[SixClub] MY NEW AMPLIFIER

[Mike Andrews]

On Sun, Feb 12, 2012 at 10:09:22PM -0500, K8RI on Six wrote:
> On 2/12/2012 7:51 PM, Richard J. Fiero II W5TFW wrote:
> > 1 8877 on 50 MHz.......2000 watts on 6 meters !
> OK, now you have the driver stage Joey, but what are you going to use 
> for a final?
> 
> I have a pair of 4CX3000s you could run push pull, or how about a YC156? 
> No socket needed for the YC156, the grid ring bolts right to the 
> chassis. The down side is it takes 6 to 8 minutes to warm up. OTOH the 
> 4CX3000's take 375 watts (each) to light the fire, but they are pretty 
> much instant on. <:-))Just think, you could claim your filaments used 
> more power than most of us get out on six! To top it off you can get, 
> good, tested pulls for less than an 8877 pull. Course make sure you are 
> sitting down before looking up the sockets for the 4CX3000s<:-))  Always 
> a trade off.  But if you are willing to wait for the warm up, the YC156 
> with only 3KV on it runs about the same power and gain as the 8877 and 
> will probably still be doing it when your great grand kids are ready to 
> retire and it only takes 225 watts to light the fire.  However if you 
> feel the need for a bit of "over head" you can up the plate voltage 
> substantially, but then there is the problem of burning the ends off the 
> driven element and first couple of directors, plus replacing all your 
> coax connectors and probably coax... As I said, it's always a trade off.

Burning the ends off the elements is only a start when you
go QRO. You might start hearing voices, too, as some of my
acquaintances have: <http://mikea.ath.cx/VOICE-OF-GOD.html> and
<http://mikea.ath.cx/moth-arc.html> tell about this problem. I grant
that these were in the SWBC band, which is HF, and up above HF is where
things get even tricksier. 

Or you could just use it to heat your water for tea or coffee, taking
due care to keep things from getting too dry or too sparky:
<http://mikea.ath.cx/coffee-maker.html>.

-- 
Mike Andrews, W5EGO
mikea at mikea.ath.cx
Tired old sysadmin