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The 1500 watt amp

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Rick Braun

The 1500 watt amp

I was heartened to see Wayne’s response to this rumor. It seems inceivable that Elecraft would offer such a product, much less one designed by someone else. Big amps are about being loud, busting pileups, . When receivers were less sensitive and sophisticated, e.g. digital filters, digital noise reduction, etc., you needed power to get in the front ends of DX receivers. We don’t need that power anymore except to contest, i.e. blow out the ops with less power. To me this don’t seem like the Elecraft ethic. They aren’t QRP snobs, and they seem to value skill, intelligence, and cunning, rather than brute power. Whole big amp thing struck me as odd.

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Kevin - K4VD

Re: The 1500 watt amp

I'm not so sure. Just the rumor of a big Elecraft amp had some people
(including me) quite interested. In fact, based on some of the pictures,
Elecraft had some interest in the past.

Amps are not evil and I also don't think they are incompatible -
technically or philosophically - with Elecraft. I value skill,
intelligence, cunning and brute force when necessary.

If ever Elecraft comes out with a legal limit amp I'd be asking the boss
for OT.

On Sat, Jul 30, 2016 at 8:40 PM, Rick Braun <[hidden email]> wrote:

> I was heartened to see Wayne’s response to this rumor. It seems
> inceivable that Elecraft would offer such a product, much less one designed
> by someone else. Big amps are about being loud, busting pileups, . When
> receivers were less sensitive and sophisticated, e.g. digital filters,
> digital noise reduction, etc., you needed power to get in the front ends of
> DX receivers. We don’t need that power anymore except to contest, i.e.
> blow out the ops with less power. To me this don’t seem like the Elecraft
> ethic. They aren’t QRP snobs, and they seem to value skill, intelligence,
> and cunning, rather than brute power. Whole big amp thing struck me as
> odd.
>
> Sent from Mail for Windows 10
>
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Elecraft mailing list

Re: The 1500 watt amp

blockquote, div.yahoo_quoted { margin-left: 0 !important; border-left:1px #715FFA solid !important; padding-left:1ex !important; background-color:white !important; } Agreed, and I'd guess it was purely an economic decision.
Bob AA6VB

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On Saturday, July 30, 2016, 7:51 PM, Kevin - K4VD <[hidden email]> wrote:

I'm not so sure. Just the rumor of a big Elecraft amp had some people
(including me) quite interested. In fact, based on some of the pictures,
Elecraft had some interest in the past.

Amps are not evil and I also don't think they are incompatible -
technically or philosophically - with Elecraft. I value skill,
intelligence, cunning and brute force when necessary.

If ever Elecraft comes out with a legal limit amp I'd be asking the boss
for OT.

On Sat, Jul 30, 2016 at 8:40 PM, Rick Braun <[hidden email]> wrote:

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David Gilbert

Re: The 1500 watt amp

In reply to this post by Rick Braun

Compared to a 500 watt amplifier, 1500 watts represents almost 5 db. If
you don't know what 5 db can do when trying to make weak signal contacts
you haven't done much of it. I'm not saying that Elecraft should come
out with a 1500 watt amp, but amps are NOT just about being loud and
busting pileups. They have nothing to do with the front end of
receivers and everything to do with fighting noise of one sort or another.

Dave Ab7E

On 7/30/2016 5:40 PM, Rick Braun wrote:

> I was heartened to see Wayne’s response to this rumor. It seems inceivable that Elecraft would offer such a product, much less one designed by someone else. Big amps are about being loud, busting pileups, . When receivers were less sensitive and sophisticated, e.g. digital filters, digital noise reduction, etc., you needed power to get in the front ends of DX receivers. We don’t need that power anymore except to contest, i.e. blow out the ops with less power. To me this don’t seem like the Elecraft ethic. They aren’t QRP snobs, and they seem to value skill, intelligence, and cunning, rather than brute power. Whole big amp thing struck me as odd.
>
> Sent from Mail for Windows 10
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kstover

Re: The 1500 watt amp

In reply to this post by Kevin - K4VD

"Some People" does not a market make.

The 1KW and up amplifier market is awash with suppliers. Yaesu, Icom,
SPE, Ameritron, Alpha, OM Power, Emtron or whoever owns them now,
Dishtronics. To be competitive they'd have to design an amp that works
with anybody's transceiver just like the KPA500 does with the K3(s) and
be as rugged as an AL1500, the contest crowds favorite amp. Add solid
state to that and your market shrinks because fewer people will drop
$8K+ on an amp. I'd bet they'd sell less than 1,000...ever.

