KX3 Low Cost Power Supply

[Ed Ketterer]

All,

I was skeptical that a simple Radio Shack power brick would serve as an
acceptable power supply for my KX3, given that many products like this
produce RFI and/or have enough ripple in their output to render them
unusable for amateur radio purposes. Based on a recent posting, I purchased
a Radio Shack "Enercell" AC to DC power adapter, catalog number 273-318 and
gave it a try. It works fine. I can get 10 watts of clean output (listened
to my CW tone in a separate receiver) and RFI is not a problem. The unit
does produce some hash that can be heard on 80m, but it's not very strong
and isn't a problem if you are using a coax-fed antenna. I'm not sure how it
would work if you were using a long wire connected directly to the rig that
runs in close proximity to the power supply. But, for my use, this is going
to do the job nicely. Very light weight, and great for portable operation.

Ed, K8SZN


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[ve3rrd]

Another good very compact power supply is the MFJ-1317. This is a size similar to a laptop power supply but provides regulated 13.8 VDC at 2.89A output. I believe it was made for the FT-817 transceiver but I have been using it with my KX3 with good results (haven't noticed any switching noise). The plug that comes with the MFJ-1317 fits the KX3 (a short adapter cable with a smaller plug was included to fit the FT-817).

73
AL - VE3RRD