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Difference between ham amps and cb amps


The primary difference is in minimum 'standards', there are none for "CB" amplifiers. A 'buzz'? Ain't no thang!
- 'Doc
 
If you are really getting 4 kw out of a single 8877 you will be giving the R.F. Parts a buzz on the telephone for a new tube. LOL.

Where's the grid current metering and protection on that box anyway?

Shoulda used a much cheaper GS-35B if you are going to pound it to death.

The main difference I see between CB and hambone amps is the CB amps are getting the S#!t kicked out of their components.
 
HiDef said:
The main difference I see between CB and hambone amps is the CB amps are getting the S#!t kicked out of their components.
Click to expand...

And that most hams who run QRO are well aware that "aaauuuuddddioo" tests are about as scientific as....well....they're not scientific.

Post us some IMD numbers and a screen shot of both amps' RF envelope on a spectrum analyzer at maximum output. Then we'll talk...'kay??

PS. I can make my dual 4-400 amp "swing" up to 2kw if I want to. Doesn't mean that it sounds good when I do it. I think if you use "swing" as a primary measure of performance, your mic cable should be cut and your radios confiscated.
 
That buzz may very well be a mechanical thing. Some amps and power supplies will will do the exact same thing if a panel or bracket is a bit loose.A quick tightening of the cabinet screws is all that is needed to cure it. In some cases the transformer plates will cause that to happen.They are usually laminated and sealed together very well but I had one that needed the bolts holding it all together tightened a bit to stop from buzzing. I also had a transmitter that buzzed quite bad. It turned out that a big HV plate relay with a 240 volt AC coil that was mounted on the cabinet wall was a bit loose. Tightening the mounting bolts solved that one too.

As for what the differance is ..............gee do I really want to get started.
 
The reviews on eham said that the blower mounting was direct metal-on-metal mounting.
On the new units made today, the blower is rubber mounted.

Also keep in mind this AL-1500 costs under $3000 new, which is on the cheap side for ham amps for this power.
 
he sent it back to ameritron and they said its fine nothing wrong and sent it back and hams go ..."okely dokely I guess its ok for my stuff to buzz hyuk!" No cber would put 3k on an amp and have it buzz and then take it when the company says "nope, youre wrong"... funny, if it says a certain name on it it automatically means quality no matter the performance, in the second video he had a 1+ min key at high power. try keying that ameritron that high for 1 min and see what happens,Even moleculo had one melt on him.

I would buy (for the money) the second amp by wizard, have him build in band switching and a low pass filter and be WAY ahead of the game.
 
dudmuck said:
The reviews on eham said that the blower mounting was direct metal-on-metal mounting.
On the new units made today, the blower is rubber mounted.

Also keep in mind this AL-1500 costs under $3000 new, which is on the cheap side for ham amps for this power.
Click to expand...

that aint no blower noise that noise come on when the hv comes in.

thats a problem

anyone who thinks that that noise is ok, especially a spankin new amp has a screw loose.
 
linearone said:
I would buy (for the money) the second amp by wizard, have him build in band switching and a low pass filter and be WAY ahead of the game.
Click to expand...

A low pass filter? Wow. I've played with a lot of tube amps in my day (homebrew and commercial), and none of them have had low pass filters.

Wonder why??

Oh yeah, if you design and operate a tube amp correctly, it's not needed.
 
Actually the Pi output network consisting of the TUNE and LOAD capacitors and the tank coil form a bandpass filter with a fairly high Q. Pretty much all the filtering you need is already there. I still say the noise is mechanical. If it was electrical then there would be very tell tale signs of it. The HV would be arcing somewhere.

So what is all the hub-bub anyway? Even Collins had some problems with their mil-spec gear at one time or another. This sound's just like another another attempt to stir up crap between hams and CB'ers again. Of course some products are going to arrive with a problem, nobody builds 100% perfect 100% of the time. If you think they do you must be a hard to deal with consumer then. Obviously Ameritron found no electrical problem so it must be mechanical in nature and the fan is the likely culprit or the transformer laminations/mounting bolts.I even had a buddy that wanted me to find a buzz in his Henry 2K Classic amp. It turned out to be a loose meter. No big deal but annoying for sure.
 
Does this amp have the new transformer or the Peter Dahl? I know a few with the Ameritron AL1500 that have the Dahl transformer and they have never mentioned this issue. I run an Alpha and a Solid State Yaesu, so I do not have any experience with the Ameritron Amps, but from the video it sounds a little abnormal. I would find out what is buzzing (maybe the HV transformer???) and ask Amritron to change out the part. It does not hurt to ask and I have heard that Ameritron/MFJ will sometimes work with you on new equipment. And since they say that there is nothing wrong with the amp, then there should be no excuse for not exchaging the part.

73
 
QRN said:
Actually the Pi output network consisting of the TUNE and LOAD capacitors and the tank coil form a bandpass filter with a fairly high Q. Pretty much all the filtering you need is already there.
Click to expand...


you know when a cb amp guy says this about the matching network in a 8 pill they get told no no no, its for matching and is not really good enough to be considered a filter, yup... anyone remember two years ago that thread with Peekaboo and CCM about this very same topic? i do... so Its ok to say its fine for a ameritron but not for a wizard,,, hummmm
 
linearone said:
you know when a cb amp guy says this about the matching network in a 8 pill they get told no no no, its for matching and is not really good enough to be considered a filter, yup... anyone remember two years ago that thread with Peekaboo and CCM about this very same topic? i do... so Its ok to say its fine for a ameritron but not for a wizard,,, hummmm
Click to expand...


Nope,not what I said or suggested at all. I was talking about any and all Pi output filters on TUBE amps and the 8 pill is not a tube amp.They are there to transform the high output impedance of the tubes to the low impedance of the antenna BUT they also offer a great deal of harmonic attenuation because they act as a high Q bandpass filter as well. Solidstate finals tend to produce higher levels of harmonics and IMD than tubes do in the first place and is the main reason that tubes have a warmer sound. THAT is why an 8 pill needs more than a simple Pi filter not to mention what the insane drive levels do to make things worse.As far as CB amps go I personally would never own one but if I ever did it would be a tube amp and not a solidstate one for the simple reason that they are cleaner when driven properly. Anything will sound like crap on the band(s) if overdriven,even a Henry,Emtron, or a QRO Technologies amp even with the Pi filter.
 

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