‰ NOW 35 WPM ‰ TEXT IS FROM NOVEMBER 2012 QST PAGE 62‰ THE FIRST TIME. BACK AT THE SHACK, I FOUND IT BEST TO ADJUST THE CARRIER RV1 TO 600 MW RF OUTPUT POWER AND THEN ADJUST THE MICROPHONE PREAMP GAIN RV2 FOR MAXIMUM GAIN WITH OUT DISTORTION. WITH THE INTERNAL 11R1 V DC BATTERY PACK, I MEASURE SLIGHTLY OVER 1R6 W PEP RF OUTPUT POWER. TESTS THE FOLLOWING DAY WITH W1AW STATION MANAGER JOE CARCIA, NJ1Q, CONFIRMED THAT MY HT 7 WAS NOW TRANSMITTING CLEAR AUDIO. LAB TESTING THE RECEIVER CURRENT CONSUMPTION IS COMPARABLE TO MODERN VHF/UHF HANDHELD TRANSCEIVERS. WITH THE OPTIONAL 4000 MA/H BATTERY PACK, I COULD PROBABLY OPERATE THIS TRANSCEIVER FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS BEFORE A RECHARGE WOULD BE NEEDED. SPURIOUS EMISSION SUPPRESSION IS SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER THAN SPECIFIED, AND THE HT 7 MET ITS SPECIFIED RF POWER OUTPUT OF 2 W PEP WITH 13R8 V DC APPLIED. THE RECEIVER SENSITIVITY DID NOT MEET THE SPECIFIED 1 UV. I CAN COMFORTABLY HEAR AN 8 UV SIGNAL, BUT CAN BARELY HEAR A 2 UV SIGNAL. NO AUDIO DISTORTION IS NOTICEABLE AS THE INPUT SIGNAL DECREASES TO THE POINT OF FADING OUT. REDUCED SENSITIVITY IS NOT ENTIRELY DETRIMENTAL, CONSIDERING THE LOW TRANSMITTER POWER. REALISTICALLY, THE HT 7 WILL BE HEARD BY STATIONS THAT ARE RECEIVED LOUDLY THROUGH THE SPEAKER. ON THE AIR TO MAKE MY FIRST DISTANT CONTACT EASIER, I ATTACHED THE HT 7 TO W1AWS 2 ELEMENT 40 METER YAGI ANTENNA, PERCHED ATOP ITS 120 FOOT TOWER. WITHOUT ‰ END OF 35 WPM TEXT ‰ QST DE W1AW ƒ