| W7DGJ |
Rating:      |
2023-03-23 | |
| Fantastic - A BEAST with no STOPPING IT! |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I have owned a lot of ham gear in my lifetime, and this takes the cake as the absolute most enjoyable product I've ever acquired. The Mercury LUX is a joy to operate. I had the same feelings about my ICOM IC-7300 when it first came in the shack, but I think this may eclipse my excitement at that time.
It is powerful, it is built like a Mac truck, and it has just about every feature you could ever ask for in a linear amplifier. My sincere thanks goes out to the team at KM3KM Electronics, a firm which is often referred to as if it is one guy, by "Kenny." That is fine in the beginning, but as Kenny's business has grown, it should be referred to as a company now because he's building something.
You can tell by the interview with Martinez on QRZ that he's building a business. Too many people think it's one guy building something in his garage -- but no, this is ONE HOT ham products manufacturing biz.
You can't design and build a product this good if you are intending to stay a Mom and Pop boutique supplier of an occasional product. Everyone I speak to in my area who has a Mercury Amp has nothing but good things to say about it.
I own both the M3S from this company as well as the LUX. When I first got the MercuryIIIS, I broke a connector as I was installing it. I didn't think that anything could be done until the middle of the next week, so I wrote them on a Friday night at close to midnight East Coast time. I was surprised when Kenny replied fifteen minutes later, and I got the part on Monday or Tuesday! They have impeccable service and a great sense of what ham operators need from a supplier.
The LUX has performed, even on my household voltage and not 240, at a level I had not expected. I love it and I will always recommend it. The features and protection circuits it employs are 2nd to none. The service I've had when a question arises, from Angel and team, has been great. I'll be looking for more products from KM3KM Electronics. Please check out the Facebook forum run by Steve, W7DJ, for KM3KM Mercury products including the LUX, the MercuryAT, and the classic Mercury IIIS. There are nearly 1000 members participating in that discussion.
I upgraded a few months ago from the Mercury IIIS to the LUX. I keep both amplifiers for a few weeks and tested them against each other. I'm certain it's worth the additional cost for the LUX. Much of that cost can be seen when you look at them next to each other . . . the finish and appearance of the LUX is a notch above everything else in my shack, including from major manufacturers like Yaesu and ICOM. In operating, it's made a significant impact on my shack, so I sold the Mercury IIIS to my friend (wanted someone else to experience KM3KM products -- man, he was grateful!).
It is a long wait to get one of these and ordinarily I'd say that nothing is worth that long of a wait. But after using this BEAST of an amp, I can definitely say it was worth the time and expense.
Please see the full review of the Mercury LUX in the QRZ column called "Trials and Errors -- Ham Life with an Amateur" in Issue #9, published in January 2023. Please note that Issue #3 of the same column on QRZ has a full interview with the founder and owner of KM3KM Electronics, Kenny Martinez. The story of his move from Cuba to the USA and the start of his "American Dream" business is inspirational. Thank you Kenny for all that you do for Hams around the world! |
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| WA6JKN |
Rating:      |
2023-02-23 | |
| First Impressions & Remote Operations over the Internet |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
UPDATE 2/23/2023: My Rating remains a very strong 5!
The support from KM3KM continues to amaze me with their World Class customer support! If I could rate them with a perfect 10, I would!
Most importantly, I have good news to report about ISSUE #3 (posted below) regarding the tone heard on my Mercury LUX amplifier when operating Amplitude Modulation (AM). Mr. Martinez and his Team RESOLVED the issue and now my Mercury LUX is "clean as a whistle" with zero tone artifacts being detected on my modulation monitor and precision audio spectrum scope.
The root cause was traced to a bad capacitor in my Mercury LUX. This is an isolated incident as there are no other reports coming in from the field. The specific technical details about the tone can be found at MercuryLUX.groups.io.
I am very impressed with KM3KM's Mach speed turn-around time, full transparency, and professional actions taken in resolving the tone issue. A benchmark for industry to follow!
