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Anonymous
| | Posted on Thursday, July 05, 2001 - 8:04 am: | 
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Hello all,
I am considering an amplifier. I am REALLY stuck on the Texas Star EX-500 or EX500v (or the DX models). Anyway, question is, where can I purchase one?
I have never bought one before (but have built a couple low-power units), and I only know of one on-line source for them...A place in Texas, but reguarding alot of info I have read in various places on the net, I am understandably nervous about making a purchase with this on-line vendor.
I do know how amps are built, and there is not a whole lot a golden screwdriver can do to mess with the internals of an amplifier, but I want to make sure wherever I purchase it from, I will in fact receive the unit, and in a timely manner.
I know there are alot of other brands around, but I have been in and out of radios for about 10 years, and so far the only familiar name to me is Texas Star, so that counts for alot.
Any help is appreciated. |
Forum Master
| | Posted on Thursday, July 05, 2001 - 5:29 pm: |
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Call 1(800)626-6343 and ask for Carl. |
Tazz_411_PHX,AZ
| | Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2001 - 12:02 pm: |
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Could you run a texas star modulator into a klv-550 base amp?????? |
Anonymous
| | Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2001 - 1:01 pm: |
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What's the differance between the EX and DX ?? |
Don
| | Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2001 - 1:57 pm: |
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compatition and skip. |
eagle
| | Posted on Sunday, July 29, 2001 - 12:25 am: |
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I have a Texas star 667v behind a galaxy77 with a
8' stainless whip, 213u coax. I'm getting about
350 to 400 on max. Is this output about right? |
Gunnar
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 22, 2001 - 2:57 am: |
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Eagle its low try bigger lead in wire I
run mine on 4 gauge and it does 800 watts |
vernonott
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 22, 2001 - 8:39 pm: |
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Gunnar : I sure would like to know your secret.I've owned two 667v's and the most I could ever squeeze out of either one of them was 500 watts. |
big stick
| | Posted on Friday, August 24, 2001 - 3:28 am: |
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i have a ts dx500 does 500 witha 7 watt from a galaxy 88 |
Toid
| | Posted on Friday, August 24, 2001 - 9:48 pm: |
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Interesting....My TexasStar 500 with a 1 pill driver swings to 525 watts AM peak on 14.8 volts. My 2 pill DaveMade in my Ford pickup with a 1 pill driver swings to 500 watts AM peak on 15 volts. 800 watts out of a Texas Star 667 has got me baffled. |
Tech181 (Tech181)
| | Posted on Sunday, August 26, 2001 - 12:12 am: |
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A Texas Star 667 has (2) 2SC2290's driving (4) 2SC2879's. Max output on the 2290's is 70 watts each, and max output of the 2879's is 100 watts a piece. Even if you add all of those max outputs together you only come up with 540 watts.
Steve
Tech181
Tech181@copperelectronics.com |
Anonymous
| | Posted on Sunday, August 26, 2001 - 2:29 am: |
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Tech181 The 667 has only (1) 2290 and (4) 2879's. |
flash
| | Posted on Sunday, August 26, 2001 - 2:42 am: |
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I have a Texas Star 500 and it will do 525 with my 88 at 4 watts. Thats on a Dosy meter, my Diamond meter says 450.There's a good tech a few miles from me and he says the 500 will swing 650 to 700. Who knows whats right. I know that my 500 is loud than my boomer 400. And I have a 350 that is loud. The Texas Stars are hard to beat.And they are tough. |
Anonymous
| | Posted on Sunday, August 26, 2001 - 3:07 am: |
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EX is an Export model , AND THE DX TEXAS STARS are made for CW USE ONLY ! .... "UNTIL" , YOU DO , OR HAVE THE EASY MOD. DONE !!!
GO TO TEXAS STAR'S HOME PAGE , AND YOU'LL SEE WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT !
GRAY-HOUND |
Stracat
| | Posted on Sunday, August 26, 2001 - 12:07 pm: |
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RF parts of California lists the output of a 2SC2290 as 80 watts and the 2SC2879 is rated at 120 watts. Of course I guess thats under perfect conditons. |
vernonott
| | Posted on Sunday, August 26, 2001 - 11:31 pm: |
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Gentlemen:The discussion here is supposed to be about the 667 V.Any other amps output has nothing to do with the subject at hand. |
Tech181 (Tech181)
| | Posted on Sunday, August 26, 2001 - 11:55 pm: |
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Anonymous,
Ahhh yes. My bad.
