[Amps] 12 KW CCS ON 160-15M....USING THE 3CX-6000A7..... PART 20

[John Lyles]

My feelings about this amplifier and the others that Jim and Scott have concocted is that it is good information to be shared here. The engineering is sound and workmanship is solid. When tube amplifiers are designed for multiple kW of average power, all the components can be stressed a lot more than in our usual 3-500Z, 3CX800A7, and 3CX1500A7/8877 etc amplifiers. So everything needs to be scaled up for reliability. Seeing Scott explain why a particular capacitor or ferrite was chosen, oriented a certain way, gives less experienced practicioners more than will be found in most recent handbooks. Getting it all together in a video is a bonus. Its archived even. I have designed some high powered tube PAs for a living, not for sale but for scientific use at work, that are not commercially available without a custom build, single frequency. I keep detailed logbooks of my journey along the way, but they are not on YouTube, etc. But the information is written down, in case I need to do it again or my coworkers want to do it after i retire. I have talked to Scott and Jim about ideas and tricks of the trade, better ways to measure component parasitics, as it is good for amplifier builders and operators to communicate with other amplifier people. The obvious first reaction is "why is there a need to present an overpowered amplifier project to hams since it may be used at illegal levels?" I thought that first time I saw it years back, but over time I see them improving their designs, and producing a first class homebrew job. Everyone here who wants to build a tube PA benefits from the thought process alone, even if you don't copy the build yourself.

On the contrary, there are some 11 meter videos and discussions that are outrageous on the internet. Scary practices, horrible designs full of IMD and splatter, and running active devices far beyond their ratings for a short time. This kind of crap does nothing good for real amplifier builders besides giving a bad name to the art form.

73, happy homebrewing,
John K5PRO