Amp's: Linear vs. Mosfet?

I am guessing that these cheap chinese knockoff parts have hit the shores and we are seeing more cheap amps.

No matter what, a linear is the same even if it has a mosfet in it or a transistor - they are based on the same design from the 70's

 

I'm running a Cobra 29 with a Palomar 250 Linear and It doesn't seem to cause any interference. It's clear and loud. Splatter problems usually happen when the CB modulation limiter has been bypassed. That's a BAD Idea.

 

Most amps geared for CB use don't have the filtering and such to prevent them from splattering or causing interference. If you're looking for a clean powered amp, look at a true ham radio amp that will work on 10-80 meters. Be advised they're expensive but it'll give you clean power.

BTW a clipped limiter is one of a few things that will cause interference. I have a 600 watt TNT amp on a Magnum 257 and feeding out of a 108 whip on ym pick up truck....the Magnum is stock and hasn't been peaked or tuned or modified other than the frequency mod....yet I can fire up the radio/amp in my drive and come thru the door bell, the computer speakers, sometimes our flatscreen TV....and for sure I can come thru the speakers of the garage stereo. (1971 Kenwood)

 

What you call splatter is over-modulation of the radio or overdriving the amp or poor design in an amp or a combination of all three.

Over modulation is usually a problem when someone clips the limiter diode or turns up the mod setting inside the radio while overdriving it with a power mic.

Overdriving the amp is self-explanatory, you are overdriving the amp and with some of the junk out on the market, you can do it with 4 to 10 watts.

Poor design is another self-explanatory thing, Many CB amps have not harmonic suppression or attenuation in the frong end, let alone having the right balance in the front end. I have scrapped a lot of CB amps I have been given from texas Stars to generic brands to parts to use in my ham experiments and all of them are pretty much a copy of a design from the 1970's with some variation to make it either cheaper to sell or to make it different to make it stand out.

Using ham amps don't always mean that it is going to be clean or without the same issues.

My uncle and my father-in-law both were deep into the CB scene from the 70's until they passed on. I inherited a lot of my father-in-laws stuff and a lot of the 'stuff' he had was pretty much all the same. I scrapped to all the amps because I wasn't going to use them or sell them because they were dirty.

Speaking of dirty, I remember my uncle having a very dirty amp in his car and would sit in Kroger's parking lot while my aunt was in the store shopping and if he would thought of something else to buy, he would make his announcement by keying the mic and ask for her to pick up what he wanted. I at first didn't believe it happened until they dragged me on one of the trips to Kroger and sure enough he showed me by saying "Mary, get me some pickles" loud and clear over the store's PA like it was done in the office.

 

25 years ago if you keyed up beside someone on their cell phone, they would "mysteriously" drop their call..........analog days

Had a buddy that could set off train crossing with his

I was just running a TS 250 and made the mistake of pulling in to the gas station while carrying on a conversation. Wondered where that extra echo was coming from........... I was transmitting over the speaker system for the fuel pumps

 

tube amp,the only way to go

 

I disagree, maybe 40 years ago when we had good tubes that would hold up to a mobile enviorment but with the chinese, russian and other countries dumping tubes on the market at outrageous prices, the tubes last only so long.

So to me solid state is the way to go.