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Re: [Amps] Can I cool too much the tubes?

To: Patrick Barthelow <apolloeme@live.com>
Subject: Re: [Amps] Can I cool too much the tubes?
From: Rob Atkinson <ranchorobbo@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 10:09:14 -0500
List-post: <amps@contesting.com">mailto:amps@contesting.com>
Pat,

I have the amp, manual with schematic.  There is nothing in there
about any sensor that throws the amp in standby if it gets too hot.
That's why I asked.

It must be an aftermarket mod in your amp Rudy.

But, I am always willing to be surprised and eat crow. Why not give
Ten Tec a call and ask them?   There might be something in there
having to do with current draw I don't know about, thay may have been
taken out in later models.  Anyway, my comment about specifiying mode
was not directed at you.

It's up to you whether or not 400 w. is enough, but in my opinion a
new Alpha is not the answer if you want a really robust amp.  If you
can afford a new Alpha you can afford an old one back before they
tried to jam everything into a teeny desk-top cabinet, or an old
Henry, or two, or homebrewing one in a rack....maybe an old TMC or
Collins commercial communications amp...

On Thu, Aug 19, 2010 at 11:40 PM, Patrick Barthelow <apolloeme@live.com> wrote:
>
> Does anyone have a schematic for the amp under discussion, or perhaps looked
> to see the sensor device that senses excessive heat to
> trigger a shutdown?  I am curious what they sample for the  heat trip
> function.    And, if it is an internal sensor for the transformer core, it
> might not help,  but perhaps some extra muffin fans, mounted external or
> internal to the amp could add enough cooling to extend its duty cycle on
> RTTY.
>
> Back in the olden days, as a kid, I used to sit a muffin fan right on top
> of my Drake TR-4 Finals Cage, drawing upward, and the whole radio became and
> ran dramatically cooler.
>
> Best Regards,
> 73, de Pat Barthelow AA6EG
>
>
>
>
>> Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 20:16:13 -0700
>> From: r_bakalov@yahoo.com
>> To: amps@contesting.com; ranchorobbo@gmail.com
>> Subject: Re: [Amps] Can I cool too much the tubes?
>>
>> Rob,
>> I am the second owner of this amp and don't know its age. It is the grey
>> model. I can certainly look up the serial number when I am back to VE3 where
>> my contesting QTH is.
>> As far as mode goes, my very first post noted that this is with respect to
>> RTTY where I can't really run it longer than 30 min at full power.  I am not
>> a SSB guy; CW runs all day long at full power. Standby or not, some sort of
>> protection kicks in when the amps gets too hot and the orange STBY LED is
>> on.
>> So now my dilemma is if I should run low power, without the amp, or high
>> power at only 400 W during the upcoming CQWW RTTY contest :-) Or time for an
>> Alpha :-)
>> Rudy N2WQ
>> --- On Thu, 8/19/10, Rob Atkinson <ranchorobbo@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> From: Rob Atkinson <ranchorobbo@gmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [Amps] Can I cool too much the tubes?
>> To: amps@contesting.com
>> Date: Thursday, August 19, 2010, 4:28 PM
>>
>> Rudy,
>>
>> Is this automatic standby mode protection a new thing with the
>> Centurion?  Mine is around 10 years old and it has nothing like this.
>>
>> When did you get yours?
>>
>> N.B.  When you guys write about transmittion time at some power level,
>> it is very important that you specify the mode.
>>
>> There is a huge difference between "1.5 KW no time limit (operating
>> SSB) and 1.5 KW no time limit carrier.
>>
>> SSB is the "Coors Light" of transmission modes.
>>
>> 73
>>
>> Rob
>> K5UJ
>>
>>
>> On Wed, 18 Aug 2010 10:34:58 -0700 (PDT), Rudy Bakalov
>> <r_bakalov@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>> >Experience trumps specs. The amp goes into standby mode after about 30
>> > minutes
>> >running at full power, i.e. about 1200 W.  If I run it at around 400-500
>> > W it
>> >is fine.
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