Amplifier for SSB

[Radiomatrix]

Hi,
wanted to get a small amplifier for SSB perhaps in the 35-70 watt range For my base station President Washington that is wimping out at 2w on the AM side.
Most of the online searches took me to the UK or China. What brands or companies sell from the USA?
I also read amplifying for SSB requires a delay.
Any ideas are appreciated! Thank you

 

[Recon]

A KL-203P may OK.

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

Welcome!
The 203 is hard to beat, I have a few of them. With a stock cb, lower the carrier to about 2 watts and you will be good. 88 Radio has the best deal going, two for $150. They have a warehouse in California, I have bought from them several times, no problems.

2X RM Italy KL 203P Mobile Linear Amplifier (20-30 mhz) - Como Deal!

2x RM KL 203P Amplifier for Ham and CB

www.88radio.com

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

The RFX95 is a neat unit, installs on the back of the radio. Not hard to do if you have some soldering skills. I am currently running one on a Galaxy 86v in my truck.

RFX95HD kits (newest version) | The Radio Garage

The RFX95 circuit includes final amplifier stage and low pass filter. The RFX95 is your choice for 10 meter radio repairs and upgrades. It doesn't replace the final stage, it adds to it so it can be switched ON or OFF and can be bipassed. The RFX95HD circuit includes only the final amplifier...

www.theradiogarage.com

 

[Radiomatrix]

A KL-203P may OK.

Well i like it. If you guys like it. It has the delay i read about for SSB. Will 100 watts draw much attention from Uncle Charlie? This is a mobile unit, i do have a 12v power supply but do they make a base model?

i see it is available on Amazon, but it isn’t the pretty blue one i have seen on searches. This amazon search is from the Nederlands.

KL-203P Lineaire versterker voor CB 100 W Am/FM 200 W SSB : Amazon.nl: Elektronica

KL-203P Lineaire versterker voor CB 100 W Am/FM 200 W SSB : Amazon.nl: Elektronica

www.amazon.nl

 

[Radiomatrix]

Welcome!
The 203 is hard to beat, I have a few of them. With a stock cb, lower the carrier to about 2 watts and you will be good. 88 Radio has the best deal going, two for $150. They have a warehouse in California, I have bought from them several times, no problems.

2X RM Italy KL 203P Mobile Linear Amplifier (20-30 mhz) - Como Deal!

2x RM KL 203P Amplifier for Ham and CB

www.88radio.com

ok i followed the link to 88-radio.
being that i don’t know a lot of technical stuff about linears, the ad mentions a few things to note.

• the first thing is: Compact mobile amplifier with switchable pre-amplifier.Mosfet transistors. Neither the output nor the pre-amp gain are variable. [do they make a variable output or pre-amp gain and is that desirable? The KL-203 i guess doesn’t have a pre-amp-what’s the pre-amp for?]
• This linear is 20-30mhz: is this applicable to my President Washington AM/SSB radio?
• Output is 100w (AM side?)
• but the Output power SSB - 200 W pep Max ( WHAT DOES THIS MEAN)?
  Will this setup draw attention to my modest base station and uncle charlie come a knockin on my door ?

Why would someone buy 2 ?

thanks in advance…

 

[Recon]

Don't forget about the power supply you will need to provide power to the amp.
I'm running a Lincoln II+ with 2 watts feeding into a 203 and the 203 has a dead-key of 55 watts.

 

[Recon]

ok i followed the link to 88-radio.
being that i don’t know a lot of technical stuff about linears, the ad mentions a few things to note.

• the first thing is: Compact mobile amplifier with switchable pre-amplifier.Mosfet transistors. Neither the output nor the pre-amp gain are variable. [do they make a variable output or pre-amp gain and is that desirable? The KL-203 i guess doesn’t have a pre-amp-what’s the pre-amp for?]
• This linear is 20-30mhz: is this applicable to my President Washington AM/SSB radio?
• Output is 100w (AM side?)
• but the Output power SSB - 200 W pep Max ( WHAT DOES THIS MEAN)?
  Will this setup draw attention to my modest base station and uncle charlie come a knockin on my door ?

Why would someone buy 2 ?

thanks in advance…

Get the 203P. The "P" denotes pre-amp.
The power leads on the 203 are only 12". You will need to add an extension cable.
My personal opinion is to keep the amp as close to the power supply as possible using a minimum of 10 gage wire.
Do not twist the wires together with wire-nuts to connect the 203 wires to the amp.

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

ok i followed the link to 88-radio.
being that i don’t know a lot of technical stuff about linears, the ad mentions a few things to note.

• the first thing is: Compact mobile amplifier with switchable pre-amplifier.Mosfet transistors. Neither the output nor the pre-amp gain are variable. [do they make a variable output or pre-amp gain and is that desirable? The KL-203 i guess doesn’t have a pre-amp-what’s the pre-amp for?]
• This linear is 20-30mhz: is this applicable to my President Washington AM/SSB radio?
• Output is 100w (AM side?)
• but the Output power SSB - 200 W pep Max ( WHAT DOES THIS MEAN)?
  Will this setup draw attention to my modest base station and uncle charlie come a knockin on my door ?

