[Elecraft] RE: Dumb mistakes I have made

[Lee Buller]

I have always like building, but very little of what I have built has ever 
worked....except for the K2.

I was building a homebrew 3-500Z (x2) linear amplifer.  I had scrounged an 
old Heathkit Chippawa or Warrior or something like that...power suppyl  Ran 
four 866B mercury vapor tubes.  I had to flush out the bird crap and mouse 
dropping in the restoration process.

OK....here is a fact...I love tubes....I love tubes that glow purple...and 
love tubes that get brite purple when they are under load. I love purple 
tunes that flash along with the CW.

I had this amp done except for tweaking the pi-net output for maximum 
effciency when I got across the 3600 volt DC line.  I woke up laying on the 
floor...could barely move...and there was a tremendous smell of burnt 
flesh.  I had a 3rd degree burn on my hand.  The fuses had blown and the 
amp was dead....but I was alive.  I traded the amp the next week for a 
TH6DXX new in the box.  I still have a TH6DXX    I purchased a used SB220. 
That is long gone.  End of building big amps.

Lee - K0WA