This is real QRO!!!

[N9MXY]

Found this one on Ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Rifleman-Console-Base-Amp_W0QQitemZ320461468484QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4a9cfdf344

I wonder what the IMD figures are on it.....

[K0BG]

Maybe not good, but that amp is far from the king of the hill. Look here: http://davemade.com/

Mobile yet!

[KE4DRN]

hi,

that junk has been on ebay before,
I remember the power cord with the rubber
insulation pulled back.

73 james

[KE4DRN]

hi,

for 6m, take a look at this Larcan unit,
10W in 1KW out !  48VDC @ 57A

http://cgi.ebay.com/Larcan-1KW-6-meter-50-54-MHz-RF-power-amp-lo-hi-ver_W0QQitemZ330387252314QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4cec9d645a

73 james

[N9MXY]

I can't believe Dave made is still in business. There wasn't really that much demand for "contest" amps during the peak CB days let alone now that CB is all but dead....

[KI4VEO]

CB isn't dead...it just moved.  Many operate "between the cracks" - below 26.965 and above 27.405

I hear many of 'em between 27.5 and 28 Mhz...and on up into the 10 M band

[N3OQD]

Someone said "Dave Made"?  UGGG!! Brings back a memory.  When at a local hamfest years ago, someone was selling Lexodyne alternaters.  They were huge.  I said what is their purpose?  (This is the story he told me)  He said for CB "keydown" contesting.  Four or five lexodynes in a row custom mounted in front on top of the big block 454 chevy engine in the suburbans are used for raw power.  A large serpentien belt connected all as one.  Just before keydown the engine is reved to full rpm and bam! Down goes the key.  Sometimes the stress would break the engine crankshaft in half.  Anyway, while the two contesters were keying down next to each other and both yelling words in the mike,someone a few miles away records the transmissions.  Soon after the recording station returns, the tape is played.  The one heard on the tape over the other wins and ususally there are thousands of dollars at stake.  He also said that that year there was a CB keydown in Florida with some running near 100kw.  He said that everyone standing nearby got an "RF sunburn" afterwards and the guy holding the video camera had his camera ruined.  To me this is raw insanity at its worst and just maybe this also inadvertanty left them sterile, hi hi.

[N9MXY]

Yep, That's what I'm talking about! Never got to or wanted to see one but when I lived in Chicago in the mid-late 80's I ran into some guys at a truckstop that did some "contesting" That's all dave made does, contest amps meaning class C or worse if that's possible.

[K0BG]

I actually would like to see, in person, someone attempting to operate much above 5 kW mobile, on any HF band, CB included.

One has to understand, there is always ground losses to deal with. As the frequency is lowered, coil Q losses also mount, while radiation resistance diminishes.

At some point, depending on the power level in question, and the frequency of operation, the ground losses will become so great, the RF will arc through the graphite coatings inside the tire, and to ground. At some point, but not necessarily the same point, the coil losses will be enough to melt the coil into a heap. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to calculate where the points occur, but in any case it is well below 100kW.

Further, even if one uses a silver-plated copper antenna element, a resonant 1/4 wave will heat enough to melt. I haven't run any numbers, but I'd bet the point is well below 100 kW, even on 11 meters.

There is yet one more problem you have to deal with, and that is corona losses. Even with a 4 foot cap hat mounted atop a 20 meter resonant Scorpion 680, and an overall antenna length of just over 9.5 feet, corona losses at legal limit (1,500 watts carrier) can be seen even in broad daylight. I can only imagine what they must be like on 11 meters at 100 kW, even if it were possible.

[K4FX]

Yeah unfortunately those people are in the lower part of 10m CW, during the ARRL10M contest a couple of weeks ago, I was hearing a SSB signal on my freq on CW, every time I unkeyed after calling CQ he was making comments, of course I could not make out what he was saying thru a 250hz filter. He was probably telling me that I was supposed to switch to lower sideband HI.

K4FX

[KC2RLY]

N3OQD, I think you mean Electrodyne.

They are a heavy duty electrical systems company and specialize in brushless alternator and generators.

[N3OQD]

Yes your trademark spelling is correct but this is the best way I could type it from memory.  As with any trademark name, sometimes common spelling rules don't apply.

[N4KC]

I want to see that "Huge 3A Transformer!"

And Alan K0BG, I can hear the call now:

"Hello, Triple-A?  I welded the car to the ground again."

Don N4KC
www.n4kc.com
www.donkeith.com
www.facebook.com/donkeith
www.n4kc.blogspot.com

[K0BG]

Don, that's probably not too far from the truth. I'll never admit to running more than legal limit mobile, however....

I just happen to know, almost first hand, that anything over about 4 kW on 20 meters, just can't be done! Even if you use a full 1/4 wave (about 17 feet long), the body of the vehicle ends up being covered with blue haze. That fact has to tell you something!

[VK2BEN]

Hey guys, I just found these puppies on ebay by accident....the mods look very easy to do.

However, can anybody point out some REAL reasons why these would not be a good proposition ?? Tis the season for 6m at the moment.

All constructive comments invited and welcome!

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