[Amps] SB-220 and load mismatching...

[Jeff Carter]

Hi all,

It has recently come to my attention that folks are running amps into
unmatched loads.  Nobody seems to be worried about VSWR very much.

I've got a SB-220 that I've never run into anything but a 1:1 match.
If I understood correctly back during college, if I'm running 500W out
into even a 2:1 that means I've got something like 50W on the line
coming back at me, yes?  I'm using RG-8, and the line loss is
negligible for the length and frequency involved.

My question is, how forgiving is the SB-220 of VSWR mismatches?  What
is the maximum mismatch that you personally have run or seen run with
this amplifier?  The reason I'm asking is that I've got a 80m dipole
that presents high SWR on other bands (of course) but if the SB-220
will let me get away with it, I'd like to try it.

What I *don't* want to do is screw up these brand new tubes.

Thanks,

Jeff/KD4RBG