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Texas star

Klint

Active Member
Mar 13, 2019
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Dx 500 or 667V ? I’ve heard people are liking the 500 more so than the 667. Just curious to why and what do you guys think? Thanks
 
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Go with the 500 and skip the 667, IMO. Probably an especially good call with Chinese transistors.

There’s talk about stability with the 667, which some others can enlighten you on. I don’t really know anything about it.

But...there’s just no sense in pushing the finals that hard, IMO.
 
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Yea I’ve definitely heard that I would want toshiba’s and not the DEI transistors .
 
It’s a 350HDV. I don’t put a lot of stock in the “high drive” designation on any amplifier, personally.

I run on SSB only with about 10-12 watts. I actually run the 500 with 12ish watts input.

Wattmeter readings are always questionable, but here’s what mine show into a dummy load with a Daiwa meter:

The 500 with DEIs...running in a pickup, where the voltage runs nearly 15V under load.

30w in = 590w out @ 60 amps
25 = 550 @ 56 amps
20 = 500 @ 53 amps
16 = 460 @ 51 amps
14 = 425 @ 49 amps
12 = 400 @ 47 amps < (where I run mine)
10 = 390 @ 46 amps
8 = 350 @ 44 amps

And the 350 with Toshibas, running off a Power supply at 14V:


4w in = 200w out
6 = 240
8 = 260
10 = 280
12 = 300
14 = 320
16 = 340
20 = 350

Oh...and those measurements are without using the Green Button, variable, or any input padding. A single 1000hz tone into the mic on SSB.
 
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If it were me id stay far away from Toshibas because if you cook a pill its $200+ per pill to replace. Id also be very cautious with dei and hg chinese pills as they arent near as stout as the toshiba. One more thing to ponder, ive seen lots of chinese toshiba knockoffs that are floating around. Luke from bbi did a pretty in depth video on them. Just be aware that neither dei or hg will handle what the toshibas did so you really have to be nice to them. Honestly if I wanted to see 500 out id buy a 1k amp and run it easy. Run these chinese pills wide open and squeeze watts they dont last long.
 
Yep that’s good stuff !!! I’ve got a 400v and I like it a lot. I’ve been told to keep my variable full clockwise , due to the variable burning out. You know anything about that ?
 
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Yep that’s good stuff !!! I’ve got a 400v and I like it a lot. I’ve been told to keep my variable full clockwise , due to the variable burning out. You know anything about that ?

Yes, you should run it all the way up to keep it from burning in one spot. I think a lot of the problems tend to be people trying to correct and overpowered radio with the variable. Probably wouldn’t be nearly the issue with a single final.

Also, on some models it will depend on whether you’re using the green button. I’m fairly sure that on the 400V the variable doesn’t do anything unless the green button is pressed...but I’d have to look at the schematic to confirm.
 
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Yea the green button operates the variable knob. Since I’ve learned better, I keep it full clock. The 400v I have has 4 toshiba 2290’s Certainly don’t need to replace those.. ha
 
Unless you luck into a used one. That’s how I got my 350 w/Toshibas.

But then it has to be babied anyway, because of the cost to repair.
Used will work although one usually needs to go thru a pile of them to find a matched pair or more. Its best to treat them all nice anymore. No more are the days of smoking a 16 pill Toshiba and replacing the pills for $400.
I see lots of used Toshiba pill amps and they arent getting any cheaper. The scary part is the fake Toshibas coming out of China. It pays to know not only your source but your sources source also.
As much as I dislike Luke as a person to do business with or even talk to he does have some informative vids. This one will help you spot the fake Toshibas before you purchase.

 
Dx 500 or 667V ? I’ve heard people are liking the 500 more so than the 667. Just curious to why and what do you guys think? Thanks
The 667 is a low low drive amp, you cannot run a higher powered radio with it or you will burn it up. The 667 runs hot and can be a cranky beast. The newest version has a mosfet driver section which I hate. The 500v is the better choice because you have more radio options with it. The 500v does not have a driver built in like the 667. The radio is your driver.

Is your 350 a high drive, if so what do you drive it with ?
You drive a Texas Star 350 with a radio. Just because it has HD stamped on the front does not mean you dead key 5 watts and 45 watts of swing into it. I can get 320-330 watts out of mine on SSB with just 14 watts of drive.
 
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