Yaesu: Yaesu 3100 questions

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KE0CHB

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Hi, I just got a yaesu 3100 and don't see much online help. The menu mentions channel lockout but that's a menu option that doesn't make any perceivable difference when I turn it on. How do I avidly lock out a channel?

I tried contact with several local repeaters and got silence. I had the the set. Is that tx ten or rx tone or both that you set?

Thanks!
 

KE0CHB

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Ok, no bites but a lot of views. Let me cross post a message I put on a different forum.

Greetings! I'm a new ham (licensed for a year, but just got a radio to try to get on the air). I just got a Yaesu 3100 mobile 2m radio. Hooked it up to a power supply at the table, slapped a 1/4 wave antenna on a mag mount on a cookie sheet, programmed a repeater, and silence... lol I didn't hear anyone, no one replied to my call, so not sure if I'm hitting the repeater or not.

Had some questions and since I can't find any good info on this new model, thought others might find this thread helpful. Yes, I've searched, but if you have better google-fu skills, please point me at a thread that already covers these.

1.) How do you set just the xmit or receive tone? I only see one setting, so can you only set them both or none?

2.) How do you skip over a channel with lots of static pushing through the squelch? I went to that channel and turned on the busy channel lock out but it didn't work. I obviously don't know how to use it, and there's no info I can find in the manual. All it says is "this is how you toggle it off or on" that made no difference.

3.) The manual says I need a power supply with 20A continuous, but I calculated 65w at 13.8v (or 14.1, which is what my PS is putting into the radio) is only 4.6A. Why in the world would they ask for such a beefy PS? Mine is only rated at 9 or 10A continuous.

Is there a better reference for these radios? The manual seems a little sparse.

thanks!!

Brian (KE0CHB)
 

KE0CHB

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I'm going to answer my own questions for future reference.

1.) "Tone" just sends a tone to open the repeater. "Tone Sql" sends the tone to open the repeater, and also looks for the tone on the receive to open the squelch.

2.) I misunderstood the purpose of Busy Channel Lockout. It's to prevent you from xmitting on freqs in use, not to skip channels with big signal trash. I need to look into the "skip" functions in the scan part of the manual if it addresses it.
 

K7MEM

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Ok, no bites but a lot of views. Let me cross post a message I put on a different forum.

The number of views means nothing. All forums are visited buy search bots on a regular basis. Everything you post will wind up on a google search minutes after you post.

Glad you figured it out yourself. The FTM-3100 looks like a nice rig. It has a lot of nice features. I just use an old Icom IC-255A, a external tone box (TE-32), and a 3 element Yagi on a rotator. I bought the Yagi 50 years ago, when 2 Meters was mostly AM.

Martin, K7MEM
 

SteveSimpkin

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Transceiver DC input power vs RF output power

3.) The manual says I need a power supply with 20A continuous, but I calculated 65w at 13.8v (or 14.1, which is what my PS is putting into the radio) is only 4.6A. Why in the world would they ask for such a beefy PS? Mine is only rated at 9 or 10A continuous.

Your power calculation assumes the transmitter is 100% efficient. In reality most transceivers require 2.5 to 3 times input DC input power vs output RF power. That is why 100W transceivers typically require around 300W of input power (22A @ 13.8V) when transmitting at 100W of output power.
 

k6cpo

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Answering your question number 3:

You're confusing RF output in watts for power consumed by the radio, also measured in watts.

According to the Specifications page in the manual (the best source for current draw in the absence of a meter), the radio draws the following currents at the different RF output settings:

15A at 65W
10A at 30W
5A at 5W

Using the formula P=I x E (Power = current x voltage), the following are the power consumption figures for the radio:

Transmitting at 65W RF the radio consumes 207 watts of power, at 30W RF, 138 watts consumed and 69 watts of power used at the lowest setting, 5W RF output. (Calculations based on a nominal voltage of 13.8.)

You should be using a power supply that furnishes you with something higher than the 15A the radio draws at the highest transmit setting. Of all the radios I have, my HF rig draws the most power on transmit (12A) but I use a power supply capable of furnishing 32A. You never know when you might want to add radios.
 
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KE0CHB

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Thanks guys - I totally missed that power radiated is not equal to power consumed. I'm underpowered (bought a 10A cont, 12A peak PS). Gotta sell it and find a new one...
 
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