Steve
Tech181
Tech181@copperelectronics.com |
Anonymous
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 28, 2001 - 7:10 am: |
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my 667 does 640 watts on a bird 43 !!!!!!!also toshiba underates their transistors the 2sc2879 is really 120 watts in real life but they say it is 100 2sc2290 isthe same way only 10 watts difference |
Taz
| | Posted on Thursday, December 27, 2001 - 12:36 am: |
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thats impossible
the mose you will get out of that amp is 450 |
Taz
| | Posted on Thursday, December 27, 2001 - 4:19 am: |
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you got that bird meter from eei then
its not possible to get more than 450 out of a 667
period. no matter how hard you drive it or how much modulation u got
450 MAX |
bruce
| | Posted on Thursday, December 27, 2001 - 12:07 pm: |
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Taz
my bird is no beter than my 30 year old drake maby i should get anonymous to callabrate it |
Vernonott
| | Posted on Thursday, December 27, 2001 - 12:31 pm: |
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Taz:I agree with you as long as you are running 12 volts,but try running 16 to 17 volts and it may surprise you.73 |
Jyd
| | Posted on Thursday, December 27, 2001 - 1:31 pm: |
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you cant run a modulator into a klv 550,and i seen a 667 do 600 on bird meter with a gaaxy 99 with 4 gage wire |
Bigjohn16
| | Posted on Thursday, December 27, 2001 - 5:49 pm: |
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I'm new at this stuff, but my TS667 with the motor running in my Expedition putting out just under 15 volts gets between 500 to 700 watts depending on the RPM of the engine on my Yaesu YS60. This is dead keying at 175 watts with the amp on and swinging up. I could be wrong, but I understand that the Yaesu is a pretty good meter.
See Ya,
John |
Bulletproof
| | Posted on Saturday, December 29, 2001 - 9:17 pm: |
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Is it really necessary to modify the Texas Star for Am use as some "other" site (which shall remain nameless) requires ? If so, does Copper do the modification ? Thanks |
Taz
| | Posted on Saturday, December 29, 2001 - 10:52 pm: |
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700?
right and my name is hollingsworth |
Bigjohn16
| | Posted on Saturday, December 29, 2001 - 11:40 pm: |
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Bulletproof,
I bought my first TS 667V from an outfit that was cheaper than Copper, but charged me $60.00 to modify it. It arrived dead as a doornail. I called the outfit back, and they said, sure send it back and we'll send it to the factory for the repair, but it will take 6 or 8 weeks to fix, and we'll pay the freight. I sent it back, and paid $35.00 for overnight delivery.
I didn't want to wait 6 or 8 weeks, so I bought my second TS 667V from Copper, and it came already modified.
Just got an e-mail from the other outfit, and my amp is on the way back, but I owe a total of another 35.00 COD. Called them, and they said, Ohhh whoever said that we would pay the freight, was wrong, we never do that.....Boy, what a rip off, I don't mind paying freight, but when I'm told by them that they would pay it...GHEESE... And they modified it, so for all I know THEY BROKE IT IN THE FIRST PLACE....
So, the moral of my long and boring story, Buy it from Copper, and it is already converted...I should have known better, as I have done business with Copper before, and never had a problem.
Sorry, I just had to vent..
See Ya,
John |
409
| | Posted on Sunday, December 30, 2001 - 4:14 am: |
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All those power readings !!!!! Just one question....Are you using a dummy load or just loading an antenna to get those readings?? Just wondering. If you arn't loading a dummy, then they don't mean much no matter what kind of meter you are using. |
Bigjohn16
| | Posted on Sunday, December 30, 2001 - 12:45 pm: |
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409,
If your talking to me, I'm using both. At first, I was just using the radio and amp through the antenna (Wilson 5000 mag mount), then I bought a 1500 watt oil filled dummy load, and still got the same readings....
