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Doggie619
Junior Member
Username: Doggie619
Post Number: 18
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, April 28, 2005 - 8:04 pm: | 
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just a few questions for ya. first is it best to leave the amp on stanby instead of turning it off when not in use or shut it down every time you dont use it and secondlywhen you tune load and drive the amp to max watts is it ok to back the drive back a little so you get more of swing or leave it up to max watts. does it save on the life of the amp by backing off of the drive to get a little less watts. |
Crackerjack
Intermediate Member
Username: Crackerjack
Post Number: 383
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, April 28, 2005 - 11:03 pm: |
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RM Italy suggest leaving it in standny only if you intend to use it. Otherwise don't power it up.
Also, tube amps are really designed to run at half power, and full power for only short periods of time, Do this, and they certainly do swing better and last longer.
Once you reach max current on the plates, there is no place for it to swing. Operating at a lower level makes for a more fidelic amplification of the signal.
I get less reports of muffled transmission by running at half power. And half power still gives me peaks close to the full power rating.
I seldome turn up the full power and I hardly ever replace tubes.
Just my 2 cents worth.
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2600
Advanced Member
Username: 2600
Post Number: 556
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Friday, April 29, 2005 - 5:12 pm: |
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Now there's a fella with a clue.
Bravo, Crackerjack for telling it like it is. Folks just won't believe that seeing the wattmeter show half of maximum will get their signal 90% (or more) of the range they had at full power.
Don't know how many times I've had to explain that a wattmeter is NOT an AUDIO meter. They like to see the wattage as high as they can get it. If only they would listen to it, they'd find that the radio will be HALF as loud, (or less) as it was running half that much wattage.
Oh, and the tubes DO last more than twice as long that way.
Great to hear some common sense, especially from an operator who has some. Techs talk themselves blue in the face, but seldom seem to get this simple idea across.
73
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Crackerjack
Intermediate Member
Username: Crackerjack
Post Number: 392
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Friday, April 29, 2005 - 7:16 pm: |
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2600: As a matter of fact, turn it all the way up and what you get is usually distortion.
Twice the power is only a 3db gain anyway. I bought a 400W amp so I could operate at a clean 150/200W signal.
I wish I could turn it down like I could my solid state. My AM swings way too high.
Lon tuned my 257 and I have it set at 2W dead key. Guess what, I get just as many local contacts of my tower as if I put out 10W dead key. It actually swings better. The modulation has to look that way.
There may be more people who could hear me with more power, but I couldn't hear them anyway. |
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