Build Your Own Solid-State Linear Amplifier
CQ Reviews: KM3KM Electronics Mercury IIIS Amplifier Kit
I’m not your usual reviewer supported by a lab filled with test gear to show CQ readers how a new product specs out. In fact, I’m the reason they sell pre-packaged dipoles and plug-and-play radios. My rig is an ICOM IC-7300 and my antenna is a Buckmaster 7-band OCF (off-center-fed) dipole in an inverted-V configuration. But I know better than to think that my sense of curiosity and fascination with radio gear will forever be satisfied with that 100 watts and a wire.
I always wanted to have more power, to reach farther and compete better in the usual pileups, and earlier I’d tried (without much success) a large and finicky tube amp. I’m sure the need for a bigger, better signal is an almost universal goal amongst amateur radio enthusiasts (except QRPers – ed.), but the cost-per-watt of the solid-state amps had always seemed out of reach. It was that curiosity and the desire to learn more and dive deeper into my hobby that drove me to explore theMercury IIISsolid-state linear amplifier kit by KM3KM Electronics.1
The Backstory
On a recent weekend, ZS6CCY (Bill, a game rancher in Waterberg, South Africa) pointed his 120-foot, 40-meter Yagi at the U.S. and the stack of “Hey, Bill!” calls he got in return from old friends was staggering. During one of thoseQSOs, I listened as one U.S. ham spoke about what a difference his Mercury IIISamplifier hadmade for him. While I eventually added Bill to the log with my little signal out of Arizona, I remembered that amp and the comments I heard from others while reading the mail that day.