See Ya,
John |
Bulletproof
| | Posted on Sunday, December 30, 2001 - 4:17 pm: |
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Thank BigJohn 16. Yes, like you I too have been a victim of "that other place". Turbo-tune, my rear end !! It was a real honor to be banned from their forum. Have you seen how they cleared up all their customer service problems by getting rid of the customer service department ?? They're fast becoming a bad joke. I have been a Copper customer for years too, and will remain so. Flashy websites just don't tell the truth about a business. Thanks for the info. Happy New Year to all ! |
Bigjohn16
| | Posted on Sunday, December 30, 2001 - 7:44 pm: |
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Well, my problem wasn't the outfit with 3 letters in their name, but 2....
See Ya,
John |
Taz
| | Posted on Sunday, December 30, 2001 - 10:03 pm: |
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was is h somthing? |
Pcovington
| | Posted on Sunday, December 30, 2001 - 11:25 pm: |
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At the rated voltage most RF power transistors are capable of putting out roughly 150% of their rated power on the datasheet. As you approach the gain saturation of these devices (by driving the amp harder) the IMD (Intermodulation Distortion) products become terrible. High IMD is generally bad unless you really want to piss off other operators and neighbors. How many of you have heard the guys on channel 6 -ten states away- splattering all over the band? So if Motorola, for example, rates their MRF422 transistor at 150W @ 28VDC then you can probably get about 225W out of each transistor before it's gain saturates. The KLV 550, for example, has two MRF422s so it should be capable at putting out 450W at the very best if you drive it really hard. That is provided that the input and output tranformers are optimum and the internal power supply of this amp can handle the peak current to develop 450W output. Of course your neighbors are going to hate you!
Another way to get more gain from RF transistors is to increase their supply voltage ("volting"). If the 2SC2879s are rated at 120W @ 13.8VDC then they will have a higher gain saturation point at, say, 18VDC. The problem with running these transistors at a higher voltage is that any SWR mismatch will cause the peak RF voltage across the transistor to exceed the transistor's maximum voltage rating and BOOM! - competition people know what I mean... Either immediate failure or delayed failure depending on how long the overvoltage condition lasted.
The Kenwood TS-940S uses two MRF422s to produce roughly 100W out from 1.8-30MHZ. These transistors are rated at 150W each so two of them should be able to do 300+ watts. Why do you think that Kenwood limits the output to 100W? The other thing that you will notice about the Kenwood TS-940S is that the supply voltage to the transistors is set at 24VDC. This allows the TS-940S to operate into high SWRs (>2:1) without damage. Operating the transistors at 1/3 their rated output also keeps the IMD products down very low. Another problem is that the DC supply in the Kenwood as well as the heatsink/fan cannot reliably operate at much more than 175 - 200W output for any length of time.
So there are reasons for the derating of RF transistors! If you run the amps on the bleeding edge then expect to replace the transistors pretty often... Don't ask me how I know :-)
Phil |
Bigjohn16
| | Posted on Monday, December 31, 2001 - 1:13 am: |
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Taz,
Ya, that's it, H something or other...
See Ya,
John |
Bigjohn16
| | Posted on Monday, December 31, 2001 - 1:53 am: |
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Hello all,
On the above setup, I haven't done anything to the amp to get it to do this, just what I've been told to do on this and other boards. 4ga. wire from the battery to the amp, ground, ground, ground, and big wire to the radio, check SWR with an MFJ 259 SWR analyzer. Set dead key of the radio to 1 watt with amp off. I haven't taken other suggestions yet, Get two batteries, a motor maul and set voltage up to 18 volts, get 200 amp alternator. I've left the amp and the car stock.. The amp runs cool when I use it, so what's a guy to do...
With the data that Pcovington laid out in his post, the figures that I gave are in the ball park, and that's ok by me.
1 2SC2290 70 watts X 150% = 105
4 2SC2879 125 watts X 150% = 750
______
855 Watts
Even if you use Tech 181 figures somewhere else in this thread.
1 2SC2290 70 watts X 125% = 87.50 watts
4 2SC2879 100 watts x 125% = 500 watts
_______
587.50
Now make that 150% and poof. 705 watts
I'm a happy camper......
PS..None of this makes any difference if its a bad weather day, or there are hills around, or the many other reasons that you key up, and CAN'T GET ACROSS THE STREET...
See Ya,
John |
Pcovington
| | Posted on Monday, December 31, 2001 - 3:14 pm: |
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Looking at the datasheet for the 2SC2879 the lowest IMD occurs at 60W out each. The gain saturation point is around 150W when each transistor is driven with 14W. Four transistors would require somewhere around 56W (4x14W) to reach the 150W gain saturation point. That is why a 2SC2290 is used as a driver.
