[AMPS] Drake L7

[Rich Measures]

>I'm looking into buying a Drake L7 amp.
>Can anyone give their input both PRO & CON.

Hotswitches with modern transceivers. .  Needs a stepstart.  .  Appears 
to have better vhf stability than TL-922s or SB-220s, but checking the 
bandswitch with a flashlight and a dental mirror wouldn't be a bad idea.  
. .  Needs glitch protection. .  The 14 rectifier 'equalizer' resistors 
increase the risk of premature rectifier failure.  {p. 11-9, *1997 ARRL 
Handbook*}.  .. .  It might be a good idea to measure the filament 
voltage at pins 1 and 5, and record the corresponding electric-mains 
voltage. There is little reason to allow more than 4.9v on the filaments 
unless you have a free supply of tubes. .  .  The tune-up instructions 
beginning on page 3-1 are bogus.  .  .  The 80m to 10m tuned input 
circuits are a bit short on operating Q, however, the 160m tuned input is 
not.  If you can not get the swr down, more Q would help.  
Rich...

R. L. Measures, 805-386-3734, AG6K   


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