[TenTec] Hooking up an Amplifier for the first time...

[Dave Tipton]

Ok, so I'm a total novice at running anything other than a barefoot rig.  I was at the Weatherford, TX hamfest yesterday and picked up a Dentron GLA-1000 amp with some extra tubes, yadda yadda yadda.
   
  As I was reading through the manual, on how to hook up a amp to my jupiter, I saw a strong word of caution about using older tube amps and their relay circuits...  What I decided, was, instead of being sorry, I'd be safe.. I'd build a relay circuit that when the Jupiter amp connection closes, I'd key the amp.  Seems reasonable right?  I know there is a low amount of power coming out of the jupiter, enough to key the relay?  I don't know.. (PArt 1 of the question)
   
  Part 2 -
  I started looking around on the web to see if there was anything out there that might provide additional functionality, etc.  (Why??  I have NO idea)  Now I'm seeing that there are tons of "Delay" circuits out there that hold the amp keyed down for a few extra seconds.
   
  Anyone care to elaborate on this?  Can I just wire up a relay, get the power for the relay from the output on the Jupiter, and then when I unkey, it comes back and I hear receive noise again?!?!  I'm so confused... 
   
  Last part of the question...
  Can I reliably tune my antenna (Not using the internal auto tuner) and then bring my amp in line?  (I picked up a 3KW tuner to go with this.  A dentron MT-2000A)  What I'm thinking, is put the amp in standby mode, tune my longwire/dipole/etc, then bring the amp in line, tune up the amp and in theory this should prevent me from blowing up my amp.  Since I don't have a 500 Watt Dummy load, it's the best I can do for the moment.
   
  Sorry if this seems a little off topic, I know some of it is directly related to the reflector, but I appreciate help on the other sections too.
   
  Thanks,
  Dave - A newbie at 20 years, once again
  W3DMT