by Dave N6DE
I have been tracking the performance of Solid-State Power Amplifiers—SSPA for a number of years after having to repair my PW1 multiple times due to my own operator errors. Having a fully automated station is not failure proof in the real world. Most SSPA failures are due to transmission initiated into a load with a SWR of greater that 1.5:1 and almost always fail into a SWR higher than 2:1. More modern designed SSPAs now have better SWR protection than early generation SSPAs. But there are still some SSPAs that are suspectable to damage from operator errors. Best advice is to ask multiple operators about their experience with their SSPA.
What types of operator errors?
Operations such as using a mechanically adjusted antenna tuner [Start transmitting before a pre-stored match adjustment has completed.]. Operating in high SWR area of a non-tune-able frequency area of an antenna. Attempting an antenna tuner match at QRO power levels. Transmitting into the wrong antenna. Not testing into a Dummy Load. SSPA built-in antenna tuners that are not instant-ons changing to the new SWR match.
And the two biggest errors: 1) failure to kill Split on the transceiver when changing bands [VFO A moves to the radio and amplifier to the new band while VFO B stays on the previous band, so you transmit into the wrong antenna; 2) configuration errors in the software apps dealing with station automation.
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