When building our
KN-Q7A
Single Band SSB Transceiver Kit we realized after starting that we lacked the necessary power 2.1mm connector to supply 12v to the power jack. We ordered a few solderable 2.1mm connector ends from eBay.
From a design standpoint we decided to construct an Anderson Powerpole to 2.1mm connector pigtail. This was a natural choice since we previously converted our radios and cabling to Anderson Powerpoles. A 2.1mm connector to Anderson Powerpoles will give us maximum flexibility to move the radio from one power source to the next (e.g. battery,
car power, shack power supply, bench power supply, ....).
We also decided to add an ferrite (from the junkbox) to the pigtail to help minimize RF travelling over the power cable. This would potentially be useful when running the radio from a car or other noisy source.
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| Pigtail construction in progress with ferrite bead |
To protect the ferrite bead and assure the wire loop would stay nice and tight we added heat-shrink tubing around it. We also added a section of heat shrink tubing to the end next to the Anderson Powerpole connector as a strain relief and to dress the cable nicely.
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| Finished 2.11mm to Anderson Powerpole Pigtail with ferrite bead for RF supression |
After completing the wiring we ran a quick series of continuity tests with our multimeter to verify that the cable was fully functioning and without any shorts or other defects. For our project, we needed the 2.1mm center to be positive.
The final product came out really looking and functioning perfectly and cost very little. Having a completed cable enabled us to continue on building and testing our
KN-Q7A Single Band SSB Transceiver Kit - Step 2: Audio Amplifier.
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