Paul Remde wrote:

Hi,

It is my belief that all the work required to make an "upconverter" will
lead to only minimal increases in your radios transmit power (10 to 20%?).
It doesn't seem worth it to me. I vote 12V.

Even a 30% power output increase would yield only about 15% range
increase, so if one is otherwise happy with the radio's performance, I
agree. It might let you operate the radio for a longer time off the same
12 volt battery, if the radio isn't working satisfactorily below, say,
11.8 volts or so. If so, a $45-$60 converter would be a lot cheaper than
a new radio, easier and cheaper than trying to squeeze in a 2 volt cell
and buying a 14 volt charger to go with it, or fumbling with a handheld
when the panel radio quits.

As Dave K. suggests, noise from the switcher is a potential concern, but
I believe an external unit like the ones mentioned shouldn't be a
problem. We already have one or more switchers without problems in our
gliders to run the Ipaqs and transponders, and transceivers are well
shielded.

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Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA