Centaur 411 Amp

[Ten-Tec Inc.]

Chuck:

At 09:20 AM 12/14/96 -0600, you wrote:
(regarding the 411 amplifier)
>Two things......seems like it would be good to have a better calibration
>procedure during production since it didn't get misadjusted by itself.

Agreed.  Apologies to the owner of this amplifier for missing this in QC. 

>The other thing is the test report in CQ that went into great detail on
>how to avoid arcing of the tune capacitor in humid weather. I don't
>think the tune capacitor should be so easy to arc over. Isn't the
>voltage rating of the cap too low for the application?

Absolutely not.  A damp or dirty tuning capacitor, under full load, 
has an excellent chance to arc.  The comments about avoiding arcing in
an amplifier were directed at amplifiers in general, not only the Centaur.
I quote from the article : "Tight coupling to the load, consistent with 
maximum power output, is essential toward preventing arcs in ANY (emphasis
added) amplifier".  Doug also mentioned that the problem disappeared after
three minute warmup (long enough to vaporize condensation off the plates?)
   
>I am very sympathetic to TT and suffer with a few design bugs in the TT
>auto antenna tuner because I like the thing overall. And, one of these
>days I'm going to buy an Omni VI so that I have something to work on
>that is otherwise a better performer than mediocre rigs that work
>perfectly. But, I just don't think that the product review should lay
>the responsibility of an inadequate design on the guy who just paid for
>a brand new commercial amplifier.

There is nothing said or implied in Doug's article that states that this
amplifier is of inadequate design.  In fact, we regarded this review as
very complimentary.  The Centaur is a terrific little amplifier and runs
circles around anything comparable available today.  

73, Scott Robbins W4PA
Ten-Tec 



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