[Elecraft] Why predistortion ?

[Wayne Burdick]

12 volts is a severe constraint for MOSFET PAs. But, like a lot of other manufacturers, we accept this constraint so the equipment can be used in a wide variety of portable/emergency power situations. As a result we have IMD numbers in exactly the same range as other products that are subject to this constraint.

On the other hand, our transceivers are best in class in terms of transmitted keying bandwidth. See paper by K9YC for example. Perhaps that's what JR was thinking of.

73,
Wayne
N6KR



> On Sep 13, 2020, at 6:50 PM, David Gilbert <ab7echo at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> 
> I don't know where you got the idea that the K-Line produces the cleanest signals.  As several people have pointed out, because of the 12 volt finals the transmit IMD performance of the existing K-line is relatively poor.
> 
> Dave   AB7E
> 
> 
> On 9/13/2020 2:32 PM, JR wrote:
>> Why are so many ops obsessed with predistortion?
>> 
>> The Elecraft K-Line already produces some of the cleanest, purest transmit signals around.   Do we need predistortion ?  If so, why, and how much better is it than what we already have?  Should I wait to buy a new rig until that is available?
>> 
>> Thanks and Happy Trails to all.   K8JHR
> 
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