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| Reviews Summary for National NCL-2000 |
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Reviews: 14
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Average rating: 4.7/5
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MSRP: $600?
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Description: Linear Amplifier, 80-10 meters, (2) 8122 final tubes
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Product is not in production.
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More info: http://
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K7NG
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Rating: 4/5
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Jun 16, 2011 07:02
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Very pretty
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I used one of these when they were still in production. I'm hoping to find a good one to add to my station now. IMHO they are just about the prettiest piece of ham equipment around, while performance is just a shade less then wonderful, without a few improvements.
Rich Measures, who does have some good inputs other than the parasitic suppressor issue, shows how rewiring the T/R input relay significantly improves the input VSWR. He also has some good suggestions about changes to the screen supply and grid bias to make the amp a lot more robust. Re-capping and making the appropriate internal mods and you've got someting that will play for years.
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W9TAS
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 23, 2010 19:07
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one of the best
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I use my NCL-2000 every night.After replacing filter caps and tubes,this amp will do 1500 watts
pep with 60 watts pep drive.I run it at 1000-1200 watts out.All you need.Built like a tank!!and easy to work on if need be.
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HAMDUDE
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Rating: 5/5
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May 10, 2010 16:55
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45 year's and still going
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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mine was built in 1965, bought for $500.00, best amp i have had yet and i had a few, 40 watt's in, over 1kw pep easy on ssb, never make's a sound or get's hot. you have to lose the tune for max mentality of vaccum tube's and learn to tune to a set of grid and ma spec's, but once you find the setting for each band, it never change's. sad they don't make amp's like this anymore....
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DJ8GO
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Rating: 4/5
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Nov 26, 2008 10:39
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A Classic Workhorse
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Built about 40 years ago with commercial-grade components, even a worn-out NCL-2000 is still a good value today if you are willing to do a little work replacing the usual suspects: capacitors, relays, probably the blower motor, and the tubes. The 8122 tubes are not too hard to find, although many of them are probably suspect, but you can still get NOS matched pairs for reasonable prices - I bought two pairs last month, and they should keep my NCL-2000 going forever. The antenna and HV relay are still available as NOS, as is a slightly less powerful blower motor that fits perfectly and is much more quiet than the original. The HV filter capacitors should be replaced by modern capacitors, you may want to replace the HV diodes with two HV recifier modules, and you can insert a pair of thermistors as a "soft start" provision. Even with all these replacements, your bottom line cost for a NCL-2000 would be considerably less than that of a comparable modern amplifier, and you'd have an amplifier that is built like a tank (and weighs nearly as much). What it can't do without major modifications is 160m, but the addition of the WARC bands can easily be done if you replace the band switch. At 700W CW output it runs very cool, with the tubes barely dissipating half their rated power, and very little drive can bring it to 1200W PEP in SSB. If you run it within the design specifications, it should last you a long time. And if you have a defunct one lying around and don't quite feel up to the task of restoring it, please let me know.
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KE4AMQ
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 29, 2008 14:38
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nice amp
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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i just picked up one of these amps in good shape, what a blast to use this.
the amp tunes easy the war stories about the 8122 tubes is b.s. i found several at 60-85 each. the amp runs cool and as any ceramic amp if you dont beat the hell out of it, it will last forever. i love mine i use it more then my new amps. i like the 30 second warm up time
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KC2PFC
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 27, 2008 12:21
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Great amp
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have a few amps in the past two years, Ameritron 811H, Heathkit SB-1000, Ameritron ACL-500 and a few others. I just picked up this NCL-2000 from a fellow ham friend for $500. Its a great amp and with the ability to drive it with 20 - 200 watts is a great thing. With 80 watts drive I'm getting about 1400 watts AVG output. I also just got a set of replacement tubes (used) for $50!! ;-) This amp is easy to use and you only need to remember to not over drive it and keep the SWR down. The footprint is a bit large and its so heavy (65 lbs) the thing could sink a US battleship. But, can't beat it for performance. If you don't beat the crap out of it, the tubes will last a very long time.
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W4YA
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 12, 2006 18:13
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Workhorse
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Mine covers 160-10, with full QSK using the WA4DRU Soft Key. I bought it in 1965.
Anybody know where I can get a quiet fan replacement? The fan in my amp is too noisy.
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W4VD
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 12, 2006 15:17
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NICE AMP
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This was my first HF amp, it was a nice one, the 8122's made over a KW easy, never a moments problem, still see them on the used market.
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WA2MGB
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 23, 2006 06:28
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A Forgotten Powerhouse!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have owned my NCL-2000 amps for over two years. Both were purchased in great shape and had been recapped. Both have the low drive mod so that 25w in yields 500w out. She's quiet, good looking and can fit on your desktop. Easily capable of 1300w out without a problem. Tubes can be found easily on ebay or simply run a "wanted" ad on the net. For 500. and replacement tubes running about 150. a pair you can't go wrong. I have several replacement tubes, and have yet to need them. Does a very nice job on AM too... A tank. Relable. Repairable. Legal Limit. and only 500. What more do you want?
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N9EFJ
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 22, 2004 07:25
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A Workhorse AMP
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I own 2 of these. Bought one for parts. The best amp I have operated on the bands. Looks great and tunes ever so smoothly for me. I quess I'm a junkie too because I would buy another in a flash. I agree on the tubes but they appear on eBay for about $75 to $150 per pair. The tubes in mine now were not matched as the seller said and that's a problem for these amps. The tubes MUST be matched even if you need to put in cathode resistors, as I did, to make sure each tube holds its own. I had problems getting the amp to settle down. You can visit http://www.n9efj.net for info on problems I had. Thirteen hundred out (RMS) on this set of tubes. I very seldrom run it on HI. Mostly on LO at 600 to 800 PEP out.
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