Amps
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: [Amps] Efficient amplifier design

To: amps@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [Amps] Efficient amplifier design
From: Manfred Mornhinweg <manfred@ludens.cl>
Date: Mon, 01 May 2017 19:38:02 +0000
List-post: <amps@contesting.com">mailto:amps@contesting.com>
Cathy,

How much easier does the design become if
we select an upper frequency bound of 15 MHz instead of 30 MHz?

To give a simple-to-grasp figure, I would say it becomes roughly 3 times easier. That's because a lower frequency limit opens the doors to use many more devices, and also because all problems related to stray inductance, device capacitance, etc, get smaller. In addition the bandwidth will become smaller, given that we are still starting at 1.8MHz.

Just one example: When I played with cheap switching MOSFETs in TO-220 cases for linear HF amp use, I ended up with pretty few really usable devices that would cover up to 30MHz. There were a lot of cheaper and more powerful devices, which I discarded simply because their practical frequency limit was too low. With a 15MHz limit, many of them could have been used.

In fact my own use for an amp would be mostly confined to 40 and 80 meters. But then it's something like a given mindset, that an HF amp should cover ALL of the HF spectrum. 160m, while outside HF, is easy to add, so why not include it. But I leave 6m out. An amplifier covering 160-6m has twice the bandwith of a 160-10m one, which significantly adds to the complications, and 6m is VHF... so let's leave it out.

Of course there are many hams who will want 6m too, but many others don't need 6m coverage. Or like you, might be happy with 160-20m coverage.

With homebrew amps, a practical thing to do is to base the upper frequency limit on a "best effort" basis: Make sure it works on the bands you want most, and try to extend coverage to the higher bands as much as is easy enough to do, but don't despair if some of the highest bands are left out!

Hams have been doing that from the beginnings. I remember having seen circuits using the 833 tube that were usable only on the lower HF bands.

Manfred



========================
Visit my hobby homepage!
http://ludens.cl
========================
_______________________________________________
Amps mailing list
Amps@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/amps

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>