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Choosing small portable AMP.

M

Milos

Member
Jul 26, 2009
31
0
16
46
Woodside NY
Hello,
I am searching for small amp to use in my car, home or in portable ham kit.
I wll use it with my VX-8R HT.

So far the best candidate I found is BD-35 dual band duplex amp.
https://www.hamcity.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=54&idproduct=36
I like it because works with two bands I am interested in, but wider coverage would be even more preferable. It also has auto band selection, so I don't need to manually switch anything. Not that that would be a deal breaker if i had to :)

Does anyone have anything better than this to suggest.

Also, does anyone know dimensions of this unit, or maybe can measure it and post, if you own one. I can't find it anywhere including official pdf file.

thanks in advance
 
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I would probably go with the Mirage over the RM Italy amp. RM Italy stuff doesn't have the best reputation for quality. At least if the Mirage has issues, you can send it to them to get repaired.

If you're interested in only a single band (2 meters) amp, the one sold by RF Parts is made by Tokyo Hy-Power and is pretty good, especially considering the price. I have a similar one that has a pre-amp built in and it works good for me: RF Parts Company
 
ahh, I saw this little amp in your other post. Its so small, and convenient. Its great for what it does! Price is so low too!

I am definitely sure I need 440-450 range now as well as 2m. It is repeaters in my area i am looking to connect to, of coarse, and they are predominately 70cm band.

That is interesting to know that RM Italy hasn't proven themselves. I actually thought it would be the other way around. I like they provide complete circuit diagrams and parts list before you even buy :) But their units, as i learned have 10Mhz band pass filters which would need to be tuned up specially for me to cover 440-450Mhz range. It gets complicated, since the only dealer in US doesn't do this type of mod at their site.

I also found records of BD-38 unit.
http://www.rigpix.com/linears/mirage_bd38g_manual.pdf
pic. here
RigPix Database - Power amplifiers - Mirage BD-38-G
I don't really know where to buy one (or if i even should - since its not offered on Mirage web site even), but it has a lot more power I wouldn't mind having at my disposal.

In a way, I'm surprised i don't see more choices out there.

thanks for the advice moleculo, as always!
 
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With the VX-8R I like the RF Concepts rfc 2-23. It is quite compact, covers 143-149MHz, and gives out 23W for 2W in (I get a bit more per my Bird), and
will give proportionally more for more input power, if you don't push it too much. I had this amp for about 15 years, for use with other HT's in portable mode, with a small gel cell battery. I don't know if it's still available, but it is
a great performer in a small package.
 
The thing about the 2m/440 brick amps is that they are just pretty expensive, for what they are. For the price, you could buy a 2m/440 mobile radio and be done with it. That's why you don't see to many of them. If you can find one at a hamfest or swap meet for a good price, then they're worth picking up. The last two little amps that I bought for use with HTs were really cheap because I found them at swap meets. They were single band amps, however.
 
The other part of this portable thingy hasn't been mentioned yet, that I've seen. That's the power supply for the radio and amplifier when 'fixed'. I'm not going to try to make any recommendations about that, just be aware that you'll need it.
And as long as you're thinking about that "EMCOMM" stuff, think of a few of the other things that require some juice to operate, lights, clock, coffee pot, whatever? That's a little bit of a 'stretch', but dang, wouldn't that be nice??
- 'Doc

don't forget that @#$ pencil and paper...
 
moleculo said:
The thing about the 2m/440 brick amps is that they are just pretty expensive, for what they are. For the price, you could buy a 2m/440 mobile radio and be done with it...
Click to expand...

Yeah, but we are talking about an APRS ready rig (VX-8R) that is "handheld."
Combined with a small 2m brick like the RF Concepts you get 25W out for 2W in and a small portable package.
 
How about something the size of a FT-7800 for that portable thingy? I know it isn't a hand held, and would require a sizable 'portable' power supply, but not any more than a portable/small amplifier would require. All it would take would be one small addition (<$100) and you'd have what you are looking for. Two bands even.
Of course that would mean a dedicated '7800, it wouldn't be used for anything else. But then, neither would that HT. Need a bigger box to put all that stuff in too. If you figure on getting all this stuff in your shirt pocket/back pocket, it's just not going to fit and be useful at all.
And then there's always that nasty thingy, cost. That suggestion above just cut your total cost in half without half trying.
- 'Doc
 
back to Radio world after a while...

I don't plan on using car rig often, so i don't need mobile radio such as FT7800. I love having wide band Rx option, and none of mobile units do this, so using my VX-8R in combination with small AMP when i need to boost my transmission makes perfect soulution for me. Wether at home or in the car. I gotta tell you I have next to 0 space in my apt for this new hobby, specially as of 3 weeks ago when my son was born :)

I don't think $160 is a lot for dual band (144/440MHz) small AMP such as Mirage DB-35, which is what i'm getting serious about. Specially if you already have VX-8R and want just to expand power to 35/45W.


now a stupid question i can't seem to find clear answer for.
If i hook up my VX-8R to this BD-35 dual band Amp, will its RX and TX ranges be completely limited (filtered) to the TX band of amp (144/440MHz)
OR- will i still get to receive and transmitt at lets say 50MHz while going through the AMP?

I would guess range of HT will become limited to bands AMP is capable of, and I will have to have two antennas installed with some manual A/B switch. One when i want to receive and transmitt with full VX-8R capability (without AMP), and second when i want 35/45W transmission boost at 144/440MHz.

any tips are very welcome.
Best regards all.

KC2WIC
 
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