What amp is everyone running?

[Kaos]

I'm curious as to what size and make of amp everyone is running. I'm in the market and I hear some of y'all on the radio so it makes me curious. If you would tell me what amp you're using and how you like (as in how well it reaches out). TIA.

[Slyguy]

Ameritron AL811

[721HACKSAW]

Ameritron AL-1500

[PA629]

SB-220 on the base. 4x2879 in the mobile, not able to post what make on this forum. Both work well.

[1 ADAM 12]

Palomar 25A on the base and Fatboy 1x2879 in the mobile

[AshtonFord]

texas star 250hd does great

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Saturday, 21 December 2013, 18:23

texas star 250hd does great

[North Texas Mudduck]

Well where do i start
its not the amp that will get your name called
its the Antenna Antenna Antenna
then is the mount
then its the coax
if neither of these are done right then a amp wont matter unless you will be using it as a door stop

ok radio goes into a Modified Varmint xl250 with an extra tube
deadkeys 25 to 50 watts and swings to 350 to 450 in that area
then that drives the next amplifier sb-220 with 3 tubes which deadkeys around 400 to 500 watts and swings to 1200 to 1500
then that drives the next amplifier sb-220 with 5 tubes
that makes the amp key the watt meter into the right hand corner

but back to what it takes to get the name called
its not the radio or amp
its starts with the Antenna system
start there first

[The DB]

Well where do i start
its not the amp that will get your name called
its the Antenna Antenna Antenna
then is the mount
then its the coax
if neither of these are done right then a amp wont matter unless you will be using it as a door stop

...

but back to what it takes to get the name called
its not the radio or amp
its starts with the Antenna system
start there first

Brilliance right there...


The DB

[Whiskey Man]

I agree!!!

[222DBFL]

Agreed, all too often the antenna system is overlooked, remember that your antenna system is the heart of your system so don't skimp in this area. As far as what amp to run, it all depends on what you are using it for. Is this for aibike install or base? I run a magnaforce 350hd in the mobile with either a magnum 257hp or a uniden pc122xl. Here are a couple of photos
And here are my radios.

[KP68]

I absolutely love building amplifiers so any amps that I use are homebrew. In the mobile I run a class C 1X2 into a Wilson 5000 antenna. I adjust the variable for current draw instead of output power. Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time I looked at a watt meter. At my base station, I run a 1X4 class C on AM, and a 2 pill class AB on sideband. All of which are run into a Maco 3 element beam. Hate to sound like a broken record here but, antenna system is the most critical part of a station indeed.

[743]

From 743, Operator Rick In Phoenix.

Presently running an AL 811, also a Texas Star DX667V (an awesome solid state linear), have two KL 500s, a KLV 1000, a Palomar LD 450FET, a KL 503, a Palomar 300A. Hope this helps.

[Foliant]

Sometimes at home: RM KL-203
In the car: Baojie BJ-300
On my excursions to mountains/exposed places: Zetagi B300P (Labelt as "CB-Master AB300" newly restaurated from scrap)

[Kaos]

Thanks for the responses so far. I started this thread to help me understand what brand(s) of amps were popular and what range of wattages people were using. It's hard to tell what is considered a little wattage and what's considered a lot. Many years ago I had a 300 or 400 watt amp and it was the biggest that I knew of and definitely the biggest of any of my friends. Now I'm seeing 1000 watt plus amps everywhere. I know it's not all about wattage but IME it does help to consistently get out there. Plus I've done about all I can antenna wise. I have a 102" whip that is mounted in the best location I can get it on the vehicle and it's grounded to the chassis w/ the shortest possible wire. My SWR adjustments will be finalized once I get the amp set up.

[silvereagle1]

I had a silver streak 150 back in the 80's and 90's. then last year I bought a kl200p but it clipped on sideband a bit so I boxed it back up. After getting advise from forum members about the clipping problem. I then bought the kl503 which seems to do just fine. Knock on wood! It appears that the 200p doesn't work very well with sideband because it's class c if I understand it correctly. Atleast that is what I've been told. the kl503 isn't a class c amp and works very well on sideband. it must be true because I've not had any issues yet. so currently I am using the KL503 and just installed a new sirio turbo 5000 yesterday to replace my k40. I made one dx contact yesterday and several local radio checks from truck drivers. Everything working so far. As far as dx contacts using the kl503 goes. I can talk skip almost anytime it's rolling in without any problems but I think it's a combo of having the galaxy and amp together not just the amp. The 980 I was running never had as many dx contacts as the galaxy. I'm curious to see if there is an improvement since I added the sirio 5000 to the setup.

