Icom: IC7100 tuning jumps around

rjvalenta

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Aug 19, 2014
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109
just in the last 2 weeks (and i've been changing some antennas around). i've had something very odd happen...

my main antenna is a myantennas 4010EFHW - it is awesome, short 3 contacts on 12m, i've managed WAS on 40 through 10, and everything but AK and HI on 80 and 60 - AND half the states on 160m. everything i do is FT8.

my rig is an IC7100 with an MFJ939 tuner... and i recently threw up some dipoles to try some things, and maybe get those last 3 on 12m.... one is on my roof, a 20m/6m fan dipole, held up poorly on a PVC mast, the other is a 12m dipole on a fence top rail set vertically.

all the antennas come in via RG8x and in to an Optek 3 way pl259 switch i got for $30 on amazon... then it's a diamond grounding block, then goes through an MFJ915 and in to my IC7100.

here's what's odd - since adding the switch and the antennas, the EFHW won't tune 80 and 30. still tunes everything else, including 160m

what happens is this: i go to WSJT-X, change to the band i want to use, i click tune, it starts to tone, the xmit power goes up... then suddenly the ALC will jump up, and the radio cuts back power and tries again... power goes up, ALC suddenly jumps up, then the radio cuts back power and tries again. rinse, and repeat.

i have restarted the tuner, have have restarted and held down the needed buttons to 'reset' it (but does not wipe the memory).

anyone have ideas on what could cause this odd behaviour on 80m and 30m?

thanks,

Richard
N0TZC
 

rjvalenta

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Aug 19, 2014
Messages
109
ps - when i try to transmit the same happens, up and down, power up and down, ALC up and down, but when i monitor whats coming out of WSJT-X it seems steady.
 
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