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Reviews For: Ameritron ALS 1306

Category: Amplifiers: RF Power - HF & HF+6M

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Review Summary For : Ameritron ALS 1306
Reviews: 39MSRP: $3,000
Description:
Ameritron HF+6 1200W Solid State Amplifier 1.5-54 MHz . .
. 1200 Watts PEP Output, Instant Automatic band switching,
no tuning, no warm-up, SWR protected, Quiet Variable-Speed
Cooling . . . PEP FWD/REF Metering...PA Balance /ALC
Metering and LED Indicator . . . Front Panel Band/Error
LEDs . . . more!
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.ameritron.com/Product.php?productid=ALS-1306
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
11394.2
KD0YSW Rating: 2018-09-20
Great reliable amplifier Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Have had one now for about a year. Wanted to make sure it didn’t have any problems. It has been a gem and works with with K3s amplifier. It has great protection. Auto band switching works great especially as Yagi antenna is flat swr across most of band. Can’t think of anyway to make this amp easier to use. Can easily hit 1500 watts but really this is not needed. Usually drive for less than kw. I have had nothing but 3 solid state amps and all have been very reliable.
K0KS Rating: 2018-08-25
Solid Solid-State Power Time Owned: more than 12 months.
After a year it still works as new and protects me from my errors. Friends had problems with the ALS-600 so I was nervous about purchase of the 1306 but no problems have emerged. This replaces a very old AL-1200 and the warm up time, believe it or not, is the same for the solid state. The 1306 can easily run legal-limit power but I'm happy with 1200W they recommend. It works well with my IC-7300 and IC-746 and required no interface box. It's so quiet compared to the tube amp fans and the PS is tucked away out of sight/sound. The down side of SS amps: they require an antenna tuner since they don't have the pi-net output that tube amps have. Any tuner, even automatic ones, have loss that may be significant depending on the match required.
I'm not a contester but have run some RTTY to warm things. There are thermal warning and shut-downs that my tube amps have lacked.
AND--it works 6 Meters if that band ever awakens again.
W8SPM Rating: 2018-02-11
Great Amplifier Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Only having the ALS-1306 for a few weeks I can say it really works well! Very Nice for it to track the band I am operating in my IC-7300 ! I am using it on several ham bands 160-80-40 along with a Palstar AT4K Tuner ! These solid state amps do not like SWR so it is important to keep the antenna tuned properly ! The amp is rated 1200 watts and it does that very easily and will do more ! Ameritron advised me to avoid running more than 1200 watts to keep the amp linear ! Runs very cool on any mode and I've never heard the fan increase speed ! Very Nice Product and I don't think you can beat it at its price point ?I have inspected the inside of the amp and it is actually 2-ALS-600 power decks with a combiner ! The same thing was done in the ALS-600 switching supply ! Also having 6 meters is very nice and it does full power there also ! Ameritron supports their products and you can get any questions or concerns you have by Mike in amp service department ! Sam W8SPM
N5BWP Rating: 2017-12-09
Not Bad So Far Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This is my 2nd HF Amp. My 1st one was a Elecraft KPA-500 Watt. I really wanted to buy the Elecraft KPA-1500 but the $5999.95 price tag scared me to death. HI HI Friends told me to take a look at the Ameritron ALS-1306. Well I did, and I bought one and purchased the MFJ-998 ATU also. HRO down in Plano, TX had a price that I could live with. The ALS-1306 really well with the ICOM IC-7300 and performs well the Mosley TA-54-XLN-6 up at 55'. So, I'm going to stick with the ALS-1306 and MFJ's 998 ATU for now. Would be nice if it was full legal limit.
K3YB Rating: 2017-11-29
A little bump, but great Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Absolutely delivers as promised. Delivers full rated power with about 40 watts in. Comrades have reported good audio and no adjacent spikes.

When first installed, all worked perfectly except the band select would not be triggered by external band data from the radio.

With the help of Ameritron, found a ribbon cable badly seated with a bent pin. Substituting another cable and works like a champ.

The folks at Ameritron are very helpful and responsive.

(I have run the amp with Elecraft K3S and ICOM 7300 and the amp fellows band data from them both perfectly.)

Only 1200 watts and not 1500 watts?

Yup.

Does it make a difference? Did a side by side on air test and the answer was... no. YMMV

I must admit, despite being an older fellow, I really like solid state NO TUNE operation. I thought I would miss tuning the old finals, but I don't! I emphatically don't!!!

I would recommend the amp highly, as well as the the help from the lads at Ameritron.
KK4WMX Rating: 2017-04-14
No complaints Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
ORIGINAL 2/21/2017 review:
This is from initial impressions, having received it a couple of weeks ago. Everything has been consistent with product descriptions.

