[TenTec] What Radio/how much power?

[Ken Brown]

I don't think "where does it stop?" is really the question. We know the 
answer to that is either at the legal limit, or the limit you can afford 
to buy or the amount of effort you want to put into to building an 
amplifier.

A more interesting question to me is: "What is the minimum amount of 
gain necessary to make it worth the trouble of using that higher power?"

How much trouble is it to have a 200 watt transceiver, versus a 100 watt 
transceiver? Maybe not much trouble if it just means spending a little 
bit more money. In that case the 3 dB you gain may be worth the trouble. 
In a portable, mobile, or "alternative" energy source setup, maybe it is 
not worth the trouble.

How much trouble is it to have an outboard amplifier to get some gain? A 
bit more trouble, because of additional connections, more space on the 
operating desk, T/R switching limitations, etcetera. I would say it is 
not worth the trouble if that external amplifier only gives you 3 to 4 
dB gain. It may be worth the trouble if it gives you 6 dB or more gain.

In other words, I would not bother to use an external amplifier with a 
single 811A or 572B, with my 100 watt transceiver. I have used a SB-200 
(pair of 572B) with a 100 watt transceiver, and thought that it was 
worth the trouble.

Similarly, if I already had a setup working with a 500 or 600 watt 
amplifier, I would not bother to look for a 1 kW amplifier as an 
upgrade. I would look for a full 1.5 kW one though.

DE N6KB

Richards wrote:
> Serious question --   So... where does it stop ?   If 200 watts makes a 
> 100 watt rig just a bit better, why would a 300 watt amp not make that 
> 200 watt rig just a bit better and find you even more DX ?   And so on 
> down the slippery slope to megawatts, each little bit digging more DX 
> out than the previous bit?
> 
> How far down the slippery slope do we go before diminishing returns 
> cancels any marginal value from marginal additional power?    What 
> circumstances and factors would force a different answer for different 
> operators?
> 
> 	(Serious question - not just making an argument. --
> 	Personally, I find the maximum usable power is about 450-500
> 	watts... any more and I don't make more contacts that I do
> 	at that level, but should this not differ depending on antenna
> 	type and deployment, and other factors such as external
> 	noise levels, etc.??)
> 
> 
> ----------------
> Happy Trails.
> 
> =======================  Richards / K8JHR  =========================
> 
> On 9/10/2011 14:51, jack wrote:
>> I agree totally. I have 100 W and know that any boost would have helped in
>> several cases over the years. I have missed considerable DX because I could
>> not increase the power. there are many stations I have heard but could not
>> hear me due to QRM or QRN.
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