Any suggestions on a trusted site that offers used AM transmitters for a 5 KW? Would love to have a Nautel XR6. New ones are a bit pricey. Doubt I will find a used solid state transmitter.
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Trusted Site for Used AM Transmitters?
- Thread starter shreveville
- Start date
I.personally, would rather have a used tube 10 years old than a used S/S of the same age. The technology has improved drastically on the s/s units, and the older ones will soon find themselves with S/S components that are no longer available...not good. As far as newer s/s units, sometimes a new manufacturer can guide you to a customer that is upgrading to higher power, and would like to move the old unit. You have nothing to lose by contacting such manufacturer...FWIW....jbi
You won't find very many used Nautel transmitters on the market. They just are not there.
Any suggestions on a good used transmitter for a 5 KW?
greenie said:
I agree. You'll either spend a little more now for a good SS transmitter or you will spend far more in higher electric bills if you purchase a tube transmitter.
Before you purchase anything, make sure that you can get the replacement solid state devices.
It would be a very good idea to purchase a nice stock of replacement parts too.
Transistors which are available now may not be available one year from now. Many times, there are no generic replacements for these devices.
I suggest you call a dealer who sells the Nautel line. Don't know what part of the country you are in, but in my area, it's RF Specialties of Texas. Many times the sellers of these boxes know someone who has just upgraded and has a spare to sell.
That said, I agree with the previous posts. Going to a solid state transmitter will save big bucks on the power bill and enable the station to modulate like it should. Buying another tube transmitter at that power level is just throwing money down a rat hole.
There are some solid state transmitters you should avoid. Investigate carefully.
That said, I agree with the previous posts. Going to a solid state transmitter will save big bucks on the power bill and enable the station to modulate like it should. Buying another tube transmitter at that power level is just throwing money down a rat hole.
There are some solid state transmitters you should avoid. Investigate carefully.
Harris Gates One and Five series are OK, avoid the SX series as pats are no longer available. The DAX series looks like it will soon be a major problem with
all components mounted on the one large board. Looks to be "not servicable in the field". If Harris wanted your first born child as ransom price for SX boards in the past when they were still to be had imagine what that one DAX board will cost new or on an exchange basis.....and for how long will it be available.
all components mounted on the one large board. Looks to be "not servicable in the field". If Harris wanted your first born child as ransom price for SX boards in the past when they were still to be had imagine what that one DAX board will cost new or on an exchange basis.....and for how long will it be available.
I can tell you that I've had two different "GATES ONE" transmitters at different stations that have been rock-solid. Nether have been treated all that nice either. One has lived in a dirty enviroment, and the other has lived in a place that the air conditioner has failed several times. Both owners really don't treat things very nicely. Both have just sat there and taken it. With that being said, I have a station with a Nautel Ampfet 1kw. I have had to do some module repairs, but not an excessive amount. I have a couple friends that have the "joy" of owning the new Jazz series Nautel 1KW transmitter. Both of them have had quite a bit of hell with their units. I'd run like hell from anything based on that platform. I know a couple people with Harris DAX units and have had 0% failures so far. I agree that having things on a single board is beyond scary though. I sure wouldn't want to hear the standard "Oh! That transmitter and it's parts are obsolete" routine from Big H. Replacing that board probably is about like paying for the national debt. I would try to seek out a 5kw Gates series SS transmitter if I were you.
Just a footnote to my previous ideas, I have mixed thoughts on the Energy-Onix AM SS transmitter. I have a friend that has one. We have had to do PLENTY of repairing on that thing to keep it running. Early on, we had to feed it lots of FETs over time. There was a spurious problem with that series on some transmitters that required a PDM frequency change. E-O swapped modules and a card or two to do this. Ever since the PDM change, the FETs have just ran without incident. Another problem we had with this unit is that one of the caps in the brute-force power supply gave up. The symptom was that when the unit was ran at higher power levels, the thing would randomly dump off the air. When it did this, most of the green lights would chatter and shut off etc. Bernie and friends made a design error when they built this thing in that they went with a brute-force sorta ferro-resonant design for an AM radio transmitter. As we all know, the power consumed moves around a lot with AM because consumption at peaks can be up to four times as much. A power supply for FM that's the best for reliablity isn't that great for AM. I now have spare caps on the shelf for the next time the go, probably in another five years. So, if you choose to go with an E-O, just assume you'll have these couple of challenges to deal with. I'd go for the PDM mod and keep the caps handy for when, not if, you have to replace them.
OKCRadioGuy said:
Really? I have two J1000s under my care with no problems. Do your friends have the surge protector that Nautel recommends?
The DAX series has a lot of Surface Mount components on that main board. Not built to be field serviceable. Not recommended. The Gates One and Five are good transmitters, if a bit complex on troubleshooting. I would avoid Harris MW and SX line due to support from Harris having ceased for all intents and purposes.
If anyone wants an MW1 in Indiana, make any kind of an offer and come get it.Kent T said:
I have a few Harris DX series out in the field and they just keep running. If you do get one, make sure it comes with plenty of spare parts. I have enough parts to keep them going for quite some time, so I'm not worried about transistors going out of production. By the time I'm out of spares, it'll be time for a new transmitter.
The BE boxes are also good, have them as backups in some places.
Don't bother with a tube box. The modulation is so much cleaner and louder with a SS transmitter. The efficiency can hit 92% on a SS box too. And besides the lower electric bill, better noise floor, higher modulation and better distortion figures, you won't have the ongoing cost of replacing tubes.
The BE boxes are also good, have them as backups in some places.
Don't bother with a tube box. The modulation is so much cleaner and louder with a SS transmitter. The efficiency can hit 92% on a SS box too. And besides the lower electric bill, better noise floor, higher modulation and better distortion figures, you won't have the ongoing cost of replacing tubes.
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Really? I have two J1000s under my care with no problems. Do your friends have the surge protector that Nautel recommends?" Yes.
Really? I have two J1000s under my care with no problems. Do your friends have the surge protector that Nautel recommends?" Yes.
Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. Your contributions are very much appreciated. If you know of any used transmitters you have recommended, please post contact info. In the meantime, I will contact some of the companies mentioned. Thanks again.
not to get too far off topic here but what are the real power savings of SS vs tube at the 1kw level? I currently care for an old CSI 1kw tx that just runs and runs and runs... It surely can't make 125% positive, more like 110 on peaks but it does still sound good. I of course have to stay on top of it to keep everything in good order.
What are the real advantages to going SS? How would I justify it to an owner that likes to pinch pennies?
What are the real advantages to going SS? How would I justify it to an owner that likes to pinch pennies?
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