150 watt "boots" for 160m

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150 watt "boots" for 160m

Julius Fazekas n2wn
Wondering if anyone has a suggestion of a solid state amp or "pushing" the K3 PA to obtain 150 watts out on 160m?

A kit or HB would be fine...

73,
Julius
n2wn
Julius Fazekas
N2WN

Tennessee Contest Group
http://www.k4ro.net/tcg/index.html

Tennessee QSO Party
http://www.tnqp.org/

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Re: 150 watt "boots" for 160m

K1LI
Julius,

Do you want to amplify 10 watts to 150 watts, or 100 watts to 150 watts? The
former is nearly 12dB- about 2 S-units - while the latter is less than 2dB -
about 1/3 of an S-unit, a difference which would be very difficult to
discern on the air.

--
73 -- Brian -- K1LI
On Fri, Dec 11, 2009 at 10:44 AM, Julius Fazekas n2wn
<[hidden email]>wrote:

>
> Wondering if anyone has a suggestion of a solid state amp or "pushing" the
> K3
> PA to obtain 150 watts out on 160m?
>
> A kit or HB would be fine...
>
> 73,
> Julius
> n2wn
>
> -----
> Julius Fazekas
> N2WN
>
> Tennessee Contest Group
> http://www.k4ro.net/tcg/index.html
>
> Tennessee QSO Party
> http://www.tnqp.org/
>
> Elecraft K2/100 #4455
> Elecraft K3/100 #366
> Elecraft K3        #1875
> --
> View this message in context:
> http://n2.nabble.com/150-watt-boots-for-160m-tp4151943p4151943.html
> Sent from the [K3] mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
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Re: 150 watt "boots" for 160m

Julius Fazekas n2wn
Hi Brian

100 to 150...

Sometimes that's all you need to go from "n2?" to "n2wn" ;o)

It may not be realistic, but might be fun to play with if not too expensive. All the 160 contests allow LP to 150 watts...

73,
Julius

Brian Machesney wrote
Julius,

Do you want to amplify 10 watts to 150 watts, or 100 watts to 150 watts? The
former is nearly 12dB- about 2 S-units - while the latter is less than 2dB -
about 1/3 of an S-unit, a difference which would be very difficult to
discern on the air.

--
73 -- Brian -- K1LI
On Fri, Dec 11, 2009 at 10:44 AM, Julius Fazekas n2wn
<phriendly1@yahoo.com>wrote:

>
> Wondering if anyone has a suggestion of a solid state amp or "pushing" the
> K3
> PA to obtain 150 watts out on 160m?
>
> A kit or HB would be fine...
>
> 73,
> Julius
> n2wn
>
> -----
> Julius Fazekas
> N2WN
>
> Tennessee Contest Group
> http://www.k4ro.net/tcg/index.html
>
> Tennessee QSO Party
> http://www.tnqp.org/
>
> Elecraft K2/100 #4455
> Elecraft K3/100 #366
> Elecraft K3        #1875
> --
> View this message in context:
> http://n2.nabble.com/150-watt-boots-for-160m-tp4151943p4151943.html
> Sent from the [K3] mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
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Julius Fazekas
N2WN

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http://www.k4ro.net/tcg/index.html

Tennessee QSO Party
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Re: 150 watt "boots" for 160m

Craig Smith
In reply to this post by Julius Fazekas n2wn
I want one too !!!!

                   ... Craig AC0DS

<> Wondering if anyone has a suggestion of a solid state amp or "pushing"
the K3
<> PA to obtain 150 watts out on 160m?

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Re: 150 watt "boots" for 160m

Julius Fazekas n2wn
Dang!
Competition ;o)

Craig D. Smith wrote
I want one too !!!!

                   ... Craig AC0DS

<> Wondering if anyone has a suggestion of a solid state amp or "pushing"
the K3
<> PA to obtain 150 watts out on 160m?

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Re: 150 watt "boots" for 160m

Phil Hystad
>>
>> Wondering if anyone has a suggestion of a solid state amp or "pushing"
>> the K3 PA to obtain 150 watts out on 160m?


