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write your own review of the Ameritron AL-811.
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KI4CRA
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Rating: 4/5
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Aug 14, 2008 14:51
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Decent amp
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Got my AL-811 in a trade a couple of months ago,so this is a used amp and I knew it. Before the amp arrived I went ahead and ordered 3 new 911 tubes from Ameritron, I was going to put 3 new tubes in weather it needed it or not. Good thing I did, cause when the amp arrived it was only single boxed, suprised it came through at all. Well not only were two of the tubes broken (little metal caps on top broken off) but the board where the ceramic caps a soldered to the caps were broken off, in shipping no doubt. Well after another call to Ameritron ordered a new relay board with caps and all for $32. Well got everything ordered in tubes relay board. my plate current meter was dead, another call another order to Ameritron, got the meter in, got everything soldered back in. Powered up the amp, no output power. Checked and rechecked, ANOTHER call to Ameritron talked to one of their tech's and we spent the next half hour trouble shooting the amp came down to 2 wires one to the coil behind the grind current knob and another to the bandswitch, again probably due to the way it had been shipped.
Finally after all was said and done the amp now preforms flawlessly, with the new tubes and board, everything solderd in the way its supposed to be I easily get 600-650 watts on SSB. Good amplifier for the money, probably should have waited spent the extra on the AL-811H, but for an extra 200 watts probabl wouldn't make much difference.
Anyway, this amps a keeper, I'll run it till I can't get parts for it any longer, or it just gives up the ghost and dies on me. Even after all my troubles most of which were probably brought on by the way in which it was shipped, if the previous owner had taken the time and boxed it properly maybe none of this would have happened, then again maybe it would have. Still a good amp for the $125 I put into it.
73 de Mark
AI4HO
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K5DBX
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 22, 2008 12:48
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Good product
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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The AL-811 is a very good value for the money. Yes, you can spend enormous money for amps that have very high build quality, and much more power, but for those who are looking for a good value in an amp, it would be hard to find a better one than Ameritron. I have re-tubed mine with the Svetlana 572B, (NOS from 1996 from RF parts branded and resold as 811H) with graphite plates. They have made this amp fairly bullet-proof, especially in the arena of digital and rtty. I can run this amp at 400+ watts all day long, (in digital) and ragchew at 600+ SSB and it has performed flawlessly.
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N4KC
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 16, 2008 14:49
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Simple
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Only been a ham 46 years and never had an amp before. I bought this one from a friend's estate when he went SK, so I knew it had received good treatment. Though it is at least 8 or 10 years old, it worked fine from the get-go...with one minor glitch. The T/R relay was not making after transmitting, leaving the antenna disconnected on receive. A bit of contact cleaner and it has worked fine since.
Also, don't be frightened by all the flak on how to tune one of these things up. Get a good wattmeter (MFJ makes a good peak-reading one, but don't use the peak setting when tuning! That is for SSB or CW.) and tune...with 20 watts or so of drive...for max power out while watching limits on PA and grid current. Re-touch with 40 or 45 watts drive, depending on how much compression and audio gain you run on SSB, and watch the wattmeter. Do it all quickly and make notes of the plate and load settings and your 811s will love you, even if they are cheap.
Seems to be a good entry-level, backup, or--in my case--go-to-when you-need-to amp. No, it won't handle full-break-in CW as is. No, it does not have a wattmeter. It is NOT a KW amp! But for the money, it is a workhorse. It seems mostly oblivious to reasonably high mismatches. Mine runs cool and the fan is quieter than I was led to believe it would be. And with as many in the field as there are, you know you would hear if there were any problems other than the ones caused by those who try to get the last watt out of one of these things before it fries. Or those nuts who spend fifteen minutes key-down (usually on top of DX) trying to tweak to the nth degree.
Don N4KC
www.n4kc.com
www.donkeith.com
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N5VU
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 16, 2008 14:18
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Very Good.
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I've had my AL-811 for a couple of months now and it performs quite well. I get the advertised 600 watts output with no problem. I give this amp a 5 because it is so docile.
My only wish is that the Grid meter had a little damping. During CW at full power it flops around quite a bit.
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EA1EYG
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 19, 2008 12:20
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Potencia en su justa medida
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Compré este pequeño amplificador a un amigo local, su estado era impecable y estaba en un precio adecuado. Al poco tiempo de usarlo regularmente, observo que al ser un Ameritron AL-811XCE de las primeras series, tiene algunos pequeños defectos de diseño, que Ameritron ha ido perfeccionando (algunos de ellos al menos) en series posteriores, el más molesto de ellos es que lleva los supresores de parasitarias VHF en los ánodos de sus tubos, con un montaje tan clásico, rudimentario y poco eficaz, que cada cierto tiempo, sus resitencias cerámicas de 100 Ohm se queman o rompen... y esto resulta un incordio, pues siempre suele ocurrir en el momento más inesperado. Además de que las continuas oscilaciones, por este defecto, dificultan la carga del amplificador en las bandas de 10 y 12m principalmente.
