I've always made it a practice to "tune for max output" on just about all
amps I've owned or built. There are a couple of critical points however.
Certain elements i.e grid current must not be exceeded. Reduce drive or
increase loading as necessary to keep grid current below max. I've never
been too concerned about plate current as long as the tuning process is done
quickly. If one has to keep the amp "key down - full tilt boogie" for 5
minutes to do the tuning then that's another issue. BTW, any adjustments on
a antenna tuner and the like should be done before the amp is switched on.
And keep in mind that most non-commercial power meters have an accuracy of
about 10% at full scale at best, less accuracy at less than full scale. So
a power meter with a full scale range of 1000 watts might have an accuracy
of only 25 to 30 % at half scale. Perhaps the 400 watts indicated could be
right for a FS 1KW meter.
73
Bob K4TAX
----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul DeWitte K9OT" <k9ot@mhtc.net>
To: <tentec@contesting.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 12:50 PM
Subject: [TenTec] Centaur
> I have a Centaur that was purchased fom Ten Tec about a year ago. When it
> came I put it into a dummy load and couldnt get more than about 400 watts
an
> any band according to the meter in the amp. I was told that if you switch
it
> over to 220 volts it will put out more. It has sat unused since the
initial
> checkout. Yesterday I got it back out and switched it to 220 volts, same
> output in to a dummy load. The grid current never gets up to 150 mills
> before the plate current gets to 500-550 mills. All of this is into a
dummy
> load since it has never been on the air since purchase. My question is, is
> this normal output for this amp? The book says 600w out so I thought at
> least 500w would be reasonable, but not 400 max on any band. Soft tubes?
73
> Paul k9ot
>
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