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Reviews For: EB104 Group EB2400

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

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Review Summary For : EB104 Group EB2400
Reviews: 4MSRP: $2700
Description:
2x MRF1K50H LDMOS Watercooled 160- 6M automatic bandswitch
Product is in production
More Info: https://eb104.ru/internet-magazin-shirokopolosnye-usiliteli-moschnosti-pa1000w/hf-power-amplifier-ldmos-trasistor-1200w-output/kit-hf-6m-2400w-power-amplifier-for-ldmos-blf188xr-2-pcs
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0042.5
OK1RI Rating: 2021-02-21
Oh well - the idea is good, the way it is done is BAAAAAD Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I was from the first ones who bought this. The idea was to test it and than "maybe" buy more pcs for our CN3A operation. Well forget this.
Anyway my was able to operate about 1 minute into antenna with SWR 1,2 and than switched off due to bad SWR.

I let it be for few month and started to look into the problem.

There are few - the biggest one is the way too small cooling. The other one are poor filters behind the AMP - when the antenna is perfect dummy load the amps sees something like SWR 1,5-2 (depend on bands). When the Antenna is 1,5 the AMP is looking at somethin like 2,5 or so. The transistors can of course easily take it, but more heat is there and we are back to point ONE.

I looked on the computer fans used there - they push only 82 cub.m/hour and have their own consumption only 3,2W when on full. There is a regulator which keeps them on minimal speed and the speed starts to increase only when 45 deg.C is achieved and it is way too late and the used fans even on full speed can not make it. So I replaced the original ones with SUNON industrial types delivering well over 250 cub.m/hour and having each close to 19W i.e. the static pressure is also at least 4 times higher. I removed the regulation and simply put those fans on full with PTT, they just "idle" on RX. Now the AMP is much much cooler. You can drive it on RTTY on full power for 10 minutes and it is on 42-45 deg.C.
Another - well small problem but telling - there are 4 trimpots to set tripping on SWR on antenna, SWR between the AMP and filters , high current and power out. Mine were set to:
1,45 (!!!!) on antenna, 2,1 on filter input, current on 240A (!!!!) only the output power was fine on something like 2500W - i.e. they test the amp into dummy load and are done with it.

Another problem is that the input of the of the LDMOS is not well matched. But I have not done anything with it - it would need changes on the input PCB.
Not only bad - also something is well designed, the cores are cold, the teflon coax is fine - cold too. The coupler is doing fine too. The whole idea is not bad - just .......
W8MQW Rating: 2020-07-07
Superb quality PCBs and straightforward engineering Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I was one of the first purchasers of the water-cooled dual BLF188 units. This was before there was even a case available. I bought with confidence since I had previously built four amplifiers around their superb power decks: one using 4 SD2933s, one using four VRF2933s, one using one BLF188, and one using 4 VRF2944s. All still running beautifully. These amps of Victor and Yana are not for the appliance operator. They are for builders that desire performance without frills.

For example, the tendency to trip out at low SWR can be corrected in minutes by slightly adjusting the 10-turn pot on the protection board for your desired threshold. Some found the tripout problem severe on 80m, but that was because the European band ends at 3.800MHz and the onboard LPF was beginning to roll off on 75m. Easily fixed. Ask Yana.

The quality of the eb104 units is far superior and rugged than the ALS600, which merely apes the 40-year-old Motorola eb104 design. Especially in the quality of the PC boards, which are the best I have ever handled.

Best of all, since I use high quality direct-sampling QRP SDR transceivers, their amps are trivial to modify for QRP drive. I drive this water-cooled amp with a 3.5-watt transceiver.

This is not an amp for a plug-and-play ham, but an amazing value for the adventuresome.

Their vapor-cooled amplifier is even better, running cooler and more silently.
VE2XK Rating: 2020-05-23
Bad designed product Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I buy this amplifier based on Youtube Victor video and because the price to buy this amplifier was «supposedly» very attractive .

But i learn very fast that the buy of this amplifier was the big fault i ever made after 45 years of amateur radio.

After 2 week of use of my EB2400 Touch Screen on a phone qso with France on 20 m band my power output drop completely down until nothing more coming out and the fun was over.

Reason unknown but according to the symptom from many many friend i know have use the same amplifier looks like that the device toasting .

Even with a perfect match of 1 :1 SWR on all my antenna including droped voltage to 43 Volts on my Flatpack 2 3000 HE and even by never pushed the output from more than 1500 watts my amplifier gave up .

