[Amps] new amp race

[Catherine James]

Bill Turner <dezrat at outlook.com> wrote:

> Cathy wrote:
>> Yes, it irritates me to see an endless stream of comments in many
>> forums along the lines of "don't get an amp, invest in better antennas,"
>> usually posted by hams with legal limit amps. :-/
 
> Why would that irritate you? It's probably the best radio-related advice you will ever get. 
> And what does having or not having a legal limit amp have to do with the advice?

Because it feels like "do as I say, not as I do."  A person who owns an amp is telling other hams
not to buy one.  If it's so useless, why does the poster have one himself?

If the advice were "put up the best antenna you can within the limits you have of cost,
space, permissions, etc. I would agree with it 100%.  But it's often given in the context
of "spend your money on a tower and beam, not an amplifier."

I have a take on that, published in our local newsletter recently, and I'll post a link here once
it goes up on the web.  It boils down to an in-depth look at the right order in which to upgrade
a station, and recommends going from decent antennas to an amp to better antennas.

It's nearly always going to be cheaper and quicker to install an amp that to put up a serious tower.

Or as someone else once wrote, the cheapest 10 dB bargain in amateur radio is a 1kw amplifier. The next cheapest 10 db is installing a tribander at 70 ft or higher. Getting the next 10 dB after this is very expensive, and few will do it.

73,
Cathy
N5WVR