[aprssig] Quieting Honda Generator (was) Portable Ops from 12v via 115 VAC

[J. Gary Bender, WS5N]

I have the 1KW Honda generator in use on my camper.  I love it in that it starts 
easily, has a handy 12 VDC charging output, and runs all night on the load of 
the furnace even on very cold nights.  However, it also wipes out reception on 
my 3-22 MHz SW receiver, and does a number on AM broadcast as well.  It covers 
the bands with birdies.  FM seems to be ok.  

I have not tried it yet with an HF rig, but my guess is that the generator will 
only be useful for recharging batteries between operating periods.  Has anyone 
had any experience using these generators with HF gear?  Have you found ways to 
suppress RFI?  Are you limited to VHF and above while it is running?  I guess 
something easy to try would be a 100' extension cord and seeing how it behaves 
with physical separation from the radios.
--
J. Gary Bender, WS5N
Tijeras, New Mexico USA


On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 10:04:05 -0500, Richard Amirault wrote:
> I'm not "into" cars as much as most guys so I'll assume that you are
> correct .. but I have run some equipment from my car via an inverter,
> thru a 100ft extension cord (it was a sound system)  I did not run the
> car at idle, but drew directly off the battery and every 45 min to 1
> hour I would start the car and re-charge the battery.
> 
> I have a Honda EU 2000 generator and I love it. BUT I don't always carry
> it around with me in the car ;-)   I *do* carry a couple of inverters
> and an extension cord or two.  As a matter of fact I'm running some
> Christmas lights on the outside of my car this week powered by an
> inverter.
> 
> It's nice to have options.
> 
> 
> Richard Amirault              N1JDU
> Boston, MA, USA          Go Fly A Kite