Looking at new amps.

[Grogan]

Was looking at new amps to run from An Astron 70 amp power supply I got a great deal on. TS DX500V ---DX350 or RM Italy KL 505V TNT 600 --- TNT 350 HD modles. wanted to run it on ssb with a clean signal. and maby am also Was looking at a streight 4-pill and running it easy no compition amps here. What about BBI or others I missed. Looking for the best build keeping SSB in mind. . Thanks

 

[RatsoW8]

I don't want to dissuade you from those amps but they are easily overdriven and not sure if any have filtering onboard. I think if you run them at 50% of their rated output you might be ok, but then the $ per watt cost is pretty high. In general high gain amps that run off 13.8 v are not really suited for amateur use.

I'm using an Ameritron 811H re-tubed with 572B's (spares I already had) and an SB-200. Both amps are great for SSB and they are FCC approved. These amps of course have built in HV supplies so you can save that nice Astron fro running your other 12v stuff. I finally broke down and bought a West Mountain Rig Runner to use with a 50 supply. No more wiring up multiple supplies.

 

[543_Dallas]

I wouldn't buy from BBi. He seems like a nice guy who takes pride in his work but would not have him build me an amplifier.

I would go with the TNT, the texas star would be my second choice. If one has toshiba transistors I'd pick that one. I wouldn't use any of them on the amateur bands without some work but people do it all the time.

Some amps do have a low pass filter on board but these and most others do not. There's nothing wrong with using one of the above amps with an external low pass filter. Odds are the external filter will do a better job. I like to use one before and after a transistor amplifier. Especially if it is driving a tube amplifier.

I like tubes and most of them do great on SSB. The pi network makes an effective filter too...unless it's matching a half dozen tubes to a 50 ohm output. Very few have the power supply or sufficient cooling for AM. They ok for CB AM with no carrier and lots of swing but not so much for a long old buzzard transmission with a decent carrier.

 

[wavrider]

70 amp DC PS is the operating perimeters.

The ts 500 or the 350 depending on what you use for a radio and the power output.

The 500 is best bang for your buck as far as mobiles imo. it will be taxing the 70 amp ps on peaks if you drive it hard.

Since you got a good deal on the 70 amp PS, sell it for a profit and go with an amateur amp, last longer and clean if operated within specifications.

 

[Crusher]

What radio are you using and what does it put out on SB? That's the first thing that should be asked when getting an amplifier.

 

[Grogan]

Got the Optima mk 3 also a uniden washington. for the radios I was looking at Ameritron 811H don't you have to put aprox 100 watts and use a key up box also.

 

[543_Dallas]

You don't have to hammer it with 100 watts. You can use a foot switch or build some kind of external keying circuit pretty easy. I

f you have a low power radio like a Washington and have an amp that will take 100 watts of drive I'd turn the radio down even more and run a 2 2290 amp at 60 or 80 watts pep. Maybe run 1 2879 at 60 pep. Keep the IMD down and also let the equipment have some breathing room.

 

[Grogan]

TS DX-500V web site says 45 amps, I think they are using DEI 2879 and TNT T600HD says 90 amps WOW ! They use the new PP100 as Xforce power pills, What a difference in amp draw. doesn.t seem right.Does anybody have correct amp draw for TS-350 and 500 and T600HD and T350HD. How are the PP100 amps holding up. Was looking at the 4 pill and letting it idle by 90 amps???

 

[tba02]

Rule of thumb is 10 amps per 100 watts. You will want some overhead if possible.

Using the DX500 as an example -
500 watts / 13.8 volts = 36.23 amps.
600 watts / 13.8 = 43.47 amps

Since the 2879 transistor is generally considered to have 100-125 watts of reasonable output, 600 watts and 45 amps would seem to be on the upper end. I know my 2x2879 amplifier, similar to the DX350, draws less that 25 amps for 200/250 watts PEP.

If one were to use the numbers that TNT advertises, even at MAX PEP of 1000 watts,
1000 / 13.8 = 72 amps and rule of thumb would suggest 100 amps. That being said, that would indicate a power out of 250 watts per transistor (and higher voltage). I wouldn't expect those numbers to be viable for anything more than a 2 second key down.

