<html><head></head><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif;font-size:13px"><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1496089875230_7968">Hi all,</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1496089875230_7968">I would love to see a new Hermes arrive after the end of the year and hopefully after my son's last College tuition payment.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1496089875230_7968">I have a few thoughts.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1496089875230_7968" dir="ltr">#1 and most important. Remember how many times Hermes artwork was modified to eliminate spurs. </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1496089875230_7968" dir="ltr">Abhi did a first rate job with the artwork. I would avoid any changes to the grounding scheme or layout around the front end.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1496089875230_7968" dir="ltr">2. Consider a new A/D but stick with a faster 16 bit machine. A dual A/D would be great. No performance hit on HF to pick up more bands.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1496089875230_7968" dir="ltr"> </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1496089875230_7968" dir="ltr">3. A new FPGA means a BGA device, we want to avoid any thermal or mechanical stress on the board. A two board solution with a final bolted to a heat sink seems safer.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1496089875230_7968" dir="ltr"><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1496089875230_7968" dir="ltr">4. My only issue with Hermes is the warm parts. Point of use regulators are necessary but it would be good to have better heat sinking.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1496089875230_7968" dir="ltr"><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1496089875230_7968" dir="ltr">5. A 24-28VDC final would produce 100 watts and fairly easy to broadband up to 2 meters. ( I would be glad to share my experience in this area) This would drive tube amplifiers. A 50 volt 300 watt dual device making 100 watts at 28 volts would be unbreakable. It might be possible to go above 28 volts to get a bit more power if necessary. A good heat sink would allow any voltage operation from 12 to 50 volts depending on drive needs. </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1496089875230_7968" dir="ltr"><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1496089875230_7968" dir="ltr">A new HPSDR project would be fun,</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1496089875230_7968" dir="ltr">Frank, WA1GFZ</div></div></body></html>