I am also very impressed with Mr. Martinez and his KM3KM team for answering questions about the Mercury LUX in a timely manner. Below you will see Mr. Martinez explain that the potential minor conflicts identified by me in the manual were not a problem at all.
Issue #4: The 50 Mhz warning on page 11 says the output power does not exceed 900 watts conflicts with the table on page 16 which indicates 950 watts for 50 Mhz. Which one is correct? -SOLVED- Please See Notes 1-4 below from Mr. Martinez
Issue #5: The Note on page 16 says; “The WARC bands 30, 17, 12 meters “do not exceed” 1350 watts due to design." However, the table on page 16 indicates that the output for 17 meters is 1320 watts and for 12 meters is 1300 watts. Which one is correct? -SOLVED- Please See Notes 1-4 below from Mr. Martinez
Notes from KM3KM:
1. The power ratings and numbers in the manual are based on theory and the amplifier was designed for.
2. However the table on page 16 shows a test that was performed on the test bench.
3. Note that the measurement tolerance is +/- 0.3 dBm. This is normal for any power amplifier or measurement instrument we use and they are one of the most accurate for this industry.
4. Not all amplifiers leave the production line exactly the same because the components are not exactly the same due to their tolerance, the tunings are never exactly the same. You can notice this in most of the Ham Radio equipment.
That being said, try to calculate the tolerances to +/- 0.3 dBm at 1500 watts.
As Mr. Martinez suggested, I performed the +/- 0.3 dBm at 1500 watts calculations and everything fell within tolerance!
IMHO, the Mercury LUX continues to be the #1 LDMOS HF-6M amplifier on the market.
Kevin, WA6JKN
UPDATE 2/7/2023: I am still loving the Mercury LUX amplifier and becoming a big fan! By the Way, I noticed that the interest on the Mercury LUX amplifier is growing on the Ham bands too. I even worked another station running a Mercury LUX! One ham accused me of gushing on the air about the Mercury LUX. Guilty as charged! I enjoy sharing with fellow hams on how impressed I am with the Mercury LUX with everyone I talk to from 160 through 6 meters. My 5 Star rating on eHam remains strong!
As I become more and more familiar with the Mercury LUX amplifier, I found a few more minor conflicts in the manual (as reported on MercuryLUX.groups.io) and forwarded them to Mr. Martinez for evaluation. The table on page 16 in Operation-Manual-v1.56-LUX.pdf appears to have the following very minor conflicts:
Issue #4: The 50 Mhz warning on page 11 says the output power does not exceed 900 watts conflicts with the table on page 16 which indicates 950 watts for 50 Mhz. Which one is correct? -PENDING-
Issue #5: The Note on page 16 says; “The WARC bands 30, 17, 12 meters “do not exceed” 1350 watts due to design." However, the table on page 16 indicates that the output for 17 meters is 1320 watts and for 12 meters is 1300 watts. Which one is correct? -PENDING-
Ham Radio documentation is important to me and seeking improvements should not be viewed as nit picking. Coming from a man rated program environment like the Space Shuttle, documentation is critical and conflicts are not an option. IMHO, the Mercury LUX amplifier was designed and built with The Right Stuff. I have discovered that the Mercury LUX amplifier exceeds ICAS requirements which makes the amplifier a real beast and will most likely become a benchmark for industry.
Kevin, WA6JKN
Update 1-29-2023: The following three (3) issues reported below with the Mercury LUX that ranged from a no big deal issue to a minor defect have mostly been corrected. I will say it again, KM3KM’s response to these issues were responsible, professional, and world class!
ISSUE #1: How much RF drive (40 watts VS 20 Watts of RF drive) you should “not exceed” when running the RTTY, AM, FM, and DATA modes. The Operation-Manual-v1.56-LUX.pdf now correctly states that 20 watts is the RF drive level “not to exceed” when running RTTY, AM, FM, and DATA modes. -SOLVED-
ISSUE #2: Entering your callsign into the Mercury LUX would drop off the sixth character if the Sleep mode was turned on. The Firmware has been corrected. -SOLVED-
ISSUE #3: The most important issue I discovered early on with the Mercury LUX is the switching dc power supply is causing a modulated audible tone of approximately 302 hz that can be heard clearly when operating Amplitude Modulation (AM). -PENDING-
ISSUE #3 UPDATE 1-29-2023: Mr. Martinez has been looking into this problem and has verified the tone is present but at a significantly lower level then the two recordings I sent KM3KM back in December 2022 and again one week ago. It appears that my recordings indicate that the 302 hz tone is at a much higher level than other Mercury LUXs it was compared too by KM3KM.
