CB linear amplifier good for anything else besides CB?

[tourmax]

I've got a Texas Star DX-250 linear amplifier sitting on the shelves:



It's been there forever and I'm starting to clear out stuff I'll never use or is just taking up space. Just at that age where it's time to start streamlining and reducing the clutter.

I used to have a couple cb setups back it was popular, but no use for them these days. I used to mostly just listen to the transmissions (was great for knowing where speed traps were set up back then), but last time I turned one on it was.....lets just say...pretty "repugnant"...as to what was coming in over the airwaves.

The DX250 is for a cb system and, as far as I know, it's basically illegal to use in Canada because it blows waaaay past the maximum transmission wattage allowed for CB. I've never had it hooked up and I honestly can't even remember how it came to be in my possession, I probably took it on trade for something way back when.

I was wondering if it's good for anything besides boosting CB transmissions?

Here's a schematic:



That's for a dx350, which is pretty close to the 250 except for output.

I'm pretty sure it's useless for anything besides CB (or parts) but I thought I'd ask before I got rid of it. Seems there is still a market out there for them as they seem to get ridiculous prices in sold auctions on eBay and the like. seems most are in the 400-600 USD range on "sold" auctions.

To be honest, I'm not even sure if it's legal to sell because I'm sure it blows past maximum transmission wattage in both USA and Canada. Or maybe it's a "legal to sell but not to use" deal....

 

[gadget73]

Could probably re-tune it for 10 meter but its got no audio purpose.

 

[tourmax]

Could probably re-tune it for 10 meter but its got no audio purpose.

Thanks, I figured as much. I'll just see about selling it along.

 

[init4fun]

To be honest, I'm not even sure if it's legal to sell because I'm sure it blows past maximum transmission wattage in both USA and Canada. Or maybe it's a "legal to sell but not to use" deal....

I don't think I'd advertise it as being able to be used on CB radio frequencies, instead I'd list it as a 10 meter unit for Ham use (under which it would be legal) and then watch the CB guys pounce on it anyway. Trust me, they'll know exactly what it is, without you having to advertise a possible illegal use of it

 

[gadget73]

exactly, most of the not legal CB radios are sold as "10 meter" rigs.

 

[RVT1K]

My son has been dabbling with CB and SW and has all kinds of stories about guys blatantly disregarding power output rules.

 

[gadget73]

been a thing for decades. I got a visit from the FCC when I was 17. In that case it was a problem with the ground in my neighbor's panel but I did have an amp in the car that got taken away. My friend who happened to be visiting when they showed up lost an amp he had in the trunk of his car too. I was annoyed but nothing really happened, other than losing my toys.

its one of those deals where unless there are a lot of complaints or you are interfering with commercial radio its not likely to get any attention. This had been going on for years, she was writing letters to every elected official she could think of, and I guess eventually someone got tired of hearing about it.

My certified by the FCC field agent as being 100% legal radio at the house still went through every appliance in her house for 2 more years until she got a new service entrance as part of an addition. Her husband at some point mentioned that when they took the old fuse box out, he found the grounds weren't connected. I had told them for years to get an electrician to make sure the panel was grounded. Like magic, all of the problems went away.

 

[tourmax]

Ah yes, now I remember the "Industry Canada" folks (Canadian equivalent of the FCC in the States) showing up (back in the day) and shutting down some guys I knew who had high powered base stations. Usually because one of the neighbors was hearing them talk though their TV sets over the TV programs.

Knock knock Knock.

"Hello, we see you have a CB antenna on your roof, we need to look at your equipment".

"yep, too much wattage".

Yoink.

Gone.....too bad, so sad. You lost it.

Don't like it? Just be glad we're not charging you with a violation. Don't make us come back here again....

 

[AdamAnt316]

As a licensed ham, I'm legally allowed to run up to 1,500 watts on most HF bands, though I haven't yet gone past what my rigs can manage on their own "barefoot", which is generally around 100 watts. However, I do have one of these waiting for me to check it out and replace old capacitors:

Good for about 600-700 watts on SSB or CW, using a pair of 572B tubes as 'finals', and not a whole lot else. Would need a major redesign to work as an audio amplifier, and I'm not sure anyone offers output transformers which work with these tubes.
-KB1YTN

 

[twiiii]

I am going to be sarcastic. Polisher he up and put her on display on your desk as an attractive paper weight and conversation piece. Curious people will ask what is it. hose in know will instantly want to talk to you about your CB gear. Thats why I keep my DADs GE Console radio from the 30's.

 

[xXDEATH666Xx]

I used to sell and repair Texas Star back in the day. Definitely put the puppy on the bay and start the bidding at $125 plus shipping and watch that puppy climb to $200. Make sure to not list it as CB equipment as there are people that will complain and have your listing pulled. And I wouldn't worry a bit about the FCC lol

 

[gadget73]

The Texas Star stuff was built better than many. I've seen some homebrew and even "pro" made stuff that were far sloppier.

 

[Lavane]

I used to sell and repair Texas Star back in the day. Definitely put the puppy on the bay and start the bidding at $125 plus shipping and watch that puppy climb to $200. Make sure to not list it as CB equipment as there are people that will complain and have your listing pulled. And I wouldn't worry a bit about the FCC lol

I agree. Let the CB crowd do what they want with it if they choose to.
Just list it as what it is. It should sell pretty fast.

 

[tourmax]

I’m in Canada so not too worried about the FCC either way…

 

[Lavane]

I’m in Canada so not too worried about the FCC either way…

So, no regulations there on using this with certain bands, like the 11 meter CD band? That band can skip pretty far even with just a few watts with the right antenna and atmospheric conditions. I talked to a guy in Australia once on a CB base radio and a beam antenna on a 100' crank up tower.
Using a linear amp can really mess with other signals in the area. And bleed over to other frequencies also. So for a long time here in the US 5 watts was the max allowed by law.

 

[tourmax]

So, no regulations there on using this with certain bands, like the 11 meter CD band? That band can skip pretty far even with just a few watts with the right antenna and atmospheric conditions. I talked to a guy in Australia once on a CB base radio and a beam antenna on a 100' crank up tower.
Using a linear amp can really mess with other signals in the area. And bleed over to other frequencies also. So for a long time here in the US 5 watts was the max allowed by law.

It's Industry Canada that regulates the airwaves here and the rules are pretty close to the same as the States.

It was a "tongue in cheek" comment that I'm not worried about the FCC because they have no reach here.

That doesn't mean you can't still get yourself in trouble though.....

 

[Lavane]

It's Industry Canada that regulates the airwaves here and the rules are pretty close to the same as the States.

It was a "tongue in cheek" comment that I'm not worried about the FCC because they have no reach here.

That doesn't mean you can't still get yourself in trouble though.....

Ya,.... I did. A thousand watt amp, a VFO connected to the transceiver, and that beam antenna with a filter connected to the coax, and a big accurate frequency meter. It just so happened a FCC officer was trying to track down some guy that was spattering bad. He drove by just as I slid 50hz down below the 11 meter band. He told me if I hadn't done that he would have never known I was pumping out that much power sice I ran such a tight clean radio.
After some conversation, and getting issued a fine, he showed me his tracking rig. It was just a normal looking Dodge sadan. Tracking antenna built into the car body itself, no back seat or passenger seat since those areas were chock full of equipment. I asked him why no government licence plate on the car, and he pulled it out of the glove box.