[Elecraft] KPA500 Power Gain

[Jim Brown]

On 3/16/2011 11:02 AM, David Cutter wrote:
> A European model will be required:

It might be NICE to be able to drive it at lower power, but I don't 
understand why it is REQUIRED.  It would be NICE to be able to drive it 
to rated power from a barefoot K3/10 (or K2/10), but that could push the 
driver to the point where it produces a bit more IM and THD (that is, 
splatter and harmonics). That's the main reason that firmware for the 
K3/100 now limits output power to 110 watts.

> we don't have the gain restriction you have, however, we do like stability and putting lots of gain into one box could be tricky.

The Elecraft design engineers are quite sharp, and have carefully 
thought quite things like this. As a result of my own EE background and 
ongoing conversations with one of them who is a neighbor (and a serious 
contester), I'm firmly convinced that they have made a very intelligent 
set of design decisions about these issues. The last thing our ham bands 
need is more loud lids spewing trash.

73, Jim K9YC