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You can
write your own review of the Yaesu FL-7000.
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N2GOK
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 9, 2009 06:05
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Even better with N4ATS mods
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have had my Fl-7000 for about 10 years now. It has given me many years of pleasure, quick band change and enough power for a casual dxer.
I decide to extend the life of this wonderful piece of equiptment and send it to Bill Grassa for his mod work.
THIS REALLY MADE THE DIFFERENCE.
First the anti trip seldom comes on and now I have a constant 600-700 watts on all bands.
Now I am not a contester, but I do enjoy my share of dx. N4ATS improvements to an already great linear have entended it's life in my opinion.
The FL-7000 is a great addition to any moderate amateur radion station, and then N4ATS dedicated modifications puts this small but powerful amp up with some of the more expenses newer models.
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VK4RD
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 31, 2007 17:03
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Superb Amp
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have owned it for more than a decade. My FL-7000 is the three button model. I have had no problems with it in that time. It performs great.
I read up on Bill Grassa, N4ATS web page and found it very very informative in all aspects of FL-7000 operation. I run it through a 5 element tribander, and when using the WARC and lower bands use it through an SGC239 auto tuner, no problems. The protect system also works well. Coupled with my FT990 I feel I have a good radio station that has served me well in the past and will serve me well in to the future. It more than handles the VK power limit of 400 watts. A highly recommended amp in any radio shack around the world.
73's
Graeme
VK4RD
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IK0YKM
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 26, 2007 05:55
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Great amplifier
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I use this amplifier since 2005 with a Yeesu FT-1000-D. It's a wonderful line.
The fans are noisy. It is a good amplifier, very robust and well-protected.
I had to reduce the input power at 90 watts so I working "on air" without auto-protection
Many thanks to Bill - N4ATS for all advices that he gave my.
For now the FL-7000 remains in my shack.
Henry IK0YKM
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K4MK
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 4, 2007 14:38
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Pleasure to use
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I purchased an FL-7000 this past June. It had previously been overhauled by Bill-N4ATS. I have used large tube type amplifiers for many years, and still have several of them, but this amplifier is so much easier to use and so much quieter that I find myself using it most of the time now. It is a beautiful piece of equipment and with Bill' s modifications / upgrades it performs flawlessly.
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KT5X
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 3, 2007 17:05
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MOD's
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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You can see my early review of this amp. That was b-4 Bill Grasso. The overly sensitive protect circuit was an annoyance, and it seemed with time, it had become even more so. i was lucky to get 200 watts out before it would protect itself. with Bill's help, the mods are done, and damaged diodes in the sensing circuit repaired, the amp is a real winner. 600 watts out easy, rapid band change, QSK when i want it, all this in an amp I bought new in the 1980's. Talk about money's worth! thanks, Bill !
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AB3CX
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 3, 2007 13:09
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Nice
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I bought my FL-7000 from Bill Grassa, N4ATS. He did his usual mods and provided me with a Yaesu band data/relay-QSK cable. All I can say is it works very well. Have had zero problems of any significance. Puts out 800 watts easy. When the second cooling fan kicks in, sometimes it startles me with the sound, but I'm getting used to that. Having a no tune amp with about a 5 second band change feature is really nice to use on the air. The tuner can be adjusted easily with the exciter alone, and handles anything I throw at it using coax. For $1300, where else are you going to get all that??
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DK5DR
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 22, 2007 02:12
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A real work horse
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Having used and built tube amps for the past 36 years I wanted to try a solid state amp to run our legal 750W PEP out. After repeated reading of the general introduction of VA7OJ ( What makes a good solid state amp ? ) it seemed that Mosfets like the MOTOROLA MRF 150 were state-of-the-art. So I considered the AMERITRON ALS-600 and the Italian SPE Expert 1K-FA. What made me feel insecure about the whole subject was the fact that few fellow hams use HF solid states except those wealthy plug-and-play guys with the latest ICOM and YAESU amps for $ 5000 up...
But then I ran into this amazing homepage of Bill N4ATS, wow, that FL-7000 appeared to be a real classic piece of equipment.