Why can't you just hook up 120 volts AC as your power source instead of that
puny little 12 volts DC thing.  Not only would you get 10 times the voltage which
according to Ohm's Law gives you 100 times the power (thus, legal limit plus) but
you also are using 60 Hz AC.  Thus, you already have a kick start on that RF
frequency.  Why start out at DC when you can do so much better with AC.
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Re: 150 watt "boots" for 160m

k0wa@swbell.net
In reply to this post by Julius Fazekas n2wn

In all seriousness....

I don't think I would "juice" the K3 to get 150 watts out.  Some did that with the K2 but I am a little reluctant to do that with a $2K+ rig. 

Of course your mileage may vary....but find a cheap amp.  Like an AL80A.  You can get them for around 700 dollars on Ebay.  I did that .... ran the amp at 150 watts in the NAQP contests....  But, then they changed the rule to 100 watts.

Or
find an old HW101...jack the voltage up on the plates and
screens....drive it hard and you might make the 6146s produce 150 watts
for a contest.  There is a gentleman somewhere on the net that has done
that.

Of course...your definition of cheap may be different that mine.

Lee
K0WA

In our day and age it seems that Common Sense is in short supply.  If you don't have any Common Sense - get some Common Sense and use it.  If you can't find any Common Sense, ask for help from somebody who has some Common Sense.  Is Common Sense divine?

Common Sense is the image of the Creator expressing revealed truth in my mind. -  J. Wolf



--- On Fri, 12/11/09, Julius Fazekas n2wn <[hidden email]> wrote:

From: Julius Fazekas n2wn <[hidden email]>
Subject: [Elecraft] [K3]  150 watt "boots" for 160m
To: [hidden email]
Date: Friday, December 11, 2009, 9:44 AM


Wondering if anyone has a suggestion of a solid state amp or "pushing" the K3
PA to obtain 150 watts out on 160m?

A kit or HB would be fine...

73,
Julius
n2wn

-----
Julius Fazekas
N2WN

Tennessee Contest Group
http://www.k4ro.net/tcg/index.html

Tennessee QSO Party
http://www.tnqp.org/

Elecraft K2/100 #4455
Elecraft K3/100 #366
Elecraft K3        #1875
--
View this message in context: http://n2.nabble.com/150-watt-boots-for-160m-tp4151943p4151943.html
Sent from the [K3] mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
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Re: 150 watt "boots" for 160m

Dick Dickinson
In reply to this post by Julius Fazekas n2wn

I am reminded of the recent sale item from Elecraft.  The 2010 ARRL Handbook
is to have a 250 Watt HF amp design in it.  One ought to be able to drop the
K3 output appropriately to drive it to 150 Watts.


73,

Dick - KA5KKT

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Re: 150 watt "boots" for 160m

Guy, K2AV
In reply to this post by Phil Hystad
>From 100 to 150, for 1.7 dB, when Bell Laboratories research (with
huge capital investment and telephone maintenance dollars on the line)
determined that 3 dB was the signal strength change discernment for
most people?

It's amazing how these slim changes hold on with hams and spend their
money, when tons of research demonstrates the difference is not
perceived. We FEEL GOOD running 150 instead of 100, running 1500
instead of 1200.  Never hear it on the other end.

The REAL TX dB is between our ears, when to transmit, where to
transmit and what to transmit. They who have the full 27 db allocation
there can work the pileups QRP.

73, Guy.
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Re: 150 watt "boots" for 160m

w4nhj
In reply to this post by Julius Fazekas n2wn
Communications Concepts can help.  www.communication-concepts.com/

Frank - W4NHJ

Julius Fazekas n2wn wrote
Wondering if anyone has a suggestion of a solid state amp or "pushing" the K3 PA to obtain 150 watts out on 160m?

A kit or HB would be fine...

73,
Julius
n2wn
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Re: 150 watt "boots" for 160m

Vic K2VCO
In reply to this post by Guy, K2AV
Guy Olinger K2AV wrote:
>>From 100 to 150, for 1.7 dB, when Bell Laboratories research (with
> huge capital investment and telephone maintenance dollars on the line)
> determined that 3 dB was the signal strength change discernment for
> most people?
>
> It's amazing how these slim changes hold on with hams and spend their
> money, when tons of research demonstrates the difference is not
> perceived. We FEEL GOOD running 150 instead of 100, running 1500
> instead of 1200.  Never hear it on the other end.

