Amplifier Kit for HL2

[Martin S.]

Hello,
Are there any amplifier kits that work well with the HL2? I am not familiar with amplifiers at all and would find it a good way to learn by building one myself. How much transmitting power makes sense? I am allowed to work up to 750 watts. Does it make sense to build a 750 watt amplifier right away or would I prefer a smaller one? 

[Ron Lewkowicz]

The hardrock amp kits from https://hobbypcb.com/ are are good place to start.  I've found going from 5W to an amp that puts out and AVG 100W on SSB ( I have no accurate way to measure PEP ) makes a remarkable difference.  There are diminishing returns beyond that but still gain for sure.  More power comes at a cost. It gets expensive for the amp then you probably need to upgrade your match box to handle the extra power and perhaps even your antenna.

[Brian Holmes]

I have found that the Hardrock 50 is a great match.  

Brian

VE3IK

On May 25, 2024, at 1:58 PM, Martin S. <inputmast...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello,

Are there any amplifier kits that work well with the HL2? I am not familiar with amplifiers at all and would find it a good way to learn by building one myself. How much transmitting power makes sense? I am allowed to work up to 750 watts. Does it make sense to build a 750 watt amplifier right away or would I prefer a smaller one? 

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[Scott Massey]

Hi Martin,

I just went through this very decision.  I ended up buying economically.  Use the Micro PA-50+ for voice and CW.  Build better later.

Good luck!

Scott Massey | M +1.248.535.6510

(iPhone transmission)

On May 25, 2024, at 13:57, Martin S. <inputmast...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello,

Are there any amplifier kits that work well with the HL2? I am not familiar with amplifiers at all and would find it a good way to learn by building one myself. How much transmitting power makes sense? I am allowed to work up to 750 watts. Does it make sense to build a 750 watt amplifier right away or would I prefer a smaller one? 

--

[Robert Benedict]

I also built a Hardrock 50 with tuner. It is a solid, well designed and well documented kit. It has worked flawlessly for me.

   Bob

    KD8CGH

[Martin S.]

There is a 100 Watt amp from 60dbm for 400€. The hardrock 50 cost 600€.is the surcharge justified? 

[Ron Lewkowicz]

Where you are located in the world is going to affect the price of things. Building a kit doesn't necessarily make it cheaper. It sounds like 60dBm have solved the one issue people were having with their amps and the HL2 and have good reviews beyond that. I tried the Micro PA50 and it did not last. I'd say it was wasted money but as always YMMV.  It seems you are in EU so another couple options are Juma 100W amp and RM Italy amps. I have RM Italy HLA-305V and so far no problems and it performs well. Expensive to get into Canada though but unfortunately so is everything else.

[francisco Antonio Royano]

Ldmos

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/hermes-lite/fef1d29a-5df8-4765-bf1e-f6aeeaa8cdc3n%40googlegroups.com.

[Marc OLANIE]

 

 

 

>Ldmos

Agreed ; -))

 

Hi Martin

> Are there any amplifier kits that work well with the HL2? I am not familiar with amplifiers at all and would find it a good way to learn by building one myself.

 

There are very few real « amplifiers kits » available on the ham market nowaday  You can have a look at the Communication Concept website

https://www.communication-concepts.com/an758-subkits-1/

or W6PQL projects

https://www.w6pql.com/parts_i_can_provide.htm

These sellers are relatively expensive, given the current euro/dollar exchange rate.

In Europe, 60dBm.com has some « semi kits » you can assemble, some at really reasonable cost like the 50W amp (and after all, 50W is only 3 dB less than 100W , in other words, a half « S » point)

https://www.60dbm.com/product-category/rf-power-amplifiers/hf/

But if you are looking for a real homebrew project, may I suggest you to have a look at the LA2NI Github repository ?

You’ll find a full 400 to 500W amp (munin 400)

https://github.com/LA2NI/Munin-400

using a pair of 300W ldmos transistors (mrf300 AN and BN)

or a smaller (and cheaper) version of this very same amp named Munin100 (delivering 200W peak), using MRF101 AN and BN

https://github.com/LA2NI/MUNIN-100

I should precise that NXP as sold the RF components division to Ampleon, and it’s begining to be harder and harder to source the MRF ldmos series. Delays for the MRF101BN is approximately 12 weeks

https://octopart.com/search?q=mrf101bn&currency=USD&specs=0

VY 73’

Marc f6itu

[KJ5]

Hello Marc,

Was the munin project(s) ever finalized? I found the repo and last time I looked it said the design wasn't final- I'm interested in the munin 100

[Marius Lubbe ZS1ML]

Good day from Sunny South Africa. I  wish to report on an amp I am using:

When I bought it, I did not suspect that the Recent  RS-928 HF SDR Radio 150W Power Amplifier, built and sold by  Quanzhou Risen Electronics Co., Ltd. may be a clone. It does in fact put our a reliable power of between 150W to 170W depending on the band, and looks well built.

The quality of the finished build is such that it does not look like a clone, so it may be under license. However I am told that there is a large chance that  it is  in fact an illegal  clone of the Juma PA100-D Kit. Quanzhou Risen is the same company that seems to have cloned the mcHF Radio Kit quite a few years ago and sell it as finished radio under the Recent name.

 The Recent amplifier I got  is a production model and ready to go, as well as being a very reasonable price compared to competitors like the Rock kits and similar..

I use it to drive the 5-7W that the Hermes puts out, to generate about 70W or more on its own. The auto-band-select function works just via the coax connection and does not need a special connection, as I suspect the Juma does as well. The software seems to be 100% the latest firmware that the Juma uses and looks exactly the same.

Further, turned down to about 60W I use the Recent amp to drive a Heathkit SB-230 for around 800W output, although I usually use a no more than 400-500W in DX and competitions.

I want to make it clear that, despite my above observations, I absolutely do not advocate for illegal actions like cloning intellectual property without being properly licensed by the original designer, or buying from such manufacturers.