Why would someone buy 2 ?

thanks in advance…

I am not aware of any amps with variable preamp, might be handy in some situations. Maybe. Some of the bigger RM Italy amplifiers have variable output. Not really necessary with this little amp. The cb frequency range is upper 26 mhz to lower 27 mhz so your radio will be good with this amp. Realistically, 100w peak in am or ssb is what the amp can do while staying clean. Meaning that the output will have minimal interference outside of the channel that you are on. Should not cause unwanted attention as long as you don't overdrive it. Your Washington has the ideal output to drive the 203 as opposed to an export radio that puts out 40w peak by itself. Uncle Charlie doesn't care unless you interfere with a licenced service like the ham bands or emergency services. It is worse to drive your car over the speed limit than to use extra power on a frequency that you are already allowed to talk on.

Why would someone buy two? Put one in the house and one in the truck? Keep one as a spare? You really only need one, but the deal for two is hard to resist?

The 203 will require at least a 10A power supply. If you don't already have one, then I would suggest a 15 or 20 amp. You should be able to run the radio from the same power supply.

The 4 watt carrier on your Washington will work, but ideally the 203 wants about 2w carrier input. Four watts will make the 203 run a little warm, but people do it.

Hope this helps.
Chris

 

[Recon]

I am not aware of any amps with variable preamp, might be handy in some situations. Maybe. Some of the bigger RM Italy amplifiers have variable output. Not really necessary with this little amp. The cb frequency range is upper 26 mhz to lower 27 mhz so your radio will be good with this amp. Realistically, 100w peak in am or ssb is what the amp can do while staying clean. Meaning that the output will have minimal interference outside of the channel that you are on. Should not cause unwanted attention as long as you don't overdrive it. Your Washington has the ideal output to drive the 203 as opposed to an export radio that puts out 40w peak by itself. Uncle Charlie doesn't care unless you interfere with a licenced service like the ham bands or emergency services. It is worse to drive your car over the speed limit than to use extra power on a frequency that you are already allowed to talk on.

Why would someone buy two? Put one in the house and one in the truck? Keep one as a spare? You really only need one, but the deal for two is hard to resist?

The 203 will require at least a 10A power supply. If you don't already have one, then I would suggest a 15 or 20 amp. You should be able to run the radio from the same power supply.

The 4 watt carrier on your Washington will work, but ideally the 203 wants about 2w carrier input. Four watts will make the 203 run a little warm, but people do it.

Hope this helps.
Chris

Good advice Chris!
I (scared as h***) managed to reduce the factory dead-key on the Lincoln II+ for the sole purpose to feed the 203.
I triple-checked the dead-key watts and PEP watts with the BIRD Wattmeter. 2 watts into the 203 equals 55 watts dead-key and 97 watts PEP. With 2 watts, the amp should last for a long time.

 

[dave457]

55 watts is too high, I'd go with a 25 watts dead key out of amp

 

[Recon]

55 watts is too high, I'd go with a 25 watts dead key out of amp

Wow! OK, thanks for the tip! I'll have to lower the dead-key on the radio or maybe try reducing the output of the power supply from 13.8 down to 12?

 

[Recon]

55 watts is too high, I'd go with a 25 watts dead key out of amp

OK. I managed to set dead-key on the radio at one-watt and power supply at 13.0 volts. Dead-key is now at 25 watts and PEP is 80 watts! I love it! Thank you!

 

[Radiomatrix]

I am not aware of any amps with variable preamp, might be handy in some situations. Maybe. Some of the bigger RM Italy amplifiers have variable output. Not really necessary with this little amp. The cb frequency range is upper 26 mhz to lower 27 mhz so your radio will be good with this amp. Realistically, 100w peak in am or ssb is what the amp can do while staying clean. Meaning that the output will have minimal interference outside of the channel that you are on. Should not cause unwanted attention as long as you don't overdrive it. Your Washington has the ideal output to drive the 203 as opposed to an export radio that puts out 40w peak by itself. Uncle Charlie doesn't care unless you interfere with a licenced service like the ham bands or emergency services. It is worse to drive your car over the speed limit than to use extra power on a frequency that you are already allowed to talk on.

Why would someone buy two? Put one in the house and one in the truck? Keep one as a spare? You really only need one, but the deal for two is hard to resist?

The 203 will require at least a 10A power supply. If you don't already have one, then I would suggest a 15 or 20 amp. You should be able to run the radio from the same power supply.

The 4 watt carrier on your Washington will work, but ideally the 203 wants about 2w carrier input. Four watts will make the 203 run a little warm, but people do it.

Hope this helps.
Chris

Thank you.

My radio only puts out 2watts for some reason So this should be a good fit.

The only 12v power supply I have is this ancient relic In the picture That i hope to use for the linear. Yeah, i think I will need at least a 10A power supply. I did the math.

sorry to ask but what is the pre-amp for?

What is PEP wattage?

I appreciate everyone’s help.

 

[dave457]

Peak envelope power