>Rich says:
>
>>N.B.: There is apparently no such thing as a perfect amplifier, so it
>>might not be a really great idea to toss out your soldering iron.
>
>If there was a perfect amplifier, it would take away the whole raison
>d'etre for this reflector, all our fun, and even worse, an activity
>which gives us all a chance to learn.
Yes, Peter, but there are people here who want to design and build
high-power amplifiers.
>
>It might be possible to imagine a perfect amplifier; actually producing
>it would be another matter.
>
Well, a Nearly perfect one is do-able, Peter.
At this point, 3 years after "The Nearly Perfect Amplifier" was published
in *QST*, and all of the subsequent discussion on the Internet - (thanks
to Mesrs. Rauch, Daniels, Walker and others) - , I'm guessing that there
are a fair number of people who would be able to recognize the
difference.
IMO, it would be feasable to produce an amplifier that had:
1. 2mS - 3mS switching.
2. Rheostat-adjustable filament-potential.
3. Filament voltmeter function on the multi-meter.
4. Low VHF-Rp parasitic suppresson.
5. Step-start.
6. Tank circuit with appropriate RF current rated components.
7. Good input swr with any transceiver.
8. Glitch protection.
9. Black candles, personalized (callsign) prayer cloth, and certified
anti-arc incense supplied with each amplifier at NO extra charge!
For Class AB1, grid-driven tetrode or pentode amplifiers, the screen and
grid-bias supplies are adjustable, and bridge neutralization is used
above c. 10MHz.
IMO, the slight increased cost of producing a nearly perfect amplifier
would be offset by the lower rate of return -- especially from damage
that has the earmarks of being VHF parasitic-related.
Would people buy one? ........What happened several decades ago when
Nipponese TV manufacturers decided to produce sets that had superb
quality control, superb picture quality, that seldom needed fixing? The
laugher is that the quality ideas came from our very own Dr. Demming, who
was pretty much pooh-poohed and ignored by manufacturers in this country.
After all that has been said and done, would you believe that I STILL get
telephone calls from folks who want to know which amplifier to buy?
ROFL, L, L.
Rich---
R. L. Measures, 805-386-3734, AG6K
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