Stryker 955 Amp.

[Buck Morre]

Hi folks newbie member here.
I have been out of radios since the earlt 2000s and decided to get back in on a small scale.
I have discovered that a lot has changed. I bought a Stryker 955 I am sure I will like it. Once I figure out how to work it anyway.
My question pertaining to amplifers is. The 955 has a power adjustment on it. If I have my low power set to dead key under 4 watts can I run a Amp with this Radio? If so who is making good amps these days.
My last radio was a general Lee that was tuned to a 2 watts DK on low and I had a polamar 250 to go with it.
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[TheRealPorkchop]

I got a friend that has a 655, bout the same radio I believe far as power goes. He’s been running a 2 pill Dave behind his, two 2879’s.

Yea you can run an amp with it. Will the amp last, probably not long if it’s a 2 pill. Would a 4 pill be a better choice, probably. Is the radio just too strong to push into an amp, maybe so. Would I do it if that was my radio and amp, absolutely but I like tempting fate and all that good stuff.

There’s all the saturation and blah blah blah to mention and all that but there’s other guys here that can better explain it than me.

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

You can turn the power down, but I believe it is only the dead key. It will still swing up to full power on modulation so a low drive amp will not last long. Four pill might do ok but i would drive a six pill with it.
Chris

 

[Buck Morre]

I got a friend that has a 655, bout the same radio I believe far as power goes. He’s been running a 2 pill Dave behind his, two 2879’s.

Yea you can run an amp with it. Will the amp last, probably not long if it’s a 2 pill. Would a 4 pill be a better choice, probably. Is the radio just too strong to push into an amp, maybe so. Would I do it if that was my radio and amp, absolutely but I like tempting fate and all that good stuff.

There’s all the saturation and blah blah blah to mention and all that but there’s other guys here that can better explain it than me.

Yes sir 655 and 955 are about the same 955 has SSB is the only difference.
I thought mabe if I could get the low power down to 2 watt DK I might be able to run a smaller amp. Checking out the 350 HD from Texas Star.

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

Yes sir 655 and 955 are about the same 955 has SSB is the only difference.
I thought mabe if I could get the low power down to 2 watt DK I might be able to run a smaller amp. Checking out the 350 HD from Texas Star.

I have a 350HD that I run with my President Madison, 3w dead key and swinging to 18w. I can get about 375w out pep. I put it behind my Stryker 440 one time, dk 1w and when I modulated I could hear the transistors scream. You might be able to get away with a Texas Star 500.

 

[Buck Morre]

You can turn the power down, but I believe it is only the dead key. It will still swing up to full power on modulation so a low drive amp will not last long. Four pill might do ok but i would drive a six pill with it.
Chris

Yes I was afraid of that. This may not be the right radio for me. I will try it for a while. Luckily they have a good resale market.

 

[TheRealPorkchop]

I call first dibs!!!!

 

[Buck Morre]

I call first dibs!!!!

Gotca porkchop. Might figure it out by next week. Not sure what all the fuss is about with this radio? So it will run 80 watts at best. Thats not a lot of power iIMHO.

 

[TheRealPorkchop]

My 497 won’t swing wide open from a low key, well it wouldn’t but it will now. I can’t speak for the 655/955 however but I know the 497 will do less the lower you turn the power knob.

The one I have is not SMD but through hole and a bit easier to “mod”. I have another one out in the shop that is SMD and it’s not as simple, I’m not sure exactly how to get it to swing from a low key.

And I’m not exactly sure on that 955 as I’ve not seen one yet.

 

[Buck Morre]

My 497 won’t swing wide open from a low key, well it wouldn’t but it will now. I can’t speak for the 655/955 however but I know the 497 will do less the lower you turn the power knob.

The one I have is not SMD but through hole and a bit easier to “mod”. I have another one out in the shop that is SMD and it’s not as simple, I’m not sure exactly how to get it to swing from a low key.

And I’m not exactly sure on that 955 as I’ve not seen one yet.

I have been talking to Stryker Customer Service. They advised me that there is a guy in PA who is good with these radios. I am going to take a ride next week abd have him take a look at it. All I ave is a ancient Radio Shack swr power meter.

 

[Ranch55]

Yes sir 655 and 955 are about the same 955 has SSB is the only difference.
I thought mabe if I could get the low power down to 2 watt DK I might be able to run a smaller amp. Checking out the 350 HD from Texas Star.

Too small of an amplifier ...... I did do that with a Stryker 955 driving a Texas Star 350V ....
Turned out it wasn't a good thing to do.
As one of the posts above states, the 955 will still put out the PEP watts, which is what turned out to be too much drive for my Texas Star 350V .....toasted the 350V transistors.
However, the Texas Star 500V is a great amplifier behind the 955 .....
I have been running two 955's into their own Texas Star 500V amplifiers for about 2 1/2 years. They perform well and have not had any issues .....
I set my 955 AM dead key at 4 watts or less (generally at 3 watts), the radio will have upwards of 70 ~ 75 watts output going into the Texas Star 500V ..... Has been just fine.

 

[Buck Morre]

Too small of an amplifier ...... I did do that with a Stryker 955 driving a Texas Star 350V ....
Turned out it wasn't a good thing to do.
As one of the posts above states, the 955 will still put out the PEP watts, which is what turned out to be too much drive for my Texas Star 350V .....toasted the 350V transistors.
However, the Texas Star 500V is a great amplifier behind the 955 .....
I have been running two 955's into their own Texas Star 500V amplifiers for about 2 1/2 years. They perform well and have not had any issues .....
I set my 955 AM dead key at 4 watts or less (generally at 3 watts), the radio will have upwards of 70 ~ 75 watts output going into the Texas Star 500V ..... Has been just fine.

Thanks So much.
I am glad to here that. I was starting to worry that I would have the passenger seat of my truck filled up with a amplifier. I will check out the 500.

 

[BigLou]

I ran my OPTIMA into a KL203 doing what you wanted to do . It did work BUT it got very HOT in the blink of a eye.

 

[Robb]

2 pill TS-350 requires no more than 20w for full modulation.
4 pill TS-500 requires no more than 40w for full modulation.

Anything more than that into either amp and it turns into a turd.

 

[543_Dallas]

Something with an 8877 would work nicely.