[TenTec] Omni VI and non TT Amp

[Rick Denney]

Gary Hoffman writes...

> Both make good points.  Obviously many hams have no idea these days
> how to use an amp.

Okay, let me check my method with you guys, since I'm relatively new,
particularly to amp usage.

I have an Omni V and an 811A. I use the relay output of the 811, but I
did not attempt to connect ALC (I'll set aside for the moment that
there is no ALC connector on the V that I've seen). I tune my antenna
tuner (a TT 229A) using an MFJ 259 in place of the exciter in my RF
chain before switching back to the Omni V as the exciter. Then, I tune
the amp into a dummy load (or use my recorded settings), using the
TUNE button on the V. I set the RF output on the exciter to peak
output of the amp. The power meter on the Omni V is reading about 50
or 55 watts, usually, with the full-power key-down operation of the
TUNE button. I set the exciter below the point where increasing it
yields no increase in amp output power.

Then, I just switch to the antenna and use the radio. I usually read
600 watts or so key-down (with TUNE), but in SSB will rarely se
anything near to that on my rellatively cheap meters. I'm quite sure
my meter does not have an accurate peak-reading capability, but even
when I whistle into the microphone I don't see quite as much as with
the TUNE button. And I whistle loud, heh, heh.

Seems to me that method will keep the SSB peaks below the acceptable
exciter PEP of the amp.

If I want more so-called talk power, I can use the processing in the
exciter, which I understand keeps the peak envelope power the same but
increases the average power. That's the same effect as ALC, it seems
to me, but designed for that purpose instead of as a safety measure.
If the exciter stays within its own envelope, it seems to me it won't
push the amp outside of its envelope.

Nobody has complained that I splatter, but maybe they are just being
nice.

Rick, KR9D

---
Richard W. Denney, Jr. PE|Iteris, Inc.              |
Associate Vice President |107 Carpenter Dr. Ste 230 |    703.925.3819
rwd at iteris.com           |Sterling, VA 20164        |Fax 703.471.1757