[Amps] The cost of amplifiers, radios

[Catherine James]

Yes, but usually the "way that is found" is to get on the air with cheaper gear. Hence the proliferation of Ameritron equipment, used SB-200s, etc.  I've never heard of a ham getting a second job to move up from an AL-80B to a Henry. (Remember that this thread started with discussion of $9,000 amps and $13,000 radios.)

I enjoy building kits, and I'd like to do more homebrew. But I'm an electronics builder, not a sheet-metal worker. I can solder, drill holes, do screws and bolts, and troubleshoot, but not bend sheet metal, machine heat sinks, cut carefully shaped holes for meters, and stuff like that. And I'm not particularly interested in learning those skills. My time is limited and I have to choose where to spend it.

So my homebrew is more likely to be QRP transceivers bread-boarded on the desk, not an HF amplifier. Instead, I'll repair used amps, which lets me focus on the interesting part.

Scrounging has never worked well for me. Once in a while I get lucky, but I don't typically find the key items like power transformers, heavy duty cases, or high-power tubes. Even in the QRP area, a surprising amount of the cost is in the metal case.

73,
Cathy