<snip>
There is a fellow
in New Mexico for instance whose construction articles have
appeared in QST who has homebrewed virtually every piece of gear
in his station. Of course I think he is a math teacher, so he probably
can't afford to buy all those high-end appliances.
I don't know Mike. The teachers in my part of the country probably wouldn't
have any problem affording a Henry 8K ;>)
Mike(y)
W3SLK
----- Original Message -----
From: Michael Tope <W4EF@dellroy.com>
To: Hans Goldschmidt <sm5ki@algonet.se>; Bob Marston <k1ta@contesting.com>;
<w7ti@jps.net>
Cc: <amps@contesting.com>
Sent: Friday, December 29, 2000 4:24 PM
Subject: Re: [AMPS] Alpha
Hi All,
It seems to me that all this controversy boils down the classic
build or buy decision that is made in engineering all the time. Say
a newbie is a doctor or lawyer with a lot of discretionary income,
but not a lot of discretionary time (he has a busy practices and
a family). In this case, the decision to buy would probably make
more sense when you consider the length of time it would take
this fellow to build that set of monoband amps. They could always
buy the Alpha 87, get themselves on the air right away, and then
start building the monoband amps at a more lesiurely pace.
In fact, no matter how much of a tinkerer that we think we are, we
still have to make build or buy decisions. How many people make
their own semiconductors, vacuum tubes, or coax cables? The
point at where we place the build or buy boundary depends on
a lot of factors - time available, financial resources, and personal
goals. A person with deep pockets, little free time, and a strong
interest in operating activities, may be faced with a choice between
spending time on the air (his primary goal), or homebrewing his
equipment. Others may opt for a different balance. There is a fellow
in New Mexico for instance whose construction articles have
appeared in QST who has homebrewed virtually every piece of gear
in his station. Of course I think he is a math teacher, so he probably
can't afford to buy all those high-end appliances.
My strategy is to have enough store bought equipment around
to get on the air when I feel like it and then homebrew selectively
as time permits.
73 de Mike, W4EF...............
----- Original Message -----
From: "Hans Goldschmidt" <sm5ki@algonet.se>
To: "Bob Marston" <k1ta@contesting.com>; <w7ti@jps.net>
Cc: <amps@contesting.com>
Sent: Friday, December 29, 2000 1:47 PM
Subject: Re: [AMPS] Alpha
>
> 0-12-29 18.59, skrev Bob Marston på k1ta@contesting.com följande:
>
> There is a big difference when you build your own amp: most hams have not
> the knowledge and testing equipment to check their gear and very few hams
on
> the bands nowadays have the knowledge to give an accurate report. Besides
> that, most hams accept a lot of splatter, sorry to say.
>
> And very few hams know how to tune up an amp for good linearity. So, using
a
> commercial amp does in no way guarantee a clean signal.
>
> Prosit de Hans SM5KI
>
>
> > On Fri, 29 Dec 2000 06:05:54 -0800, Bill Turner wrote:
> >
> >> Do you, Mr Marston, build your own cars from scratch? If not, why not?
> >> Too lazy? That would be a learning experience too, wouldn't it?
> >
> > Judging from the rhetorical nature of your questions it's pretty clear
that
> > you are not looking for an answer. So for the benefit of everyone on the
> > list to which you cc ed. No I don't build my own cars. Well I guess
> > technically one could say yes as I did build a Kit Car some 20 years
ago.
> > And it was a learning experience. The start up cost to build a single
> > vehicle by hand is staggering. That is a big reason why Rolls Royce
charges
> > an astronomical price for the Silver Cloud. So your analogy is not an
> > accurate one. Even the totally uninitiated buying or building unique
test
> > equipment could build their first amp at twice the cost of purchasing a
> > comparable piece of equipment. The second would be breakeven, the third
and
> > succeeding at the cost of materials.
> >
> > To address the vain of thought in your question, setting aside the Kit I
> > have only owned 2 vehicles in my entire life both were purchased 2nd
hand.
> > Part of the criterea in my selection are that they are durable and easy
to
> > maintain as I do most of the maintenance on the vehicles I own.
> >
> > Getting back to amplifier construction while the task at hand is not
> > overwhelming it is not simple and there are many different facets with
> > different levels of complexity. The simplest being Triode HF amps
> > progressing through tetrodes then VHF techniques and finally UHF Cavity
Amps.
> >
> > I have nothing against Dick Ehrhorn or Alpha-Power. I have seen their
> > Amplifiers in action at many contest stations and have been very
impressed.
> > It just strikes me as lazy to lay down 5600 bucks for an 87A when for
the
> > same amount of money one could build a full rack of monoband amps that
is
> > just as capable and just as durable and come away with a complete
> > understanding of what is going on inside the box inclusive of all the
> > equipment's limitations.
> >
> > K1TA
> >
> >
> > --
> > FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/amps
> > Submissions: amps@contesting.com
> > Administrative requests: amps-REQUEST@contesting.com
> > Problems: owner-amps@contesting.com
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/amps
> Submissions: amps@contesting.com
> Administrative requests: amps-REQUEST@contesting.com
> Problems: owner-amps@contesting.com
>
>
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