Thanks for the comments, Ed.

The unit I purchased from KJ6KO was retuned to 1269; he said it was a slight improvement over stock (1296).

With about 5W in, I get 60W out at 29.7V at full load. Nice!

The amp is very well made. Some comments for those interested:

1) He recommends 6W as the MAXIMUM input power (thus running mine at 5W).

2) There is no T/R relay, which for me at the moment is not an issue. I intend to use the 1.2GHz as an uplink only.

3) The amp is very hefty (but not all that heavy) and well made. I am very impressed!

4) The amp has a bias activiation PTT line that is rated at something like 7 mA at 30V; check his page for specifics. The TS-2000X literature rates the EXT.CONT (pin 4) 1.2GHz AMP relay at DC 20V, 20mA max. BE CAREFULL: I am using it at the 30V for now; I think I need a keying circuit!! Don't want to damage the TS-2000X. (I'll be interested in other people's keying circuits as they put these amps into service. I built one from an NPN, a PNP, and a few resistors but I'm too chicken to try it out yet :) )

5)I'm using an ASTRON LS-10A for the 30V supply. It seems welll suited for the task. Info here: http://www.astroncorp.com/w28.shtml

6) Last night I was able to access the GO-32 BBS with a 1.2GHz uplink--that's a first for me! I couldn't get into it before with just 10W.

I can put this purchase on the "highly recommended list"! He was great to deal with.

73,

Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

----- Original Message ----- From: "Edward Cole" kl7uw@acsalaska.net To: "Andrew Glasbrenner" glasbrenner@mindspring.com, amsat-bb@amsat.org Cc: "Mark L. Hammond" n8mh@embarqmail.com, kj6ko@innercite.com Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2007 11:28:03 PM (GMT-0500) America/New_York Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] L band amplifier group buy

At 12:00 PM 10/28/2007, Andrew Glasbrenner wrote:

Hi guys, I'm sending this from the airport waiting for my flight home from Symposium. As I discussed with a few of you here, I have just this weekend arranged a discounted price for AMSAT members on what looks to be a real deal on an L-band amplifier. I'll let the seller's webpage provide the details, but he has indicated that he will sell these amps, tuned for 1269 if so desired, for $195 dollars including shipping (lower 48 US). I'm ordering one this week, and I believe Mark Hammond N8MH has one already. I'd like to thank Mark for turning me on to these, and being the early adopter. Check them out at:

http://users.innercite.com/kj6ko/forsale.htm#KJ6KO%20Stuff%20For%20Sale

We need 5 people to get this pricing, so please drop me a line if you order one.

73, Drew KO4MA

Just a note to tell you I bought one of these from KJ6KO about 3-years ago for 1296. With 29.5 volts and 10w drive I am seeing 70w output. Since the amplifier is broadband tuned it may work at both 1296 and 1269. You probably should contact Greg for his experience in converting these amps; he would know how wide a band they perform over. I heartily recommend these amps!

73, Ed - KL7UW ====================================== BP40IQ 50-MHz - 10-GHz www.kl7uw.com 144-EME: FT-847, mgf-1801, 4x-xpol-20, 185w DUBUS Magazine USA Rep dubususa@hotmail.com ======================================