Batboard

I'd like to tune a VHF XTS5000 to have about 100mw output on the low power setting.

The XTS5000 specs (and the basic service manual) specify a range of 1.0 - 2.8 W for the VHF low power setting. But I've found that I can crank the output down to below 100mw with the tuner software with no obvious ill effect.

So I'm curious whether tuning the radio for very low output has some undesirable side effect that I'm not noticing. Anyone here with experience tuning XTS5000s for output below spec?

Thanks

Get your spectrum analyzer and start looking for spurious emissions.

Spurs are one of the obvious ill effects I didn't notice, at least up to 6.5GHz.

I guess my concern is that I don't know exactly what these "softpots" are doing, and I'm hoping that someone who either understands the XTS5000 architecture better than I do or who has actually used these radios below their rated power can assure me that I'm not causing some long term damage or degrading something I didn't measure.

Thanks

You don't wanna do dat. Run the transmitter into a power attenuator like we do for system monitors so the rfpa is operating in a linear mode, but the extra power heats the room a lilbit.