[Heathkit] Heathkit SB 220 and SB 201 amperage draws

[Phil Lefever]

At 03:47 PM 3/6/2006, Richard Franzson wrote:
>What component justifies the high current draw on these pieces of
>equipment. I know the amperage draw is less on 220 VAC verses 115 VAC.
>  Is it the xfmr or the finals (or both) that draws the high current
>demand.

It draws high current because it puts out a lot of power! ;)

Provided you have a normally healthy amp it should have an output
of ~500-600 watts. Given the amp is somewhere around 60% efficient
the power consumption will be between 700-1000 watts from the wall.
Input current draw will be close to 10 amps @ 115 v and half that
at 220 v. An amp of this power will require a healthy 115 v branch
and will run better at 220 v if you can provide it. I find its
worth the effort to run 220 v to anything I can that draws significant
current. My radial arm saw is much happier at 220 and I have even
run a dedicated 220 v line to my home HiFi rack to run my stereo
amps on!

It would be tough to find any amplifier that is significantly more
efficient then the SB-200, especially if dollars per watt matters
at all! They are one of the unsung bargains of amateur radio.

73

Phil

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phil Lefever    KBØNES                          Twin Cities Repeater Club
kb0nes at tcrc.org                                 Burnsville,MN