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High Power Amplifiers

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I was recently in a CB shop and there was a fellow in there who was installing a second 2000w amp into his truck . I’m curious , how much do these things usually cost ? Where can I get them ? Are there any 1000w or maybe 1500w CB amps out there ?
 
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Haha yeah , its ran out of an old Single wide trailer. I learned from this one guy that CB radio is still alive , he speaks to ppl all over the country and in other counties with his set up . The guy in the shop knows what he is doing , he has fixed up my old layfette com phone and others. But anyway, I was just curious , maybe these high power amps wouldn’t cost way too much .
 

KD9KSO

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I guess he never mentioned to you what he's doing is illegal.

You are limited to 4 watts using CB and 12 watts SSB within that band coverage.
 
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Yes i know, he seems to have been doing it a long time. I recently got an old 23 channel radio tested and its putting out 10watts on its own .
 

prcguy

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Big CB amps can be expensive and high power amps made specifically for CB are junk inside. They have the least amount of stuff inside to get power out with little or no harmonic filtering, no protection circuits and the construction practices are usually a complete joke.

Instead of actual etched circuit boards they might use a dremel tool to remove a little copper here and there on a big blank circuit board stock then they just solder the parts down anywhere they feel like it. Solder flux is never removed soldering usually looks like a 5yr old did it and the wiring looks like the professors hair in "Back to the Future".

Here is an example of a made for CB amp that probably puts out well over 1,000 Watts. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dave-made-...668150?hash=item285dc1b6b6:g:8g4AAOSw2QJbAyuq

Or here is another beauty, looks like a Frankenstein project that went bad. https://www.ebay.com/itm/DEI-2SC287...037066?hash=item3f9b74688a:g:V0gAAOSwPW9a6kzW

Here is another where the owner is probably too embarrased to show you under the hood because of the poor workmanship. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1700-watt-...435114?hash=item285c6e76ea:g:bz8AAOSwkChaoLve
 

N9PBD

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Big CB amps can be expensive and high power amps made specifically for CB are junk inside. They have the least amount of stuff inside to get power out with little or no harmonic filtering, no protection circuits and the construction practices are usually a complete joke.

Instead of actual etched circuit boards they might use a dremel tool to remove a little copper here and there on a big blank circuit board stock then they just solder the parts down anywhere they feel like it. Solder flux is never removed soldering usually looks like a 5yr old did it and the wiring looks like the professors hair in "Back to the Future".

Here is an example of a made for CB amp that probably puts out well over 1,000 Watts. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dave-made-...668150?hash=item285dc1b6b6:g:8g4AAOSw2QJbAyuq

Or here is another beauty, looks like a Frankenstein project that went bad. https://www.ebay.com/itm/DEI-2SC287...037066?hash=item3f9b74688a:g:V0gAAOSwPW9a6kzW

Here is another where the owner is probably too embarrased to show you under the hood because of the poor workmanship. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1700-watt-...435114?hash=item285c6e76ea:g:bz8AAOSwkChaoLve

I like the fact that they use the technical term for transistors (Pill) in all of the listings. :D
 
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Ahhh yeah that one looked pretty awful . I’ll stick with my old raider amp I found in a box . It pushes about 250w max . Old tube amp .
 

lmrtek

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CB amps being illegal are all built in peop les basements so they are poor quality and they charge high prices because most think they need high power to talk.
Since most of these type CBers are now hams, i'm suprised he wasn't talking about running 2kw on 2 meter band.
 

jonwienke

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I could do neater soldering than that while drunk. And possibly have... :D
 

belvdr

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That was solder? I thought it was wadded-up aluminum foil.:p

LOL, nothing like a nice cold solder joint to put into a constantly moving, twisting, and vibrating environment.
 

JayMojave

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I always get a kick out of the unfriendly hams coming on talking about us CB'ers using their call signs. It just never stops. This is probably why the Eisenhower administration wisely bypassed the Amateur Radio Service to start the CB Radio Service, to get the sciences into the public, after the sputnik scare.

Jay in the Great Mojave Desert
 

Token

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I always get a kick out of the unfriendly hams coming on talking about us CB'ers using their call signs. It just never stops. This is probably why the Eisenhower administration wisely bypassed the Amateur Radio Service to start the CB Radio Service, to get the sciences into the public, after the sputnik scare.

CB radio started 10 years before Sputnik. Now, I know what you are thinking, "no you idiot, CB started in 1958, one year after Sputnik". CB started as a UHF service, in 1947, it had been proposed in 1945, after the end of WW II. However, the equipment was expensive, and so the service was not really used, it was dieing on the vine. Instead of killing the service off they decided to try a new Class D Service, using spectrum taken from the (then) shared use 11 meter band. This resulted in an equipment cost of roughly 25% of the previous Citizens Band service.

T!
 

JayMojave

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Hello Token: My posting was a summary post to show the CB Band was done entirely separate of the Amateur Band to spread the technologies to the public, from the Sputnik scare that sent chills and panic to the Eisenhower Administration.

I've head and read some of the post WWII radio experimentation stuff and such, for a CB Band.

Another real neat-o thing about the 11 meter band was Hams or radio enthusiasts were picking up German Tank communications from Africa, and had reported to the authorities which took over from there on the east cost of the country. All very interesting. Good posting.

Jay in the Great Mojave Desert
 
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