[AMPS] Dollars per dB

[T A RUSSELL]

On Thu, 31 Dec 1998 17:29:11 -0800 "Larry L. Ravlin"
<sheepdip@continet.com> writes:
>
>What this all boils down to (and by the way you are absolutely correct 
>in your figures) is "you are better off to sink you bucks into a GOOD 
>antenna than a amplifier.  
>this does not mean that I am against power, far from it, but there is 
>More to gain from a good antenna than there is from a good amp.
>
>Larry K0AEY

Dollars per dB is a good way to look at optimizing station design 
for a fixed or limited budget.   The tradeoffs can get quite complex 
and require  ACCURATE  and COMPLETE data.  Don't forget the
cost of a tower and rotor.  BTW,  Higher is NOT ALWAYS better.
And, you can never have TOO  MANY  antennas!

The examples listed in the original post are somewhat misleading
and incomplete.   The Alpha 91B is only ONE example.

One of the BEST  VALUES in amplifiers is a used SB-220 at $400 - $600.
The SB-220 will produce 1200W on 80, 40, 20, 1000W on 15 and 900W
on 10M.

The Tribander gain example of 8 dBd is a JOKE, originating in the 
advertising department.

8 dbd  =  10.2 dBi   which any antenna modeler can tell you 
requires 5 elements on  a  3/4 Wavelength (WL) boom.

A more realistic gain / boom table follows, 
for FULL  SIZE elements.  These numbers
are not absolute as gain can vary +/- 1 dB
depending on element tuning for F/B ratio.
Trapped elements will have slightly less
gain and definitely less bandwidth.

Boom	Element	GAIN
WL	NR	 dBi

0.15	2	6.5  
0.25	3	7.5
0.35	3 or 4	8.5
0.40	4	9.2	
0.50	4 or 5	9.6
0.60	5	9.8
0.75	5 or 6	10.5
0.80	6	11.0
1.00	6 or 7	11.2

de  Tom  N4KG


___________________________________________________________________
You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html
or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]

--
FAQ on WWW:               http://www.contesting.com/ampfaq.html
Submissions:              amps@contesting.com
Administrative requests:  amps-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems:                 owner-amps@contesting.com
Search:                   http://www.contesting.com/km9p/search.htm