Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2017 12:49:50 -0300
From: "Mike Smith VE9AA" <ve9aa@nbnet.nb.ca>
To: <amps@contesting.com>
Subject: [Amps] Mobile Amps ?
I am thinking of upgrading my mobile station from 100w to something more.
500-600w minimum.
At one time there seemed to be more choices available to the mobile ham but
now about the only choice seems to be the Ameritron ALS-500. At $1350 CDN
+ 15% tax and then shipping, (making it about $1600 CDN) it's not cheap for a
350-400w (CW) amp. I don't mind paying for quality, but what scares me more
about this amp are some of the less than glowing reviews.
In my limited research I've found:
(RM Italy seems like lower power and some are illegal in NA)
(SGC no longer making the power cube I don't think)
(THP out of business)
What else is out there?
Thanks
Mike VE9AA..VE9AA/m
## SGC power cube would be good..if bought used, but dunno abt getting parts
for it..perhaps unobtainium. The ALS-500 will end up being sent back to
radio
world a half doz times getting repaired. Pita. VE6RF bought a AL-600, only
to
blow it up in a few mins, replaced, and another repeat blow up. Ameritron
had not
soldered the final transistors in correctly, leaving an air gap between
transistors and
mating heat sink...so they had no heat sink = kaboom. 3rd one finally worked,
but
what a pita, with shipping costs. Its almost better to buy 2 of em, and send
back
which ever one doesnt work...and get a refund on it.
## The RM italy amps here in town seem to work pretty good. IMD on ssb
in a mobile application is a non issue, since you dont have much of a signal
to begin with. Didnt know abt SS amps and key clicks + high swr. Assuming
a screw driver ant used, swr is a moot point. CW has a lot higher duty cycle
than ssb,
esp when sending dashes...with a 4 to 1 weighting.
## 500 watts out means sucking 1kw from the battery..which is a helluva lot.
1 kw
divided by 14 vdc = 71 Amps. Are you sure you want to do this ? Think you
would
want at least a 135 to 160A alternator...and maybe a 2nd battery. And maybe
one
of those 4-10 farad caps across the amps 14 vdc input terminals. And big
gauge
wire to minimize V drops, like min 6 gauge, or perhaps paralleled 8 gauge.
## Assuming you are stationary while sending CW, you would probably want to
leave
the eng running. If you are using 2 batteries, you may want to diode isolate
em, so
you only use the amp one of the batteries, so you can charge both of em up
with the
alternator, but only have the amp running on one battery. Then you can never
kill the
2nd battery. With 2 semi dead batteries, you might not be able to start the
eng.
## I would not use a deep discharge battery. Oem start batteries are
designed for
high start current.
Jim VE7RF
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