Talk:RF power amplifier

Suggestions

I work at iThemba LABS. http://www.tlabs.ac.za We make use of RF Power Amplifiers to amplify the signals we use to run the system. between 12 and 80MHz bandwidth. Up to 150KWatts for the main cyclotron.

Maybe this page can be expanded somewhat regarding RF amplifiers in this type of environment. I'm not an expert on the topic... Maybe this should go under HF?

Or maybe I'm searching in the wrong place.

Or maybe this page should be linked to Valve_amplifier and/or Amplifier

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.21.126.246 (talk • contribs) 14:01, 18 October 2006‎

"yes i agree" [to go under HF] -hari — Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.43.93.17 (talk) 07:59, 16 May 2016 (UTC)

RF Amplifier

I agree with the prior comment, and would like to take it a bit further. The article on Valve RF amplifiers should be merged with this one.

Further, there are essentially two kinds of RF Amplifiers, distinguished only by the wattage of their output:

1. The so-called preamplifiers which boost tiny signals up to moderate signals. These occur in
   1. Receiver front-ends, as a first-stage prep for the second-stage Intermediate frequency mixing
   2. Powered preselectors, in order to compensate for signal losses in the filtering circuit
   3. Antenna amplifiers to boost a received signal for travel through a long, lossy cable and/or for dynamic or powered impedance matching.
2. Transmission amplifiers (probably intended here) which take the RF output of modestly-powered equipment (a few watts) and increase the signal power to a much higher value (hundreds to thousands of watts). The other article on valve RF amplifiers covers that same ground.

Aside from wattage, MF–HF radio amplifiers have very different construction constraints than VHF–UHF. (I’m not sure where LF amplifiers fit.) Only VLF radio amplifiers are essentially (or actually) identical to audio amplifiers.

So we have different kinds of amplifiers being used all over radio transmission and reception, and the following articles:

• Antenna amplifier
• RF power amplifier
• valve RF amplifier

But there is no generic RF amplifier article, the preamplifier article makes no mention of radio, and the amplifier article that mentions “radio” roughly three times.

I recommend that all the radio-based articles either be merged or bridged together via a generic radio frequency amplifier article.

In any case this article and the valve RF amplifier articles are too close to be separate. They should be merged no matter what. Tom Lougheed (talk) 01:51, 19 January 2015 (UTC)

• Oppose merger of RF power amplifier and valve RF amplifier. Admittedly, this article has almost no content, but the valve article intends to be a specific type power amplifier. There are exotic and/or historic tube technologies that would not need to be covered in an RF power amplifier article. Glrx (talk) 01:37, 24 January 2015 (UTC)
  • Oppose merger as well, and do strongly support the discussion provided by User:Glrx. v.r. -- HHubi — Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.78.209.151 (talk) 12:47, 29 February 2016 (UTC)
• I agree, oppose merge. The article currently has images of two amps, neither of which is a valve amp. Valve RF amplifier is a well focused article and there is no need to mess with it. Antenna amplifier is not a power amplifier and has different design cirteria, so again, can sensibly be a separate article. It is easy enough to create an overarching RF amplifier article without messing with any of the existing articles. Those could simply be linked from it. I don't understand why those who want an overarching article have not done that already. This thread has been here for two years without gaining any traction so I am now going to remove the merge templates. SpinningSpark 18:37, 25 January 2017 (UTC)

Schematic request

It would be nice to add a schematic to show what a radio frequency power amplifier looks like.

ICE77 (talk) 16:07, 16 June 2015 (UTC)

The ARRL Handbook should have some. Gah4 (talk) 07:43, 10 August 2019 (UTC)

References

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