[Amps] Amp Pricing(??)

[jim.thom jim.thom@telus.net]

Date: Wed, 07 Dec 2022 18:26:07 +0000 (UTC)
From: Fern Rivard <crc at cyberlink.ca>
To: amps at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [Amps] Amp Pricing(??)

<Hey Jim, don't be so quick to discount those ceramic tubes such as the
<8877 and 3CX800A. They will have "floozy grids" for operators that don't
<know how to use them properly. I have an alpha 86 with a pair of
<3CX800A7 and an alpha 9500 with single 8877 which I've used for many
<years. The trick with those tubes is to make sure that you don't draw
<any or very little grid current. On both of my amps I only see a flicker
<of grid current if any at all. Just my 2 cents worth and I'm sticking to
it.

<Fern, VE7GZ

##  Fern, there are plenty of amps out there using both of those tubes,
that DON'T have adequate protection built into them.  IE: grid + plate
overcurrent protection, loss of airflow, loss of B+ etc, etc.

##  you alpha's are done correctly for the most part.  I'm talking about
joe newbie ham..and his 1st amp is a used amp with a 8877 in it.  That
EIMAC 8877 went from $2000  up to  $2950.00   and now is back down to
$2200.00     The chinese version is now $1350.00 . Add  36% + 12% tax  +
USD $ shipping for cdn values.   And a heck of a lot more in EU / Asia / ZL
/ VK/ZS land.

## back when chinese 8877's were $500.00  maybe, but not at today's
prices.  The amps that didn't have grid overcurrent protection, or
protection from hotswithcing, are easily modified.

## a lot of these hams, both new and old, just don't get it.  Got one old
fellow, who drives his Henry 2K-4  with a Swan 500.  The swan xcvr's, none
of em even have an ALC jack.  On the swan xcvr's on SSB, they say to use
the mic gain as a power output control..which of course will never work.
They stuff 200+ watts into these amps, then wonder why the tubes go into
orbit.

## another old guy (ham for 60 years now)  sez he tunes his Ameritron
AL-811H up at 3840 khz..... then qsy's down to 3506 khz.... without
re-tuning, then complains he only gets no more than 2-3 weeks out of a new
set of 811's. (His swr is high down on 3506).  When u tell em the amp needs
to be re-tuned, they tear a strip out of you, since they have been doing
that way since day-1.

## Local ham here in town managed to get 1400 watts out of his
AL-80B...driving it with a Icom 775DSP ( 200w xcvr)...until he blew it up.
  Then we have the local folks who like FT-8, since it's all the rage these
days, then wonder why the ceramic bandswitch overheats and cracks..on 17m.

##  Myself, I would be real leery about buying any used amp with an
expensive tube in it. It could last a year or two, and maybe 5-10 years,
who knows.

## On the SS amp group, one fellow went through 3 x pairs of BLF-188's.
They are not cheap..and a real bitch to replace.

Jim  VE7RF