2 RECEIVERS, 2 ANTENNAS

AT LONG LAST, I got round to connecting a second antenna to my IC-7610. I invested in some UltraFlex-7 coax and some M&P Compression Plugs and got my ass into gear.

Needless to say, as soon as I stepped outside on this bright Saturday morning, it started to rain, so it was a quick dash back indoors to get waterproofs on and then back outdoors and up the ladders. My first job was to remove the coax from the EFHW and fit the UltraFlex to it. I then had to find a way of routing this new cable so that it went directly to the shack instead of using the switchbox at the side of the house.

I found a route across the roof and down the house wall and under the pavement flags. This was hard work and I'm surprised I didn't choose an easier method, being the lazy person I am LOL. Anyway, after it was done, I was very pleased and was glad I'd made the extra effort.

By the way, I must say that this UltraFlex should be called UltraKink because it was a pain in the ass to unravel the roll as it came from the shop! Took me ages to unravel it to a straight run and all the time it kept trying to form kinks which would have damaged it if I'd not been careful.

So once the coax was through the shack's outer wall, I fitted a PL plug and got around to the job of pulling all the radio-gear off the shelves so I could fit the plug in the back of the 7610. Antenna-1 would now be my EFHW and Antenna-2 would be my half-size G5RV.

With everything off the shelves, the shack was a MESS of tangled spaghetti and I don't mind admitting that it was very off-putting, so I stopped for the day and decided to do it on Sunday. And then at 5am on Sunday, I remembered that my son and granddaughter were coming for lunch so I got out of bed and went to finish off the shack.

It was a pain in the ass but eventually, everything was in its place and I powered up and started to test it was all working. It was working but the MFJ-993B ATU was bitching about high SWR's and not enough power to tune. Huh?

Damn!! I had forgotten to check the new cable and plugs before putting everything back on the shelves. What an idiot! I put the NanoVNA onto the new coax and did a full sweep of the EFHW. It was spot on, so that showed me there was no issue with the coax or plugs I'd just fitted. I checked the patch leads between the MFJ and the 7610 and they were okay too.

After a bit of time spent head-scratching, I looked at the interface-cable between the MFJ and 7610 and found that the wire on pin-3 of the Molex connector was detached - it had not been crimped properly and had simply fell out from the pin. MFJ quality control for you!

QUAD L2 CENTRE SPEAKER

With the interface lead repaired, everything worked a treat, so I put it all back in place and continued testing all the radio equipment and speakers. As part of the re-jig, I decided to put my Quad L2 speaker back in situ, connected to the FT-991A. The small stereo pair were attached to the 7610 as VFO-A and VFO-B. They all sounded fantastic and infinitely better than any OEM speakers.

So that's it. Everything's in its place and just as I want it. All the portable stuff is up on the top shelf, all with drop-in mains chargers.

It's good to have a neat and tidy shack. What a dream it must be to be able to walk around to the back of your radio equipment to inspect/change the leads/connections. Sadly, I have to cram all mine in the corner of a small room. Ah well, it's finished now - no more changes for a while 😀

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73, Tom, M7MCQ.