----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Thomson" <jim.thom@telus.net>
To: <amps@contesting.com>
Sent: Saturday, May 20, 2017 10:20 PM
Subject: [Amps] new amp race
Date: Sun, 21 May 2017 01:53:03 +0000
From: Charles H <k4vud@hotmail.com>
To: "amps@contesting.com" <amps@contesting.com>
Subject: [Amps] new amp race
<I watched as EU ruined itself in contests with super high power big
antenna stations. Result seems to be they can not hear weaker long
distant stations.... so end up working each other in a band full of huge
sigs.
<Seems now everyone everywhere is looking for at least 2.5 KW fighting low
sunspots and egos.
<Just like the arms race, the amps race results in all being "equal"
again. Before 200 w worked ok and most had 100 or 200 watts. Now seems
many will have at least 2.5 KW and results are about same, just sharper,
wider elbows.
<The new amp race, Sad. 73, Charly
## is this on CW...or SSB...or both ? IMD on SSB and key clix on CW
will just make things worse. Big difference between the 200w ANAN 8000
with its -80 dbc IMD3....and a $14,000.00 400w yaesu
FT-9000MP..and its abysmal -12 db IMD3 . Thats apples and oranges.
Esp when you now have the case where the anan –8000 xcvr is cleaner than
say the 8877 amp. With the pre-distortion trick, now extended to any amp,
you can now correct for the amp..and improve its imd by 10-18 db...and
thats on top of the oem 8877 imd specs.
## Loud signals are an issue..with bigger amps and even bigger ants.
But a 3 kw amp is only 3 db louder than a 1.5 kw amp. 3db is not about
to trash the bands. But toss in another 3db from bigger ants,
then we are up to 6 db louder. Then toss in sub standard IMD / key
clix, etc, and now you have a real mess on your hands..which gets even
worse when speech processing is used. Any processing will increase
the average level of the already lousy imd . Then we have the contesters
who TX on a 2.4 khz filter..then RX on a 1.8 khz filter.
The ARRL, etc, should get off their butts and get on a new crusade, low
imd, and minimal clix. Other than phase noise, I see no further
improvements that can be made on RX. RX is maxed out, focus on the
TX side.
## then we have the issue of the ambient noise on RX slowly increasing
over the years..... similar to light pollution for amateur astronomers.
Some folks are maxed out for ants already, they cant get any more gain
on their postage sized city lot. Noise is higher, so no wonder 1 kw is
now the new 100w.
Jim VE7RF
It reminds me more of the horsepower races. It started seriously in the mid
50's and ended by 71 when the Govt and insurance agencies cracked down.
Then more recently 300 hp was par for the course in family cars where half
that moved people just as well a few years before at the same weights. Now
600-750 hp can be driven off the showroom floor and even more when tuned.
Over 1000 hp is available in the super cars for the rich even in Europe.
It makes my roughly 400-425 hp 68 Impala seem like grannies ride.
Carl
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