[GCARC] HF amplifier

[Kenneth Bozarth]

I concurr with Tony. I'd like to sell you a 12V amp but if you plan to
always use a generator, then the added power conversion to 12V is a waste
of energy and there are several 115VAC amps to choose from in the 500W
range. A good example is a Heath SB200/201, that many hams have for sale. A
vacuum tube amp will be less costly, albeit once in a while tubes need
replacing, they are heavy due to the power transformer and you must tune
them. Good news is they can take high SWR without instantly blowing out the
finals. So, consider all you have to lug around and your budget. A
solid-state no-tune amp can operate from a switching power supply, which
makes it a lot lighter. And most of all, consider that going from 100W to
400-500W is only 6dB, hardly noticable at the receiving end. If it were me,
I'd invest in an efficient antenna. Having a vertical that breaks down,
plus a horizontal wire you could support on a fiberglass mast or toss into
a tree would give you some advantages.

I will try again to call you today.
Ken

<https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon>
Virus-free.
www.avast.com
<https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link>
<#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>

On Wed, Jun 8, 2022 at 7:29 AM Tony Starr <tstarr1450 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Gregg,
>
> There are not a lot of amplifiers in this class being made, with this
> "class" being 500 watts and portable.  Two that come to mind are the
> Elecraft KPA-500 ( expensive ) and the Ameritron ALS-500 ( cheaper ).  The
> Ameritron can be powered by a 12V battery, but it needs to be a big
> battery, as the current requirement is at least 80 amps. Most of the other
> "small" amplifiers that you will find will run on 120V AC, so a generator
> would be required for portable operation. Depending on the size of your
> generator, the only limit to what you use is how large of an amp do you
> want to lug around.  This is why most people use 100 watts or less for
> portable operation.  A compromise is the Kenwood TS-480HX like I run in my
> truck.  It is a compact (but not lightweight) transceiver that puts out 200
> watts on the HF bands.  Not 500 watts, but better than 100 watts.  Plus,
> it's a Kenwood, and you know the value of that!
>
> 73- Tony K3TS
>
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Jun 7, 2022 at 5:51 AM Gregg Valentine <cigarhunter at hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Does anyone have a 500 W or less, HF amplifier that they wanna part with?
> > I am looking for an amplifier that I can use for field day/parks on the
> > air/alternate location.
> > Gregg
> > KD2VBH
> >
> >
> > Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef>
> > ______________________________________________________________
> > GCARC mailing list
> > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/gcarc
> > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> > Post: mailto:GCARC at mailman.qth.net
> >
> > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> >
> ______________________________________________________________
> GCARC mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/gcarc
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:GCARC at mailman.qth.net
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>