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write your own review of the Ameritron AL-572B.
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K5QBX
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 25, 2006 11:49
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Good Piece of Gear
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've used the amp now for over a year and have NO complaints. The plate and load factory recommended settings are very close and good starting points. It has a sharp dip in plate current and the if you load it just past the point of max out, it is reported to have a very clean signal, i.e. no splatter or buckshotting on adjacent frequencies. I drive it with a TenTec Jupiter (between 45-60 watts drive) and run the amp at a 1KW on sideband and if I use it on CW, at about 500 watts. It runs QUIET and the exhaust air temperature is approximately 120 degrees after 3-4 minutes talking continuously in SSB or 3-4 minutes of CW. The fan seems to do a good job of removing the heat from the finals. It will easily reach the advertised output on a dedicated 125 volt line.
It's very easy to tune and the controls are very smooth. The metering is large and for me, easy to read. It arrived undamaged and has worked out of the box with no problems. One handy feature was the 12v jack on the back...I run the fan in my dry dummy load with it and don't have to remember to turn it on when I go to load the amp. All in all, a solid product...
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KC4CP
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Rating: 0/5
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Jun 14, 2006 08:24
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BIG PROBLEMS
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I bought this amp about 3 years ago. From the beginning, it had problems. It continued to arc and blow one component after another one. After 2 trips to Ameritron, Ameritron finally reimbursed my money (good for them). This is the only Ameritron amp that has ever given me trouble. I have heard some say that the problem is cheaply made tubes. Perhaps Ameritron has worked out the problem. For the record, I love my 811, 811-H, 500, 1200, etc. So this is not Ameritron bashing... just my personal experience.
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WV4I
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 19, 2006 17:47
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Lots of Watts for $s
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I am on my second AL-572 and wish I had kept the first. At roughly half the cost of an AL-1500 and nearly legal limit as well (on SSB), I decided to reacquire an AL-572 and use the $$s difference elsewhere.
These are very straightforward amps. I'm using new, unmatched Chinese tubes from RF Parts, and so far, so good. Original tubes were apparently damaged in transit (2 of 4). Rattle, rattle inside.
Another reviewer is correct on plate voltage for 572 tubes. Both Taylor and ARRL Handbook show max of 2750 and 2400 operating Vp. No load, my amp is showing 2800v and 2400v loaded, using 240v primary. Seeing rated output of 1kw CW with as little as 65w input depending on band, into dummy load. Also noticed quirk with 15/17m input SWR, and would seem input pad would be broad enough to match both bands without retune to eliminate roughly 1.5:1 mismatch? Don't remember this issue with first amp. 10m and 30/20 positions okay.
If you can find one of these that has not been abused, buy it. Slightly higher performance than AL-80B, at about the same price and tube(s) are cheaper. I have an AL-80B also, so it's really a matter of which one you find first at a decent price, condition.
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N3WBS
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 1, 2006 11:09
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Nice Amp
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Got the amp for christmas this year, And works 100%. On 17 mtrs I had to retune the input as it seems to be set up for 15 mtrs. After tuning I ran some test's to see how it stood up. The run down of the equipment is as follows: Icom 756 pro 2,Yaesu YS-60 peak watt meter,Radio Shack Digital peak meter, Mfj 1500 watt oil filled dummy load. First things first I set the voltage at 240 volts,and modified it for 10 meters. The results are as follows.
All at 100 watts of drive. Plate voltage 2850 volts DC. All readings are PEP.
10 mtrs, 1500+ watts Seems to really like this band best!!
17 mtrs, 1400+ watts
20 mtrs, 1400 watts
40 mtrs, 1500 watts
75-80 mtrs, 1450 watts
160 mtrs, 1475 watts
The amp is really easy to tune and the factory presets are very close to actual. The fan is very quite and the meters are pretty close to actual. Ameritron has really done a good job on this amp and underate it by a bunch. It is a nice starter amp at under $1400.00.
You wont go wrong buying this amp.
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WD0CT
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Rating: 4/5
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Jul 24, 2005 01:42
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good power with light weight
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Here is an amp about 10 lb lighter than a Sb220 with the same power.
