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Re: [TenTec] Antenna Tuners...questions

To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Antenna Tuners...questions
From: Ken Brown <ken.d.brown@hawaiiantel.net>
Reply-to: ken.d.brown@hawaiiantel.net, Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>
Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 18:43:19 -1000
List-post: <mailto:tentec@contesting.com>

"I believe the LDG is rated at 1000 watts as per its model number."
Be careful! There are many products out there with model numbers which suggest certain power ratings, but the real ratings are much lower than the "model number implied power rating".

A good example is Tokyo Hy-Power amplifiers advertised in QST lately. If you read the finer print you will find that the one with 450 in the model number is a 300 to 400 watt amplifier, the one with 2.5K in the model number is a 1000 to 1500 watt unit (based on the stated 1 kW RTTY for 5 minutes, I might call it a 750 watt amplifier) the "1.5K" is almost a 1 kW amp, the 1.2K is about a 600 watt amplifier. These all may be fine pieces of equipment. I don't know. I am not putting down Tokyo Hy-Power products. I am just pointing out that "model number implied power rating" can be much higher than what the equipment can really do. (And I really am putting down Tokyo Hy-Power's marketing scheme. The marketing probably does an injustice to the products.)

I don't know if there is any standard for power ratings on antenna tuners. I suspect that most of them can only handle the power they are supposedly rated for when the SWR they are matching is not much over 3:1. In other words, your "1500 watt tuner" , even if it can match a 9:1 SWR, won't hold up to 1500 watts in that situation. It may work fine at 1500 watts continuously when matching only a 2:1 SWR. On the other hand, a Johnson KW Match Box really will handle a kW into any load it can match. Maybe some present day products can too.

DE N6KB


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