[NLRS] Digikey has X-band RF amps

[Doug Reed]

I received a promotional email from Digikey today. Among other parts,
they were announcing availability of some new X-band power devices
from Wolfspeed (Cree). They are all in the 9 to 12GHz band and they
have a few RF evaluation boards for sale too.
<https://www.digikey.com/en/product-highlight/c/cree-wolfspeed/x-band-radar-portfolio>

If I was reading the spec sheet right, The "lowest price" eval board
was around $900 with the 25 watt part installed. They require 28
volts, around 1.2-1.5 amps, have 16dB gain, and are about 1/3rd
efficient. 25 watts is the rated CW power output, SSB could go a bit
higher.

The most expensive eval board is $1300 and includes the 35 watt part.
The spec sheet says those typical ratings are 40 watts CW output with
23dB of gain at 10GHz.

I haven't looked to see how this cost compares to the Khune 10GHz
amplifiers. I expect it is lower but you would need to add your own
output filter and a good size heat sink.

Anyway, if you've always wanted to try 10GHz EME, this might be the
power amp you need!

73, Doug Reed, N0NAS.