| Author |
Message |
    
Goose
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 23, 2003 - 10:15 pm: | 
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Can the finals be changed in this base to get more wattage output? Rite now i have 18 watts on AM and would like 50 watts.
Also what mod do i do for more channels,and last is the modulator kit worth installing in this radio? |
2600
| | Posted on Sunday, April 27, 2003 - 3:52 am: |
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Uh, what kind of wattmeter are you using? It sounds as if one of the two final transistors may be on vacation. A radio with only one functioning final will deliver roughly half normal power.
There are other small parts around each final transistor that can fail if that final transistor fails and shorts internally. A new replacement final will appear not to add any power if one of these parts is still bad, and no drive power can reach the new final.
More channels? It's already got more channels than a single antenna can cover. Do you use an antenna tuner? If not, high SWR could be hard on the final stage. Boosting the power with a "power jump" is like installing nitrous oxide on your car engine. The power boost is really impressive, and reduces your safety margin for SWR. Even a modestly high SWR becomes a "blown final" hazard. Stock up on final transistors before doing that.
The same money spent to "tweak" the power on a radio is much better spent on an amplifier. They have NEVER been cheaper, never. The kind of mod you describe will cost you dollars per watt. The same money spent on an amplifier will usually get you more than one watt PEP per dollar.
On the other hand, if you're just irrationally in love with the idea of 50 Watts from a 2980, who cares what it costs? Just stock up on finals and modulator transistors. Eventually the foil traces on the circuit board will lift away after the fourth or fifth set of finals and driver transistors. Then you'll need another radio with a good circuit board. Talk about dollars per watt.....
Hey, it's your money.
73 |
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