Smart move is to let the legal limit amplifier folks do what they do
best and Elecraft do what it does best, make radios.

On 7/30/2016 9:51 PM, Kevin - K4VD wrote:

> I'm not so sure. Just the rumor of a big Elecraft amp had some people
> (including me) quite interested. In fact, based on some of the pictures,
> Elecraft had some interest in the past.
>
> Amps are not evil and I also don't think they are incompatible -
> technically or philosophically - with Elecraft. I value skill,
> intelligence, cunning and brute force when necessary.
>
> If ever Elecraft comes out with a legal limit amp I'd be asking the boss
> for OT.
>
> On Sat, Jul 30, 2016 at 8:40 PM, Rick Braun <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
>> I was heartened to see Wayne’s response to this rumor. It seems
>> inceivable that Elecraft would offer such a product, much less one designed
>> by someone else. Big amps are about being loud, busting pileups, . When
>> receivers were less sensitive and sophisticated, e.g. digital filters,
>> digital noise reduction, etc., you needed power to get in the front ends of
>> DX receivers. We don’t need that power anymore except to contest, i.e.
>> blow out the ops with less power. To me this don’t seem like the Elecraft
>> ethic. They aren’t QRP snobs, and they seem to value skill, intelligence,
>> and cunning, rather than brute power. Whole big amp thing struck me as
>> odd.
>>
>> Sent from Mail for Windows 10
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> Elecraft mailing list
>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>>
>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
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--
R. Kevin Stover
AC0H
ARRL
FISTS #11993
SKCC #215
NAQCC #3441

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Edward R Cole

Re: The 1500 watt amp

In reply to this post by Rick Braun

I was going to say something like what Kevin has.

I have a HB 300w linear sspa built from Comm Concepts kit which
sitting on the dusty shelf and a 140w amp from them. BTW both are for sale.

I bought the KXPA-100* which work nicely with either my KX3 or K3/10
driving at about 4w. If I did more HF I guess I would want more RF
power but cannot justify several $K for that. For what I would spend
on a KPA-500 I could build a 1200w LDMOS amp using the kit board from
Jim Klitzing - W6PQL. Of course I like building. That would not
have all the nice features or integrating ATU.

If I had the disposable cash the KPA-500 would be just fine. Stack
more aluminum for more ERP!!

I am more likely to spend ham dollars on my VHF+ "stuff". Current
project is converting a Harris KW ch2 TV linear to 6m. It will drive
with 8-10w.

Yesterday, we held a celebration of life at Rich Strand's KL7RA (sk)
Nikiski QTH and admiring the multi-multi contest station he built -
Lots of the amps that have been mentioned in that room.

I feel that Wayne and Eric are very smart businessman and they
consider the market very carefully when looking at a new product
line. Probably why they are staying out of the QRO market or VHF amp
market (which I dipped my toe into).

73, Ed - KL7UW
*Nice opening from Alaska to PacNW on 6m last two days (my 80w worked well)

From: Kevin <[hidden email]>
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] The 1500 watt amp
Message-ID: <[hidden email]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed

"Some People" does not a market make.

The 1KW and up amplifier market is awash with suppliers. Yaesu, Icom,
SPE, Ameritron, Alpha, OM Power, Emtron or whoever owns them now,
Dishtronics. To be competitive they'd have to design an amp that works
with anybody's transceiver just like the KPA500 does with the K3(s) and
be as rugged as an AL1500, the contest crowds favorite amp. Add solid
state to that and your market shrinks because fewer people will drop
$8K+ on an amp. I'd bet they'd sell less than 1,000...ever.

Smart move is to let the legal limit amplifier folks do what they do
best and Elecraft do what it does best, make radios.

73, Ed - KL7UW
http://www.kl7uw.com
"Kits made by KL7UW"
Dubus Mag business:
[hidden email]

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Wes Stewart-2

Re: The 1500 watt amp

In reply to this post by Rick Braun

Apparently you don't know Elecraft's engineering process. Many "Elecraft"
products were "designed by someone else", starting with the DSP in the K2.
Here's what Wayne had to say about that:

"A major milestone in our history was the KDSP2 option for the K2. Lyle Johnson,
KK7P, became known to us *after* he had mostly completed this highly versatile
DSP unit. He reverse-engineered the auxBus protocol and made the KDSP2 behave as
if it were a KAF2, which plugged into the same spot. He showed it to us, and we
immediately adopted both the product and Lyle himself."

