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Reviews For: Dentron Clipperton L

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

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Review Summary For : Dentron Clipperton L
Reviews: 30MSRP: ???
Description:
4 572B's HF Amp
Product is not in production
More Info:
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00304.7
K9FON Rating: 2009-06-12
I FINALLY found one Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just got a GREAT Clipperton L. A local ham and I traded amps ( My Swan MKII) and I will say this Clipperton works very well. Full output on all bands, except 10 and 15 meters which is only 500 watts. For some odd reason, my old Yaesu Ft 101EE is weak on 15 meters, and only will do abut 60 watts out. The real suprise in on 160 meters, which from what I hear is the weak spot with this amp. On 160 meters it will do 1 KW plus. The Clipperton also has the tuned input but for some reason someone unhooked it. The amp is very clean inside and out and looks well cared for. Overall, so far it is a good amp and if you can find one get it!
KK7YC Rating: 2008-11-19
Great Old Amp Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I bought one of these old amps off of e-bay a couple of years back, had original Dentron 572b's still in it. It would do about 800 watts most bands about 400 on 160m. After several months of use the tubes went flat but would still do 500 watts on most bands, then the expected happened lost a filter cap ($250 to replace and 6 hours travel time)and I was back in business then about three months later another one went, I almost junked it until I found a complete power supply board replacement kit from Harbach for $100, easy project thanks to easy to follow instructions + new tubes this amp now does 1300 to 1400 watts on all bands! Should last many more years now, it looks great and has a small footprint. Theses are old amps and the capacitors are now at the age that they will start to fail if you buy one I highly recommend replacing them all if one goes south.
N5VU Rating: 2008-08-06
Great! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I ended up with this old thing from a SK estate. I believe that I can tell you why he died. Cigarettes. (Lord rest his soul.)
I cleaned for a week with a toothbrush and a Q-tip to get as much funk as possible out of the old thang. Anyway, I put the Harbach Power Supply Mod. into it and ended up with 2300 VDC under load (wired for 220 VAC). The old tubes even managed a cumulitive I of 700 ma. At about 65% efficiency, this worked out to be about 1050 watts output. Quite impressive! I'm driving it with a Yaesu FT-950 @ 100 watts and I use the tuner to make the gozouta and the gozinta match.
This is a fairly simple task to accomplish (the tuning), I made an external "Relay" keying switch to "Key" the amp and Not the Yaesu, then I simply just tell the Yaesu to Tune. The difference is about 250 watts output.
The Harbach modification has the HV meter multipler resistors on the Power supply circuit board. Before the modification, the old 1 mega-ohm resistors wer reading 1.7, 1.7 and .9 Kilo-ohm. This made the HV meter tell me that I had lower than specified High Voltage. All is well now.
I'm amazed at the amount of power that RG-58 can handle between the output of the tank and the RF output of the amplifier.
The existing muffin fan was louder than a skill-saw. I replaced it with aother 115 VAC fan and all is well now.
The parasitic supressors were toasted. They measured about 90 ohms each. At least they were in tolerence @ 10%. I changed these and wound my own suppressor with #18G with 5 turns aroung a 2 watt 100 ohm reistor. Instead of using the resistor wires to connect the plate caps, I used an Ameritron design with the tinned coax shield on each end of the resistor.
Did I mention that I have an Ameritron AL-80B. I just love that amp.
Since I'm an ampaholic, I reccommend this Dentron amp to those who love QRO operation. It really is a raally good bang for the buck.
When I got it, it was wired for 115 VAC. I tried it on 115 VAC and it worked, however, I felt like it was looking at me with the expression of "why are you doing this to me" meter readings. It groaned, but it did work.
K5LG Rating: 2008-06-03
good amp but noisy relay Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have used this amp since 1995 and it has been a solid performer. It tunes easily and will give about 1kw on some bands , but a little weak on 160. The blower is a little noisy.
W4VFZ Rating: 2008-05-21
Great amp, needs some minor improvements Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I purchased my Clipperton L in 2008, have owned it about 3 months. It was essentially "brand new" in original carton with paperwork. Original owner used it a couple of times, then stored it.
