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Texas Star DX500 and high SWR
- Thread starter 2RT307
- Start date
Lol, warranty cards, now that's funny right there.
Texas Star CW Transmitters
Home Page
http://www.worldwidedx.com/amplifiers/59097-texas-star-amp-repair-free-help.html
Not as funny as you think.....
You would be surprised how well they stand behind there product.
Try 1-760-480-8800 Ask for John
I am not sure if you guys know it or not but Galaxy and Texas Star are the same company, been that way since way back when Ray and Mike were still working for them.
Anyway, that is the contact number, and John is a good guy.
73
Jeff
Another place to source T/S parts is RF Parts in San Marcos Ca, they have some good guys working down there as well.
73
Jeff
73
Jeff
I talked to John last night. He mentioned that fact about Galaxy and Texas Star.
So,how is that DX-677V amp?
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I hear ( about the 667) that the one using the fairchild transistors is producing a bit more power with a cleaner signal on the Spec analyzer than the first ones when doing some testing.
I do not have any need for an amp with built in drivers, I have had several in the past, 667/667V/ even the Two Thirds Kilowatt Turbo Mod model but i always favored the 500 over them.
Texas Star Makes a decent amp.....yes if they used electronically regulated bias it could be better but you have to look at what you are paying for them.
You can run a 500 at about 300/350 watts with a well set-up radio and put a nice signal on 10/12 meters.
73
Jeff
I do not have any need for an amp with built in drivers, I have had several in the past, 667/667V/ even the Two Thirds Kilowatt Turbo Mod model but i always favored the 500 over them.
Texas Star Makes a decent amp.....yes if they used electronically regulated bias it could be better but you have to look at what you are paying for them.
You can run a 500 at about 300/350 watts with a well set-up radio and put a nice signal on 10/12 meters.
73
Jeff
Oh really, Don't count on it. There is more truth to the prior post than you realize. I have known Ray, mike AND Ed ( Texas Stars engineer) for a long time and have worked out various problems with mike for years.
Some things should be known here. Those days of the "unlimited" warrenty on these units are long gone. you used to be able to send units back to them for updating/ repair for free reguardless of when you bought it( less blowing the transistors) I feel that they should be commended for this for carrying it on as long as they were able to. Mike continues doing this work at his home for a modest rate and is very good at what he does. I used to do this as well for the Texas Star owners in my immeadiate area. (for myself and not affilated with them)
Yes I know that they are one in the same company and I have found that Mike is allot easier to work with and eager to help you. John is far less inclined to work with you for whatever reason.
I have worked on this swr issue with mike and Ed for awhile now and still cannot seem to get it completely nailed down. The L1 and L2 choke updates and the sandbar resistor replacement seemed to help but not completely. I do beleive that replacing the bias devider network with a regulated one and ampily rf bypassed will do a much better job of keeping the harmonics from being force fed into the transistors.
Yes they are a good place to source out parts. But keep in mind that that is a pita with their $25.00 minimum order if you only need a few items. you can source some of those parts from regular component outlets like mouser, digi key and some others, even H&Y has some of the components.
This is very interesting to hear. They must be using those Fairchild transistors must be of a hi-beta nature. And if that is the case I hope some effort has been put into nutrilization to help keep the harmonics at bay. The 667/667v amplifier was designed to be used with the older single final transistor radios of yesteryear and really has no use today except for older single final rigs. The driver stage with that 2sc2290 is prone to self oscillation which adds to the swr issues. The regulated bias could be easily added to these amplifiers when they are produced at a neglidgable increase in price. But for 11 meter use I can only assume that they felt the bias devider network was good enough.
Yes they will work well on 10 meters if set up correctly. Although 12 meter use is a bit iffy due to the fixed input and output tuning.
This is true, the days of unlimited warranty are gone but when you compare them to some other "company's" building amps in a dark corner of a warehouse that have almost no contact with there customers I still feel that they do a good job, at least there is contact and someone to talk to.
Mike also is a great guy, He will answer e mails and help walk you through a lot before giving up and having him send it to him.
I do agree with you that a regulated Bias network would be a step up for them.
But you know what market these are built for.
I still feel that the 500 is a diamond in the rough and can be used successfully with a small amount of work and keeping the drive levels down.
I have been using one now for several years on 10/12 meters very successfully.
As for the 667, I was answering the question, I have said many times in the past I do not like amps with built in drivers, that is why i never kept one very long.
To continue to answer the question, the 2290`s are not being used anymore, they have been using MOSFETS in the driver stage of them now.
RF parts, Yes they have a $25 dollar Min, but they have stuff in stock and have never failed to ship me a correct order, and they answer the phone and will spend some time talking to you about your needs with guys that understand RF.
Try calling H&Y`s Tech support line.
73
Jeff
This is so true, and they only ship USPS on Friday, but they do ship other services during the week.
RF Parts has what you need and they have it in stock, you just pay for that service a little more.
RF Parts has what you need and they have it in stock, you just pay for that service a little more.
"at least there is contact and someone to talk to."
John will answer the simple questions you ask him, but when it comes to more in depth technical stuff your SOL.
"Mike also is a great guy, He will answer e mails and help walk you through a lot before giving up and having him send it to him."
Yes he is. He has always gone the extra mile to help someone out.
The 500 is a good amplifier for what it was designed for and there is room for allot of improvement. I to know of the mosfet use in their amplifiers and it saddened me to hear this. But nowadays there is no need for an amplifier with a driver unless you have an amplifier with a rather large transistor compliment.
Yes Rf parts engineer (Merl) will gladly answer most indepth questions you may have about various devices and their implementation in various circuits and is a good resource for such. I was refering to H&Y and the other suppliers for just that "supplies" Not technical help. Although places like mouser and digi key will answer any questions about the devices you will be purchasing within their abiltiy.