The MercuryLUX.groups.io provides a live recording of the 302 hz tone heard on the AM International net if you would like to hear what it sounds like. You can clearly hear the 302 hz tone being modulated in my audio.
What interesting, the 302 hz being heard is most likely the 4th harmonic of 60 hz being generated by the switching dc power supply. The frequency measurement was made by an oscilloscope using peak-to-peak time measurement of the waveform.
I agree with Mr. Martinez assessment that since the tone is showing up on all modes, the common source would most likely be the switching dc power supply. Mr. Martinez is pretty confident that the problem is in my switching DC power supply. The next step is to have my switching dc power supply replaced to see if that fixes the issue by lowering the tone level to normal noise for a switching dc power supply. For a full and complete description and technical details, please go to the MercuryLUX.groups.io.
I am extremely happy with the support I am receiving from the KM3KM team. It's been a World Class journey all the way!
Kevin, WA6JKN
Update 1/22/2023: What are the Issues with this Amplifier?
I have discovered that the Mercury LUX has Issues that range from a no big deal issue to a minor defect. These discoveries do not change my 5 star rating on eHam.
First off, KM3KM’s response to these issues were responsible, professional, and world class!
ISSUE #1: Last week, I discovered that the Mercury LUX manual had a serious error documented on how much RF drive (40 watts VS 20 Watts of RF drive) you should “not exceed” when running the RTTY, AM, FM, and DATA modes. The good news is, after notifying KM3KM, Mr. Martinez quickly corrected and updated Operation-Manual-v1.56-LUX.pdf which now correctly states that 20 watts is the RF drive level “not to exceed” when running RTTY, AM, FM, and DATA modes. -SOLVED-
ISSUE #2: Another issue discovered was when I decided to input my call sign (WA6JKN) into the Mercury LUX, it partially worked by only showing WA6JK! The N was nowhere to be found. I experimented by reentering my call sign several times and still only displayed WA6JK. After playing with the setup, I discovered that if I turned off the Sleep mode it would work and allowed me to reenter WA6JAN and be displayed. If I turn the Sleep mode back on, the N would disappear! So, I decided that the Sleep mode is more important than the call sign on the screen, so I deleted my callsign and notified KM3KM of the issue. Mr. Martinez is currently looking into this issue. -PENDING-
ISSUE #3: The most important issue I discovered early on with the Mercury LUX is the switching dc power supply is causing a modulated audible tone of approximately 302 hz that can be heard clearly when operating Amplitude Modulation (AM). I first noticed the modulated audible tone on my REA Modulation Monitor. I then pulled out the scope and measured it. The 302 hz tone modulates the carrier with about 10 percent modulation and at 350 watts the 302 hz tone modulates the AM carrier at about 5 percent modulation. The more power you run, the 302 hz tone level goes down, but never reaches zero, it can clearly be heard.
This tone is really noticeable when operating the AM mode, and boy is it the most annoying artifact of the Mercury LUX amplifier, especially when you hear reports like; “What is that tone on your signal?”. I also received a similar from a guy who I was working SSB, who said I had a very strong signal, but could hear a very weak tone under my voice. I could not believe it.
After running a series of tests, I found this tone (very low and almost too weak to be heard by the human ear) to be present on all modes, including CW at very low amplitude levels using an oscilloscope, RF coupler, diode detector to demodulate the carrier.
To be fair, some can’t hear the tone given the wide range of hearing sensitivity amongst the ham radio community, especially during weak signals and poor band conditions.