We hear this over and over, but it is very misleading. It's true that if you have a good
readable signal, a difference of a db or two is not noticeable. But when the signal is
right at the noise level or QSBing in and out of it, even one db makes a difference. As
N2WN said, it can be the difference between "?" and "N2?" -- or even between the guy CQing
again and "?".
--
73,
Vic, K2VCO
Fresno CA
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco
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Re: 150 watt "boots" for 160m

Merv Schweigert
A good article on the value of a DB is an old timer in QST I think it was,
Station design for DX
I guarantee you that if you improve your station by 1Db or more you will
tell the difference,  have done it and it works.  A whole new layer of DX
opens up for every DB you can find.
I see comments all the time that lossy feedlines or matching or this and
that
only costs a couple DB and you cant hear that.  Amen I dont hear you in
the pile ups.
There is an audiophile site somewhere on the web that lets you adjust
volume in DB steps,  you may be quite surprised at what your ear can
detect in DB changes.
If a Db or two makes no difference than buying a K3 that has better specs
by a DB or so should also make no difference.
I encourage others to not worry about loss of a few DB,  makes for more
DX for those who do.
Merv KH7C

> Guy Olinger K2AV wrote:
>  
>> >From 100 to 150, for 1.7 dB, when Bell Laboratories research (with
>> huge capital investment and telephone maintenance dollars on the line)
>> determined that 3 dB was the signal strength change discernment for
>> most people?
>>
>> It's amazing how these slim changes hold on with hams and spend their
>> money, when tons of research demonstrates the difference is not
>> perceived. We FEEL GOOD running 150 instead of 100, running 1500
>> instead of 1200.  Never hear it on the other end.
>>    
>
> We hear this over and over, but it is very misleading. It's true that if you have a good
> readable signal, a difference of a db or two is not noticeable. But when the signal is
> right at the noise level or QSBing in and out of it, even one db makes a difference. As
> N2WN said, it can be the difference between "?" and "N2?" -- or even between the guy CQing
> again and "?".
>  

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Re: 150 watt "boots" for 160m - the competitive edge

k0wa@swbell.net
In reply to this post by Guy, K2AV

This may be true and probably is...but as one other fellow said....1 DB is the difference between hear or not.  Now...in contesting...that is points....or even a multipler which could be many more points per contest.  So, I appreciate the comment here...is is the competitive edge that is driving this thread.

Lee K0WA




--- On Fri, 12/11/09, Guy Olinger K2AV <[hidden email]> wrote:

From: Guy Olinger K2AV <[hidden email]>
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] [K3] 150 watt "boots" for 160m
To: "elecraft" <[hidden email]>
Date: Friday, December 11, 2009, 1:11 PM

>From 100 to 150, for 1.7 dB, when Bell Laboratories research (with
huge capital investment and telephone maintenance dollars on the line)
determined that 3 dB was the signal strength change discernment for
most people?

It's amazing how these slim changes hold on with hams and spend their
money, when tons of research demonstrates the difference is not
perceived. We FEEL GOOD running 150 instead of 100, running 1500
instead of 1200.  Never hear it on the other end.

The REAL TX dB is between our ears, when to transmit, where to
transmit and what to transmit. They who have the full 27 db allocation
there can work the pileups QRP.

73, Guy.
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Re: 150 watt "boots" for 160m

n9adg
In reply to this post by Dick Dickinson
On 160, you could try a class-E amplifier; you're probably not going to use anything but CW.


