Re: [amsat-bb] Coaxial Relay

["John P. Toscano" <tosca005@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Michael Kingery wrote:

 > Looking for information on Coaxial Relays.  What type to use for
 > UHF/VHF switching and where they can be purchased.

One good source of reasonably-priced relays for the purpose is an
outfit called Surplus Sales of Nebraska.  If you surf to:
     http://www.surplussales.com/Relays/rfcoaxialrelays/
you will see a directory page that lists web pages segregated by the
type of connector on the relay.  To go directly to a particular page,
you can use one of the following URL's:

   http://www.surplussales.com/Relays/rfcoaxialrelays/rfcoax_uhf.html
     for relays using the UHF connector (SO-239 that mates to a PL-259)

   http://www.surplussales.com/Relays/rfcoaxialrelays/rfcoax_n.html
     for relays using the N connector

   http://www.surplussales.com/Relays/rfcoaxialrelays/rfcoax_sma.html
     for relays using the SMA connector

   http://www.surplussales.com/Relays/rfcoaxialrelays/rfcoax_bnc.html
     for relays using the BNC connector

(And yes, they do have OTHER types of connectors also!)

I have used a number of their model KC-128AX25 for frequencies up
through and including the 70cm band, at $65 each or $59 each if
bought in quantities of 3 or more.  They are rated at 200 watts
up to 1 GHz, or 500 watts to 30 MHz.  One minor downside is that
this model runs on 6 vAC, which is fine for home use but would be
a bit of a problem in a rover or mobile application.  By the way,
I never "hot switch" them, i.e. switch relay position while the
transmitter is active.  In such an application, the power handling
capacity is probably much higher.

As usual, the standard disclaimers apply -- I am not an employee or
agent of the company, simply a satisfied customer, etc.

Another possible source is Down East Microwave.  They can be found on
the web at http://www.downeastmicrowave.com (not too surprising, eh?)
and they will be happy to sell you relays even if you are not a
purchaser of one of their transverters.  They have a relay that is
reasonably priced, rated up to 3 GHz, switches on 12 vDC, etc.  These
are what I bought for remote switching of a cavity preamp on my
1296 MHz transverter.

Standard disclaimer also applies for Down East Microwave.

Hope that helps.
John Toscano, KBØZEV

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