ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
On Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:45:35 -0700 (PDT), Jim Hoge
<knowkode@verizon.net> wrote:
>I haven't made up my mind as to buy or build. If I build, I know it will take
>me
>too long to complete the project and I will have a tendency to upgrade
>components above and beyond what would be adequate. I love to spend time in
>the
>shop, perhaps as much as in front of the radio. I suspect that if I buy, I
>will
>again be settling for less than I'd like. The short answer is I dunno.
>
>Jim W5QM
REPLY:
Actually, that's a very good answer. Shows you have really been
thinking about it.
If I may, here are a few thoughts I had when I went through the same
decision making process:
The first thing to answer for yourself is do I really want to build an
amplifier or do I really just want to have an amplifier? In other
words, is having a homebrew amp really important to me? Or is having a
beautiful, commercially built amp plenty good enough?
If having a homebrew amp is important, welcome to the club. I came to
that decision and after literally years of collecting parts, building
and discarding different designs and configurations, I finally have an
amp sitting on my desk that is built like a tank, does all I want and
one I am proud of. I built at least four amps before this one but none
were quite good enough in one respect or another and they all got
cannibalized for parts for the next one. There are a few parts in this
amp that have been used and re-used for thirty years. I'm sure every
long-term homebrewer knows exactly what I mean. :-)
But was that a good idea overall? Financially, no. Just in terms of
dollars and cents, I would have been way ahead to buy a good quality
amp, use it as long as I wanted and eventually sell it. With any luck
I could sell a really quality amp for near what I paid for it. The net
cost of ownership would be relatively small compared to the countless
dollars and hundreds if not thousands of hours I put into my homebrew
amp projects over the years.
But if I had just bought an amp I would have missed a great learning
experience. I built my amp from scratch, not copying any existing
design other than taking generic schematics from many sources. In
doing it this way,I had countless little learning experiences that you
never hear about or read about in books. Without doubt, I am far more
knowledgeable about how an amp REALLY works than if I had just bought
one and followed the owner's manual. I made a lot of mistakes and I
learned from every one. You can't get that kind of education in school
or from books.
Enough rambling. I hope this helps with your decision. Either way you
decide will be the right one for you. Good luck and keep us posted.
73, Bill W6WRT
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