A few weeks later, the (in)famous German contest-station DR1A threw 4 of them into the 2nd hand market after having used them as pre-drivers @ 200W for contest-work ( now employing 4 brand new ACOM1000 amps )
So I paid the requested $ 1400 and was given a dusty, heavy-weight old lady less instruction manual or any other documentation. Oh-oh-oh....
On the one hand I was impressed by the solid construction and shining beauty after cleaning,
but on the other hand the PROTECT kept tripping whenever 10W drive power were exceeded.
I downloaded the manual from N4ATS and tried to re-align, but without noticeable effect.
Being the shy guy I hesitated to contact Bill who obviously has achieved some status when it comes to the FL-7000.
Much to my surprise though, Bill not only gave me the breakthrough instructions to overcome the difficulties - no, he has cared more than any after-sales-service I ever ran into. This ham spirit is very hard to find these days.
But after having performed dozens of test-runs with the FL-7000, I am not exaggerating when I say:
Without Bill, following the YAESU specs, be prepared for all kinds of surprises.
With Bill, the FL-7000 to me is the best solid state HF amp this sort of money can buy. Now this
FL, costing me 70% of the price when it was new, has turned into a work horse. 600W as per Bill
is enough power ( although you can get more )
Required drive is 20...50W for 160m...10m....
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K6SBA
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 13, 2007 08:26
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AN AMP WITH A FUTURE
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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If you are looking for an under-1KW amp, and want solid state, your choices are limited. There are of course the $4K amps from ICOM and Yaesu. The is also the newly approved Tokyo Hi-Power units for +$3K. At the other end of the scale (in more ways than one) are the offerings from MFJ/Ameritron. Somewhere in between is the SGC Power Cube, Tentec Herc II, and finally the Yaesu FL-7000.
I didn't want to spend $3000 or more and I don't trust the low end offerings. The Herc II is a real risk because of the unavailability of the PA finals. There seems to be pretty mixed reviews of the SGC product, and less than complete satisfaction with after sales service.
I guess I am "stuck" with the FL-7000, and am I happy! An FL-7000 that is in good shape AND has been serviced by Bill Grassa, N4ATS, is some of the best $1200-1400 you will spend in ham radio. My particular model was purchased directly from Bill with all of his tweaks and mods. This amp is a super combination with both my FT-2000 (automatic band change with one cable) and my little FT-897 (no cable yet, so band change is manual).
When used in conjunction with a good manual tuner (a Palstar AT1KM, in my case)you have a powerhouse with all kinds of fault protection.
The amp is extremely well built with components that will last a long time was proper operating care. Bill Grassa is available for fantastic support and service.
It has been said that the first 500 watts is what really matters. Busting a pile-up with N8S on 17-meters has convinced me of that.
If you are looking for a low profile amp, don't overlook this aging but still hot beauty.
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KE4EX
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 23, 2006 06:20
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# 4 # $ 4 $ Money well spent
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Purchased this used from a retiring ham.
True to his word, not a skuff, scratch, blem anywhere. I run it with my FT 990 and MKV Field.
As they say it's the first 500 watts that makes the biggest differance. How true that statement is. I am getting 500 to 675 output depending on the band, on 75 meters with 1:1 swr and no tuner I have gotten 700+. most of the time I run in th RTTY position, 1/2 power. I have ran it several weekends hard and true. Protection system is absolutly great. I have fallen in love with this little package.
I don't care about operating it with other rigs however, it preformed flawless with my "706MKIIG and Pro-II", Now gone.
Yep $ 4 $ # 4 # she is here to stay.
Thanks
73
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IK4CIE
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Rating: 4/5
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Aug 25, 2006 15:29
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good
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Purchased used in 2002, now after 4 years of use i can write my review. Positive: the unit is good, well protected, no damage is possible with his very speedy protections. More than 500-600 W out in all bands 160m enclosed.
Negative: antenna tuner extremly slow and meter inaccurate for power and SWR measure.
A good one for no waiting at power-on, small size, automatic band change with yaesu transceivers.
Regards, Vittorio ik4cie
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