‰  NOW 40 WPM  ‰  
THERE IS SEEMINGLY INSTANTANEOUS, SEAMLESS SWITCHING FROM THE POWER SUPPLY
TO THE BATTERIES AND BACK.  I WAS ALSO ABLE TO USE THE EPIC PWRGATE WITH
BATTERIES AND SOLAR PANELS AS MY SOLE HAM STATION POWER SOURCE, WITHOUT
USING THE AC POWER SUPPLY.  INSTALLATION DETAILS  I MOUNTED THE EPIC
PWRGATE USING CABLE TIES ON A LOW SHELF NEAR THE FLOOR, WHERE MY BATTERIES
AND POWER SUPPLY ARE LOCATED AND SOLAR PANEL CABLES COME IN TO THE STATION.
I TRY TO KEEP ALL WIRES AS SHORT AS POSS

USES A BNC CONNECTOR, AND 12 V DC POWER CONNECTS THROUGH WHAT HAS BECOME A
STANDARD FOR SMALL TRANSCEIVERS A 2R1 MILLIMETER COAXIAL CONNECTOR.  THE
3R5 MILLIMETER KEY JACK ACCEPTS BOTH STRAIGHT KEY AND PADDLES.  KEYER
PADDLES USE A STEREO PLUG.  IF YOU WANT TO USE A STRAIGHT KEY OR EXTERNAL
KEYER, WIRE IT WITH A MONO PHONE PLUG WHICH GROUNDS THE RING CONNECTION,
AND THE KEYER WILL SENSE THAT YOU ARE USING A STRAIGHT KEY RATHER THAN
PADDLES.  THE PHONES JACK PUTS OUT ENOUGH AUDIO FOR A GOOD PAIR OF
HEADPHONES.  HOWEVER, AS IS COMMON WITH MANY SMALL RADIOS, THERE IS NOT
ENOUGH AUDIO TO DRIVE A SPEAKER.  EVEN THE AUDIO FOR HEADPHONES COULD BE
INCREASED FOR MORE COMFORTABLE LISTENING.  YOU MIGHT CONSIDER ADDING AN
OUTBOARD SPEAKER AMPLIFIER.  OPERATION  ARRL LAB TEST RESULTS ARE SHOWN IN
TABLE 2.  THE TRANSMITTER EASILY MEETS FCC SPECTRAL PURITY REQUIREMENTS.
THE KEYING WAVEFORM AND SIDEBANDS ARE GOOD SEE FIGURES 4 AND 5, PRODUCING A
CLEAN SIGNAL.  WITH THE DEFAULT TUNING STEP OF 100 HZ, EACH ROTATION OF THE
TUNE CONTROL MOVES THE FREQUENCY APPROXIMATELY 3 KHZ.  TO ANSWER A STATION
AND HEAR A CLEAN NOTE TAKES A LITTLE PRACTICE AND TWO HANDS ONE FOR TUNING,
AND ONE TO ADJUST VOLUME TO GET A GOOD NOTE AT A REASONABLE LEVEL AS YOU
TUNE ACROSS SIGNALS.  ONCE YOU HAVE TUNED IN A STATION, THE FREQUENCY IS
ROCK SOLID.  IF THE OTHER STATION DRIFTS A BIT OR YOU WANT TO CHANGE THE

RECEIVE TONE DURING A CONTACT, PRESS THE TUNE CONTROL FOR AT LEAST A HALF
SECOND TO ENGAGE THE RIT.  A TWO NOTE RESPONSE INDICATES THAT YOU CAN NOW
SHIFT THE RECEIVE FREQUENCY WITHOUT CHANGING YOUR TRANSMIT FREQUENCY.
SUMMARY  AS MANY QRP ENTHUSIASTS WILL TELL YOU, 5 IS ENOUGH TO WORK THE
WORLD ON 20 METER CW.  THE HILLTOPPER 20 GOES TOGETHER EASILY, AND AS ITS
NAME IMPLIES, ITS A GOOD CHOICE FOR OPERATING IN THE FIELD OR AT HOME.  A
40 METER VERSION IS IN THE WORKS AS WELL.  WEST MOUNTAIN RADIO EPIC PWRGATE
DC POWER MANAGER/CHARGE CONTROLLER REVIEWED BY RICK PALM, K1CE QST
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR K1CE ARRL. ORG THE WEST MOUNTAIN RADIO EPIC PWRGATE IS
A HIGH POWER, SMART BATTERY CHARGE CONTROLLER AND UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWER
SUPPLY CONTROLLER DESIGNED FOR HAMS.  ITS DESIGNED FOR VERY LOW POWER LOSS
AND THE FLEXIBILITY TO CHARGE MODERN 12 V BATTERIES INCLUDING GEL TYPE
SEALED LEAD ACID SLA, ABSORBED GLASS MAT AGM, AND LITHIUM ION PHOSPHATE
LIFEPO4.  CONTROLLING A 12 V BACKUP POWER SYSTEM, ITS RATED TO
CONTROL/TRANSFER UP TO 40 A CONTINUOUS DUTY AT 12 V DC, WITH BATTERY CHARGE
RATES UP TO 10 A.  IT ALSO SUPPORTS BATTERY CHARGING FROM A SOLAR PANEL 30
‰  END OF 40 WPM TEXT  ‰  QST DE W1AW  ƒ