Regarding spending capacity, I agree that the Elecraft KPA1500 with tuner would be too expensive to appeal to a lot of people, including myself. However, looking back I can see that I have been able to spend a smaller but substantial amount several times. A modular approach to the design would make it possible to get to 500W first, for a price not too different from the KPA500, and then add modules/capability later. This approach also makes more sense for hams in countiries where 1500W or even 1000W is not allowed. Combining lower power modules leads to higher production numbers, which should help reduce per-unit cost.
73, Erik K7TV -----Original Message----- From: Elecraft [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of w7aqk Sent: Friday, March 17, 2017 6:59 PM To: Elecraft Reflector <elecraft@mailman.qth.net> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Linear thoughts Hi All, I don't really have an oar in this debate, since I am 99.99% sure I won't be buying one--a 1500 watt linear, that is. However, it seems to me that all this advice to Eric should include some reasonable estimate of what one would be willing to pay for it!!! So far, I think I've only seen one such estimate--3 times the cost of a KPA500, which is probably a fair guess! If you throw in the upgraded tuner, you are talking $7500 or so! Wow! $5000 more just to gain slightly less than 1 S unit! I like to think in terms of $/S unit, rather than $/watt. The latter seems meaningless at this level! Well, some folks will probably spend that in a heartbeat! I guess that's about what the new Flex amp everyone is talking about will cost. If Elecraft could do it for much less, they may be on to something! Still, at this price level, a few hundred bucks one way or another may not mean that much. Nonetheless, I think we do need some feel for a price point to keep appetites in check. For what it is worth, I think keeping the ATU external gives people an opportunity to control cost somewhat. A big plus would be access to Elecraft support! Even sitting on the sidelines this is rather fascinating! Dave W7AQK ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to ebasil...@cox.net ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