There is many comments of several friend i know came to the same situation and we quicly find out and prove that this amplifier like he is builded was never capable on reliabilty or for long run endurance .

The big problem many report is firstly the bad cooling of the device on the copper platte.

Second problem was the thermal paste Victor have use.

Other problem is that the water colling quantity of just 300 ml for 2 device MRF1K50H is far away to be sufficient.

MRF1K50H may be the cheapest or bad quality on the market ?

Other thing is that after talking just a few minutes on phone the temperature reach to 60° and the sirène alarm go ON and my EB2400 go in protection. Whoaaa strange or not ??

According to Victor word the device MRF1K50H is the problem and was defective or bad quality batch (maybe?) and not the amplifier inself .
That’s very curious because Victor finaly stop to produce his EB2400 but continue to sell some with a single MRF1K50H device .

For me is clear that the EB2400 Touch Screen with 2 pieces of MRF1K50H Victor design was never really tested on reliability and surely not for long run endurance .

Not to forget is the extreme lack of documentation Victor gave with the amplifier.

Old schematic diagram from old modele , absolut no part list , no writed information about how to adjust the bias with some adjustement value.

To be able to buy my EB2400 touch screen, I had to sell my Elecraft KPA500 which I had used for more than 8 years without any problem and final was never defective and this in any mode. It was a real reliability !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I buy something from EB104 again? No question and I can only say "Finger away"

Lots of friends and I put a lot of money in the sand for a poorly designed Victor product
and we will never see our money again.
Sorry to say but it's fact .
SM4IVE Rating: 2020-05-02
Needs to be modfied Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I found this nice amp on Internet and thought it seems to be a good investment. But it was not I t was well packed in at least 15m of plastic, The cardbox was damaged probably Russian Post. The content inside was skew but i was able to fix it The first test shows that you need and absolut 1:1 Antenna else it trips on protection, So a Tuner is a must after 2 weeks the TFT display got crazzy and i got several stupid coments from Yana like disconect the antenna. I supose that the Laungage could be a problem. After some investigation i found a 10uF tantal on controller board below the Arduino that was reversed Postivie was soldered to ground, When i told the this Yana said it could have happen in Transport,,?????? Ok so a soldred Cap could reverse in transport. :-) I started a Facebokgroup EB2400 to see how many that had have problems with this amp and so far all of them 6-7 have blown the LDMOS MRF1K50H mine are still ok knock on wood. The watercoling are way to small maybe it will work for 1 LDMOs but not 2 if i do CQ in cw contest style i can do that for 2 mins then it trips on heat I have ordred a big copper plate and with some help we will do waterr chanels inside the block. Now its just 8mm copper pipes soldered to underside so the thermal transport are very bad. What could be done to make this a nice amp? Well move all connectors on the backside to the left so one could mount a big radiator. Do watercooling inside the copperpallet. I have noticed when lookin at several youtube films that there is a big spread in effency of the amps. Mine are as best 60% on 20 m and 10 m the other bands are 51-55% Would i buy this again? NO not in the state its in now if some modifications was made maybe yes. But with facit in my hand it was a bad Investment that for some has been an expensive leason. SO I DO NOT RECOMEND BUYING THis EB2400

Some tests made.

EB2400 Effency
Power meter LP-100A compared to Bird 43 no difference LP -100 A more exact
All bands was adjusted for best SWR 1:1 with Palstar AT4K
Powersupply 51Vdc

80 m 64A 3264 W in 1641W Out 50%
40m 59A 3000 W in 1742W Out 59%
30m 65A 3315 W in 1850 W Out 56%
20m 61A 3111 W in 1890 W out 60%
17m 2805W in 1485 W out 53%
15m 63A 3213W in 1768W out 55%
12m 52A 2652W in 1213 w out 46%
10m 56A 2856W in 1890W out 66%



Conclusion the amp has some bad effency so this is the reason for extreme heat. We are talking about ~1300W in heat so question where are the losses?
I cant feel any warm details so this is a mystery

Todays test with Digital temp YF-1062 showed when amp triped over heat : The temp fuses are marked 70C

Copperpallet: sensor was pressed under bias board 56 c

on LDMOS: sensor was placed betwen the block and cheramic on top of device 66 c

Now sensor mounted on copper pipe 48 c

So conclusion: The heat between the ldmos and pallet are not ambient and the pipes does not remove the heat god enough.

Now at standby the temp on TFT display and sensor on pipe shows same temp ? So at least something right