Lyle now works for Elecraft from the comfort of his home here in Tucson..(What I
call, "distributed engineering.")

Many other "Elecraft" designs were done similarly, by someone else, PAs included.

BTW QRO is about being heard. I'm often amused by the digital mode crowd, who
profess that one doesn't need "power" to get through, i.e., "I work the world
with 5 W on ESP (your favorite mode here)." Some of them even make imaginary
QSOs on EME. http://www.sm2cew.com/jt65.html

Wes N7WS
www.qrz.com/db/n7ws

On 7/30/2016 5:40 PM, Rick Braun wrote:

n4cc

Re: The 1500 watt amp

In reply to this post by Rick Braun

It's amazing how many people offer an opinion on what the market would be
for an Elecraft 1500 watt amplifier. People just know it wouldn't be
successful without a clue who might or might not really be interested.
They're right...the QRP'ers would not be interested, for one, would be very
interested. People who have amplifiers sitting on shelves collecting dust
would not be interested. So who would be interested -- contesters and
DX'ers.

I own a KPA500 and it is very nice; the integration with the K3 makes it a
pleasure to use...but I want the capability to run full legal limit. I own
several full legal limit amps but would gladly get rid of one or more for an
Elecraft amp. At my age and being retired, I care more about value,
engineering design, and service than I do about price. There are lots of
people who spend $6 - $14K on a radio...why not an amplifier?

The majority of serious contesters and DX'ers own a K3. If a KPA1500 had
the same features as the KPA500 then it would be compatible with the K3,
remember the drive required on each band, put the K3 back at 100 watts when
in standby, be upgradeable through Elecraft's utilities, have Elecraft's
service commitment, would match the K-line, would be fully self-protected,
and it would be made and serviced in the USA. Elecraft has already dealt
with the requirements for an amp to be compatible with other rigs than the
K3 so that would not be an issue with the 1500. Contesters especially would
appreciate convenience with the instant band switching with no need to touch
drive controls or worry about antenna selection. I'll offer my opinion that
a lot of people who already own a 1500 watt amplifier would go ahead and
purchase an Elecraft amplifier for all the reasons mentioned. Alphas used
to be the cat's meow but the products and service they have now don't
measure up to what Dick Ehrhorn used to offer. I wouldn't discourage
Eric/Wayne from considering a KPA1500. I hope they do it. Put me on the
list to get one if/when they do. 73, Greg-N4CC
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Clay Autery

Re: The 1500 watt amp

Building a pile of cash for an amp... Would definitely prefer to hand
that pile of cash to Elecraft than to any other company...

______________________
Clay Autery, KY5G
MONTAC Enterprises
(318) 518-1389

On 7/31/2016 3:20 PM, Greg wrote:
> Put me on the
> list to get one if/when they do. 73, Greg-N4CC
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Wes Stewart-2

Re: The 1500 watt amp

In reply to this post by n4cc

I would even reinstall the 240V service:-)

On 7/31/2016 1:20 PM, Greg wrote:

> It's amazing how many people offer an opinion on what the market would be
> for an Elecraft 1500 watt amplifier. People just know it wouldn't be
> successful without a clue who might or might not really be interested.
> They're right...the QRP'ers would not be interested, for one, would be very
> interested. People who have amplifiers sitting on shelves collecting dust
> would not be interested. So who would be interested -- contesters and
> DX'ers.
>
> I own a KPA500 and it is very nice; the integration with the K3 makes it a
> pleasure to use...but I want the capability to run full legal limit. I own
> several full legal limit amps but would gladly get rid of one or more for an
> Elecraft amp. At my age and being retired, I care more about value,
> engineering design, and service than I do about price. There are lots of
> people who spend $6 - $14K on a radio...why not an amplifier?
>
> The majority of serious contesters and DX'ers own a K3. If a KPA1500 had
> the same features as the KPA500 then it would be compatible with the K3,
> remember the drive required on each band, put the K3 back at 100 watts when
> in standby, be upgradeable through Elecraft's utilities, have Elecraft's
> service commitment, would match the K-line, would be fully self-protected,
> and it would be made and serviced in the USA. Elecraft has already dealt
> with the requirements for an amp to be compatible with other rigs than the
> K3 so that would not be an issue with the 1500. Contesters especially would
> appreciate convenience with the instant band switching with no need to touch
> drive controls or worry about antenna selection. I'll offer my opinion that
> a lot of people who already own a 1500 watt amplifier would go ahead and
> purchase an Elecraft amplifier for all the reasons mentioned. Alphas used
> to be the cat's meow but the products and service they have now don't
> measure up to what Dick Ehrhorn used to offer. I wouldn't discourage
> Eric/Wayne from considering a KPA1500. I hope they do it. Put me on the
> list to get one if/when they do. 73, Greg-N4CC
> ______________________________________________________________
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>

