HINT: THERE ISN'T ONE CORRECT ANSWER
This is a topic that stirs up quite a bit of emotions on any given radio oriented website or Facebook group, especially with 11m operators. While many are quite satisfied with whatever power the radio they're using puts out, there is a huge group who prefer running 400+ watts from their base or even while mobile (and "Keydowners" are in a class of their own, so I won't be going down that road in this post). There are plenty of ham stations that only run QRO as well.
Personally, as many of you know, for the most part I'm a QRP guy, whether it be a designated QRP radio like Yaesu's FT-817/818 or ICOM's IC-705, or my choice of 4w/12w SSB CB mobiles, like my Cobra 138XLR from 1977, or my President McKinley (the new version). More watts will make some contacts much easier, but many times I tend to use the best antenna I can buy, letting it do much of the heavy lifting.
Not getting through a pileup is tough at the QRP level, so I'll skirt around that frequency looking for a less sought after station, or wait out the big hitters until their voices have come and gone, making it easier to get through. To me, there is nothing more thrilling and adrenaline pumping than having a station, thousands of miles away, come back to my 5 or 10 watt CQ call.
There was a period when I had a base amplifier inline, that I could use when skip was strong, and I knew that if powered up I could easily have the DX station return my call on my first or second attempt. It was so easy, talking DX got to be boring. Sure, if my ham radio is a 100w radio, I'll use it, and all of the text above was a roundabout way of saying:
"Whatever the radio puts out is what I'll use, and leave the big external amps to the other guys".
I do confess to running a PC-122 with a 203 amp for a while. It was one of those grab it now (Buy-It-Now) deals that popped up on eBay. Someone didn't know much about what they had, and didn't even know if it worked, but it was a PC-122, with a 203 amp bolted on top, and an Astatic 575 hand mic for $75. Back then (14 years ago), I was oft to take a chance on something like this - and it worked out just fine.
Except for having the amp bolted on top of it, the PC-122 was in excellent condition. Both worked well together. The 575 hand mic was in 8.0 out of 10 cosmetic shape and just needed a new battery. This Astatic microphone seems to expand its legendary status every five years or so, but I've never been a big fan of it (I'm a Turner guy). I know what some people will pay for one (thus my reason for the BIN purchase).
Just because someone is willing to pay $200 and higher for one of these microphones it didn't seem right for me to sell it high, so I priced it at $110 on eBay, and it sold in less than 30 minutes, thus covering my initial purchase of the mic, amp, and radio, with an extra $20 in my wallet. Several years down the road I put a newish top cover on the 122 and sold it for $100. I still have the amp in one of our closets, in a box that is filled with other misc. radio stuff.
I didn't mean to dive very deep into this subject, I only meant to type a short preface before embedding Jim's video - so, sorry about my fingers running amok on the keyboard, and here is the video...
FLASHBACK FRIDAY
(Here's a few tidbits from days gone by)
1975
1976
73
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