We mostly live in high rise multi-storey condominium in Hong Kong. Outdoor
huge antennas are definitely out of question. While most of the time using
QRP, QRO is not a sin especially in some marginal and difficult situation.
In case necessary, I use my K2 to drive my ICOM ICPW-1 to get about 300
watts.
It is nothing wrong with an AMP kit. It is educational. How to use the AMP
is a matter of operation practice and the AMP itself is nothing evil. I am
looking forward to having an AMP Kit which I can build and maintain. I love
my PW-1 but it has to be sent back to factory if there is anything wrong.
Shall we think more positively? The skill learnt from building an AMP kit
should be different.
It is my 2 cents view.
72/73
Johnny Siu VR2XMC
----- Original Message -----
From: "Vic Rosenthal" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: <[email protected]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2005 1:45 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] KW Amp Prices
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
If you spend one tenth of that amount sprucing up your antenna system
you will get more benefit.
If you already have a 'basic tribander' or similar on a 40-foot tower, the
next step up is to a 'serious' beam on a 70 foot tower. That will cost
you more than most amps, and in many cases is impossible because of
neighbors, zoning, etc. If your antenna is currently a hamstick, then,
yes, spruce it up first!
Anything more than a couple hundred watts just creates QRM--it becomes
brute force rather than technique!
Suppose you have a couple of hundred watts and you are trying to work DX
on 160 meters. There will be lots of times that you call a station and he
simply doesn't hear you. If you are just below the noise level at his
location, a couple of DB may put you just over, and you will be heard.
You can work a lot of DX with low power, but that doesn't mean that
there's no value in higher power.
In truth, I'm just a tad disappointed that a company, which has such
strong roots in lower power equipment and innovation, finds it necessary
to jump into the QRO market. I realize that everyone has to make a
living somehow, but the incredible talent in that company could
seemingly be much better utilized in a thousand other ways than amps. I
can only conclude that the markup must be phenominal!
I find this statement offensive. Your personal prejudices are not moral
imperatives. There's nothing evil about QRO, and a manufacturer selling
QRO equipment is not profiting from sin. Given the short transmitting
duty cycle and the relatively small amount of time we spend operating, the
additional energy expended by QRO station compared to a 100 watt station
is small indeed. The markup is not phenomenal, by the way. If you have
ever built high power gear either with tubes or solid-state devices, you
know that the cost of the components is much greater.
In the US we are permitted by our license to use 1500 watts. We are also
required to use the minimum amount of power necessary to maintain
communication in any particular case. I suggest that we improve ourselves
morally (and legally) by trying to follow this last rule rather than
beating up on the manfacturers of amplifiers.
--
73,
Vic, K2VCO
Fresno CA
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco
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