[Elecraft] OT Solid State Amps

[David Cutter]

>From a purely manufacturing point of view, it's a lot easier to make a solid 
state amplifier, particularly with surface mount parts and flow soldering on 
a production line.  Thousands can be made with high accuracy and 
repeatability and that alone reduces a major cost centre which is the 
manufacturing labour.  Cheaper, more reliable devices and magnetics come 
close behind but I think design has to be more clever and equipment in the 
design process is more expensive to ensure stability.  However, an rf 
transistor is the fastest fuse on 3 legs !  It's a lot easier to let the 
smoke out.

David
G3UNA


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lee Buller" <k0wa at swbell.net>
To: "Elecraft Reflector" <elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Friday, June 01, 2007 3:01 PM
Subject: [Elecraft] Solid State Amps


>
>
>
> When I attended Dayton this year and reading the magazines, I see there is 
> now a great interest in solid state amps.
>
> I thought that these amps were...well...not as efficient as tube amps thus 
> not being attractive to hams.  I guess we wanted BIG iron for an amp.
>
> Ameritron has two amps out for quite some time...the 500 and 600 with the 
> 600 now coming with a switching PS.  It seems people who own the 600 watt 
> model like them very much.
>
> Even "E" has the contesters contest amp and it is solid state.  So, what 
> has changed?  Have the SS Amps gotten more efficient?  Higher voltages? 
> What effects the efficiency of these amps where now there seems to be a 
> market for the Japanese and the Italians.
>
> Now most radios provide 100 watts output using transistors and the tube 
> finals in rigs have long been gone.  So, is this just a natural evolution 
> of amplifiers or is some new technological breakthrough happened in high 
> powered solid state amplifiers?
>
> Lee - K0WA
>
>
>
> In our day and age it seems that Common Sense is in short supply.  If you 
> don't have any Common Sense - get some Common Sense and use it.  If you 
> can't find any Common Sense, ask for help from somebody who has some 
> Common Sense.  Is Common Sense devine?
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