[222DBFL]

I guarantee you will make more dx contacts with the sirio antenna over the k40, it's a longer antenna, I have talked right at 70 miles locally on my magnum 257hp and the sirio pl5000 mag mount. To me that's pretty far local, and I have talked to austral a couple times with the amp on and being down at the intercostal waterway. Salt water is a great ground plane lol. But yes the sirio should have better rx and tx than your k40 did and depending on the radio, you may pick p some RFI from power lens and such. This is just my experience, and mostly with my magnum 257hp, the rx is very sensitive.
My uniden pc122xl doesn't do the watts the magnum does, but is a crystal clear transmitting radio. And it's right on freq.
You have a good antenna now, the only other recommendation I will make is if you plan on running power, switch the coax out to some rg8x or similar. This is not necessary and may be a bit overboard to some, but when power is applied to systems, the smaller stock coax starts to have an affect IMO. Anyway have fun making some contacts and get the log book out and start writing down all the contacts you make. God bless.

[Sporty Mike]

I run a D&A Phantom Triple Stage 10 tuber on the base, a Palomar 300 over at my cabin, and a Brute Force 2x2879 in the mobile.
The Phantom is doing 500 on the Bird and I REALLY need to upgrade the antenna in the spring.
The Palomar at the cabin does about 200 PEP and the 2 pill in the truck does about 150-175 with a cobra 29 keying 2 swinging about 16.

Mike

Sent from Sporty Mike's phone.

[VeeDubTDI]

KLV550 with a Sirio Gainmaster at home and an old Palomar 4X1440 with a Wilson 5000 mag in the car.

[Circuit Breaker]

I'm curious as to what size and make of amp everyone is running. I'm in the market and I hear some of y'all on the radio so it makes me curious. If you would tell me what amp you're using and how you like (as in how well it reaches out). TIA.

Everyone? I'm not running one at all. Don't need it.

[rich33]

In the mobile I run a General Lee into a TNT 350. The antenna is a Wilson 1000 mag mount.
For the base I use a Cobra 2000 GTL into a Worldwide WW-880B which is a 2x8 base amp. The antenna is a Maco 5 element beam up 90 ft.

[Kaos]

In the mobile I run a General Lee into a TNT 350. The antenna is a Wilson 1000 mag mount.
For the base I use a Cobra 2000 GTL into a Worldwide WW-880B which is a 2x8 base amp. The antenna is a Maco 5 element beam up 90 ft.

I have a General Lee and considered the TNT 350. What kind of output are you getting w/ that setup? Also, what is the output of the General Lee by itself?

[bluemeanie]

Hey Have a Golden Eagle 750 and a Yaesu FL2000B and the one I use the most is an Alan Jumbo has a pair of EL509 tubes and almost every time the radio come on it does too. Gives me about 250 or so on SSB and that's plenty. No complaints at all.
Mark

[Ricky]

got the XForce 4 pill in the car and barefoot base station for now, i could bring in the 4pill if i wanted

[mike495]

texas ranger tr696f-ssb into a palomar skipper 300 into a drake l-4b when needed

[rich33]

In the mobile I run a General Lee into a TNT 350. The antenna is a Wilson 1000 mag mount.
For the base I use a Cobra 2000 GTL into a Worldwide WW-880B which is a 2x8 base amp. The antenna is a Maco 5 element beam up 90 ft.

I have a General Lee and considered the TNT 350. What kind of output are you getting w/ that setup? Also, what is the output of the General Lee by itself?

General Lee has a conservative tune on it and it'll swing 30-35 watts peak. When I drive the 350 with it, I'll see about 300-350 watts pep. I did drive it with a 1 pill Fatboy and it peaked at 450 watts and sounded excellent. With the cost of 2879s I prefer to be easy on my amps.