My Ears perked up when on Wednesday 24 December 2003 08:14, Jim Candela said (and I am -not- making this up!)::
> One other thing. A valiant can put out 150 watts of AM carrier, and a > T-Bolt should be able to put out 400 watts when the 4-400's are running > flat out at maximum plate dissipation (back to that 33% efficiency again of > AM linear amps). If you back off the T-Bolt to ease the burden on the > tubes, then maybe 300 watts output. So this approach gives you 3 db power > boost above the Valiant. Consider that even if you de-tune the valiant to > 75 watts out, you still need to get down somewhere into single digit watts > to drive the T-Bolt. Looks like a 10 db, or more pad is required. Is all > this trouble worth it to you? An AM rig with a single 6146, or 2e26 in the > output may be a better approach to drive the T-Bolt. Good luck with your > project.. I recently (a couple of weeks or so ago) helped an AM'er get a better signal, by: #1) PLEADING AND BEGGING him to get his antenna more than 5' off the ground #2) Fixing him up with a Viking II (sans VFO) and I pulled the 6146's in favor of the 2E26's. Detuned the Viking II down to around 5 to 7watts output, and he's now driving that into a HT-33 amp, with a single PL-172 (1kW of Dissapation) and he's running it at 200 ~ 225 watts of carrier out, and sounds "much" better, to everyone he's talking to, now. Names with-held to protect the guilty ;-) Speaking of which - where were YOU this morning? Never heard you on the air. Duey/K5KZQ was on with his 35w, as well as Bill/W5SG and his Gonset Twins. Otis/K5SWK, Tony/W5OD and myself were the "tall ships" and I was only running 100w (as I do in the daytime) with the p-p 250TH's x p-p 250TH's. Merry Christmas, Jim See ya tonight? -- 10:29am up 17:15, 4 users, load average: 0.13, 0.22, 0.26
