50W QRP Amplifier - First Demonstration
Published July 14, 2018
This post is cross-posted to my ham-radio specific blog, kk9jef.wordpress.com.
As I alluded to last week, I've been working on a simple "QRP Amplifier" to kick my power up from 5W to something a little more punchy. Specifically, an amp I can still use when portable. There's something wonderful about achieving a contact with only 5W, but there's also the frustration of getting into the field and having band conditions just wreck your day. It'd be nice to have the power to crank up the juice for special occasions.
While I have awhile to go before this project is wrapped up with a bow and ready for field use, here's a brief video about my first successful test. 5W in, 50-60W out when run off two 13.8V sources in series:
More technical details to come, but for now, I consider this a really successful validation of the idea! Like I say, a few more critical steps to come, including an input 50-ohm pad, a low pass filter, and a case, but this is enough of a proof of concept to move forward.
Hear you on the air!
73