[Amps] 'good engineering'

[Jim Thomson]

Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2010 09:19:10 +0300
From: "Alex Eban" <alexeban at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Amps] 'good engineering'

Tell me guys.
Who's idiot enough to build a 5 kilowatt amplifier and use it at the 1,5 kW
level?
Are we kidding ourselves or not?

Alex 4Z5KS 



##  Lemme see.  New 46 lb plate xfmr for $450.00...  or a 120 lb
pole pig  for  $75.00   New Eimac 8877  for  $1300.00   or
a YC-156  for $125  to $300.00     New chinese  8877  for $595.00
or new Chinese  YU-148  for $695.00 

##  well Alex... for the little guy, on the postage stamp sized lot,  with his
204BA  up 50'  and his hb amp.... using surplus 'what ever he can get
his hands on'   components.... and getting smoked on the bands  by everyone 
else.   It would be like dangling holy temptation in front of most peoples noses. 
Sorta like having 500 hp... and no cops around.  Should I,  should I .. just this
once?    No, much better to just get your ass kicked  on all bands... and remain
ethical. 

##  Plan B.   You can't afford  one of those new fangled pep wattmeters, and opt
to just use a relative power output indicator [ works good] .  Just apply full drive,
and tune the hb amp for max output... just like it sez  to do in the dog eared 1967 ARRL
handbook on your  beat up 1958 era desk.   Since you have no clue as to what you are 
putting out,  and have given up trying to interpret your 40 year old 0-3A  plate
current meter, you bought for 50 cents at a ham fest,  while talking on SSB..you
will never have a guilty consience.   I know one fellow, VE7---
who has built several HB amps.. and doesn't even own a wattmeter.  He has very
nice amps though.  I know  a few more.. that didn't include a HV meter. 

## Plan C.   A SW AM broadcaster  starts  tuning up, quickly followed by obnoxious
music.. abt 1/2 khz away from you.   You have had the freq  for  45 mins.   You decide
to phone up the station manager.. and ask him if he can pse QSY 4 khz.   He tells you
to #&@ ff   [ that actually took place] .   You are then told  by your nice local radio
inspector, that you are to..'share the band'   with other folks... including the  nice SW
broadcaster's.  He suggests  that perhaps you should instead listen to the SW broadcast..
and learn about other cultures.. and.. 'world events'.

## Plan D.   You have  a sked  with a group of friends on 75m.. on Friday night. A contest
is taking place.   Qrm  from above, then below, then above, then above AND  below. They
start to move in closer.  W9--   starts calling 'CQ  contest, listening 3564'   right on your freq,
and you ask him nicely if he can pse qsy, as there are 6 other folk on freq.  Apparently,
W9--- can't hear the west coast too well.  He finally  moves away.   You and all your friends on
freq are all running 700-1500w pep, and trying to have a nice roundtable.  Then, all of a sudden, 
58 x stations  start screaming at the top of their lungs, on your freq... and they are all calling some
far off DX station.... who just happens to be working split freq.   Apparently the DX  station can't
hear you, or your 6 x friends on freq. 
Apparently, the 58 x stations  screaming away, are not listening on their TX freq for some reason.  
W9--- breaks in and ask you and your 6 x friends to QSY  to a warc band... like maybe 30m cw,
as you are 'jamming' the Ultra rare dx station, who is on an island.. that only rises up out of the
water about once every 4 years.    

Does that answer your question ? 

later... Jim  VE7RF