[Elecraft] Old dog, old tricks

[George Kuehn]

Thanks to Don and others for the response to the question I had about power 
level fluctuations in the K2.  The responders also commented on the use of 
current technology smart linear amps that auto-switch bands and feed ALC or 
power output signals back to the exciter.  That is great, although the 
convenience comes at a price that is justifiable, but nevertheless attention 
getting.

About 35 years ago I managed WAS from Florida running 2 watts or less CW 
from homebrew transmitters and mostly wire antennas.  Once I climbed that 
hill, I decided I wanted to go QRO to allow more comfortable ragchewing. 
So, I built an amp with a pair of 6146B tubes in parallel and drove the 
grids with my little qrp transmitters.  This meant manual input and tank 
bandswitching, not to mention re-dipping the final each time I changed 
bands.  The only non-junkbox and fleamarket parts in that amp were the 
tubes.  That was fun in building and exciting every time I made a contact.

So, I think the new linear for my K2 will be either a push-pull pair of 
switching FET's or a single grounded grid 811A.  The latter will allow me to 
run 10 watts or so into the tube while the solid state approach will require 
either a low level of drive or some amount of attenuation.  Given my 
background, manual bandswitching and tuning won't be a big deal and probably 
more fun than just plugging stuff together.  All is according to what you're 
used to, I guess.

George Kuehn
N9AUP