wayne burdick

Re: The 1500 watt amp

Administrator

In reply to this post by Wes Stewart-2

The K2 DSP is the only such case, and as noted, Lyle has been with us exclusively ever since. All other Elecraft products were designed by our full-time or part-time engineering staff.

We would not source someone else's QRO amp design. We would reserve the fun for ourselves :)

Those exploratory models from 2006 were designed by our senior RF engineer in his "spare time." If he gets the itch again someday, we'll let you know.

73,
Wayne
N6KR

-----
http://www.elecraft.com

> On Jul 31, 2016, at 11:37 AM, Wes Stewart <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> Apparently you don't know Elecraft's engineering process. Many "Elecraft" products were "designed by someone else", starting with the DSP in the K2. Here's what Wayne had to say about that:
>
> "A major milestone in our history was the KDSP2 option for the K2. Lyle Johnson, KK7P, became known to us *after* he had mostly completed this highly versatile DSP unit. He reverse-engineered the auxBus protocol and made the KDSP2 behave as if it were a KAF2, which plugged into the same spot. He showed it to us, and we immediately adopted both the product and Lyle himself."
>
> Lyle now works for Elecraft from the comfort of his home here in Tucson..(What I call, "distributed engineering.")
>
> Many other "Elecraft" designs were done similarly, by someone else, PAs included.
>
> BTW QRO is about being heard. I'm often amused by the digital mode crowd, who profess that one doesn't need "power" to get through, i.e., "I work the world with 5 W on ESP (your favorite mode here)." Some of them even make imaginary QSOs on EME. http://www.sm2cew.com/jt65.html
>
> Wes N7WS
> www.qrz.com/db/n7ws
>
>
>> On 7/30/2016 5:40 PM, Rick Braun wrote:
>> I was heartened to see Wayne’s response to this rumor. It seems inceivable that Elecraft would offer such a product, much less one designed by someone else. Big amps are about being loud, busting pileups, . When receivers were less sensitive and sophisticated, e.g. digital filters, digital noise reduction, etc., you needed power to get in the front ends of DX receivers. We don’t need that power anymore except to contest, i.e. blow out the ops with less power. To me this don’t seem like the Elecraft ethic. They aren’t QRP snobs, and they seem to value skill, intelligence, and cunning, rather than brute power. Whole big amp thing struck me as odd.
>>
>> Sent from Mail for Windows 10
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> Elecraft mailing list
>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
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>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>> Message delivered to [hidden email]
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
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Gary Gregory-2

Re: The 1500 watt amp

In reply to this post by Elecraft mailing list

The kpa500 runs happily on generator power.
For those of us who wander around as well as expeditions etc, the kpa500 works great.
Many of us are possibly in the silent majority NOT into buying a 1500w amplifier.
Having said that, I am aware of big amps working into dipoles here in VK, loud, and mostly deaf...:-)
I have been beating on my field test kpa500 unit from day one, not a single heart stopping event has occurred to date.
Not all amp are created equal
Gary

-----Original Message-----
From: "Ron D'Eau Claire" <[hidden email]>
Sent: ‎1/‎08/‎2016 6:57 AM
To: "[hidden email]" <[hidden email]>
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] The 1500 watt amp

It's an economic decision for the Ham too.

The KPA500 can be run from any decent 120VAC mains outlet as long as there aren't too many other loads on it. But going above that power level forces the Ham to have 240 VAC in the shack, something many of us do not normally plan for. That can be a very expensive addition to the cost of the amp, especially if the mains panel is not expandable as needed.

