An excellent way for HT owners to upgrade their portable ARES equipment is to purchase a power amp.

An ideal amp should weigh less than 1 pound, be capable of 10 to 15w output when driven by an HT at 1w, or 20 to 40w output when driven by the same HT at 2 to 3w output. It should draw no more than 8 amps of current at its maximum rated output, enabling it to operate safely with fused line with Anderson Power Pole connectors, or fused cigarette lighter plug (less desirable).

An FM-only amplifier, without a preamp, will be adequate in most cases.
- A preamp tends to accentuate intermod due to paging transmitters. Unless you equip your portable station with a notch filter and/or cavity bandpass to suppress this intermod, the preamp will serve no useful purpose.

Be wary of bargain "no-name" amps you see at hamfests or in discount catalogs. Some are not aligned for the entire U.S. 2-meter band, many lack thermal protection circuitry for over voltage, overdrive or high VWSR or simply have an inadequate heat sink and will overheat and quit.

Excerpted and updated from: Santa Clara County, California ARES/RACES
Emergency Operations & Your HT (4/21/2002)
www.scc-ares-races.org/emergency_operations_and_ht.htm