PA570
                       Consumer Alert on P.C. Electronics
                            Supplier of ATV equipment
        
        P.C. Electronics                             Item PA5-70 10 W amp
        W6ORG, Tom O'Hara                            My invoice #11836
        2522 Paxson Lane                             Date 7-27-90
        Arcadia, CA 91007-8537                       Cost $95.01 
        
                                                     August 2, 1990
             Last week I ordered a PA5-70, 10 watt ATV Power Module for 
        420-450 MHz. from PC Electronics. I received the power module 
        Saturday. I made the PC Electronics specified input attenuation 
        circuit to drop a 2 watt exciter below the 200 milliwatt maximum 
        rating. During the initial power up with the power control set to 
        minimum RF power out. I slowly increased power until a point that 
        I know to be 1.5 watts out of the exciter. During this RF power 
        increase I meticulously monitored the PA5 output power. However, 
        NO power gain was obtained. I got a maximum of about 600 milli-
        watts from the PA5 into my Yaesu power meter running into a 100 
        watt dummy load. 
             Upon returning the defective PA5 I questioned the output 
        design of the PA5 as the coax is connected directly to the output 
        of the SAU-4 power brick. No matching trimmer capacitors are 
        included in the output design. Solid state devices are very 
        temperamental to the smallest of impedance mismatches.
CONTINUED IN FILE PA570.1