After weeks of vacation, etc I finally got back to my 815 transmitter. To recap ... the major mods since the original design shown in the ARRL handbook and my blog entry dated March 19, 2007 have been to 1) add a loading capacitor between one side of the output link and ground 2) Replace R4 with an RFC to a 200-300 VDC supply and 3) replace the 815 screen voltage dropping network R5/R6 with an RFC to a 200-300 VDC supply. The final layout is shown in my May 28 blog entry.
Tests on 40 meters have been a little disappointing. The 815 runs at only 35%-40% effeciency into a 50 ohm load. 50 watts input gives only about 20 watts out. (whoops! I checked my Drake watt meter agains a Bird. Turns out that the Drake watt meter is reading way low. The Bird says I'm putting out about 30 watts. This is about the power output I expected.) Also the transmitter is not real forgiving. If misadjusted, it goes into self oscillation or generates a trashy sounding signal.
This one will go to the back of the shelf. (but after discovering the watt meter error, only while it waits for a power supply)
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