Wanted: 3 sweep tube or larger mobile amp

[Enterprise312ok]

Just wanted to see what is out there. I really like the palomar 310m and the varmint xl 400 and xl 600. Wanting some old school heat to go behind my cobra 138xlr.
Dont really have the cash just yet but I Like something to work towards. I am in oklahoma but willing to pay shippimg if no local options.

 

[w9cll]

Running an amp in the car leads to so many issue especially with today pieces of junk. Just make sure you bond and ground everything

 

[Enterprise312ok]

Running an amp in the car leads to so many issue especially with today pieces of junk. Just make sure you bond and ground everything

Yes my daily driver is a 95 f150 so not as many issues as some of the newer ones lol. Have an old outcom/texas star dx600 in there now I just really like the tubes.

 

[AudioShockwav]

Yes my daily driver is a 95 f150 so not as many issues as some of the newer ones lol. Have an old outcom/texas star dx600 in there now I just really like the tubes.

If you are running the DX 600, I doubt you will be happy putting tubes in your mobile.
You are not going to gain much unless you double your output, and it's going to be a task to do that.
With transistors you would have to step up to at least a sweet 16 to make a real difference.
With tubes you will need a lot of work, and most old sweep tube amps are really not suited to bouncing around in a pickup, the mobile environment is just not nice for hollow state amps.
I fear you are going to invest a lot of time and money and not see the result you are wanting.

73
Jeff

 

[jtrouter]

I can tell you that over the last two weeks there have been 2 Palomar 310m for sale really cheap. Both were sold under $100. The only reason i watched them was maybe for spare parts to use in a Skipper 300 but found another way for its parts. Also last week Goodwill had a cheap one also. Good luck.

 

[groundwire]

Ok wait, you want to run a television sweep tube amp in your car? Did i read this thread right? If so, there are so many things wrong with that, yikes! Hahaha, sweep tubes

 

[Enterprise312ok]

If you are running the DX 600, I doubt you will be happy putting tubes in your mobile.
You are not going to gain much unless you double your output, and it's going to be a task to do that.
With transistors you would have to step up to at least a sweet 16 to make a real difference.
With tubes you will need a lot of work, and most old sweep tube amps are really not suited to bouncing around in a pickup, the mobile environment is just not nice for hollow state amps.
I fear you are going to invest a lot of time and money and not see the result you are wanting.

73
Jeff

Not really wanting to increase output, My wife talks too and I could upgrade her mobile frome a kl203 to the dx 600. I like the Idea of a tube mobile because my 138xlr rocks my 7 tube eagle 500 keying 4 swinging 12. I like old radios, old amps and old trucks.

 

[Enterprise312ok]

btw for everyone who says the tubes are bleedover boxes I think its the radios. My wife can talk on the eagle and I can barely hear any bleedover 1 channel over sitting in driveway. (but I can hear her in my extention speaker with the radio off

 

[AudioShockwav]

Not that it will bleed over, it's just the rough treatment that tubes have to endure.
I had a PAL 350 mdx with 8950 tubes in it in a old Datsun pickup one time and it ate tubes and fuses.
I would go off road bouncing around and stop and turn the amp on and it would blow the fuse.
Pull the tubes, and find one or more shorted.
That was not so bad when they were $12 bucks each at Thrifty but I would hate to do that when they are $60 bucks if you can even find them.
They have thin wires spot welded inside the tubes that do not play well with hard hits bouncing around in a pickup.
I guess if you only drive down nice smooth pavement it would be less hazardous.

Best of luck.

73
Jeff

 

[Enterprise312ok]

Not that it will bleed over, it's just the rough treatment that tubes have to endure.
I had a PAL 350 mdx with 8950 tubes in it in a old Datsun pickup one time and it ate tubes and fuses.
I would go off road bouncing around and stop and turn the amp on and it would blow the fuse.
Pull the tubes, and find one or more shorted.
That was not so bad when they were $12 bucks each at Thrifty but I would hate to do that when they are $60 bucks if you can even find them.
They have thin wires spot welded inside the tubes that do not play well with hard hits bouncing around in a pickup.
I guess if you only drive down nice smooth pavement it would be less hazardous.

Best of luck.

73
Jeff

Had not thought about that part of it, but I still want one, just like I wanted to restore my 138xlr Instead of buying a sryker or anytone both fine radios and probably better in many ways than the 138. Just hoping to find one here rather than a overpriced untested ebay unit. My local tech has various tubes from old buyouts so I would even consider a nice unit without tubes.

 

[jtrouter]

Not that it will bleed over, it's just the rough treatment that tubes have to endure.
I had a PAL 350 mdx with 8950 tubes in it in a old Datsun pickup one time and it ate tubes and fuses.
I would go off road bouncing around and stop and turn the amp on and it would blow the fuse.
Pull the tubes, and find one or more shorted.
That was not so bad when they were $12 bucks each at Thrifty but I would hate to do that when they are $60 bucks if you can even find them.
They have thin wires spot welded inside the tubes that do not play well with hard hits bouncing around in a pickup.
I guess if you only drive down nice smooth pavement it would be less hazardous.

Best of luck.

73
Jeff

60 bucks? for 8950 they are going for OVER $100 each!

 

[AudioShockwav]

60 bucks? for 8950 they are going for OVER $100 each!

I don't doubt it, I got rid of my last sweep tube amp years ago.
The only tube amp I have now runs 572b tubes, everything else is solid state.

I can understand the nostalgia part of it or as a collector.
Hope you find what you are looking for.

73
Jeff

 

[Enterprise312ok]

In some amps you can substitute these 20lf6 for the 8950 with minor rewireing and I have aeen pull outs listed as low as $35 on other sights, these are what my eagle 500 runs.

20LF6 12 Pin Compactron Beam Power Amlifier Tube

New old stock 12 pin compactron beam power amplifier with top cap. Various brands. Note that European-made tubes are taller, with a seated height of about 4.5". US-made tubes have a seated height of between 3.8" and 4.0".

vacuumtubesinc.com

 

[w9cll]

Not really wanting to increase output, My wife talks too and I could upgrade her mobile frome a kl203 to the dx 600. I like the Idea of a tube mobile because my 138xlr rocks my 7 tube eagle 500 keying 4 swinging 12. I like old radios, old amps and old trucks.

Not trying to be an ass but why do you feel the need for an amp?

 

[Enterprise312ok]

Not trying to be an ass but why do you feel the need for an amp?

Long range mobile to base communications under heavy qrm, and shooting skip on busy channels, I also get up around 27.555 and talk international power sure helps when austrailia or brazil comes in.