[Amps] Decline of homebrewing?

[Catherine James]

It's not likely that the homebrew side will ever be squeezed out.  While I am sad that Small Wonder Labs disappeared, Elecraft is going strong, HFPacker amplifier kits up to 100 watts are available, QRPMe Tuna Tins are popular at hamfests, and so on.  While kit-building is not true homebrew, it's clearly the gateway.

Elecraft is clearly the modern successor to the ham radio part of Heathkit.The Raspberry Pi is triggering a revolution in cheap computer control of radio stuff.

I think there are two changes that are making the posters here unhappy:

1) Much of the kit building today consists of plugging boards together rather than building from scratch components.

2) Very few hams work with high power circuits (great than 100 watts RF output).

The reason for (1) is the move of industry to SMT.  You can't build truly modern equipment with through-hole techniques any longer, because the parts don't exist.  Even SOIC has been largely replaced with SSOP and smaller.  That means you have to develop a whole different technique, and while amateurs can do it, there isn't the wide experience base of Elmers to get new people started.  I plan to do it "someday", but so far haven't tackled anything more complex than a PSK-80 Warbler.

The reason for (2) is a combination of cost and complexity. Few hams today are comfortable working with high-voltage vacuum tube circuits, and (as we've been discussing) solid-state amplifier tech isn't at the plug-in-components stage.  You have to be able to get heat sinks carefully machined, and not everyone has access to this capability.  In both tube and solid-state amps, homebrew requires careful design of cooling systems, plus mechanical skills like sheeting-metal bending.

I have been working with electronics since I was a kid many years ago, something like 35 years of amateur tinkering experience.  However, I still don't have any of those skills (cooling system design, machining of heat sinks, sheet-metal bending, etc.)  If I don't, the typical ham of my generation (Gen X) doesn't either.

If you look at the areas where kit-building is thriving, they all have one thing in common.  *They are cheap*.  Whether you are looking at the Tuna Tins, the old Small Wonder Labs projects such as the PSK-20 and the SW-20, or Raspberry Pi digital programming, you are talking about projects ranging from under $100 to a few hundred dollars.  Even an Elecraft K2 with SSB will run under a thousand.  And they typically don't require advanced mechanical skills beyond soldering and turning a screwdriver.

Part of this is simply risk.  If you are going to stretch yourself into new areas, you are going to do it in areas where the cost of failing is low. That hasn't applied to tube amplifiers since the cheap supply of tubes and power transformers disappeared, and it has never applied to solid-state amps (though it may someday).

It is going to be difficult to build a high-power RF amplifier for less than $1000.  If you can do it, you probably have a deep junk box, which means you don't represent the new ham who wants to get started. And anyone new is going to be uncomfortable planning on $1000+ for a *first* project in a new area.

Our best bet is probably to encourage purchase and repair of existing amplifiers, like my recent Heathkit SB-220 revival.  If you want to help with this, go out and offer to mentor your local hams.

73,
Cathy
N5WVR

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On Mon, 1/2/17, w8hw at comcast.net <w8hw at comcast.net> wrote:

 Subject: Re: [Amps] FCC Denies Expert Linears' Request for Waiver of 15 dB	Rule;
 To: amps at contesting.com, "Steve Thompson" <g8gsq72 at gmail.com>
 Date: Monday, January 2, 2017, 9:12 AM
 
 Bill you are so correct, it would be a sad day if the homebrew side was 
 squeezed out. It was a sad day when companies like Heathkit disappeared.