Ante estos inconvenientes, empecé a buscar en la red, información para subsanar el problema, encontré a Richard AG6K, todo un experto en amplificadores, que me recomendo que lo más conveniente era modificar los supresores de parasitarias originales, así que monté el "suppressor retrofit kit" de AG6K, el me lo envió desde California, todo un caballero... y tan pronto como lo instalé, se solucionaron todos los problemas.
Ahora es fantástico, sencillo de cargar en cualquier banda, ha mejorado notablemente su estabilidad, trabaja bien con cualquier tubo 811a, ya sea de baja ganacia (mu) tipo antiguas RCA o de la muy alta ganacia como las Shuguam chinas, ningún problema hasta el momento.
Sus 600w PEP son más que suficientes para con una buena antena romper cualquier pile-up... en pocos minutos.
Por cierto el Kit de AG6K, incluye varias modificaciones de protección, que hace que el AL-811 trabaje mucho más seguro, ante cualquier imprevisto.
En un futuro próximo, aprovecharé para cambiar sus tubos 811a por los 572b, pues aunque funcionan bien, la disipación en su placa con unos 40-45 w es demasiado justa, para operar este amplificador de forma continuada, durante horas y a su máax. potencia. Con la 572b, no ganaremos en potencia, pero el amplificador trabajará más frio y menos forzado, durante largo tiempo.
Definitivamente, no necesito más de 1/2 KW, un pequeño empujón, más que suficiente para entrar en cualquier pile-up, claro está ayudado siempre por una buena antena.
Saludos
EA1EYG / Carlos
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WI7B
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 17, 2008 08:43
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STILL STRONG
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've enjoyed my AL-811 for over three years. Some feckless tune-ups and a burned-out ceramic inductor switch in my eBay-purchased tuner finally brought down one of my 811As. Power dropped to 350 PEP on SSB.
So, I re-tubed with the Taylor 572Bs. WoW! Right move. Sustained power out is 600W PEP with grid current ~120 ma. Runs cool, runs linear. Just remember to follow instructions and let the little puppies warm up on STANDBY for ~10 hours before tranmsitting to let the Ti getter do its job, clean up and improve vacuum.
73,
---* Ken
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EI7BA
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 1, 2008 10:10
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Value for money
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I got one cheap, that had been dropped. I did a bit of "panel beating" and a spray job, and it's like new. It's amazing. It puts out 700 W from three 811s!! I thought my peak reading meter was faulty, but it ain't. It tunes so smoothly, even on 10m. Whoever designed the Ameritron amps, knows a thing or two about Pi Tanks.
Ameritron produce good value for money amps, and even though they're short on frills, they don't cut any corners where it matters. Check out those electrolytics.. good for a couple of amps ripple I'll bet.
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KC0GSB
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 19, 2007 20:29
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Good Amp & Good Price
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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This is an inexpensive amp that puts out reasonable power. I bought it to back up the SB-221, and to give me a little punch on 10 meters if i need it. I did replace the 811 tubes with 572b tubes, but it worked well with the originals. I just wanted more rugged tubes. It will do it's rated 600 watts PEP but be careful not to over drive it, or just use the ALC. I got this new for $567 with free shipping from GigaParts. I just couldn't pass it up for that price, less than a dollar a watt. One other thing, I have used it to do RTTY on 40 meters at 300 to 350 watts output without any problems.
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AA2HA
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 23, 2007 17:53
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Very good amp for the money
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Great little amp for the money. I got it as a back-up amp but found myself using it as my primary amp. I did have a minor problem when the amp was new, but tech support was great! I would recommend buying or building, as I did, a soft-start module. I also hade an AL80 with no problems. Keep up the good work Ameritron!
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WY4J
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 23, 2007 11:24
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I give it a TEN.......
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I have been playing with radios and amplifiers for 32 years. Purchased this little amp to complement my newly acquired IC-746PRO. Great value for the money and puts out just enough to get everyone's attention. The design is simple and the tubes very inexpensive. If I want a bit more power than I turn on the old Drake L4B but so far the old boy is been resting since this AL 811 seems to be doing all I ask for.
Great little amp for very little cash outlay.
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