[Elecraft] QRO Possibilities

[Joel Hallas]

Interesting discussion about past and future higher power amplifiers. I
recently sprung for a KPA500 and love everything about it. In fact my TT
Centaur is available, if anyone is interested. 

I have considered higher power -- and it does make some sense for me -- I am
antenna limited. 

Rather than developing a new amplifier product, it occurred to me that
Elecraft could sell more KPA500s if they made a two-amp coupler box to allow
a pair to be run together. Since the drive requirements are typically 25 W,
a 3 dB splitter should be able to easily drive a pair and a combiner could
bring the outputs together -- matched cables required in and out.

I could imagine a KPA sized front panel with the splitter and combiner
inside, a 1200 W power indicator and duplicate control functions. I think
the cost of a pair of KPA500s, and the control/splitter box might be
competitive and allow an easy upgrade path for those with a single KPA500.
Of course, the KPA500s could be in a closet, since all control is from the
combiner box. 

That gets you 3 dB, rather than 5 -- but it will still be a seamless K3+
setup. Hard not to like, IMHO. 

The other argument goes like this -- as a mainly CW op, I remember the days
when we were limited to 1000 W dc input -- typically a max of 700 W output
on a good day. My KPA500 can put out an easy 600 W, within 0.7 dB of what I
could only dream of while starting fires with my 811s as a kid who thought
he knew everything <g> 

Regards, Joel Hallas, W1ZR
Westport, CT