[Amps] RF Choke in Titan 425 Burned

[Rich Hallman - N7TR]

I was on for IARU contest and noticed the tuning on the amp didn't seem
right....needed more drive to get to 1500 watts then the other 3 425's I
have.  Plus it seemed to run much more hotter than my other ones as
well.

 

When I was on 15 meters I started to notice a smell.  Shut the amp down
and pulled the cover off.  I noticed on the tube end of the RFC it was
pretty well burned up.  I also noticed bubbles on the coating of the
coil.

 

This is the Last series 425 made (Golden Series) and not sure if there
is something I should look at first before I replace the RFC?
Also...Should the RF Parts RFC-3 work ok as a replacement?

 

I haven't run this amp very much, so not sure if it had this issue in
the past or not.   My other 425's I run all the time and run very cool
and around 40-50 watts for full legal power.

 

Thanks...

 

Rich N7TR

ex KI3V, N3AMK, WB3JOV

www.n7tr.com <http://www.n7tr.com> 

Telnet: dxc.n7tr.com N7TR DXCluster