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gasman
03-01-2015, 06:46 PM
Good evening all. Was wondering if anyone could explain the different classes of amps, (a,ab,b, and c) and what difference they make operating on a.m.? Hopefully in simpleton English, have read the differences online but just don't follow. Thanks in advance for all info.

222DBFL
03-02-2015, 06:58 AM
It's how clean the output will be. Class A will have the cleanest and class c will have the worst. And efficiency. Class A-A/B amps are about 50-55% efficient but have good clarity, for SSB use. Class B are about 70-75% efficient and provide less clarity but still some, for SSB use. A class C amp are about 90% efficient but have bad clarity normally and tend to splatter across different frequencies when over driven especially. Don't believe any the garbage amps are truly ab1 biased, 99% of them are not a true a/b bias. I will say this, a well built and clean input into a class c amp that is not overdriven can produce a nice clean signal and can even work on SSB. Most cb amps are class C unless you have one built and have the bias done. And there are only a handful of guys maybe less that can perform a true ab bias on a transistor amp. Also remember this, clean in equals clean out. So it all depends on the input signal as to how clean the output signal will be. I am not an amp expert or builder or even repairman. I have just read a lot about the subject and these are the answers I got most of the time so for anyone that has a higher level of experience don't flame me if I goofed something up here. I tried my best to describe what was being asked!!! And btw I stayed at a Holiday Inn last night. Have a great day and hope this helps.

gasman
03-02-2015, 10:16 AM
Thanks once again 222.