Due to length of storage, one of the HV caps went, so I replaced them all with new Sprague units (Newark/Farnell, P/N 707308(M)). Caps fit in original holes with addition of few jumpers. Meter also had trash between coil and magnet, causing it to stick. Cleaned same. Well built, only complaint was lack of sufficient insulation between 2,500 V circuits, and antenna relay could have greater contact spacing. Sleeved all HV wiring and used nylon standoffs for some HV terminal strips. But all in all, a great amplifier, with excellent signal reports. Only paid $400 for it in "new" condition. Next task is to add 10 meter mod.
N6NKN Rating: 2007-05-15
Works For Me Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Bought mine on Ebay about a year ago. I never push it harder then a Kilowatt, and it does that without a wimper. Its not an Alpha, but on the other hand it didn't cost me $6000. The op on the other end doesn't know what I'm using, just that I have a powerful, clean signal. That's all that I ask of an amplifier. For the reasonable price I paid for it, if it quits tomorrow, I will still be ahead of the game. I think I made a wise purchase.
NG7T Rating: 2007-01-16
Reliable Friend Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I used to have a GLA-1000 but I wanted 160 meters. I bought the "L" used and have run it for 12 years now. It has always been reliable and performed as expected with minimal problems. In 12 years, I've replaced the fan and cleaned the band switch (the shaft was sticky). The TS-440 SAT tuner solves the un-tuned input drawback and overall runs 1400 Watts on everything except 160 meters (1200 + Watts). Looks sharp, runs great, and a very reliable friend.
WK9L Rating: 2006-03-13
Real Value Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I bought my L from the orginal ower who had it since 1983. I put in a new set of RF parts 572B's and sent it down to Bill at Omega Electronics down in Knightdale N.C. who checked it over, He does great work for a good price. The parasitic chokes were replced and some new meter resistors installed and as good as new. It will do 1300 to 1400 hundred out P.E.P. with about 110 to 115 in and that is safe for the amp on SSB (2600 volt) and about 600 to 700 out on CW(1800 volt)and about 60 watts of drive. And like most owners I see about 1100 out on 160. that is the weak point of this amplifier.
Running the amp at a 100 in will make it last along time. It is probaly one of the best looking amps I have owned. All the parts are available to work on this amp from many differant suppliers. I think it is a great amp for the price and near legal limit. Heck a 811H is about the same price as these bring and not near the output.
W5SSC Rating: 2006-01-22
A great product from a company now long gone. Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I picked my Clipperton L up at Dayton 2005 and what a bargain I was able to purchase. I took it home and cleaned up the inside and fired it up. Output was close to factory rated levels with the original Dentron tubes. The original tubes lasted over 6 months for me before their performance started to degrade. I just recently installed a matched set of 572B's and the output is near legal limit. Great performance from an amp and it's manufacturer(Dentron). It's too bad this company has now passed into history. W5SSC
K9AUB Rating: 2005-03-01
Great value for the $$$ Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've owned 3 Clipperton-L's over the past 18 years or so. It's a little under-engineered, but it will give good power output into the antenna, and that's why we buy a linear amplifier. Styling, I'll give it a 10+. It's a gorgeous amplifier! The fan is relatively quiet; my old ears don't even notice it. Performance on 160m is a little weak, and it's sometimes a little unstable on 10 meters. It's a competent amp on 80-15 meters. Big negative: the power supply uses 100mfd 500v can-type electrolytics, and they're mighty tough to find these days. Figure 20 years is the life of an electrolytic, and the Clipperton-L's are that old, so plan on a capacitor replacement shortly after you buy it. If your B+ voltage is down, it's the electrolytics. If you hear a ticking sound, the electrolytics are failing right now. Changing them is a beast of a job, and it's tough not to damage the printed circuit board. Solution: get a piece of plain phenolic perf board and make a new capacitor/diode board using easy to find 100mfd 500v radial or axial lead electrolytic capacitors. While you're at it, use high voltage ignition cable to run the B+ to the RF choke; it'll save you some grief by preventing the B+ arcing over to the chassis some night. Quality 572B's are getting tougher and tougher to buy, thanks to lack of American or Russian manufacturers anymore. The Chinese just can't make a decent 572B tube; they suffer very high failure rates. I've seen Clipperton-L's go on Ebay for $350-600, and that's probably a fair price range to pay. But when you get one that's been "serviced" by a CB operator trying to put it on 11 meters, you can have big problems. Don't buy this amplifier unless you know how to service and repair them yourself. Beware of Ebay sellers with little or no positive feedback. There's no commercial repair service for them anywhere, so you'll be on your own. Oh, yes, run this amp on 240 volts, not 120. That will solve a lot of problems.