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GMRS Repeater amp problems

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linboogy

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Hello to all and thanks for taking the time to read this.
I currently run a Motorola PKR1225 repeater for GMRS. I have just brought a Motorola tle1713a 75 watt AMP
I am dumping about 2 watts in the amp but I am only getting about 11 watts out. If I change the frequencey from 462.7250 to the 440.xxx range I get about 40-50 watts. The AMP should be rated for my range.
Anyone have any experience with these?
Its also know as a Motorola Micor PA
Thanks
 

prcguy

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The amp should be rated for 440 through 470MHz. There should also be a power control wire that needs about 5v for full output power, but that is not frequency dependent. I've used both the VHF and UHF version with other radios and they worked well and did not behave as you describe.
prcguy
 

linboogy

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It is working now.
I am dumping about 4 watts in and its now pumping 65 watts out. I have the control terminal landed on the power +.
It is really strange how sensitive it is. In Motorola RSS, if I up the wattage to 5 watts on the repeater, the amp jumps from 65 to 127 watts. I guess if I wanted more power, I need to find that sweet spot in between 4-5 watts drive. I was under the impression I only need 1.5---2 watts to drive the amp.
 

prcguy

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I think the control line should not go above 5v or the amp could be damaged, same with drive level over 2w and you might look that up. How many watts is the radio rated for that's feeding the amp? Most radios will only turn down in power so far without getting unstable and if your going below about 50% of its rating that could be a problem. Even a 10w radio may be unstable and put out spurious junk operating at 2w and a slight change in 12v power can make it change a lot when turned down too far.
prcguy


It is working now.
I am dumping about 4 watts in and its now pumping 65 watts out. I have the control terminal landed on the power +.
It is really strange how sensitive it is. In Motorola RSS, if I up the wattage to 5 watts on the repeater, the amp jumps from 65 to 127 watts. I guess if I wanted more power, I need to find that sweet spot in between 4-5 watts drive. I was under the impression I only need 1.5---2 watts to drive the amp.
 

WA0CBW

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You might want to take a look at the output of the amp with a spectrum analyzer as you may be generating a lot more frequencies than you should.
BB
 

linboogy

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I'm not sure if this amp has been modified or what. If I pull the control wire off, it makes no difference.
The amp seems very stable and clean sounding. I have always been told, wattage does not make much of a difference but in my case, I will have to disagree. I have exactly 50 watts leaving out of the duplexer and the range has increased significantly. It is also seems a lot louder.
My power supply is rated for 40 amps. It only puts out 12.5 volts. I suspect this is why the amp is pushing a little less than it should because it is expecting 13.8 volts.
 
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