--- On Fri, 12/11/09, Edward Dickinson, III <[hidden email]> wrote:

> From: Edward Dickinson, III <[hidden email]>
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] [K3]  150 watt "boots" for 160m
> To: [hidden email]
> Date: Friday, December 11, 2009, 9:55 AM
>
> I am reminded of the recent sale item from Elecraft. 
> The 2010 ARRL Handbook
> is to have a 250 Watt HF amp design in it.  One ought
> to be able to drop the
> K3 output appropriately to drive it to 150 Watts.
>
>
> 73,
>
> Dick - KA5KKT
>
> ______________________________________________________________
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Re: 150 watt "boots" for 160m

Dunc Carter - W5DC
In reply to this post by Merv Schweigert
I'd prefer to see the long delayed Elecraft 500 to 1000 watt amplifiers
that have been delayed, apparently because of the intense development of
the K3 which hopefully is nearing an end.  An amplifier with QSK, an
internal tuner comparable to the K3 tuner, and integrated with the K3
with Elecraft's quality and attention to detail would cause money to
leap straight from my bank account's to Elecraft's bank account.

73, Dunc, W5DC


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Re: 150 watt "boots" for 160m

Bill W4ZV
In reply to this post by Vic K2VCO

Vic K2VCO wrote
Guy Olinger K2AV wrote:
>>From 100 to 150, for 1.7 dB, when Bell Laboratories research (with
> huge capital investment and telephone maintenance dollars on the line)
> determined that 3 dB was the signal strength change discernment for
> most people?
>
> It's amazing how these slim changes hold on with hams and spend their
> money, when tons of research demonstrates the difference is not
> perceived. We FEEL GOOD running 150 instead of 100, running 1500
> instead of 1200.  Never hear it on the other end.

We hear this over and over, but it is very misleading. It's true that if you have a good
readable signal, a difference of a db or two is not noticeable. But when the signal is
right at the noise level or QSBing in and out of it, even one db makes a difference. As
N2WN said, it can be the difference between "?" and "N2?" -- or even between the guy CQing
again and "?".
I agree with Vic.  You'll never notice the difference when a signal is -73 dBm or -72 dBm, ~55 dB above the noise floor, but at or below the noise floor, you'll definitely notice it.  Case in point from the real world today was JT1CO on 160 this morning.  There were many more folks listening than actually hearing.  I bet many of those who could not hear would have given anything for another dB or two of S/N (either from better receive antennas or transmit power at the other end).

73,  Bill
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Re: 150 watt "boots" for 160m

Reinaldo Leandro
In reply to this post by Julius Fazekas n2wn
-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email]
[mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Julius Fazekas n2wn
Sent: Friday, December 11, 2009 11:14
To: [hidden email]
Subject: [Elecraft] [K3] 150 watt "boots" for 160m


Wondering if anyone has a suggestion of a solid state amp or "pushing" the
K3
PA to obtain 150 watts out on 160m?

A kit or HB would be fine...

73,
Julius
n2wn

The only reason known to ask for such power increase will be to excite a
power amplifier using 3-500Z or similar to full legal output.
A Henry 3KA with 100 watts drive under the best of circumstances will not
deliver more 1200 watts.
On the other hand, new amplifiers with ceramic tubes like 3CX1500A7 or Alpha
87 with 3CX800A7 will deliver 1500 watts with only 45-50 watts drive. The
Expert 1KA Italian amplifier with solid state finals needs only 20 watts
drive for 1000 watts out. In fact, you must be very careful not to overdrive
those amplifiers

73



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Re: 150 watt "boots" for 160m

Guy, K2AV
In reply to this post by w4nhj
Let me get this right.  You are looking for reassurance that money you
haven't spent will be well spent upping 100 to 150 watts.  Perhaps
there is some part of you that doesn't believe it, or you would have
done it already?  Maybe you should listen to the skeptic there.

Well, if you do go spend it, your banker thanks you, your suppliers
thank you, but your operating savvy will dictate your success far more
than the extra watts.  I can make a much better case for "the economy
needs it" than the far end.

The Bell research DID involve accumulated noise and distortion on
multiple circuits switched in series to make longer circuits, and how
much then-manual maintenance could be needed based on customer's
perceptions of circuits.  Multi-megabucks of expense per year riding
on it when gas was a nickel a gallon. So before you folks go
dismissing it....

The trick at a given ham station is the accumulation of a little here
and a little there, and yet.  Eliminating loss at a half dozen places,
and size of feedline, gain of antenna, etc can ad up to dB's noone
argues about.

73, Guy.


