Fw: [Wswss] 902 activity

[Jim Klitzing]

Hi Dan,

I'll go ahead and copy this reply to the reflector in case anyone else is
interested in the thread...

I have the DEMI 60w model here (28 MHz IF), and it works pretty well. I
guess the choice would depend on your final goal for the band. They make
10w, 30w and 60w models, all are the same except for the packaging and the
final stage.

If you contemplate driving a surplus cellular amp, maybe the 10w model would
fit pretty well (it's a lot cheaper). I wanted to keep it simple for now, so
I went with the more expensive 60w job.

I'll eventually drive a 400w tube amp, but that's down the road a ways. A
simple mod to the xvtr allows me to vary the output power from 1 to 60 (I'll
only need 10 for the amp); the bias line on the newer MOSFET modules (which
DEMI is using in the 30 and 60w models) allows this control.

I've noticed that the band is crowded with cordless phone traffic,
especially in the metro areas like around here; however, 902.0 to 902.1 is
pretty quiet; the cordless stuff is 902.1 and up by allocation from the FCC,
so we at least have a bit of quiet space available. For that reason, I
suggest you consider the 902 option (28=902 or 144=902) instead of 903,
which is what the East coast guys prefer. You can still operate 903 with
that setup if you need to, just tune the IF to 29 or 145, depending on your
choice of IF freqs.

Hope that helps...

Jim