The Tokyo High Power amps seem to be very well made. Their best-selling amp
here in the US is their HL-50B which boosts 5w or 10w up to 50w. It's a
favorite of FT-817 owners and other QRP operators.
That amp is illegal TO SELL (not to own) here in the US because of what it
is. Not that it is a technically inferior amp, but that it doesn't require
at least 50 watts to get maximum gain. The rules regarding gain are there
in an attempt to keep people from using them with CB rigs that only put out
5w. No one at the FCC monitoring facility would be able to differentiate
between a signal from that amp versus 50 watts from a QRO rig.
The FCC rules regarding amps that were enacted in order to prevent CB'ers
from using amateur amps are, in a word, stupid. That's right, stupid.
Someone needs to say this, and it SHOULD be the ARRL. These stupid rules
ONLY hurt amateurs, who obey the stupid rules, and don't prevent idiots from
building cheap and crummy solid state amps that are sold at every truck stop
in the country -- and all over eBay. However, that is why Ten-Tec can't
make the 405 amp anymore, and that is also why Elecraft had to put a
computer chip in their 100w final kit so that it couldn't be used without
being run from a K2 (and why it's not considered an amp, but the rig's
finals). Wouldn't you like to be able to buy a newer version of the 405 to
run after your Argonaut V so you could have QRP and QRO capabilities?
Wouldn't it be handy if the Elecraft K2 100w 'amp' could be used with a K1
or any other QRP rig?
Ask yourself how many of Ten-Tec 405s are being used by CB'ers? None,
probably... the cheap 'pill' amps have much more gain and work just fine IF
you don't care how much harmonics you are putting out. How many CB'ers
would spend $250 to buy a 50w amp like the THP HL-50B when they can spend
less and buy a 200w amp (that is cheaper because it is not as well-designed
or made and has no filtering on the output).
How about this new rule for amps? Any amp that meets spectral purity and
output power limits can be purchased by any licensed amateur, regardless of
gain and minimum driving power. Any CB'er caught running an amp illegally
faces an automatic $10,000 fine and forfeiture of the station premises where
the illegal activity was occurring (car, home, RV, etc.). Any company
producing and marketing these impure 'pill' amps to the CB marketplace
should face $250,000 fines and confiscation of ALL property (real and
otherwise) where the amps are being produced... you make these in your house
and you lose the house, and your vehicles on the property, and your
furniture and equipment). And, the FCC should let their hair and beards
grow for a week or so and then crash the next "CB Shootout" where these
idiots get together and run 25 KW out of their vans... and seize EVERY
amp-equipped vehicle there (hundreds of them)... and then use the product
labels to go after every manufacturer who builds those crummy
spectrally-dirty 'pill' amps and targets the CB marketplace.
Oh well, I can dream, can't I?
- jgc
John Clifford KD7KGX
Heathkit HW-9 WARC/HFT-9/HM-9
Elecraft K2 #1678 /KSB2/KIO2/KBT2/KAT2/KNB2/KAF2/KPA100
Ten-Tec Omni VI/Opt1
Alinco DR-605TQ
Icom T90A
email: kd7kgx@arrl.net
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