On Fri, Dec 11, 2009 at 3:22 PM, Julius Fazekas n2wn
<[hidden email]> wrote:

>
> Thanks Frank!
> 73
> Julius Fazekas
> N2WN
>
> Tennessee Contest Group
> http://www.k4ro.net/tcg/index.html
> http://groups.google.com/group/tcg1?hl=en
>
> Tennessee QSO Party
> http://www.tnqp.org/
>
> Elecraft K2/100 #4455
> Elecraft K3/100 #366
> Elecraft K3/100 #1875
>
>
> --- On Fri, 12/11/09, w4nhj [via Elecraft] <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
>> From: w4nhj [via Elecraft] <[hidden email]>
>> Subject: Re: 150 watt "boots" for 160m
>> To: "Julius Fazekas n2wn" <[hidden email]>
>> Date: Friday, December 11, 2009, 2:30 PM
>>
>>
>> Communications Concepts can help.
>>  www.communication-concepts.com/
>>
>>
>> Frank - W4NHJ
>>
>>
>>
>> Julius
>> Fazekas n2wn wrote:
>> Wondering if anyone has a
>> suggestion of a solid state amp or "pushing" the
>> K3 PA to obtain 150 watts out on 160m?
>>
>>
>> A kit or HB would be fine...
>>
>>
>> 73,
>>
>> Julius
>>
>> n2wn
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> View message @ http://n2.nabble.com/150-watt-boots-for-160m-tp4151943p4153253.html
>>
>>
>> To unsubscribe from 150 watt "boots" for 160m, click
>> here.
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> -----
> Julius Fazekas
> N2WN
>
> Tennessee Contest Group
> http://www.k4ro.net/tcg/index.html
>
> Tennessee QSO Party
> http://www.tnqp.org/
>
> Elecraft K2/100 #4455
> Elecraft K3/100 #366
> Elecraft K3        #1875
> --
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Re: 150 watt "boots" for 160m

Ignacy
In reply to this post by Julius Fazekas n2wn
Those who believe in authority and that God punishes tinkerers, PLEASE SKIP this message.

2SC2782 is rated at 80W min each at 175 MHz so getting 150W from two on 1.8 MHz should be peanuts; the main reason why they are restricted to 110W in K3 is linearity (across bands) + component ratings. At higher power, the efficiency can be higher and thus K3 may actually run cooler!

So how to get 150W out of K3?

1. ALC would not let it. It needs to be fooled, e.g., by changing a divider in the SWR unit to indicate 100W when it is 150W.

2. At 150W the output impedance would not be 50 Ohm; it would be 35-40 Ohm with extra impedance added by LPF, which are designed for 50 Ohm.  You need a manual tuner that you will tune for max power, not min SWR. If higher SWR causes power fold up, the SWR circuit needs to fooled again.

3. The radio would take more amps, say 30A, and the fuse may go out. If so, change the fuse or reduce the power so that the fuse is not tripping.

Is it worth it, I am not sure. In contests, the extra power may make a real difference.

Would Wayne and Eric approve? Never officially!
Would K3 be ruined? I doubt it.
Would I do it if I wanted to win a 160m contest in LP category and had no other alternatives? Perhaps on CW but never on SSB due to high IMD.


Corresponding story
Many years ago a power supply for IC-735 broke and the spare one was for 5A max. Tuned for min SWR the power was 5 W. Tuning for max power out generated 25W.
Later, I tried the same trick with IC-7000. It was 5 W no matter what the tuning because of strong power folding under high SWR. Not sure what K3 would do. But there is a possibility that one can get 10-20W more just by tuning for max power out.

Ignacy

   
Julius Fazekas n2wn wrote
Wondering if anyone has a suggestion of a solid state amp or "pushing" the K3 PA to obtain 150 watts out on 160m?

A kit or HB would be fine...

73,
Julius
n2wn
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Re: 150 watt "boots" for 160m

David Gilbert
In reply to this post by Guy, K2AV

Guy,

Two db does indeed make a difference no matter what you or the Bell Labs
results say, and that's why the search for an extra db or two continues
for anyone interesting in contesting or DXing in noisy conditions.

