[Amps] New Vacuum Relay Supplier

[Mike Schatzberg]

Hello Bob:

I used two of the GH-1 relays in a QSK project for a trio of 3CPX800A7s, and 
they work very well.  They are carbon copies of the Kilovac HC-1, and their 
coils are interchangeable with the Kilovac coils.

Gigavac customer service was amazing, courteous and fast.  When the relays 
arrived, they had shipped them with 26 volt coils, rather than the 12 volt 
that I ordered.  I called them, and they shipped replacement coils that day, 
and told me to keep the 26 volt coils for my trouble.

They switch as silently as the HC-1s I believe.  In the this project, the 
blower is a bit noisy cooling the three triodes, and I mounted the relays 
directly with the supplied hardware, rather than using silicone rubber 
isolation mounting.  I can't hear the relays switch behind the blower noise.

The relays draw the rated current at 12 volts, and have been working for 
about 6 months now, with no problem.

I have recommended them before, and I will use them again.

73 and Happy Dxing,

Mike
WB2AJI
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <w6ah at comcast.net>
To: <amps at contesting.com>
Sent: Saturday, October 29, 2005 1:43 AM
Subject: [Amps] New Vacuum Relay Supplier


>  Well people this is ex-K1TA and I'm back after bugging out for a few 
> years with a new call W6AH. Yep that's right W6 Adam Henry. It's the type 
> of call you have one of two opinions about. Either you never want to deal 
> with it or you have a sense of humor twisted enough to actually seek it 
> out. One advantage to having such a call is you never have to worry about 
> being duped in a contest. :-)
>
> Now to the topic at hand. Perusing through the archive I found a thread 
> worthy of a reprise on a couple of points so here goes:
>
>>I was looking for a vacuum relay to modify an existing amplifier, when I
>>ran across this relatively new arrival on the scene: Gigavac.
>>
>>They sell new vacuum relays at very competitive prices, and will sell
>>directly to amateurs.
>
> ***  What is the price for (100) GH1 Gigavac? relays?  Where does one find 
> the
> price list on their Web site?
>
>>I was particularly interested in their equivalent to
>>the Jennings RJ1A, the GH1-12Vdc, which comes with a 12 volt coil.  This
>>meant I didn't have to build an additional power supply for 26
>>volts.
>
> ***  In order to speed up a GH1-12vdc sufficiently to use with a modern
> transceiver, one would need a 50 - 70 volt PS and an appropriate series-R.
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> A HUNDRED RELAYS !  Rich did that salesman know you were a ham when you 
> spoke to him ? If he did I would have loved to see the look on his face 
> when you asked for a bulk discount number on such a quantity ! Are you the 
> guy responsible for Gigavac imposing a per anum quantity limit for sales 
> to hams ? ;-)
>
> In all seriousness this really is a very big development for Amp Builders. 
> The other two players in the vacuum relay business could not give 2 cents 
> to blow off the ham radio market. Now we have a Start-up that has gone out 
> of its way to set up policies for the express purpose of selling to the 
> amateur radio market. I would think that it behooves us to go out of our 
> way to patronize Gigavac out of a sense of gratitude for their willingness 
> to deal with hams. I'm not say we should accept inferior products from 
> them. In that vain I would like to know what type of Out-of-Box Failure 
> Rate we are seeing on Gigavac Products. But all Gigavac Relays come with a 
> 1 year warranty which really makes you stop and question the frugality of 
> purchasing a relay off of EBay or out of an equipment salvage dealer. 
> Those relays are sold "as-is where-is". And if you get them home and throw 
> them on a HiPot tester only to find out they are no good then it's two 
> Andrew Jacksons that you have thrown i
> n the trash can. Suddenly 70 Bucks for a relay with a guarrantee doesn't 
> seem so expensive anymore. As Gigavac now has a policy of 3/5 relays per 
> year per ham it makes sense to purchase your first 3 from them then you 
> can chase after the bargain.
>
> It sounds like Gigavac has a pretty tough road to travel over the next few 
> years as Kilovac, now owned by Super Conglomerate Tyco, controls 80 
> percent of the market. The least Amp Builders can do is make sure that a 
> few bucks that are spent on vacuum relays regardless of manufacturer make 
> their way to a vendor that is willing to sell to us.
>
> BTW I have no pecuniary interest in seeing Gigavac succeed.
> Check out their webpage
>
> homepage: http://www.gigavac.com
> hampage: http://www.gigavac.com/products/relays/ham/index.htm
>
>
> 73s
>
> Bob W6AH
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