 

[Mudduckmobile]

TS DX-500V web site says 45 amps, I think they are using DEI 2879 and TNT T600HD says 90 amps WOW ! They use the new PP100 as Xforce power pills, What a difference in amp draw. doesn.t seem right.Does anybody have correct amp draw for TS-350 and 500 and T600HD and T350HD. How are the PP100 amps holding up. Was looking at the 4 pill and letting it idle by 90 amps???

The only thing I know for fact, in my set up with Optima mklll, and a new TS500v in a 2009 ram 5.7L is:
AM, TS 500v fed by Optima mklll power out put on radio ALL THE WAY DOWN (2.75w) mic gain 75% up key mic feed mic tone, 40-43amps. SSB, radio out put all the way up, mic at 75%, tone to mic. 40-43amps... I do not use the variable on the TS500v. this is a DEI TS500v. And for total openness, I did have to send the amp in to warranty servicces as the 3rd time I used it it fried. The amp came back 22 days later, with a bag of parts, and no charge! 1 transistor, out put combiner ,1 cap, 1 res. I was called by the tech. 4 days before the amp came back and was told what was found, and how fixed. I'm happy. I have ran amp now about 3 hours a day last 4 days, works fine. I have 4 new. matched Toshiba trans.( matched set (RF parts) to put in when this factory setup goes south on me... ;<)

 

[1502gulfcoastMS]

I have the ts350 vhd, I love this amp. Before I knew what I was doing a few years back(and yesterday) I drove this amp with a 50 watt radio. Now I use it as a driver for dx and just ssb. I did how ever lose the potentiometer just this week and am hoping to get that replaced as soon as I fine one. I have had this amp for about 6 years and it still does about 350 on my meter with a 15w drive. I run mine on a 32 amp power supply @ 14.5v. PS drops to about 14v at full power.
I got it used for 100 bucks. Don't know if it's stock or not. Here is a picture

 

[314]

Just make sure when you order, not sure who you chose to go with, but ask them how long its gonna take...And the reason I say that is, 1 builder in particular has the worst customer service. Never returns any phone calls or emails and has ppl blasting him all over..I'm not gonna mention the name but if you look on Facebook you can get a good idea..I ordered twice from him since changing owners, Will never do it again

 

[543_Dallas]

^^true^^
A lot of people have waited too long for amps because the builder took on more than they could handle. On the flip side some people have unrealistic expectations of how long or how expensive it is to build a decent amp. Especially if they go with a small time builder that has an 8 to 5 job.

 

[johnecashflo]

TS DX-500V web site says 45 amps, I think they are using DEI 2879 and TNT T600HD says 90 amps WOW ! They use the new PP100 as Xforce power pills, What a difference in amp draw. doesn.t seem right.Does anybody have correct amp draw for TS-350 and 500 and T600HD and T350HD. How are the PP100 amps holding up. Was looking at the 4 pill and letting it idle by 90 amps???

I have a 4 pill Davemade 2879's in it..driven with stryker 490 was seeing around 850 watts allday long..amp draw can be figured as watts(850) divided by volts (13.8 )=61.59amps..

 

[2RT307]

I don't want to dissuade you from those amps but they are easily overdriven and not sure if any have filtering onboard. I think if you run them at 50% of their rated output you might be ok, but then the $ per watt cost is pretty high. In general high gain amps that run off 13.8 v are not really suited for amateur use.

I'm using an Ameritron 811H re-tubed with 572B's (spares I already had) and an SB-200. Both amps are great for SSB and they are FCC approved. These amps of course have built in HV supplies so you can save that nice Astron fro running your other 12v stuff. I finally broke down and bought a West Mountain Rig Runner to use with a 50 supply. No more wiring up multiple supplies.

Ohhhh if I could do it all over again... that is great advice. I spent a lot of money on a TS-DX500 and a pair of power supplies several years back. Yes, the setup worked really well, but I could have bought a new 811H or a used AL-80B for that kind of money. The Ameritron's are bullet proof, transmit clean, and will last a lifetime if operated properly.

73,
Brett