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cliffhanger
12-06-2016, 12:21 PM
I'm trying to decide between tnt 350 or texas star dx 350 amps. I have a 50 amp power supply. The radio is a galaxy dx2547 witch Between on will dk 1 watt. I don't feel I need any more power than this. Which would you recomendas I feel both are good choices. Thanks cliffhanger

JesseJamesDallas
12-06-2016, 06:00 PM
If your going to be using it on SSB...TNT 350 is Biased class B so should work better... TS are class AB and should work fine on SSB, I've never used one on SSB tho so not sure how they sound...They are "Killer's: on AM tho, and take a beating and keep on ticking.

222DBFL
12-07-2016, 03:06 AM
The Texas Star and the TNT 350 had use about the same bias scheme, making the Texas Star a class B amp and not really s class AB amp. This info was provided to me by a good amp tech and a couple others as well. The TNT 350hd is a great little amp and is well built.
I have an older version of this amp called the magnaforce 350hd, and it has toshiba 2879's in it compared to the new PP100 transistors being used now in the new TNT350hd amps.
Like I said, don't drive the piss out of it and keep it at about 200-250 watts max pep and the amp will last a lot longer. Also about a 2 watt dead key seems to work well with the magnaforce 350hd i have. PEP input numbers on my amp compared to the new tnt 350hd won't be the same.
Not bashing the Texas Star amps, but they are not a true class AB biased amp. Read into this more and you'll find that they are more a class B amp and if overdriven will be a class C amp. Same with the TNT 350hd. Again, keep the input drive levels at the proper levels and the amp will run clean on both AM and SSB. JMHO's.

cliffhanger
12-07-2016, 10:02 AM
I'm leaning towards the tnt, their web site says the 350 has 2879's in it and the 250 has pp100's . I will check this out today. I'f you have any other suggestions in this range let me know. I'll be using this on both am and sideband. Thanks For the help.

JesseJamesDallas
12-07-2016, 04:32 PM
I'm leaning towards the tnt, their web site says the 350 has 2879's in it and the 250 has pp100's . I will check this out today. I'f you have any other suggestions in this range let me know. I'll be using this on both am and sideband. Thanks For the help.
I doubt the TNT 350 will have 2879's in it, most likely it will have the pp100's. That's probably just a old ad that Mr. XForce over looked, and didn't change...

222DBFL
12-08-2016, 03:21 AM
Yep. The new TNT 350hd amps use the PP100's and the numbers aren't bad at all on them. Like I said in my last post, you just can't overdrive them like the toshiba transistors. They will put out 2-300 watts of power on AM and SSB. What more you want out of a 2 transistor amp. With a good antenna setup you should be able to get out just fine. Talk myself on both AM and SSB with max 100 watts. Don't ever seem to have an issue with making contacts. I just know without more power and a better antenna like a 3 or more element beam or a quad antenna that I am going to try and get on channel 6 unless Mother Nature is giving me a good bit of help!! Get your antenna a setup best as it can be before you go buy an amp. Best antenna, coax, surge arresters, tower/mast, ground system, and so on. Don't make up for inefficiency or a crappy antenna setup, by adding an amp to the mix. JMHO.
Now if you want an amp with Toshiba 2879's, Dave Made amps may have some Toshiba 2879's still available. But it's going to cost you.
Also like I said earlier about input/output tuning, a lot of the TNT amps have had issues with this area. From what I have heard they have been made aware of the issue and were working on getting that resolved ASAP. But there are ways to get it right. Remember these amps are pretty much cookie cutter amps that have the same value components in them for each amp. Unlike a full hand built amp they won't have a good of a match or input/output tune, and also won't won't have a true AB thermally tracking bias amp either. More work which equates to a more expensive amp for the consumer. But like I said, I'm pretty sure they know of the one issue I spoke of above, and have most likely gotten it resolved by now or have it much better then they did. There are ways to resolve these issues using different lengths of coax, but that is truly a band aid. Again these are JMO's and things I have experienced and been told by very respected amp builder. Won't mention his name and it's not BBI LOL!!!!! He doesn't have a store front or anything, but he can build one hell of amp and can fix them very good as well!!! Anyhow, if you are interested in having an amp built by someone like this I'll ask and see if he doesn't mind me giving his info out. You can then have a sweet amp built.
Hope you find what you are looking for and keep it clean and mean and don't overdrive the amp it will thank you later down the road!! Have a good day.

222DBFL
12-08-2016, 03:25 AM
Xforce is working on their site, but you can watch you tube vids of the new ones in action with the PP100's being used.

cliffhanger
12-08-2016, 08:48 PM
Thanks for all the input, I'll try to decide in the next few days. Still leaning to the tnt.

