[Dx4win] Slightly of-topic; Replacing Linear Amp

[Igor]

Hi Frank,
    I just purchased an 811A, and feel that it has plenty of power, and am just
as happy that I didn't spend the extra $ on the 811H.  I seem to be able to
make any contact I want with the 811A.  There are really no design "flaws" per
se; however, I had the unfortunate experience of my Butternut vertical
capacitors filling up with water; I had set the SWR low with my tuner, (not
knowing about the water until later), but as the water boiled away, it ARCed
and blew the fuses and overheated the tubes.  The good news is that nothing
else was damaged, and it is easily repairable-- the tubes are readily available
from Ameritron for about $69 for a matched set of three, and cheaper if you
just order three.

I love the Ameritron, both because of its simplicity, and have gotten loads of
comments regarding the quality of my transmissions (I use it with my ICOM
706MKIIG; they make a nice pair); so there apparently is no distortion.    I
took the Butternut down for repairs or replacement, and am now transmitting on
loopy-looking inverted vee sort of thing we rigged up in the meantime.
Surprise.  I talked all over Europe on the DX contests; but I missed my
Ameritron a few times in the big pileups and when there was a lot of noise on
the band.

That's about it.  I would recommend it highly.
73'
KA6GWP
Rhea Stickley dx4win@mailman.qth.net

"Frank Grossman (WB2BXO)" wrote:

> I'd like to tap into the expertise of DX4WIN and Writelog users on this
> one...
>
> My venerable SB-220 amplifier has finally gone to the big shack in the sky
> after more than 25 years of faithful service.  I'm thinking of replacing it
> with an Ameritron 811A or 811H. (I can't run a full legal limit amp in an
> apartment)
>
> Several questions:
>
> 1.  Is there anything I should know about the Ameritron 811 amps?  Known
> design flaws, etc?
>
> 2.  Do I need Ameritron's "Icom interface" to use the amp with my IC-765?
> Why or why not?
>
> 3.  There are two versions of the QSK option--standalone and PC-board.
> What's the difference? (Other than $80-someodd dollars)
>
> 4. What will I need to do for 10 meter operation?  Is there a Web site with
> details of the mod?
>
> Thanks in advance for the bandwidth!
>
> 73,
> Frank
>
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