I view the modulated tone issue to be a minor defect and not an isolated incident for the Mercury LUX amplifier and it needs to be fixed at some point. I notified KM3KM and they gave me a commitment that they would look into the problem. -PENDING-
All of these issues that range from “no big deal” to the “minor defect” does not change my mind about the Mercury LUX amplifier being a benchmark amplifier. Technical details and resolution are posted on MercuryLUX.groups.io.
Update 1/6/2023: Using the Mercury LUX amplifier and how it performed during Remote Operations over the Internet for the past 3 weeks traveling within the United States was a very demanding test!
The Remote performance & setup for the Mercury LUX Amplifier was easy to use and was very user friendly and performed better than I imagined. The "digital mobile/portable" capability using a smart phone and “digital remote fix station operating position” using a laptop to control Mercury LUX amplifier was amazing!
When connected to the Internet, my ability to control the Mercury LUX amplifier was found to be extremely robust!
Here are a few of my most notable observations:
The LUX’s automatic Band switching worked 100 Percent of the time during all Remote Operations on every band used!
The LUX’s automatic Antenna switching worked 100 percent of the time during Remote Operation on every band used!
The LUX’s PC Control for Remote Operation worked 100 percent of the time during Remote Operation on every band used! Be advised that the OPR/STB button on the PC Control and Remote software should be cycled at least once before use to make sure it is sync up with the LUX amplifier. More technical details can be found on mercurylux@groups.io.
IMHO, I believe that KM3KM Electronics may have just designed and manufactured the best and most user friendly dual LDMOS (solid state) 1,500 watt amplifier on the market. Having the confidence to operate a full legal limit amplifier thousands of miles away from home speaks volumes on this dependable work of genius.
*****
Like many others in the Amateur Radio Community, I am excited to report that I am now an owner of a Mercury LUX amplifier! From the beginning, my experience with the KM3KM company has been its World Class operation and customer support from both Mr. Kenny Martinez (KM3KM) and Mr. Angel Ruiz (N2PTB).
These gentlemen are the best folks I have ever had the pleasure of working with in dealing with an amateur radio company! They have broken the code on working with the customer by listening to them and responding to the needs of the customer in every way. Finally, we have a company that understands communication is key to success and promotes a win-win for everyone involved!
One of the most important technical features about the Mercury LUX amplifier that attracted me to this amplifier, besides KM3KM's quality, test, performance, and customer support reputation is the design of the Mercury LUX. Specifically, the design decision to use a large "Heat sink" for mounting the dual LDMOS devices. As we all know, heat is a LDMOS killer. IMHO, KM3KM has done it right by not relying on multiple fans to keep a smaller heat sink design cool by ramping up and making lots of noise that sounds like a 747 taking off!
Other notable areas of mention are the LUX's Intelligent software used to monitor, control, and protect the linear amplifier from operator error and antenna problems to the maximum extent possible. The proof is in the pudding!
Over the next many months, I plan on reporting my personal experience with the Mercury LUX Linear Amplifier on groups dot io, with special focus on Remote Operation with PC control using AnyDesk for visualization and control of the Mercury LUX Linear Amplifier. This is one of the primary reasons for choosing the Mercury LUX.
I will be driving the Mercury LUX Linear Amplifier with my Icom IC-7610 transceiver on "all modes" using resonate antennas from 160 meters to 6 meters.
In closing, I want to personally thank, Mr. Kenny Martinez and Mr. Angel Ruiz for their "Benchmark Operation" during my journey to become a Mercury LUX owner. I look forward to many years of trouble free operation.
Kevin, WA6JKN
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| AD4C2006 |
Rating:      |
2023-02-23 | |
| A MASTER PIECE OF HF AMPLIFIER |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I have purchased recently the Mercury LUX and I am really impressed with not only the design and beauty of it but also because of its performance.
Let me say first that I have been using KM3KM amps for several years starting first with the M2 and after two years switched to the M3 which I owned for another two years and now to this new LUX. Been a ham for 32 years and been owned dozen of solid state amps like Tokyo Hypower, SPE 1.2K, PalStar 1K, Ameritron ALS600 and ALS1300 and this LUX beat them all.
