Plain-language answer: A 30-watt recommendation is usually a conservative operating guideline for heat, linearity, tuner, and antenna limits—not a universal law of digital radio.
Why operators care
Some equipment supports more continuous power and some compact systems require less. Mode duty cycle and actual configuration determine the safe limit.
Set it up correctly
Start low, verify decoding and clean output, follow the lowest continuous-duty rating in the complete station, and increase only when needed.
The common mistake
Repeating 30 watts as a guaranteed safe value for every radio, tuner, feed line, and antenna.
Operating boundary
Current regulations, service documentation, satellite status, software versions, and the complete station’s continuous-duty limits control. Online reports are observations, not guaranteed link performance.