I purchased from HRO and shipping was very prompt. It was well packed for shipping and arrived with no damage to boxes or content. After setup & connection to 240v I ran through the meter displays & everything was spot on for normal operation.

Connection to a TS-590S via DB-DB7DK cable works as described with the amp following band changes as they occur and getting keying signal via the cable. 1200 watt output on all bands tested with significantly less than 100 watts drive (have not fully tested 6m output as dummy load SWR does not permit full power test & MFJ-998 antenna tuner does not cover 6m).

The key loop provision allows the MFJ-998 tuner to disable amp keying during tuning & high SWR. Fan noise is noticeable but not excessive. I had some issues with the MFJ-998/TS-590S rig control not related to the ALS-1306, and the key loop made a good place to insert a conveniently placed toggle switch to disable the amp before triggering TX tune on 590S without having to use the front panel standby/operate switch.

It powers up in just a couple of seconds and then is ready for immediate use. So far, all comments for on-air operations have been positive. No issues to date. So far it has met all my expectations and I am quite happy with how it works.

UPDATE 04/14/2017:
After a couple more months use, it is still running well and meeting expectations. On a few occasions it has not caught a band change from the TS-590S while using the ARCP-590 program, but a subsequent change put things back in sync. I can generally run the transceiver at 30 watts & see over 600 watts output from the amp on the lower bands.
AK5Y Rating: 2017-02-20
Excellent Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I ordered the Als-1306 from HRO (free shipping) 5 days before the WPX Rtty contest. Placed the order on a Monday and the unit was delivered super fast the following day without having to pay extra for shipping. I owe it all to Eddie Padilla as he was the one to handle to order.

I battle tested the ALS-1306 during the contest and it did just fine. It handled 500 watts plus during the long 48 long hours Contest without a sweat. The fan seems a bit noisy on high speed but, that’s to be expected. At least it lets me know the fan is running. So If you are a not a picky person then the Als-1306 is for you. It delivers as much wattage as you antenna can bear plus then some.
73
Will
K4TK Rating: 2016-12-10
I love now having a solid state amp! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have had my ALS-1306 about a month now....and i love this amp! I replaced a 20+ year old AL-80A (tube type). It's just great to be able to turn it on....and go. Spot DX on the DXcluster on another band, just go there....nothing to tune...nothing to set. I have paired this amp with a Yaesu FTDX1200 and an MFJ 998 auto tuner. When i see a spot on my laptop listed on the local DXcluster.....and i click on that spot on my laptop, my radio instantly and automatically tunes to the spot frequency and mode.....and my amp instantly and automatically tracks there too. IF my antenna isn't quite resonant (though most of mine are), put the amp in standby....hit the tune button ON MY RADIO ( i have the 998 interface cable also)...and the tuner tunes in seconds....instantly if I've been on that frequency before. Amp back to operate and go....it's just that easy.

Like others have noted, i had to learn how much drive to use on the different bands....as this amp can easily produce 1500 watts on some bands with 100 watts drive....if not a bit more (a couple of times on initial testing, my 998 shut down and said i had EXCEEDED 1500 watts!). I have a chart i made up...to show how much watts to drive on the different bands to get 1200 watts (as exceeding 1200, might cause the output to be non linear or distorted). I'm amazed that on many bands....like 20 and 40....40-43 watts puts out 1200 watts!

I do have ONE QUESTION: Initially, i set up my amp WITHOUT the band switching cable...so i initially DID use the ALC connection on the back. With that setup, adjusting the ALC on the amp....adjusts the power output. Later, i added the band switching cable....which DOES NOT use the ALC connection on the back. Now, i don't think the ALC adjustment on the front panel of the amp seems to have any affect? So what is the function of the ALC adjustment on the front ot the amp.....IF.....you are using the band switching cable and DO NOT have an ALC line attached to the back of the amp? I'm thinking, with that setup....it no longer has any function/affect?
N5LZB Rating: 2016-10-06
Great amp Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Why spend $7000+ for solid stare no tune amp the ALS-1306 sells for $2900 and is a terrific amp Buts out 1300 watts and is all automatic I have had no proplems at all with this amp
73
ZS4U Rating: 2016-09-13
Good amp that delivers what it claims Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is my fourth solid state amp. I have a Ten Tec Hercules as well. I have had the ALS 600S and the Yaesu VL-1000 before. The 1306 delivers 1200 watts without breaking a sweat - care must be taken as it will easily go beyond the 1200w level. The fans are much more quiet than those in the VL-1000.

The only gripe I have is the loud clanking TX relay- for an amp at this price a quiet QSK capable TX switching should have been standard.

Apart from the loud relay the amp is a solid performer.