Barrett 550HF - What size fuse?

Hi Ken,

Don't mind your questions at all if the answers will help...we sourced the HF through WA's premier trading post the Quokka. We'd been watching it for quite a while before something came up and it was quite an educational experience in itself. As we discovered beware the HF novice as some of the units advertised would have been dead losses due to age, cost/difficulty of re-tuning, lack of available parts etc and some of the prices being asked for these units was outrageous.

Anyway, we ended up paying $800 for the Barrett 550 with remote head, selcall, user manual and a good tapped antenna with spring base. Unit and antenna were all tuned up with the desirable frequencies (VKS737, RFDS etc). We were able to see the unit operating so had peace of mind on that aspect. All indications are that this was at the very least a fair price, perhaps even a bargain. We recently met and chatted with Stewart Gillam of VKS737 Perth base and he reckoned it was a steal and also that the 550 is an excellent model, very reliable etc.

Ken, we are still HF novices but a little more experienced than when we started out. My advise is to ring VKS737 4WD Network (either head office or a state base) and have a chat with them about what your needs are in a secondhand HF. We found them very welcoming, informative and willing to share some of their vast experience. Also, I rang a couple of HF dealers in Perth and also found them happy to discuss the merits of various makes, models and prices (remember even though you may not ultimately purchase a HF through them, as a future HF owner you're a potential customer). As to sourcing a second hand HF, keep an eye out in your local trading post, the VKS737 market page and contact your local HF dealers as I discovered most of them sell secondhand HF's (subject to availability) and may even have a website with a trading page.

Lastly, figure out what frequencies you definitely want (in our case VKS737 and RFDS) and make a note of them. When you inquire about a unit ask the seller to tell you specifically if the unit is tuned to these. With many of the later models its not a big deal if not because they can usually be easily retuned but you will most likely have to pay someone to do it for you. Also is the antenna tuned to the unit/frequencies, particularly if it is a tapped antenna as a tuned HF without a correspondingly tapped antenna is useless. You would be surprised how many sellers we contacted made claims such as "tuned to all 4wd and emergency channels" when in fact this wasn't the case or was very loosely interpreted. Sorry if I'm telling you how to suck eggs...

:o) Melissa

goodday lucy
i also recently purchased a unit but got mine off ebay reasonably priced thru the auction as melissa said be careful as most of the early sets had crystals which are becoming hard to get and expensive to get installed vks737 s/h shop currently havea few and there are a couple on ebay also a couple that shouldnt be touched (although i havent looked in the last few days )

steve

No worries Ken. We had to make an overhead console for our GU to house radio's etc as there is just no room in the dash. As luck would have it we copied a commercially built console that happened to be fitted with a remote head Barrett HF and at the time we thought we'd reserve that spot in the console because you never know, maybe one day...

:o) Melissa

Thanks for the above

Ken

One of the things that Codan used to be "hot" on was using a decent fuse holder. They recommended a 32A "house type" HRC fuse. Not for the HRC capability, but for the solid, reliable contact with the actual fuse.
NEVER be tempted to use a plain old 3AG fuse (or even a blade fuse) and holder with HF, it will let you down when you need if most. HF radios draw ~20A on voice peaks and if you use selcall, this is a constant current draw! Do a few selcalls and a "hot" joint in you DC cable or fuse holder will heat up enough to be felt, possibly enough to melt and cause damage...
Bear in mind too, that the fuse is also there to protect the cable incase it get shorted to the vehicle. Always make sure the current rating of the fuse is less that what the cable is able to handle. No good sticking a 32A fuse on 1.5mm cable!!
I am quite paranoid with my HF power cabling. I'm in the process of running a 40mm cable to where my transceiver is mounted, not for it's current handling ability, but to lower any voltage drop on transmit. It's no good having 13.8V at the battery end of the cable if you only get 11V or less at the radio end! Also in the near future, this cable will be extended to the tray of my Hilux for a dual battery setup.

Thanks Michael,

The seller gave us a "house" type fuse holder (15-20A, 500V) with the unit and based on your answer it sounds like we should stick with this type of holder. I'll ring Barrett tomorrow though and have a chat to them about correct size fuse and cable. Thanks for your help.

:o) Melissa

yep sounds about right but dont bother looking in your auto parts shop for the fuse - it is a house fuse so get it from your electrical supply shop

Banjo/Davoe,

Thanks for your replies. The seller gave us one of these fuse holders with the unit. I've just had a look though and it is only rated at 20A but 500V. Think I'll ring Barrett tomorrow and get their advice re fuse and cabling ratings. Will buy a bigger fuse housing if necessary but will stick with this type of fuse. Thanks again.