The AM Forum

Are these still made? I don't seem to find a primary source only ebay and other secondaries.

I see Frank, K2AW is still listed on QRZ.

But I understand he no longer makes the sealed epoxy HV diode blocks. He was a great guy to deal with. He would send the parts out with just your promise to send a check.  (Back when checks were used)

A good solution is to buy a bunch of 3A or 6A  1KV diodes. They're available from the big suppliers at good prices. Drill a Plexiglas sheet and mount them.  I have a stack in my HV supply that has lasted for 20 years now,

T

K2AW, Frank Fix, passed away some time back in 2005 or 2006. I believe, his daughter or some relative, was selling off the remaining stock after his passing.

I just got 4 new ones off ebay for less then they used to cost.
These do not have his call on them.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-1A-16KV-High-Voltage-Rectifier-Diode-High-Frequency-for-Microwave-Oven-/281403260235

or:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rectangle-25KV-2A-High-Voltage-Diode-HV-Rectifier-Green-/321062293954?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ac0cdd1c2

what kind of diodes did Frank use in those epoxy sealed mounts?  I wonder where he got the mounts?    I have been using them for years and they are (almost) bullet proof....I always hoped that someone would pick up the ball after Frank quit and make them available again......

Frank used to call his business "K2AW Silicon Alley".  He was a "regular guy" and a frequent vendor at Hosstraders swapfest back in the Deerfield days. There were more people building big amplifiers back then and he did a brisk trade.  I dealt with him both in person and through the mail.  He advertised in a couple of the ham magazines back then.
I don't know if there's enough business for someone to take up the slack, but I see that one of the Ebay guys referenced earlier is shipping product from China.  With the better diodes we have today, perhaps some of the 1 Kv, 6 Amp diodes could be potted up in strings and sold to those who prefer to measure voltage in kilovolts. 

I met Frank many years ago when we both had booths near one another in the Hara Arena at Dayton.  From what I remember, Frank told me that he worked for General Instrument.  When he retired he set up a business to buy cosmetic flaws rectifier blocks from them.  That became what we knew as a K2AW rectifier.    One year during the overnight, Frank's booth was raided and a lot of his inventory was stolen.  He was heartbroken that anyone would do that.  That was a very rare thing to happen in the arena.    

Frank and his wife were great folks.  I will never forget meeting him on I-95 when he delivered his old NC-100 to me.  Frank was up in years then, so he had a very long and fun life by all accounts.  

Joe-W3GMS

Here's a vendor that sells similar units:
http://www.sourcingmap.com/pr-hvp2a20-20kv-2a-high-votlage-single-phase-half-wave-rectifier-diode-p-168311.html

(http://m4.sourcingmap.com/photo_new/20111116/c/ux_a11111600ux0241_ux_c.jpg)

These are the ones I got:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/400478936537?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

They came in a sealed bag inside a box (each one) and the originals sold for $20.00 each I think.
Shipped from the US, have no idea where they were made.

I have a bunch of the K2AW ones, but used to blow them out in the negative cycle loading setup in the big rig all the time.
They were not fast enough in the NCL circuit and I had reports I was very wide back then.

I got a bunch of 1200 volt 3 amp diodes of ebay cheap a few weeks ago...they are quite large...

On the site link I provided, it looks like the prices are roughly half and if you're not in a hurry, they provide free shipping. If you poke around their web site, they have a number of diode stacks.

Dean Technology, aka, High Voltage Components Associates and CKE, make some very nice HV rectifiers, look for the glass passivated epoxy blocks online on their site.

I suppose I was under the impression that there was something magic about those K2AW units and not that they were just "repackaged" series-connected regular diodes.  Fact is that they were very popular and well made and provided in useful and rugged configurations.  I wonder if the diodes were specially selected or matched?   I also always wondered if they had equalizing resistors in the molded housings across the diodes? I never tore one apart.  :)

73,  Jack, W9GT

I have some fried ones, maybe I will cut one open with a hack saw.
Frank used to sell at all the fests, the diode table...

I have a couple of those diodes.  Rosie is checking that one out to see if it moves.

I saw something like that yesterday.

Sawing on in half is good. If anyone has an X-ray machine handy, that would be a way to find out even more.

Why do we care  ???

We need to know.

I just looked, I must have got rid of the blown ones, but found I have quite a bunch of good ones.
The new ones are 16KV, the old ones were 14 KV.
Looking at the area you could put stuff in, its very small....

Why we care:

Vger requires the information.
The carbon units will supply the information.

(edit for clarity)

Always thought he was one of the meats.
Great costume and make up if not. Those intellig-feel, tm. whiskers H'ain't cheap either.

Have you mixed up your meds again?