Yes it may seem expensive at ~$80/watt, however from on air listening and
some bench measurements, those "cheap" amps are noted to be not so clean in
terms of spurious radiation.
We've all been plagued by this an it is the station that runs one of the
"off shore" type kit amps. You know, the ones that has to have the "filters
added". Ever notice how the operators signal splatters when other
stations on the same frequency do not? Hams must be very careful when using
solid state amps and it is a lesson that many have not learned.
Historically, being accustomed to tube type amps, by nature those have a
softer knee at the point they go into distortion, the distortion by products
aren't initially too severe. At the same time, drive one of the solid state
amps ever so slightly into distortion and the sideband products go up by 10
fold. But at the same time, we must note that those solid state amps can
sure make the watt meter move significantly upscale. Oh yes, it is more
average power due to clipping, but being quasi square wave in nature, much
of it is spread out over several KHz of spectrum. Be assured that your
neighbors on the adjacent frequency won't appreciate your presence on the
band.
A good solid state amp today is quite expensive per watt as compared to an
equal power tube type amp. If size and weight is an issue then the solid
state amp is the way to go. Understand its limitations. If economy and
weight and size is no concern, then a tube type amp suits the needs most
effectively.
Too bad the FCC no longer polices the ham bands, specially on emissions,
today. If this were to take place effectively, there would likely be quite
a few operators writing letters of explanation regarding implementation of
corrective action. On the other hand, too bad we really can't seem to
police ourselves collectively.
73
Bob, K4TAX
----- Original Message -----
From: "Doug S" <nn9s@yahoo.com>
To: <tentec@contesting.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 16, 2012 10:52 AM
Subject: [TenTec] new amp
IMHO $800 is just crazy to pay for a 100w amp. I can hear the naysayers
already and how other companies offer less etc but I just don't see much of
a market for an 100w amp for $800.00.
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