222DBFL
12-09-2016, 06:25 AM
I just want to add, not trying to bash the Texas Star amps in any way. I only say Xforce because I own 2 of their amps and both work great.
My 2 transistor magnaforce 350hd is the same amp basically as the TNT 350hd. It's just one they made for magnaforce. It has 2 Toshiba 2879's as I've said before and it will do 200 almost 400 watts. Yes I know 400 watts is overdriving it, but it will and can produce those numbers. Now the new ones they say 50 watts max carrier on them. That would be a proper 1:4 ratio if the amp made 200 watts or so. Which is what it is supposed to do. They will most likely make better numbers than that, but the max carrier is due to them being blown with people over driving them. That means that you need to set the radio up to make the amp key up at no more than 50 watts. This same thing should apply to the Texas Star amp as well. Or very close. It might only take 1/2 watt to make 50 watts of carrier on AM. Most likely about 1.5-2 watts, but you never know. Just some food for thought and good luck with the purchase. Make sure your antenna system is at its best before you install the amp as well. JMHO's. Good day.

cliffhanger
12-09-2016, 10:11 AM
I am going to order the tnt350. Xforce replied back to me, you were right about them being pp100's. The pp100's are fine with me. For someone that has to have 2879's Xforce will put them in for 55$ apiece, 110$ for this amp. I don't need them that bad. Being new to using an amp I appreciate all your imput. One last question if I might ask is do you see any need for a variable power on an amp of this size, seems to me just on and off will work fine. Again thank you for the advise which I will follow!

222DBFL
12-09-2016, 11:58 PM
Yes variable power would be good as you could use it to make the amp key up to the proper power level of about 50 watts max carrier on AM. PEP wattage should be about 8-12 watts or so. On SSB you could most likely get away with 12-20 watts PEP max. If you don't want to mess with variable power, get your dead key set to about 1.5-2 watts max carrier on AM. It's hard to tell how much power is needed to get to the 50 watt max key up wattage on AM. But from experience with my amp, about 2 watts swinging to about 8-10 watts worked well for me on AM, and about 12-15 watts on SSB. Like I said earlier the key is to not overdrive the amp. Good luck and have fun with the amp. And again, make sure your antenna system is 100%. Get it best you can before adding the amp in line. Remember garbage in equals garbage out. Keep it clean and mean!!!!
73 and God Bless

cliffhanger
12-30-2016, 10:45 PM
purchased a tnt amp and it is great. Just wondering if any of you have any thoughts on Telstar electronics amps. Any replies would be appreciated. They look good. Thanks

222DBFL
01-01-2017, 08:47 PM
Not sure about the Telstar amps. Don't like the fact they are built with plastic cases if he is still doing that. I'd rather have a metal case amp. Never seen an amp in a plastic case. Just doesn't seem right. But hey I could be wrong. The TNT amp you have can be made to be a class AB Biased amp with thermal tracking. Just have to know the right amp tech to send it to. Keep the input drive to proper levels and the TNT amp will work just fine. JMHO.

cliffhanger
01-02-2017, 10:04 AM
Thanks. I think i'll use the tnt as is for awhile. Have my antenna on the ground for new coax and rebuilding the rotor. If I understand you wouldn't you be better off with a larger amp run to proper levels for what you want? For example if i want 150 watts maximum, wouldn't a 500 watt just loafing at 150 amps be better than a smaller 250 amp pushing to get 150 be better for amp life and a clean signal? This is just a question i am curious about as i am happy with the tnt. Thanks again

222DBFL
01-02-2017, 12:13 PM
Yes and no. A 4 transistor amp would definitely load along. But the 350hd you have will produce the power you need. With a good antenna setup, 100 watts will get the job done just fine. It takes 4 times the power to make an S-unit of difference to the receiving station. So if you are doing 200 watts that means you would have to jump to 800 watts to get a real jump to a receiving station. After that you would need 3200 watts to get another s-unit.
Having the best antenna setup you can is the key to making contacts. If you can accomplish this you will find that you can load the TNT amp you have along at like 100-150 watts and not strain it at all. Just keep the input to the proper levels per the data sheet of the transistors being used. Don't overdrive the amp and it will last a long time!! But like I said, without a good antenna setup you are just pissin in the wind. JMHO's. Get your antenna setup right and you'll find that making contacts becomes a lot easier. Again, JMHO.
You could get the TNT 600hd, but like I said, it won't make that much difference on the receiving end. You need a 6-8 pill amp to really make a difference.
Take your time installing your antenna and use quality coax and connectors and proper grounding and such and you'll be good to go.
Have a good one and be safe putting up that antenna. I am getting close to placing my Sirio vector 4000 back up at about 30-36ft to the base. That will place the tip at about 60ft. Not too shabby. Anyhow. Again, be safe and have a good one.