Newbie Help on TS-120S

[KJ4RVB]

I recently acquired a used TS-120S, from another ham. He assures me the radio is in full function, and has no known issues. Therefore I am going to assume the problems that are occurring are due to the operator at this time.

My setup is:

Tripp Lite TR-50
Kenwood Power Cable with a Fuse inline on both positive and negative side.
The TS-120S with an Astatic UG8 desktop Mic.
RG-58 coax, a short 1' section
Micronta for Radio Shack 21-520A SWR Meter
RG-58 coax, a 50' section
A 102" Stainless steel whip, mounted on a luggage rack mount, about 4 inches off of the ground.

Receiving on 10 Meters, at 28.400.00 I could hear folks talking, albeit they were "in the noise". I could hear Kentucky and Michigan reports, so that was pretty exciting, especially since I am in south Florida.

The trouble started when I attempted to transmit. Attempting to follow the instructions on calibrating the SWR, I set the switch to CAL, keyed the mic and attempted to adjust the CAL knob, to move it to the SET position. The needle did not move. I said my call sign, and stopped. I checked my cables, everything appeared correct.

I switched to SWR and tried again, still nothing.

I removed the SWR switch, and I had a slightly easier time hearing the folks giving reports, but they were still pretty deep in the noise.

I attempted to transmit a CQ, and when I did, the lights dimmed on the radio and then stopped, whenever I was speaking. I immediately ceased transmitting and went back to listening, which still seems to work great.

I figure I have two problems:

1. Possibly a faulty SWR meter.
2. I think my antenna SWR is actually too high, and the Kenwood's transmission protection is kicking in.

Am I off base on this?

Things I plan to do next:

1. Add 4 8 foot radials, on the ground, or go ahead and move both the radials and the whip to the roof, as this is my final objective for my "permanent" 10 meter vertical antenna.

2. Add a copper grounding rod and strap it to the radio.

3. String up a simple dipole and try that.

Why I want a vertical: We have a local net that meets on Sunday evenings, and they use verticals. I was hoping I could simply string out the antenna and participate in it, rather than finishing the structural stuff I need to do for an actual shack.

Any help with my conundrum?

[m0bov]

Try a dummy load first!

[John_D]

Hi, adding radials will certainly improve the situation. I was going to add that a vertical absolutely needs a "ground plane" to work. Either radials or the actual ground itself. Yours at the moment has neither. I would also earth the radio as you suggest.
Tune up using the CW or RTTY or AM. You cannot really tune up on SSB as the carrier is not modulated. Tune up using no more than 5 - 10 watts and then do it in bursts, not a continuous transmit.
Also calibrate the SWR bridge first, there should be a switch on it to do that.
Good luck and come back with any more questions. We'll try to help.
Jon G4FUT

[5B4AJB]

I wonder what PSU you have. A 100W H.F. set usually takes 20A+

[KJ4RVB]

The PSU is a Tripp-Lite PR-50 50 Amp DC Supply. I mistakenly typed TR-50 above.

The ground rod is currently about 6 feet down, and being pounded further by a teenager. He may not appreciate it now, but someday, he will... ;-)

I'm going to go ahead and mount the antenna and the radials that I purchased (#12 Solid Copper Wire, jacketed, cut to 8' lengths) up on the peak of my roof, with each of the radials running down along the shingles. Another forum suggested that because the antenna was at the height of the equipment I was getting RF back into the radio and PS when I attempted to speak on SSB. I will apparently have to get the antenna higher to do any real testing.

Thanks for the suggestion to switch to CW or AM mode for the SWR test. That, along with the height of the antenna, appears to be my real hang ups.