[Elecraft] [OT] Off Shore RF amplifiers

[Don Wilhelm]

Rick,

You are correct, an amplifier without low pass filtering will generate 
harmonics - unless it is a *very* expensive instrumentation amplifier - 
you might find one in a test lab, but most likely not in a ham station.

It is not legal to *sell* those kind of amplifiers in the US (and I 
assume many other countries).
However, an amateur can purchase one of these and add his own low pass 
filters and that is entirely legal.
Any amateur radio station in the US must assure that his transmitted 
signal is clean and meets FCC requirements.  The amateur is individually 
responsible for the quality of the signal he transmits.  Anyone who has 
passed his amateur exam should know that.
For that reason, I will not allow my call to be used at Field Day unless 
they also use my transceiver(s).

73,
Don W3FPR

On 7/27/2016 2:21 PM, rick jones via Elecraft wrote:
> First of all, I'm NOT entertaining purchasing one, I'm happy with my 100W K3. I've been away from the hobby for a while and I'm catching up on a few things. I'm noticing quite a few add on amplifiers targeting the portable crowd on the auction site. Most are originating from China. Many show an internal picture and I do not see any obvious forms of LP filtering. Is it legal to run one of these amps without FCC acceptance? If the answer is "no" then is an effort being made to educate people why these amps may be causing harm to the airwaves (in the test question pool, for instance)? Hams, being a notoriously thrifty lot, may be attracted to the low price but may not be aware of, or have the ability to monitor their own signals. I'm not trying to stir up any wars, I'm simply curious about the proliferation of cheap equipment of questionable quality control and if there has been a noticeable change to the bands over the years.
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