Re: [Discuss-gnuradio] power amplifiers on TX

[Kevin McQuiggin]

The amateur limit is 1000 Watts.  Personally I ran 800+ Watts on the 2
metre band in the late 1980s for my EME (moonbounce) station.  All
analog, single long-boom Yagi.  I used a 2M downconverter and listened
on my 10M receiver as it was way more sensitive than my 2M rig.

Over about a year's operation I heard about 10 stations via EME and
worked only 2.  Still, that was a very good operational record for a
single Yagi station of the era.

Possibly relevant to Marcus' and others' warnings, my power amplifier
did EXPLODE on one occasion due to dried-out filter capacitors.  Big
fireball, and little bits of paper blown right through the amplifier
case and all over the room.  It was spectacular :=/

My wife tells the story very well: she was in the kitchen and heard this
big "BOOM".  She called upstairs "Is everything alright?" and I calmly
replied "No problem.  Could you bring the fire extinguisher up here please?"

Fortunately no fire, and I replaced the filter capacitors.  The
amplifier was fine - a good bonus, as I had borrowed it from a research
lab at a local university for a couple of weeks.

With the new weak signal DSP techniques, I hear that 100 Watts and a
single Yagi will get you many contacts, although the data rate will be
very low.  Still, it works and that is amazing!

I think Daniel was just asking if these German amplifiers are good
quality.  I hear that they are, and that they work very well, although I
have never used or seen one in person.  I hear they stand behind their
gear, and will also do custom designs.

Kevin (VE7ZD)


On 15-12-30 04:03 PM, Johnathan Corgan wrote:
> On Wed, Dec 30, 2015 at 3:14 PM, James Humphries
> <address@hidden <mailto:address@hidden>> wrote:
>  
> 
>     I'm on Marcus' side with that output power, that's a scary high
>     output. I start to sweat at 10W... :)
> 
> 
> ​Heh, I connected a USRP to a 20KW PA once.  Sweating was only one of
> several things done in anticipation :)​
>  
> 
> -- 
> Johnathan Corgan
> Corgan Labs - SDR Training and Development Services
> http://corganlabs.com
> 
> 
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