I bought mine used and the Svetlana tubes were a bit soft. It also had some goofy stuff added to make the keying relay activate with the presence of RF [ala cb type keying] scabbed in it. The bias circuit was also messed up and the amp was drawing too much zero signal anode current.
Aa ameritron tech helped me out with sorting these problems over the phone and sent the needed parts for free or very cheap - can't remember for sure.
I put in a new set of Taylor 572b tubes in it, wired it for 240v and it became a pretty sweet amp. 240 was mandatory at my house. It just would not put out any worth while power on 120v.
The band switch did arc once. Inspection showed this to be some hair or fuzz near the switch. It was okay after blowing it out with an air compressor.
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WZ9Y
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Rating: 5/5
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May 29, 2005 20:38
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High Power Great Price
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Well I can't yet vouch for how long the amp will last but it sure works like a champ for now. 1300 watts for a great price. I will review again after a year and let everyone know if I have reliability issues but I have been beating the heck out of it the last two months especially on 75 and 20 meters and it's been doing fine. Had some arcing issues that turned out to be a Cable Experts cable and a tuner that couldn't handle the twin lead very well (no balun). Now running a Nye Viking tuner and replaced patch cables but the amp took the abuse and kept running and everything is working fine now.
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K9AUB
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Rating: 3/5
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Feb 8, 2005 22:10
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Good amp, when it works
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Bought new in 2002, worked OK in the beginning. Then, the troubles started. Had lots of arcing problems with the tubes. Blew many fuses, blew 2 out of 4 grid resistors. Blew D-117. Replaced, continued having problems, more blown fuses. Amp was wired for 240v, my line voltage is 235, so it should have been a happy amplifier. Replaced tubes with a known good set from a Dentron Clipperton-L, but they started arcing, too. 2800v on the plates of a 572-B tube is just too high, I believe. This amp needs first class tubes, which seem to be tough to get out of China. Ameritron says 572-B tubes don't sit well on the shelf, and should be less than 6 months old to work. Well, maybe so, but if they'd cut plate voltage to 2200 or 2300 volts, I think most of the arcing problems would be solved. 2800v on the plates seems like just too much for Chinese 572-B's. If I had it to do over again, would I buy this amp? Maybe, maybe not. Most of the problems with this amp seem to be with the poor quality of currently available 572-B tubes, not necessarily the amplifier. I think something with 3-500's would be the more reliable way to go. Someone needs to talk an American manufacturer into making tubes again. Meanwhile, where's the Viking Thunderbolt when you need it?
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KB9WL
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Rating: 4/5
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Jan 28, 2005 15:36
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happy with purchase
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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overall a great value -- however, take care with the small screws holding the cover -- the 12 vdc on the back makes it easy to power a slave relay -- I used a reed relay from Radio Shack -- it is, indeed, easy to tune -- am getting about 1100 - 1200 out with tired '850s - got a 100 v benefit from 240 vac - time will tell re: the tubes, but reasonable care will pay dividends -- really like being able to see "them bubs" -- best part is...didn't have to build it!
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KT4WN
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 4, 2004 19:46
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Gets the job done
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This is my second AL-572B amplifier. Sold my first AL-572B after relocating; after regretting the mistake, I bought another AL-572B. The unit has been in operation now for nearly 2 years and continues to work perfectly. With 100 watts of drive I get more than 1300 watts output pep depending on the band. Although, I also own an ameritron AL-1500, I continue to use the AL-572B the majority of the time.
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N3TOG
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Rating: 2/5
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Nov 7, 2004 19:27
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Multiple problems with amp
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have had this amp for several years, worked pretty good in the beginning. After 9mos. the problems started, the impedance started to rise between ic746 and al-572, I compensated via the internal tuner. Power slowly began to drop 900w/600w/400w/zip. Sent amp to ameritron, they replaced the tubes, while in shop I use the fl2100b, never a problem with that. Got the al-572 back worked okay, but problem started over again, sent it back got new tubes. fl2100b still workin fine. Problem is starting all over again, impedance going astray, power dropping the more I use it. No longer under warranty. System is well grounded using 1/0 stranded to 8ft copper rod, swr's seem fine mfj versa tuner in line mfj989c. Think they're putting in cheap tubes, I have had several amps, no problems like this thing.
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