> >I don't need that much
> >power, nor do I really want to draw 23 amps.
> Use a 220vac supply?
The 20W of the 526 will drive the typical 6M brick
fine, probably even need to back off the drive a bit.
An Astron RS-35 or SS-30 series power supply will
handle such an amplifier handily.
> Maybe you're only looking for that mysteriously
> magical 100w? 1 "S Unit" is
> 6db. That "brick amp" will only get you 9db over
> barefoot or 1.5 S Units.
While this is true of signals that move the S Meter it
is not for signals that at or below the noise. That
6-9dB more power will make all the difference in the
world to the person on the other end when your signal
is 3db or more below the noise. This is true no matter
how good of an antenna system you have.
> Skip the amp
> unless you want to go contesting.
Generally true, the amp (or antenna) won't necessarily
make huge a difference when the band is wide open,
they do however make a worthwhile difference when it
is marginal. And for contesting situations it will
extend your "ground wave" range considerably. For
contests when 6M never really opens that greater
close-in range will make a big difference in your
score for 6M.
> Invest in a good
> 6M7JHV antenna at 40'
> and LMR400 jumpers with LDF4-50 feed line. You will
> get far more for your
> money from the antenna and feed than the amp. Go one
> better - run LDF5-50
> to a 2M5WL for the 2m side of the rig.
For what its worth you can find Andrew LDF4 (1/2),
LDF5 (7/8), LDF6 (1-1/4), or LDF7 (1-5/8) or other
brand equivalents all for about the same money, on
occasion as little as $1/ft new (usually spool ends).
So I would go with as big a cable you can decently
work with or are capable of supporting on the tower.
The larger cable connectors do cost more but can also
be found at surprisingly inexpensive prices as well.
Duane
N9DG
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