Thanks Vic. Thats all good and very interesting info.
I may wait out the legal limit amp to see what the $$$ comes in at but I can
say for certain I wont be spending over $2,500 for a 800 watt amp. I would
rather have power over convenience. I have a stack of tuners here that will
do the job just fine. No bashing intended because my Elecraft KAT100 will
out tune everything I have in the shack and a amp tuner combo sounds nice :)
Now if elecraft comes up with a full size (K3) radio for the shack with lots
of knobs and features for big $$ I might be writing a check because I really
enjoyed the two K2/100s I have built
73,
Rich
kd0zv
----- Original Message -----
From: "Vic K2VCO" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: <Elecraft@mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2006 10:05 AM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] What's with the new amplifier?
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
I'm almost finshed building my basic K2 kit and I'm looking at the
purchase of the power amplifier kit. I keep hearing rumors of a new
amplifier/tuner kit. I would be disappointed if just after
purchasing the amp, elecraft came out with a better amplifier. Does
anyone know what the scoop really is?
I know a few facts about it which I will relate, since Elecraft isn't
(aren't) talking. None of this is official, since I don't work for
Elecraft and things may have changed since I saw the prototype last April.
If so, they'll correct me! One thing I do *not* know is when it will be
ready, although I'm convinced that it will be produced.
The initial version of the amplifier, the KPA800 will be rated at 800
watts SSB and capable of 1000 watts CW (the SSB limitation ia due to IMD).
At some point in the future there will be a KPA1500 capable of full legal
power. The KPA800 has a built-in power supply; the KPA1500 will have an
external box. The prototype used 60-volt FET devices made by Advanced
Power Technology.
The KPA800 prototype weighed about 36 lbs (16.3 kg). The amplifiers are
designed to be driven by a "100-watt class" transceiver such as (but not
only) the K2/100. The amplifiers can accept band data from a K2, or from
Kenwood, Icom, or Yaesu radios, as well as detecting frequency directly
from the RF input. There is a built-in antenna tuner. The prototype
covered 160-6 meters; at the time, Elecraft had not decided whether the
final version would cover 6 -- if they can do it and meet specs then it
will.
The price that was discussed at the time was somewhere between $2500-$3000
for the KPA800. The KPA1500 of course will be somewhat more. Although
this seems like a lot, keep in mind that it's a fully automatic amplifier,
including power supply and automatic antenna tuner. Consider that the
competition for the KPA1500 is the likes of the Alpha 87A ($7K and no
built-in antenna tuner).
--
73,
Vic, K2VCO
Fresno CA
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco
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