[Amps] Amplifier lifetime

[Catherine James]

I expect my SB-220 will be operating for my entire ham radio lifetime.  And I'm
not retired, so that will be decades. I fire it up at least once a month to keep it gettered.

I expect my AL-811H will also keep running for a long time, with occasional tube replacements.

As long as I can get tubes when needed, there's no reason I can't replace the parts
that fail and keep them running. And the ways things are going, I'll be able to get pretty good
vacuum tubes long after the current generation of solid state has been EOL'ed.

My K2 won't last forever, but I expect it will outlast most of the other solid state ham rigs
designed when it was.  That's because Elecraft has made the effort to make it repairable,
and to support it as long as possible.

I wish that more electronic products (not just in ham radio) were like this. I'd rather repair
than send to the dump. I'd like to see products designed for repair, with sockets used where
possible (for solid state IC's as well as tubes), and using mainly parts that are expected to have a long lifetime.

I would pay a modest premium for a product that I expected to be able to keep using for decades.
Especially once I am retired, I'm not going to be able to buy more new high-end equipment. I will
want what I've got to last.

73,
Cathy
N5WVR

Jim Thomson <jim.thom at telus.net> wrote:

> the  SB-220,  L4B, etc, will be fully functioning long after the processor,
> now unobtainium  in amps that use them.   You can stuff anything from
> 3-400Z,  3-500Z,  4-400A /B/C,  etc into a SB-220, etc.