So after looking a the datasheet I would guess you could probably get about 4 x 150W = 600W max out of the amp at 13.8VDC. With 15VDC I'd guess maybe 4 x 170W = 680W.
Phil |
Bigjohn16
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 01, 2002 - 12:47 am: |
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Yep, that's within what I said, 500 to 700 watts, depending on the engine rpm...
See Ya,
John |
Lugnut
| | Posted on Sunday, January 06, 2002 - 4:51 am: |
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You guy's are makin my head hurt.............. |
Biged
| | Posted on Thursday, January 17, 2002 - 4:19 pm: |
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I figured I would add my 2 cents in.I just purchased a Galaxy 400 3 days ago.My tech told me that amps can run at different watts from the factory.He meters every one of them that comes through the shop.The one he uses as a shop amp did 400 watts pep.He modified it and now it swings to about 450.The one that I bought swings 450.I lucked out.That was hooked up with the following;Cobra 29 that was dead keyed at 1 swinging 55 watts.A power supply at 14vdc.And hooked up to a dummy load.I saw the 450 watts with my very 2 eyes.I brought it home and put it in my truck with a Galaxy 66 driving it and a Wilson 5000.With the vehicle running, I could only swing 350 to 375.Why the difference?I dont know if my dosey meter is right but I dont think any two are the same. Maybe it depends on the setup.Maybe the amp is more comfortable with a Cobra 29 driving it,especially with the mods he has done to that radio.I've heard it, It sounds like he is 55,000 watts.However he is only 1.In my opinion , the best thing you can do is change the power wire on the amp, and if you do that you might as well change the ground also.I know I did it to mine the first night I had it.It had 12 gauge wire(way too small!!)It now has 8 guage. |
Vernonott
| | Posted on Thursday, January 17, 2002 - 7:11 pm: |
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If your tech used a dummy load it will read higher than on a antenna.I don't know why but it will. |
Scrapiron63
| | Posted on Thursday, January 17, 2002 - 7:18 pm: |
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If his meter showed a cobra 29 swinging 55 watts, I would say he has a very liberal meter. If you wanna get sick, hook these high swinging radios and amps to a Dosy or other meter that has a RMS setting. If you get any swing on RMS, you have a good rig. Before the late 1970s all meters were like that. They showed no swing or backward swing. RMS meters will almost give you PMS, lol. |
Bigbob
| | Posted on Thursday, January 17, 2002 - 8:36 pm: |
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My boomer 400 averages 360 watts with 30 watts ssb.I've seen peaks as high as 1067 watts,but not often and valleys as low as 240 watts.I think you're all looking for AVERAGE WATTAGE not the occasional peak.Throw it on a scope if you really want to see it's true performance. |
409
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 22, 2002 - 1:50 am: |
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I pretty much agree with Scrapiron, those claims of high power just because a meter measures the swings and peaks are a little misleading. Most older meters only read RMS power and this is TRUE power output. Looking at only peak power will make you feel better, but not talk further. |
jake
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 05, 2002 - 11:53 pm: |
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I an thinking of getting a texas star Dx350hdv and am goinmg to drive it with a cobra 29 or 25 with an output of aprox 1.5 deadkey and swing to 12 wts what kind of output can I expect to get, I'm looking or hoping to get around 350 or more watts output at 13.5 volts. I would like some hands on input please Is this the best amp output for the money? I would appreciate everyones input thanks Jake. |
Warlock
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 06, 2002 - 5:20 am: |
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If that's the output you want, I'd look at the TS400 instead. They are much more durable, and your actual "talk" power would be in the 350 range. |
975
| | Posted on Sunday, March 10, 2002 - 2:40 am: |
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Umm actually the 667V has one 2SC2290, driving 4- 2879's, the ration on the 2879's is 120 watts a piece, RMS (root mean squared) which means:
480 watts RMS (based at 32Mhz, at 12.6 volts)
720 watts RMS (based at 32Mhz, at 12.6 volts)
Of course, at 27Mhz, the gain will be slightly higher, and at 13.8 volts, the output will be a bit higher.
73 from
975 |
steven carr
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - 6:38 pm: |
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please can someone tell me the way to ck a final with a ohm meter such as a 2sc2879 5 in so cal |
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