Steve Ellington wrote:
>
> I built the TenTEc 1340 40 meter QRP rig and wanted some extra power so
> I bought one of those CB amplifiers that are so popular. Yes, these
> things are everywhere! All you gotta do is put a wtb: on rec.radio.cb
> and you'll get plenty of offers. Expect to pay about $125 for a 150w
> model.
> I don't know if these things are still being manufactured but I've seen
> tons of them at hamfest. Just look around for the guy with all the CB
> junk! My 1340 with it's 4 watts output can drive this amplifier to 75
> watts which is plenty of power.
>
> There is absolutely nothing illegal about buying these and using them on
> the ham bands.
> They do defeat the whole purpose of QRP though and that is: To prove
> that it doesn't take much power to establish a qso but it does take some
> power to keep one.
Our club president is handling an estate sale for a local SK, who also
had
a lot of CB gear. Among the items was a Palomar 350Z amplifier and, as
you
said, it's designed to look like a regular 80-10m ham amplifier. We
hooked
it up and drove it with an Icom IC-706 at 100 watts, and it put out in
excess
of 400 watts. Got some good signal reports back during a recent special
event,
but don't know what kind of spurs it's putting out.
Haven't opened the case yet, but someone said it uses two 6LQ6s to drive
four
more. If that's the case, hope the tubes last forever. I recently
tried to
get one for the final of a Swan 270B, and was quoted from $39 to almost
$100
for NIB. Finally got one from a ham in Washington state for $20.
73 de Jim - KF6CR
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