I can truly say this Mercury amps are with no doubt the best in the market.
I also have the Mercury AT automatic antenna tuner which is another excellent product.
Install and make it work this LUX was like plug and play, no science to be in operation in few minutes after pull it out of the box, Its switching from band to band its instantaneous thanks to the data cable between my IC7300 and the rear DB9 connector at the LUx, front digital display is very informative, you can have access to all basic parameters to let you know how its working. The two LDMOS are very sensitive, with just 10W input I see 1KW, with 15W I see 1300W and with 20W I see the full legal power of 1500W. The fans are so silent that I can't hear them and the temp even at full legal remains around 38C.
Like the previous reviewer has stated this is a war tank to last forever with no problems.
Once again I thank Kenny Martinez for having designed and built for us the hams comunity the best HF amp in the market.
Hector
AD4C |
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| N7GR |
Rating:      |
2022-12-29 | |
| Ridiculous |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Okay, so I have had this amp about two weeks. But have put it through its paces. I have owned a number of high quality amps over the years. This one beats them all. Unbelievable performance. Build quality is like nothing I have seen. KM3KM hit a home run with this one. Highly recommended. |
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| N9CHM |
Rating:      |
2022-12-13 | |
| BEAUTIFUL LOOKING AND WORKING AMP |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I've had my Mercury 3S for 15 months and just upgraded to a LUX. I did a little test comparing output (SWR=1.0, 240V)). The LUX sure surprised me on 75 and 40, it loves those bands, so for normal operation the input is less than 35W to get 1500 out on SSB (actually only 15-20W). The table is keydown using my FLEX radio in tune mode. The LUX runs cool and quiet (cannot hear the fans, at all) at legal out. I only run SSB, so I can't comment on how it plays on digital modes. Needless to say, the amp has plenty of headroom which should, theoretically, keep the IMD very low (looking at my 2.9 kHz wide SSB signal in a PanaFall using an ANAN radio, the edges of my FLEX 6500 transmitted signal are as sharp as a razor at 1200W). Like any other solid state amp, the output decreases with rising SWR, for example, at the 1.0 SWR spot on 160M, the output will fall from 1500W down to around 1250W when I run up/down the band and the SWR climbs to 1.4. Perfectly normal. So my suggestion is to tune your antennas as close to 1.0 SWR, either by design or by using an external tuner. The 10 month wait to get the amp was well worth it.
10W in-----------------------35W in =
922 160M--------------------1450 160M
922 75M--------------------- 1802 75M
838 40M--------------------- 1647 40M
1107 20M-------------------- 1551 20M |
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| N4ATS |
Rating:      |
2022-12-07 | |
| Mercury Lux, WONDERFUL addition to the shack! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Received my LUX last week (12/1/2022) and have been running it at near legal limit for over a week driving it with a TS-890 Kenwood and a Heil GM-5, some 45 contacts and several hours of rag chewing on 17 and 20 meters. All I can say is wow, what a nice amp at a great price. Operation is smooth and seamless with the proper COM cable. The BEST part is, with out eagle sharp vision that I used to have, I can actually see the nice large color touchscreen with out having to switch glasses or get the magnifier out. Repairing amps and radios for over 45 years and seeing blown amps in ALL brands does not make me skeptical of trying a new amp like the Mercury...I sold my Alpha 8410 and this LUX took its place. It will be in my shack for quite a while...I am almost always on 18.133 after 7 at night , feel free to give me a shout to hear it "N4ATS" www.N4ATS.com |
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| N5QVF |
Rating:      |
2022-12-02 | |
| Another Home Run from Kenny! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I was one of the first to own and review the Mercury III. Needless to say I expected this new amp to be as Kenny stated and he did not disappoint me. Operational details have already been written in previous reviews so for brevity no need to cover again what has been written about the LUX. The most important component of this unit is the support team Kenny has assembled. First, Kenny is true to his word. The LUX has been several years in his thought process. He promised it would not be out in the market place until everything was as he wanted. He has ensured we have support for his amp for a long time to come. It used to be just him supporting the Mercury III, now he has added a few other folks to make sure we get the best unit with the best service. A lot of amps out there but check on the support and you will come to find out if your unit fails, service or parts are difficult or impossible to obtain. Kenny, tnx agn for doing us right.73..Dario/N5QVF |
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| KQ2W |
Rating:      |
2022-10-25 | |
| Glad I waited for this beast. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Others have mentioned some of the more detailed information related to the LUX, so I won’t repeat all of that. For me, the LUX is about increasing my joy in operating and increasing the time I spend on the air. Yes, it is flawless and I believe it is the best solid-state amp ever made, but I think all LUX owners agree with this statement. But for me, I tack on the fact that the LUX has probably increased my operating time by 400%. The ease of use is a game-changer.
