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--- blog:2020-03-28:n8xjk_super_booster [2020/03/28 12:27] – [About The Unit] va7fi
+++ blog:2020-03-28:n8xjk_super_booster [2021/06/12 12:19] (current) – va7fi
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ====== N8XJK Super Booster ======
+{{  :blog:2020-03-28:battery-booster-bigzoom.png?200}}
 I recently purchased the [[http://www.westmountainradio.com/product_info.php?products_id=battery-boost |N8XJK Super Booster]].  Here are my initial impressions (I'll update this post later if anything changes).
 ===== Purchase Method =====
@@ Line 10: / Line 11: @@
 Thankfully, [[https://www.gpscentral.ca/amateur-radio-accessories.html |GPS Central]] in Alberta carries West Mountain Radio gear and sells it for pretty much the same price (after exchange rate):
-|              ^Booster     ^Shipping     ^Duty / Taxes ^Total |
+|                  ^Booster     ^Shipping     ^Duty / Taxes ^Total |
-|WMR (in **USD**)  |%%$%%249.95 |%%$%%102.93  |%%$%%13.00 |%%$%%365.88 |
+|WMR (in **USD**)  |%%$%%249.95    |%%$%%102.93       |%%$%%13.00 |%%$%%365.88 |
 |WMR (in **CAD**((The Exchange Rate was 1.42 when I bought it)))  |%%$%%354.93 |%%$%%147.58  |%%$%%18.46 |%%$%%520.97 |
-|GPS Central   |%%$%%360.00 |%%$%%20.00  |%%$%%45.60 |%%$%%425.60 |
+|GPS Central       |%%$%%360.00    |%%$%%20.00        |%%$%%45.60 |%%$%%425.60 |
 The Power Booster is currently not listed on GPS Central's website, but I sent them an email and they have it in stock so I was able to buy it over the phone, and I received it 3 days later.
@@ Line 25: / Line 26: @@
 The Power Booster is meant to boost the voltage of a battery that's as low as 10.5V to as high as 15V.
-The idea is that while transmitting at high power (say 50W or 100W), the voltage that the radio sees can easily drop below 11.7V because of the voltage drop.  This is totally fine for the battery, but many radios need at least 11.7V to function properly.  So without the booster, a battery that is still 50% full could be useless for transmitting at high power.  The Booster ensures that the radio sees a constant voltage above 13V even if the battery drops below 11.7V, which allows us to use more of the battery's store energy.
+The idea is that while transmitting at high power (say 50W or 100W), the voltage that the radio sees can easily drop below 11.7V because of the voltage drop.  This is totally fine for the battery, but many radios need at least 11.7V to function properly.  So without the booster, a battery that is still 50% full could be useless for transmitting at high power.  The Booster ensures that the radio sees a constant voltage above 13V even if the battery drops below 11.7V, which allows us to use more of the battery's stored energy.
 ===== My Setup and First Impressions =====
@@ Line 32: / Line 34: @@
 {{  :blog:2020-03-28:radio_diagram_20200328.png  }}
+<WRAP centeralign>VA7FI's setup.  The direction of the arrow indicates direction of power flow.</WRAP>
-Here are a few things I noticed:
+Here are a few observations so far:
-  * When connecting the Booster for the first time (with no load on it), I noticed that the input voltage of the distribution block dropped very quickly for a very brief moment, which was enough to reboot the Packet and Echolink computers as well as the modem.  I'm not sure if why that happens but I tried it a few times and it happened every time.  As such, I would suggest having everything turned off before connecting it.  Once connected, there was no other issues.
+  * When connecting the Booster for the first time (with no load on it), I noticed that the voltage of the battery side distribution block dropped very quickly for a very brief moment, which was enough to reboot the Packet and Echolink computers as well as the modem.  As such, I would suggest having everything turned off before connecting it.  Once connected, there was no other issues.  I reached out to West Mountain Radio and here's what they said:
-  * I initially set the output voltage to 14V, and using the batteries, everything worked as expected.  I then tried to turn on the power supply to charge the battery and the external speaker of my radio started picking up a hum.  I lowered the output voltage until the hum disappeared at 13.3V.  For some reason, the booster seems to be noisy when boosting the power supply voltage from 13.8V to 14.0V.  With a lower output voltage, the booster simply passes the power supply voltage without any changes and the hum goes away.
+<QUOTE>The voltage drop upon connecting the booster is likely due to the large capacitors in the booster.  As they charge there is a large current surge and depending on the power supply and wiring that can cause a voltage drop."
+</QUOTE>
+  * I initially had the output voltage of the Booster set to 14V, and using the batteries, everything worked as expected.  I then turned on the power supply to charge the batteries, and the external speaker of my radio started picking up a hum.  I raised the output voltage until the hum disappeared at 14.2V.  For some reason, the Booster seems to be noisy when boosting the power supply voltage from 13.8V to 14.0V (but not when boosting the voltage from the batteries from 12.5V to 14.0V).
+  * When transmitting at full power on HF and on VHF, the 14.2V output dropped to 14.1V while the input of 12.4 V dropped to 11.1V.
+So far, I'm pretty happy with the unit.