In this paper we evaluate the application of convex optimization for PAPR reduction on OFDM 802.11a signal type. A radio frequency power amplifier is measured and characterized while excited by both original and optimized OFDM signals. A state-of-art test setup was used for the purpose. Improvements in power added efficiency, in-band errors, out-of-band spectral emissions are investigated for their relevance and a study of the power distribution in the excitation signal is evaluated.