[Lowfer] A lesson for you...

[Ralph Hartwell]

> After frying my homebrew LF preamp a couple of times, I put
back-to-back
> power diodes (something like 1N4002s) across the preamp output. The
diodes
> might not hold up very long, but on a couple of occasions the
combination of
> the diodes and the rig's SWR protection circuitry bought me enough
time to
> realize that I was doing something dumb.

And at these frequencies, it might be possible to place a low value fuse
in series with the input before the diodes.  The resistance of the fuse
should not materially affect the front end, but should prevent diode
evaporation in case of an accident.  Depends on the particular RX front
end, of course.

Remind me some time and I'll tell you about what happens when you leave
a Triplett 310 VOM connected to the tank circuit of a 4-1000A final and
hit the plate switch!

73,

Ralph   W5JGV / WC2XSR / 13

http://home.att.net/~ralph.hartwell
http://www.spectrotek.com