Of course, it's a "no brainer" for those looking to run the legal limit, but for the average Ham it can be a real consideration.

73, Ron AC7AC

-----Original Message-----

Agreed, and I'd guess it was purely an economic decision.
Bob AA6VB

Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

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Art Peters

Re: The 1500 watt amp

In reply to this post by wayne burdick

I would say, here is to itchy conditions ….

73,

Art Peters, K0ACP
[hidden email]

> On Jul 31, 2016, at 4:39 PM, Wayne Burdick <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> The K2 DSP is the only such case, and as noted, Lyle has been with us exclusively ever since. All other Elecraft products were designed by our full-time or part-time engineering staff.
>
> We would not source someone else's QRO amp design. We would reserve the fun for ourselves :)
>
> Those exploratory models from 2006 were designed by our senior RF engineer in his "spare time." If he gets the itch again someday, we'll let you know.
>
> 73,
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
> -----
> http://www.elecraft.com <http://www.elecraft.com/>
>
>> On Jul 31, 2016, at 11:37 AM, Wes Stewart <[hidden email] <mailto:[hidden email]>> wrote:
>>
>> Apparently you don't know Elecraft's engineering process. Many "Elecraft" products were "designed by someone else", starting with the DSP in the K2. Here's what Wayne had to say about that:
>>
>> "A major milestone in our history was the KDSP2 option for the K2. Lyle Johnson, KK7P, became known to us *after* he had mostly completed this highly versatile DSP unit. He reverse-engineered the auxBus protocol and made the KDSP2 behave as if it were a KAF2, which plugged into the same spot. He showed it to us, and we immediately adopted both the product and Lyle himself."
>>
>> Lyle now works for Elecraft from the comfort of his home here in Tucson..(What I call, "distributed engineering.")
>>
>> Many other "Elecraft" designs were done similarly, by someone else, PAs included.
>>
>> BTW QRO is about being heard. I'm often amused by the digital mode crowd, who profess that one doesn't need "power" to get through, i.e., "I work the world with 5 W on ESP (your favorite mode here)." Some of them even make imaginary QSOs on EME. http://www.sm2cew.com/jt65.html
>>
>> Wes N7WS
>> www.qrz.com/db/n7ws
>>
>>
>>> On 7/30/2016 5:40 PM, Rick Braun wrote:
>>> I was heartened to see Wayne’s response to this rumor. It seems inceivable that Elecraft would offer such a product, much less one designed by someone else. Big amps are about being loud, busting pileups, . When receivers were less sensitive and sophisticated, e.g. digital filters, digital noise reduction, etc., you needed power to get in the front ends of DX receivers. We don’t need that power anymore except to contest, i.e. blow out the ops with less power. To me this don’t seem like the Elecraft ethic. They aren’t QRP snobs, and they seem to value skill, intelligence, and cunning, rather than brute power. Whole big amp thing struck me as odd.
>>>
>>> Sent from Mail for Windows 10
>>>
>>> ______________________________________________________________
>>> Elecraft mailing list
>>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>>> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>>>
>>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>>> Message delivered to [hidden email]
>>
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________
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Josh Fiden

Re: The 1500 watt amp

In reply to this post by Elecraft mailing list

Before I switched to the K3, I ran Icom gear with their PW-1 amp. While
the PW-1 had a few shortcomings, having a 160-6 KW amp with built-in
tuner, 4 antenna outs which auto-select per band, and integration with
the transceiver was pretty great. It had an internal switching power
supply which would run from either 120 or 240v. At 120v max output power
was reduced.

These days my operating is primarily HF contesting and 6m EME, so a 500W
amp is not interesting. Something like the PW-1, done right with
Elecraft's attention to detail, absolutely would be interesting.

