Mark Conrad wrote:
Seems to me the upper power limit in those days was 1,000 watts,
but I probably remember it incorrectly.

I'm not sure when, but it changed from 1500 Watts input to 1,000 Watts output.

1,000 Watts is a lot of power and may not be of much use, depending upon
what you want to do with it. The difference between 100 watts and 1,000 is
not very much when the band is open and not crowded, in a contest it may be
the difference between making contacts and getting lost in the pileup.

You mentioned you were in the hills of California, if you want something
that is (almost) 100% reliable for an emergency a satellite phone might
be better.

In another thread in an another group, I mentioned the ELT (emergency
locator transmitters) that at one time were sold only for airplanes being
available for hikers, etc. The original poster said they are now down to
around $100 each, which makes them a viable option for your car if you
think you may end up in a ditch with no cell phone coverage and out of the
range of any radios.

Welcome back, btw, you can ask for your old call if it has not be taken
by someone else.

73,

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM
New word I coined 12/13/09, "Sub-Wikipedia" adj, describing knowledge or
understanding, as in he has a sub-wikipedia understanding of the situation.
i.e possessing less facts or information than can be found in the Wikipedia.