Amplifiers consume DC power. They don't consume RF. The DC
current being
pulled by an amplifier operating an emission that lacks any
amplitude
variation (such as FM) will pull the same amount of current
at any point in
time.
What about a class C amplifier used in FM?
That's what I was talking about. While the RF devices are only conducting
during a portion of the AC waveform cycle, the collector/drain choke and all
of the other filtering (capacitors, inductors) inside the amplifier result
in a constant DC current draw from the power supply. That same filtering is
what keeps the RF going out the antenna jack rather than causing all of the
external DC wiring to radiate RF. In a nutshell, the amplifier as a whole
isn't "pulsing" DC from the power supply, it's sucking electronics from the
power supply at a constant rate in the case of FM, whether it's class A, B,
AB, C, or whatever.
--- Jeff WN3A
