Where to find a 2.3Ghz Band PA of about 15W ? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / rf-microwave

author: jujun
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2018, 02:26:10 pm
content: Hello,Because the launch of the satellite Es'HailSat-2 is near (At least maybe),I want to add to my ground station the uplink capability to this geosynchronous satellite.I will mainly use its narrow band transponder for digital communications, so I don't need a lot of power.Of course, I don't really want to pay much for this, and I prefer to DIY a maximum.For now I only found "Spectrian Linear RF Amplifier Board" that could suit my needs, but, unfortunatelyit's no more easy to get it Europe.https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/75W-Spectrian-Linear-RF-Amplifier-Board-2-3-2-35-GHz-18dBg-24-26V/223212195606Do you have any ideas ?I first was thinking about the very cheap wifi booster. (the uplink is at the begining of 2.4Ghz)but it's maybe not enough powerfull.Thank you for you help.J

author: TheSteve
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 08, 2018, 05:19:42 pm
content: Whatever amplifier you get make sure it supports a linear mode of operation.I am jealous of the satellite, a worlds first! I will be watching the launch live.

author: jujun
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2018, 06:16:16 pm
content: Any wifi booster will be very linear I think.I saw this one that seems quite serious but expensive :https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sunhans-20W-43dBm-2-4GHz-Indoor-WiFi-Signal-Booster-High-Power-WiFi-Amplifier/292396404945And this one very cheap, but maybe not real 8W :https://www.aliexpress.com/item/EDUP-8W-WiFi-Wireless-Broadband-Amplifier-2-4G-WiFi-Signal-Booster-for-wifi-adapter-router-camera/32788853553.htmlI didn't find any ham radio 13cm power amplifier kit, it seems that some existed in the past, but I didn't find one available today.Also, it doses not seems that it exists any chip with an amplifier built in, like the MITSUBISHI & TOSHIBA module, that exist for VHF/UHF/1.2GhzIt's a quite easy way to DIY an amplifier.But maybe I have missed something ?

author: Emo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2018, 07:19:43 pm
content: Hi,Try to search for used S-band transmitter amplifiers like this examplehttps://www.ebay.com/itm/S-Band-High-Output-UItra-Linear-Power-Amplifier/271684883117?hash=item3f41ae52ad:g:ZR8AAOSwD0lUdZe9:rk:2:pf:0Or new modules likehttp://rf-power-amplifier.eu/main/product/s_band_pow_amp_to_20W.htmlEric

author: xaxaxa
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2018, 10:42:13 am
content: The aft23s160 can often be found for really cheap (<$10) and it's fairly easy to design an amplifier for it since the datasheet specifies the source/load impedance.

author: jujun
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2018, 11:12:43 am
content: Quote from: xaxaxa on November 09, 2018, 10:42:13 amWhere you can find it ?I didnt found it, even the datasheet.But instead I found this one : aft23s170-13sr3 but I didnt found anybody selling it.data sheet :https://www.nxp.com/docs/en/data-sheet/AFT23S170-13S.pdf

author: xaxaxa
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2018, 01:01:01 pm
content: AFT23S160W02SR3:https://www.nxp.com/docs/en/data-sheet/AFT23S160W02S.pdf

author: xaxaxa
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2018, 01:05:44 pm
content: There is also the mrf286 which is available on aliexpress but from looking at the S parameters it's really hard to match at 2.3GHz. There is some info here:https://www.w6pql.com/xrf-286_amplifiers_for_23cm.htm13cm board designs:http://f1chf.free.fr/MRF286/technique%20mrf286.htmI have also used the MRF6S27085H successfully at 2.45GHz but i'm not sure if it will go down to 2.3GHz.

author: ConKbot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2018, 03:34:39 pm
content: Quote from: jujun on November 08, 2018, 06:16:16 pm20W indoor wifi ampI'd expect the import big-number wifi amps to be rated by the absolute maximum that the amp can squeeze out. (plus a bit of "marketing" but lets ignore that for now) But wifi has a very large peak-to-average power ratio. You have to remain linear to keep the error vector magnitude small, and the constellation plot clean. So whatever your peak output is, (what they are going to market these amps as to make them look as good as possible) take 6-10 dB off to get what they are putting out in service in terms of average power. Ive personally taken a chip meant as a 1/4 watt average wifi amp from Analog Devices, and managed to wring about 1W CW out of it for an FM signal where I could let it start to saturate a bit.However, the wifi amps are going to be built with thermal and power capability meant for their average, and I'd expect it to fall flat on its face, either browning out the power supply or overheating if you started hitting it with a CW signal for a satellite uplink, and if youre using the SSB mode (again with a ~6dB ish PAPR) I'd expect a disappointing amount of power.See the reviews for the 8W ampQuote2W? 6dB less than 8WThat "20W" one doesnt even have any additional heat-sinking.https://www.minicircuits.com/WebStore/dashboard.html?model=ZHL-16W-43-S%2B( 16W CW capable amp for reference )It doesn't mean that it is completely hopeless, though. If you have the equipment to measure how the amp is doing (SA with tracking gen, and attenuators) you can probably overhaul one of the wifi amps power-delivery and thermal management to get something passable. That 20W one seems extra scammy, I'd not touch it. But the "8W" one when running CW, with an added on high-volume fan, and maybe some beefing up of the power supply, and depending on the amplifier chip/transistor a bit of work on the input/output matching, bypassing or tweaking any AGC is may have, has potential at least.https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/geosynchronous/eshail-2/suggests that 5W can be suitable for the NB uplink with enough antenna gain. If you like to tinker, can get a bit more antenna gain, have the equipment, and dont mind the $50 for something that may be able to get whipped into shape, or may not be suitable, I'd say give it a shot. If you want something that just works, then nah, avoid both.

author: xaxaxa
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2018, 10:00:03 pm
content: yeah most off the shelf "wifi amplifiers" are pretty shit. I'd go for building it myself with proper heatsinking.

author: jujun
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2018, 07:22:13 pm
content: I just found another wifi booster that seems to be a little better :https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/4W-Wifi-Wireless-Broadband-Amplifier-Router-2-4Ghz-Power-Range-Signal-Booster-Free-Shipping/1360732_2035126682.htmlIt has two YP242034 IC, datasheet :http://clip2net.com/clip/m120245/1352676154-86fe3-410kb.pdfThe seller claims a 4W output, It seems that it's an ultimate maximum because on the datasheet it's writen : 34dBm P1dB@VCC=6.0VMaybe this one is better for a quick hack, but of course the best would be to build something from scratch ...

author: jujun
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 18, 2019, 02:27:24 pm
content: It seems that the 20W wifi booster from aliexpress are not that bad !!https://twitter.com/dh2va/status/1086194800867586049

author: Wolfgang
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 25, 2019, 10:44:37 am
content: Quote from: jujun on November 08, 2018, 02:26:10 pmWhat about this one ?https://www.kuhne-electronic.de/funk/de/shop/produkte/prof-leistungsverst/KU+PA+23027018+A++Leistungsverstaerker/?card=932