Hi all, I havn't been posting a lot in the forums a lot these past few months but I generally have a browse every day so I am keeping up with all the shenanigans you all get up to....That aside I have been very busy these past six weeks building some amplifiers for friends and also preparing for the South East Radio Group convention...This is held in Mt Gambier VK5 each June..I like to take over some of my projects each year and enter them in the Homebrew competition...I have won first prize for the past 10 years or so...That aside I like to take homebrew ham equipment to inspire others to try it out...The SERG club has a big following and each year there is a stiff competition in the Foxhunting which is held over two days...
Like my presence on this Ham Island, I have many friends to meet up with at the convention and I always come home happy to have caught up again...As I am getting pretty old, I guess time will eventually run out for me, so I appreciate the friendship both here and with the radio group.
The following pics are my latest amplifier creations..I started these six weeks ago and have just completed them all ready for the competition.
On this page is a 1kw 2 meter air cooled amplifier designed specifically for EME work..The tube is a rugged GS-31B Russian triode, 1kw anode dissipation....I have used these tubes in quite a few amplifier applications and find them rugged and pretty much bomb proof...I have solved the cooling problem that many experience with tube amplifiers using "Brute Force" ...I use a 12-28 volt Papst fan that is rated 250cfm...This unit is 5.5 inches diameter and 2 inches deep...I seal off and pressurise the RF deck..The air evacuates through the tube cooler and Teflon chimney attached to the top cover....With approximately 50% loss under pressure I still get well over 100cfm through the tube anode and even at 800 watts WSJT minute long bursts the tube stays cool....The Cathode compartment is sealed and uses a 4 inch 240 volt computer type fan to keep the Cathode and filament area cool....
I used the big DC Papst fan rather than the 240 volt types as there is no 50 cycle hum which can be a noisy annoyance...All you can hear with the 28 volt Papst fan is air, heaps of air....During receive I have a relay in the PTT line which cuts the fan voltage down to 12 volts eliminating most of the air noise ...
The 2 meter amplifier is simple and straight forward..It has step start HT, tunable T input and a half wavelength output line...The HT power supply uses a robust custom built Toroidal transformer and it produces 3200vdc @ 800ma...I have these transformers built in China...Quality is excellent..As per all my amplifiers I have developed my own style of construction and all amplifiers are built using the same method..I machine many of my own parts and build the cases by hand...Homebrew is fun..
Pics are the 2 meter amplifier..Enjoy.
Bob..VK3ZL..