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Bronzepony
Member
Username: Bronzepony

Post Number: 80
Registered: 12-2005
Posted on Tuesday, November 21, 2006 - 7:25 am:   Edit Post Delete Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Can anyone tell me how to tell if a amp is high drive?
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Sonny
Intermediate Member
Username: Sonny

Post Number: 120
Registered: 5-2004
Posted on Tuesday, November 21, 2006 - 3:28 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Bonzepony, the KLV amps have a p after the watt rating also some have the letters HD
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Hotwire
Senior Member
Username: Hotwire

Post Number: 2050
Registered: 1-2005


Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 1:17 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Besides a huge amp that requires some type a driver inside or out, I feel that there is not much difference between your average everyday 2 or 4 pill commercial amp.
A real high drive 2 pill or 4 pill amp to me is a custom amp built with a copper or aluminum board. Not these commercial amps that say it on the front. Example, you drive a Texas Star 250 with 20 watts max and it performs 100%. Take the same amp with same transistors and all, call it a high drive, drive it with 40 watts. Not going to get any extra power out of the amp. Where is all that extra input watts going? Probably just gonna heat the amp up a lot more. Just something I have thought about for years.
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747
Intermediate Member
Username: 747

Post Number: 218
Registered: 8-2002


Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 3:36 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I had an older Boomer 250 that I bought used from one of the local guys who builds/repairs linear amplifiers... He put into it what he called a "T-pad", which prevented overdriving the amp with too much swing... Worked darned good too! If you overdrove it, it would shut the amp down.. Just cycle the power....

But I too have wondered where that extra power goes... does it bleed it off somewhere?
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Unit199
Intermediate Member
Username: Unit199

Post Number: 397
Registered: 8-2003


Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 7:49 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The purpose of a high drive amp is not to give you more power out. It is to let you have a radio with higher DK to be operated with amp.

HARVE
UNIT199
CEF210
HAM#10
CVC18

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