[RTTY] SPE 2K-FA amplifier duty cycle

[Bill Turner]

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On Thu, 18 Jun 2015 07:02:24 -0400, you wrote:

>
>    
>Hi Bill,
>I talked to the people selling them at Dayton...and bought one from Expert Amps USA...Frosty's daughter ..I am waiting for delivery.
>On RTTY its recommended to run at mid power...which is i think around 1100 watts...if running at high power i believe if the heat sensors find it necessary they will back the amp to mid power automatically. How long that takes I imagine would depend on how warm the air entering it is...pipe in air from your freezer..it would probably run longer at high power.
>I never run RTTY at 1500 so its not an issue for me. And I'll know more once the amp is in its place in my shack!
>The Expert Amps USA people were great to talk to and had a good discount on them at Dayton...the other guy...not so much.
>GL/73
>MIKE W2GR 

REPLY:

The Expert Amps folks did indeed have a good price following Dayton,
but it expired on May 26. I was tempted but ended up buying a used one
I found online. It is scheduled for delivery tomorrow, Friday.
Hopefully I can get it all set up for the Ukraine RTTY contest which
starts on Saturday. I probably won't get the auto tune feature
implemented by then, but manual band changes are quick enough once
programmed for each band segment. 

Another gentleman told me he runs a 2K-FA at 1500 watts while
contesting but only with very short transmissions. No ragchewing. I'll
know after this weekend and I will post my findings. 

This limitation appears to be strictly a cooling issue. The amp itself
is rated at 2400 watts PEP so headroom is not an issue, only cooling. 

Used 2K-FA's are pretty rare.  They are among the most expensive amps
on the market when brand new - $6995 and there is a waiting list.  I
was lucky to find a used one. Used amps are always risky but the
seller guaranteed it to be in perfect condition, mechanically,
cosmetically and electrically. We'll see. 

Stay tuned (pun intended).

73, Bill W6WRT