Care and Feeding an Icom PW1
W6DE
Page 5
Copyright 2017, All rights reserved.
If you are trying to use a multiband antenna anyway, allow the tuner to find a match at low power and
then slowly increase the exciter’s power and watch the PW1 SWR meter. If the SWR starts creeping up
or the tuner starts to initiate another tune—tuner light blinks—immediately roll the power back and
start the process all over again. It may be that you can find a match at a lower PW1 power level that still
works without a tuner run-away.
Four: PW1s do not always survive an Electric Company/Utility power failure and subsequent power
restoration. Sometimes upon power restoration the power surge overwhelms the power supply’s
power input protection circuitry.
The “Power” button on the PW1 is a misnomer. The PW1 is on whenever the mains power is
connected. The “Power” button more or less acts like a standby/operate button.
Because the PW1 is always powered, folks living in areas of lightning activity with the accompanying
power spikes and failures, it is wise to unplug the power cord—if you have a weather forecast predicting
a Storm with Lightning and Thunder, disconnect your PW1 from the power mains until the storm is over.
One way to increase the survivability of a PW1 through a power fail and restoration is to remove the
capability of the amplifier to operate on 120 Volts. This will make the PW1 always require a 240 Volt
power connection. Removing the 120 Volt capabilities allows the amp to survive higher voltage surges.
See this nice write up from AK2F:
http://www.ab4oj.com/icom/pw1/psu_repair.html
information.
