  We present a design for a radio-frequency driver that leverages telecom
amplifiers to achieve high power output and wide bandwidth. The design consists
of two compact printed circuit boards (total area $< 255$ cm), which
incorporate power (turn-on) and thermal management to prevent accidental damage
to the amplifier circuitry. Our driver provides $>1$ W of output power over a
$10$ MHz to $1.1$ GHz frequency range, and $\geq 5$ W from $20$ MHz to $100$
MHz. The driver circuit includes auxiliary components for analog frequency and
amplitude modulation ($\approx 70$ kHz bandwidth), as well as digital power
switching ($> 30$ dB of extinction within $40$ ns and final extinction $> 90$
dB). The radio-frequency source can also be digitally switched between an
external input and an integrated voltage-controlled oscillator. Our design is
motivated by the need for flexible, inexpensive drivers of optically active
devices, such as acousto-optic and electro-optic modulators.
