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Antenna max watt vs. linear max watt?

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doctorbubba010

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Can you exceed manufacturers wattage cap on an antenna? I have a Larsen 27 and it’s rated for up to 200 watts. What would the damage be to push a Texas Star 350? So over the limit? RG58 cable President Lincoln 2+
 

jassing

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if your antenna is rated to 250, don't push more than 250 to it. Ideally, something less. Amps were marketed by "maximum output possible" - but rarely does a 100 amp actually transmit at 100 amps, especially if you wanted to keep your radio & amp around a while.

That said, pushing too many amps to the antenna risks damage to the radio & amp, fire, melting coax & antenna parts etc. Not to mention the possibility of causing a lot of interference. Don't do it.

Reduce your radio's output to a couple of watts and you'll probably put out about 150 or so. save your equipment.
 

russbrill

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Can you exceed manufacturers wattage cap on an antenna? I have a Larsen 27 and it’s rated for up to 200 watts. What would the damage be to push a Texas Star 350? So over the limit? RG58 cable President Lincoln 2+

Your setup will burn up the Larsen, you should be using something like the Wilson 1000...
 

jassing

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I should have included: Get a quality (best you can afford) watt meter. Test your transmit (while talking) to see how many watts you are actually putting out. And measure your SWR with a quality (best you can afford) SWR meter. You didn't tell us what your SWR is.

As @russbrill said, you will burn up (not only) your antenna, but you're amp,radio, and possibly the coax itself. (FWIW: on any rig I've ever used an amp with, I've had the output power reduced, specifically so I don't burn up the amp. Sure I don't get the max output of the amp, but the amp & radio last for years.)

If the antenna can't handle the power If it fries, it starts sending all the power back to the amp & radio (This is why, when running an amp, you want the lowest possible SWR, so the reflected power doesn't burn up everything.)

The Wilson 1000 is a good antenna, especially if you require mag mount. Another note is that if you are running a mag mount + amp; your paint may burn/discolor; if the pain bubbles, it may reduce your bond to the car, increasing your SWR, sending more power back to the amp/radio...
 

doctorbubba010

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I should have included: Get a quality (best you can afford) watt meter. Test your transmit (while talking) to see how many watts you are actually putting out. And measure your SWR with a quality (best you can afford) SWR meter. You didn't tell us what your SWR is.

As @russbrill said, you will burn up (not only) your antenna, but you're amp,radio, and possibly the coax itself. (FWIW: on any rig I've ever used an amp with, I've had the output power reduced, specifically so I don't burn up the amp. Sure I don't get the max output of the amp, but the amp & radio last for years.)

If the antenna can't handle the power If it fries, it starts sending all the power back to the amp & radio (This is why, when running an amp, you want the lowest possible SWR, so the reflected power doesn't burn up everything.)

The Wilson 1000 is a good antenna, especially if you require mag mount. Another note is that if you are running a mag mount + amp; your paint may burn/discolor; if the pain bubbles, it may reduce your bond to the car, increasing your SWR, sending more power back to the amp/radio...

How do you know if it’s “burnt up” does it happen instantly or over time? I’m through roof with a 3/4 NMO mount.
I should be 1 to 1.5 SWR prior to the AMP install i can’t get a good read with it on. But I will look into getting a better SWR meter.

This is the whip I’m running now. https://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/laird-technologies-cb27-5584

I am actively looking to replace with a higher wattage rated antenna.
 

prcguy

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I had an HF antenna for hamster use, a Tarheel 75A rated for 250 watts. I got a 500 watt amplifier and thought the antenna might be ok since I was only going to use SSB which is not 100% duty cycle. I ended up burning a little of the coil form insulator and discoloring the loading coil wire. It didn't destroy the antenna but it left it with a few battle scars.

If you feed a Larsen antenna with 175% of its rated power what do you think is going to happen?
 

doctorbubba010

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Roger, it was temporary, I know it’s wrong. But you only Live once, and it’s good to ask questions and learn.
 

DaveJacobsen

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How do you know if it’s “burnt up” does it happen instantly or over time?

It can happen in an instant or slowly. Mostly instantly, in my experience.

Best case, they stop working, worse case something shorts and starts a fire. I had a fairly big tube amp blow up (antenna blew over in a storm & I didn't know). It sent a toxic cloud of whatever chemicals were in some huge capacitors and the circuit board burned traces and tubes exploded.

I think "usual" is to fry the finals, which is repairable. Depends on the power...

Amplifiers draw a lot of power, that power can do a fair bit of damage.

Amps, can, over time die a slow death if you drive them close to max input rating, even if everything else is ok.. I usually drive at around 50% and my amps last a long time...
 

FiveFilter

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The way I do it is to turn down the radio's power into the amp: eg, 1W incoming to amp = 50W outgoing from amp; 2W=70W...etc.
 

K6EEN

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