Contrary to popular opinion fresh water is NOT a good ground system nor will pure fresh water conduct electricity  Pure fresh water is an insulator.  On the other hand salt water conducts electricity very well and can be the basis of a very good ground system.

I would expect the 43 foot vertical mounted on a boat dock to work about as well (but not quite as well) as an identical antenna mounted on the ground with no radials.

Dick  AD4U

I have a FT-2900.  Mine runs a solid 80 watts on high power.  A 12A PS will be very marginal on high power.  Used as a "base" station, you can run it at the mid power setting which is 25 watts and your 12A PS will be more than adequate.  25 watts into a good antenna should be more than enough power to work most any repeater you can hear.

Dick  AD4U

Since I am a boat anchor ham I cannot comment on the newest DSP based noise blankers.  However the older and most effective noise blankers actually "blank" the entire receiver (including the desired signal) for the duration of the noise pulse(s).  On the other hand noise limiters "clip" the noise peaks instead of blanking the receiver.  IMO they are about as useless as a screen door on a submarine.  

If you have lots of noise pulses, your receiver will be blanked a lot which will reduce the intelligibility of the desired signal as well as creating distortion and introducing phantom signals within the receiver passband.  It is a trade off.

As posted by many, by far the best approach is to identify and reduce or eliminate the noise source(s).  Maybe one day there will be a smart noise blanker that can distinguish between noise and the desired signal.  But I don't think that day has arrived.  Today there is no free lunch.

Dick  AD4U

I bought my 30L1 two years ago at a hamfest for $600.  It is a "winged" model with original manual.  The cabinet looks new, chassis is shiny, no dust, Filter caps had been replaced, and it was demonstrated to put out 600+ watts from 4 each RCA 811A tubes before I bought it.

A similar amp on ebay would probably go for $800 or more.

Since you do not know if yours even works, if the tubes are good (not just present), if the filter caps have been replaced, if the transformer is smoked, etc etc, it is very hard to say what it is worth.

Like already suggested, put it on ebay with pictures and see what happens.  IMO ham gear on ebay goes for quite a bit more than it is worth.

Dick  AD4U

For starters install a wire as long and as high as physically possible.  The wire gauge and insulated or not does not matter.

Dick  AD4U

I have posted this before, but around 5 years ago I was looking for a new challenge.  Being a boat anchor collector and restorer I fired up my Drake 2B receiver and matching Drake 2NT 50 watt crystal controlled transmitter and started operating CW.  In 5 years of off and on operating only on 40 meter CW I have worked 293 countries and all states.  The antenna is a half wave dipole up about 70 feet.

This post is not about bragging.  Sure we all would like to have one of the $10,000 rigs, but most of us never will.

My 50 year old all tube Drake 2B receiver can "hear" most anything at my QTH that any other receiver can "hear", at least on 40 meters.  What I am trying to say (I guess) is one can work lots of DX with a 50 year old transmitter and a GOOD 50 year old receiver.

Dick  AD4U

I live on a 700 acre farm.  Many ham friends hunt, fish, and generally help me on the farm.  We often use HT's on simplex to communicate. On my farm typical reliable range between two FM walkie talkies with standard rubber duck antennas over flat ground with some trees is 2-3 miles.  Of course you could get a bit less or a whole lot more under different circumstances.

Dick  AD4U

Other than what has already been suggested, I think you are out of luck.  I learned the same thing many years ago, the hard way.  Fortunately MOST small vacuum tubes are still available and MOST do not cost very much.

Dick  AD4U

A "PS" to my previous post......

As a boat anchor guy I also have a mint or a restored Kenwood TS-520S, Yaesu FT-101E, Heathkit SB-401, Heathkit SB-101, and a Heathkit SB-102 to name just a few.

If you are handy with a soldering iron, do as I did.  I carefully changed two wires on the Kenwood TS-520S mic connector to match the mic connector wiring configuration in the Yaesu.  This was easily done.
 
In all three Heathkits I replaced the rather rare 2 pin mic connector with the same 4 pin mic connector used in the Kenwood and the Yaesu.  I rewired them to match the Yaesu.  Only 2 of the 4 pins are used.  The 4 pin mic connector fits the hole in the Heathkit front panel perfectly.

I would not recommend doing this to a mint Collins KWM-2A or a similar rig.  However I do not consider any of thse rigs to be irrreplaceable antiques, so I did not mind modifying them.
 
DOCUMENT THE CHANGES IN THE MANUAL.

If I ever want to return any of these rigs to original condition, it can be easily and quickly done.

Now I can use one mic on all five rigs.

Dick  AD4U

Ahhhh once again................The manufacturer's maximum rating VS the Ameritron rating.

Same 4 pin mic plug.  Different wiring configuration.

Dick  AD4U

12/2 W/G will work just fine.

Dick  AD4U

I would not be overly concerned.  Maybe "he" has a problem on "his" end.  Checking your rig with a spectrum analyzer will tell you what need to know.

If you are running 1500 watts and assuming your second harmonic is "down" 40 dB, you will still be transmitting a 0.15 watt second harmonic.  If your second harmonic is "down" 30dB then your second harmonic will be 1.5 watts.  Under good conditions 1.5 wats or even 0.15 watt can be heard a very long way.

Dick  AD4U

What ever you decide:

#14 wire - 15 amp breaker (or smaller)
#12 wire - 20 amp breaker (or smaller)
#10 wire - 30 amp breaker (or smaller)

Even #14 wire (assuming a reasonable distance from the box to the recepticle) will "run" a 1500 watt output amp.  Assuming 50% amp efficiency (including filament current and fan current) you will be drawing no moe than 3000 watts from the AC line

3000 watts / 240 volts = 12.5 amps.  Since #14 wire will "handle" 15 amps continuous duty and since SSB and CW are not continuous duty modes, #14 wire will be OK.

If it were me and considering the small additional cost, I would opt for #12 or even #10 wire.  Either will have less voltage drop than #14.  As your shack "grows" you won't be sorry if you install the larger wire.

Dick AD4U

And one more thing..............Even the best and most expensive lighting arrestor is no better than the ground it is connected to.  Do not skimp here.

Dick  AD4U