A couple of years ago I generated some audio files to demonstrate
exactly that.  I recorded some scratchy band noise from 80m and mixed it
with computer-generated CW of varying levels.  Down at the noise level,
even one db was perceptible and two db made a functional improvement.  
In a CW contest or in a pileup that could make a significant difference,
although I'll admit that two db may not make enough difference for SSB
(I also never tried it).  I promised Pete I would clean up the audio
files and send them to him for inclusion in the Contest Wikipedia ...
I'm very delinquent on that but will try to do so within the next two or
three weeks.

Whether ANY increase in signal strength is worth the money required to
achieve it is purely a function of the station owner and his
objectives.  For some folks, spending an extra $1K to $6K to get 12 db
from an amplifier is not worth it.  Others have obviously spent ten
times that amount on towers and antennas to pick up just a few db.

73,
Dave   AB7E


Guy Olinger K2AV wrote:

> Let me get this right.  You are looking for reassurance that money you
> haven't spent will be well spent upping 100 to 150 watts.  Perhaps
> there is some part of you that doesn't believe it, or you would have
> done it already?  Maybe you should listen to the skeptic there.
>
> Well, if you do go spend it, your banker thanks you, your suppliers
> thank you, but your operating savvy will dictate your success far more
> than the extra watts.  I can make a much better case for "the economy
> needs it" than the far end.
>
> The Bell research DID involve accumulated noise and distortion on
> multiple circuits switched in series to make longer circuits, and how
> much then-manual maintenance could be needed based on customer's
> perceptions of circuits.  Multi-megabucks of expense per year riding
> on it when gas was a nickel a gallon. So before you folks go
> dismissing it....
>
> The trick at a given ham station is the accumulation of a little here
> and a little there, and yet.  Eliminating loss at a half dozen places,
> and size of feedline, gain of antenna, etc can ad up to dB's noone
> argues about.
>
> 73, Guy.
>
>
> On Fri, Dec 11, 2009 at 3:22 PM, Julius Fazekas n2wn
> <[hidden email]> wrote:
>  
>> Thanks Frank!
>> 73
>> Julius Fazekas
>> N2WN
>>
>> Tennessee Contest Group
>> http://www.k4ro.net/tcg/index.html
>> http://groups.google.com/group/tcg1?hl=en
>>
>> Tennessee QSO Party
>> http://www.tnqp.org/
>>
>> Elecraft K2/100 #4455
>> Elecraft K3/100 #366
>> Elecraft K3/100 #1875
>>
>>
>> --- On Fri, 12/11/09, w4nhj [via Elecraft] <[hidden email]> wrote:
>>
>>    
>>> From: w4nhj [via Elecraft] <[hidden email]>
>>> Subject: Re: 150 watt "boots" for 160m
>>> To: "Julius Fazekas n2wn" <[hidden email]>
>>> Date: Friday, December 11, 2009, 2:30 PM
>>>
>>>
>>> Communications Concepts can help.
>>>  www.communication-concepts.com/
>>>
>>>
>>> Frank - W4NHJ
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Julius
>>> Fazekas n2wn wrote:
>>> Wondering if anyone has a
>>> suggestion of a solid state amp or "pushing" the
>>> K3 PA to obtain 150 watts out on 160m?
>>>
>>>
>>> A kit or HB would be fine...
>>>
>>>
>>> 73,
>>>
>>> Julius
>>>
>>> n2wn
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> View message @ http://n2.nabble.com/150-watt-boots-for-160m-tp4151943p4153253.html
>>>
>>>
>>> To unsubscribe from 150 watt "boots" for 160m, click
>>> here.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>      
>> -----
>> Julius Fazekas
>> N2WN
>>
>> Tennessee Contest Group
>> http://www.k4ro.net/tcg/index.html
>>
>> Tennessee QSO Party
>> http://www.tnqp.org/
>>
>> Elecraft K2/100 #4455
>> Elecraft K3/100 #366
>> Elecraft K3        #1875
>> --
>> View this message in context: http://n2.nabble.com/150-watt-boots-for-160m-tp4151943p4153559.html
>> Sent from the [K3] mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>> ______________________________________________________________
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>>    
> ______________________________________________________________
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>  
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