I have used tube amplifiers since I was first licensed. I currently have an Alpha 89 that has served me well. But there have been so many times when I did not work a DX station or even tune around the bands, because I didn’t want to deal with waiting for the amp to warm up and then have to tune it. Even worse, there were DX stations that I would spot on the DX Cluster and desperately want to work, but that were gone by the time I was tuned up. I can’t tell you how frustrated I have been in the past. Every time I would make the effort to warm up and tune up, and then have QSB prevent me from working a station or have the station go QRT, it was like some of the joy of operating was drained out of me.
Now, when I spot a station that I want to work, I just flip a switch. Instantly, I have 1.5KW of power available, and it is clean power free of IMD. Obviously, running too much compression and other factors can generate IMD, but the LUX itself is the cleanest running amp I have ever owned. That is due to the engineering of the LUX and it is due to ANAN Pure Signal. They make a great pair. Since beginning to operate the LUX, I haven’t missed a single DX station that I wanted to work. And if I tune through the bands and hear an old friend, or hear an interesting topic being discussed, I am ready to join in the conversation. My review is mostly the simple fact that I now have a solid-state amp, that has made operating so much more fun, that allows me to no longer miss out on DX opportunities, and that makes me eager to spend much more time enjoying ham radio. |
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| NM4W |
Rating:      |
2022-10-18 | |
| Outstanding HF Amplifier |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
As others have stated, I have owned and still own many high-end HF amplifiers. I also operate multiple stations at different locations. I have been in ham radio since 1976.
KM3KM, Kenny, and his team have done an amazing job at putting together a very high-end state-of-the-art HF amplifier.
I have used it on maximum legal power in all bands for the past two weeks without failing one single time. I had a friend who is a professor at Georgia Tech Ph.D. engineering program come and check for IDM with his team of engineering students (Ph.D. candidates) and check the performance of this amplifier. They were astonished at how well it is built, filtered, and put together.
I could say much more but it has been already stated in previous comments. If you're looking for an amplifier that will give you high performance on HF bands this is it.
73 de NM4W - Dr. WiL |
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| NZ4Z |
Rating:      |
2022-10-13 | |
| Outstanding Performance / Support |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I'll keep this simple, the first two reviews pretty much covered it, so i'll say DITTO to their reviews, and will add the following.
First i'll give you some background info on my previous amplifier experience. I have owned the following..... Alpha 9500, Alpha 89, Acom 2000A, Palstar LA-1K, and four different Ameritrons.
As far as comparing the Mercury LUX to the above amplifiers, this is by far the quietest one, I have yet to hear any fan noise, and the only noise is a relay click when I key the radio / amp. The LUX runs cool, and with 13 watts in, i'm getting 1200 watts out! This thing purs like a kitten, and is also a very attractive piece of equipment. I prefer this amplifier over any of my past amplifiers, oh...... and it's cheaper by far than any of the legal limit amplifiers that I mentioned above. This is my Favorite one to date!
Now, as far as the owner, Kenny. He is top notch! He (or Angel) answers question pretty much the same day. Kenny assured me that he would always be there if any issues arise, and I believe him, just an awesome person! Thank Kenny!
To those still on the fence, DO IT! You'll Love it!
73! |
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