan 8, 2010 at 9:18 AM, Mark L. Hammond wrote:
Hi Louis,
Congratulations on your new IC-910H! I was the very lucky winner of a new IC-910H at the AMSAT Symosium, so I have a bit of time on the radio now.
I haven't used RigTalk, so I can't comment on that.
Regarding the CIV USB cable--my experience is that you do NOT need to check the RTS + 12V option. I bought a cheap USB CIV level converter on eBay, and it works perfectly without this option checked. My homebrew interface, on the other hand, uses the serial port and requires me to check that option, or else it doesn't receive power via the serial line and won't work.
You will need to know which serial port number the USB converter is using/emulating; there is a setting in SatPC32 where you must tell it the comport number where the level converter (USB CIV cable) is installed. You can use the Windows Hardware Tab/Device Manager to figure that out.
Your addresses are correct for "default", they should work OK. Be sure to also set the BAUD rate in both SatPC32 and the radio to match. I think 9600 baud is the highest the radio will do. Be sure to read the "Hints" sections in the SatPC32 program to figure out an appropriate delay setting, too.
Lots of folks using this setup, so you should be able to get lots of help as you get it going! SatPC32 is a fantastic program for working satellites.
Personal question/note. I am interested in the output power of your IC-910H. Mine is rather low on both VHF (75W) and UHF (45W). So, I just sent it back to Icom in hopes they can make it meet "advertised and published specs" in that regard. Shipping and insurance on that radio was over $50! I won't complain since I won the radio :)
73,
Mark N8MH
On Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 4:24 PM, Louis House [email protected] wrote:
I plan to commission my new IC 910 H on Saturday this week. I plan to drive the radio with the "RigTalk" and CIV cable from a USB port. Has anyone experienced any negative function from this data control system type?? In setting up the SatPC32 software, the addresses that appeared by default are "$60" (in all four boxes in the "Radio Set Screen"). Does this $60 setting work OK?? The read me file is not very clear concerning the selection for "RTS + 12V", does the IC 910 H need this setting selected to work correctly??   Any other known problems would also be most helpful. Thanks for listening. Louis, KD5GM CW ;-) The Original Digital
Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]