73,
Josh W6XU
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'DGB'

Re: The 1500 watt amp

In reply to this post by Art Peters

ditto ditto ! ;-)

73 de NS9I

On 7/31/2016 4:36 PM, Art Peters wrote:

> I would say, here is to itchy conditions ….
>
> 73,
>
> Art Peters, K0ACP
> [hidden email]
>
>
>
>> On Jul 31, 2016, at 4:39 PM, Wayne Burdick <[hidden email]> wrote:
>>
>> The K2 DSP is the only such case, and as noted, Lyle has been with us exclusively ever since. All other Elecraft products were designed by our full-time or part-time engineering staff.
>>
>> We would not source someone else's QRO amp design. We would reserve the fun for ourselves :)
>>
>> Those exploratory models from 2006 were designed by our senior RF engineer in his "spare time." If he gets the itch again someday, we'll let you know.
>>
>> 73,
>> Wayne
>> N6KR
>>
>> -----
>> http://www.elecraft.com <http://www.elecraft.com/>
>>
>>> On Jul 31, 2016, at 11:37 AM, Wes Stewart <[hidden email] <mailto:[hidden email]>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Apparently you don't know Elecraft's engineering process. Many "Elecraft" products were "designed by someone else", starting with the DSP in the K2. Here's what Wayne had to say about that:
>>>
>>> "A major milestone in our history was the KDSP2 option for the K2. Lyle Johnson, KK7P, became known to us *after* he had mostly completed this highly versatile DSP unit. He reverse-engineered the auxBus protocol and made the KDSP2 behave as if it were a KAF2, which plugged into the same spot. He showed it to us, and we immediately adopted both the product and Lyle himself."
>>>
>>> Lyle now works for Elecraft from the comfort of his home here in Tucson..(What I call, "distributed engineering.")
>>>
>>> Many other "Elecraft" designs were done similarly, by someone else, PAs included.
>>>
>>> BTW QRO is about being heard. I'm often amused by the digital mode crowd, who profess that one doesn't need "power" to get through, i.e., "I work the world with 5 W on ESP (your favorite mode here)." Some of them even make imaginary QSOs on EME. http://www.sm2cew.com/jt65.html
>>>
>>> Wes N7WS
>>> www.qrz.com/db/n7ws
>>>
>>>
>>>> On 7/30/2016 5:40 PM, Rick Braun wrote:
>>>> I was heartened to see Wayne’s response to this rumor. It seems inceivable that Elecraft would offer such a product, much less one designed by someone else. Big amps are about being loud, busting pileups, . When receivers were less sensitive and sophisticated, e.g. digital filters, digital noise reduction, etc., you needed power to get in the front ends of DX receivers. We don’t need that power anymore except to contest, i.e. blow out the ops with less power. To me this don’t seem like the Elecraft ethic. They aren’t QRP snobs, and they seem to value skill, intelligence, and cunning, rather than brute power. Whole big amp thing struck me as odd.
>>>>
>>>> Sent from Mail for Windows 10
>>>>
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kstover

Re: The 1500 watt amp

In reply to this post by n4cc

On 7/31/2016 3:20 PM, Greg wrote:

"I own a KPA500 and it is very nice; the integration with the K3 makes
it a pleasure to use...but I want the capability to run full legal
limit. I own several full legal limit amps but would gladly get rid of
one or more for an Elecraft amp. At my age and being retired, I care
more about value,engineering design, and service than I do about price.
There are lots of people who spend $6 - $14K on a radio...why not an
amplifier?"

You assume because they have spent that kind of money on a radio they
will turn right around and spend that on an amp. I'm saying they won't,
not even an Elecraft amp.

"The majority of serious contesters and DX'ers own a K3."

No argument there, The exception I know of is K3LR who runs Icom 7851's

And a majority of those multi-multi and dedicated DX chasing stations
are running tube amps of one flavor or another, most likely an AL-1500
on each band. They aren't looking for fancy shmancy doodads. They want
simple brute force power. There is a reason why more Ameritron amps are
sold than Alpha's and it's not price. It's simplicity. The RF section of
an Alpha amp is pretty much bomb proof as is the AL1500. It's all the
microprocessor controlled "stuff" that breaks. If an Ameritron breaks
during the contest there's a better than even chance of fixing it before
the contest is over. Not so with an Alpha.

"Contesters especially would appreciate convenience with the instant
band switching with no need to touch drive controls or worry about
antenna selection."

Nope, SO2R's and multi-multi class stations are running dedicated amps
per band or radio with integrated automatic antenna switching running
off band data from the radio. The only time the Op raises a finger is to
hit another function key in N1MM+. If you're running stations in a
contest you won't touch the amp no need to. If your chasing P5 on twenty
meters you won't move far enough in the pile to have to re tune the amp.

"I'll offer my opinion that a lot of people who already own a 1500 watt
amplifier would go ahead and purchase an Elecraft amplifier for all the
reasons mentioned".

