>> Transistors clearly have the edge in home heating, since they convert 50%
>> of the input to useful heat instead of 40% for the electron tube.
Are we forgetting that pesky little filament? There is no analagous
structure in a solid
state amp. So if you wish to speak of "systemic", or wall plug efficiency,
the above figures
are a bit misleading. Last time I checked the GS31b amplifier was quite a
bit better at
warming my hands on a cold Colorado night (at 2500m elevation), then the
MRF150 based HF amp.
BTW I have a 700w class-e amplifier for 7Mhz, pretty much straight from
the QST article that turns 85% of the drain DC into RF. So the topology has
quite a bit to do
with it.
I don't really want to debate the relative merits of tubes and SS devices.
Tubes can be beautiful
and romantic is an odd way, they are just not very interesting to me
professionally and only
mildly interesting to me as an amateur.
George,
K0IW
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