For those folks it's obviously a pissing contest...boys and their toys.
To make it profitable for Elecraft they'd probably have to sell as many
1500W amps as Ameritron does. A tall order at twice the price. Then
there's SPE who make a legal limit SSPA right now that does almost
everything the KPA500 does with a K3. It'll even do kinda sorta SO2R in
one box. It's $8K+ and I wouldn't contest with one. The "I can't fix it"
rule kicks in.

The tube is still king of the brute force crowd.
--

R. Kevin Stover
AC0H
ARRL
FISTS #11993
SKCC #215
NAQCC #3441

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Don Wilhelm

Re: The 1500 watt amp

In reply to this post by Wes Stewart-2

Wes,

You will have to find an example beyond the KDSP2 to support that assertion.
Yes, Lyle did design the KSDP2 independently, and then when he presented
it to Elecraft, it became a product - *and* Lyle was subsequently hired
by Elecraft as their DSP designer.

All other products were designed by engineers working either full time
or part time for Elecraft. The fact that they are not all working at a
desk in Watsonville is not important. The Elecraft staff is distributed
throughout the country, and I represent the Elecraft legacy line for
repairs, and I am located in Wake Forest, NC. Email and other forms of
communication keep us working together - for me the only handicap is the
time difference, Watsonville does not "wake up" until 11AM my time.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 7/31/2016 2:37 PM, Wes Stewart wrote:
> Apparently you don't know Elecraft's engineering process. Many
> "Elecraft" products were "designed by someone else", starting with the
> DSP in the K2. Here's what Wayne had to say about that:

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Phil Wheeler-2

Re: The 1500 watt amp

Re "Lyle did design the KSDP2 independently, and
then when he presented it to Elecraft, it became a
product - *and* Lyle was subsequently hired by
Elecraft as their DSP designer.": An impressive
job interview, that :-)

And the KDSP2 remains a favorite of mine; I
replaced the KAF2 with it as soon as it was
available,it really makes a difference in my K2!
Given the design constraints of adding it to the
K2 after the design was more-or-less complete,
it's menu system is not the most user friendly.
But using the K2 with KDSP2 alongside my K3, KX3
and KX2 the K2 still holds its own.

73, Phil W7OX

On 7/31/16 5:29 PM, Don Wilhelm wrote:

> Wes,
>
> You will have to find an example beyond the
> KDSP2 to support that assertion.
> Yes, Lyle did design the KSDP2 independently,
> and then when he presented it to Elecraft, it
> became a product - *and* Lyle was subsequently
> hired by Elecraft as their DSP designer.
>
> All other products were designed by engineers
> working either full time or part time for
> Elecraft. The fact that they are not all
> working at a desk in Watsonville is not
> important. The Elecraft staff is distributed
> throughout the country, and I represent the
> Elecraft legacy line for repairs, and I am
> located in Wake Forest, NC. Email and other
> forms of communication keep us working together
> - for me the only handicap is the time
> difference, Watsonville does not "wake up" until
> 11AM my time.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>
> On 7/31/2016 2:37 PM, Wes Stewart wrote:
>> Apparently you don't know Elecraft's
>> engineering process. Many "Elecraft" products
>> were "designed by someone else", starting with
>> the DSP in the K2. Here's what Wayne had to
>> say about that:

Josh Fiden

Re: The 1500 watt amp

In reply to this post by kstover

I wouldn't make any assumption about what Elecraft customers will do!

I understand people deciding to upgrade their K3 to the K3S. What has
completely mystified me is how many people upgrade the synthesizer(s)
and THEN dump the rig to replace it with a nearly identical radio! I'm
sure my view is biased since when faced with the same choice, it seemed
only logical to upgrade my existing radios which work great and are
configured how I like them.

I guess this horse is dead, no?! hi

73,
Josh W6XU

On 7/31/2016 5:06 PM, Kevin wrote:
>
> You assume because they have spent that kind of money on a radio they
> will turn right around and spend that on an amp. I'm saying they
> won't, not even an Elecraft amp.

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k1tgx

Re: The 1500 watt amp

In reply to this post by Rick Braun

I'm with Greg. Though I am only a casual DX chaser and even more casual contester I found the KPA500 just wasn't enough to suit me, but I knew that going in. I only ordered the 500 as a temporary measure to hold me until my 2K-FA came in. I certainly would have gone with a 1500w Elecraft product, if it existed.
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