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Reviews For: Alpha 89

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

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Review Summary For : Alpha 89
Reviews: 35MSRP: 3995.00
Description:
The Ultimate Manually-Tuned Linear Amplifier
Product is not in production
More Info: https://www.alpharfsystems.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00354.9
W3BJ Rating: 2010-12-10
Alpha Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I broke down and bought an Alpha 89 from Rf concepts after debating this for years. I ran a Kenwood TL 922, 1200 Ameritron then an AL 82. They were good amps and I got very good service from them for years, but they cant compare to the Alpha product. The 89 is quiet, runs legal limit with 40 watts drive and will do it all day long. If your antenna system is not up to par, this amp defaults and will let you know something is wrong. They are very expensive, but over the long run its worth every penny. RF concepts was super to talk to, had all the load and tune settings put on a sheet for me so tuning was a snap.
KC4CP Rating: 2009-12-08
Perfection! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've owned a number of HF amps(PW-1, Commander, virtually every Ameritron, etc.) but I was always intriqued by Alpha amplifiers. Many of my friends own Alpha amps and they rave about them! Finally I determined to find out for myself.

I purchased an Alpha 89 made in 1995 ... and I have been amazed! This thing is a brute beast but behaves like a swiss watch; it is powerful but oh so refined. Truly, it is a work of art.

I do not use the rear fan (don't need it for my purposes) and without it, the 89 is unbelievably quite. Grap the knobs and it simply feels like quality. As for power, legal limit with 35 watts drive and well over 2.5K into a dummy load.

Some have noted having a difficult time getting accustomed to tuning the amp without tripping the protection circuits. I have had no such problems. It is a true "by the numbers" tuned amp, and the settings are 100% repeatable.

Yeah, I have now joined the ranks of those who rave about Alpha amplifiers! :)

David WR4N (ex KC4CP, AC4CP)
W2PA Rating: 2006-03-04
Solid quality Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This is my first legal limit amplifier, having only owned an SB-200 since the early 70s. After deciding to get one, I researched it for a few months, watching prices and scoping out the alternatives, both new and used. I decided I wanted one with: capacity for legal-limit power at 100% duty cycle; QSK; 160m-10m coverage including WARC bands; and a price that was not in the stratosphere. So, in December 2005 I bought an Alpha 89 that was manufactured in 1994, according to a handwritten note in the manual (it has the older, ETO logo), but in excellent, near new condition. The 89 is basically the same amplifier (RF-wise) as the 87A, but without the auto-tune capability. It was discontinued shortly after the 99 came out.

Physically, it's a very well built and designed package. At 65 pounds, the unit is heavy, but not as heavy nor as big as other amps with similar capabilities, probably due to the efficient layout. Quality components are used throughout as you'd expect from something in this price range.

The 89 is very quiet in two ways. The standard blower is only about as noisy as a desktop computer. With the auxiliary fan operating (mounted on the rear panel air inlet) it's quite a bit noisier - similar to other high power amps - so I leave mine disconnected during casual operation. I plan to build a speed control for it, but for now, I just unplug the power lead at the fan unit. The keying is also incredibly quiet - silent, in fact, because it uses PIN diode switching just like the 87A. As a result, operating QSK is a pleasure. You can either key the amp and let it key the rig (useful if you have sequencing problems), or vice versa.

Tune-up is fairly easy but you need to start by setting it up close to the proper settings according to the manual. Once you determine the right settings for your antennas, resetting is easy "by-the-numbers", as they say, because the tune and load controls are geared down and the lighted scales are finely marked. It has a "Tune" setting for the LED display that permits tune-up at a low power level, but you can also tune up the old fashioned way (peak everything). The LED display monitors RF output power, grid current, and reflected power at all times in three separate bar graphs. A fourth one can be set to read plate current, HV, drive power, SWR or the "Tune" function mentioned above. It is definitely a new experience if you're used to reading meters, but you get used to it quickly. As you transmit, those flashing lights are impressive.

A sophisticated collection of monitoring functions protects the amplifier from operator errors (we all make them). If you do something wrong it clicks into "Fault" condition and flashes LEDs to show what was wrong. After correcting the problem, you cycle the OPR/STBY switch and everything's fine. It will trip for excessive grid or plate current, high SWR, excessive drive power and other things. You might find this annoying at first, but as you get familiar with the amp, it gradually occurs less often until it hardly ever trips. Then, you're grateful when it does trip because you were too sleepy and forgot to switch antennas, or change the band switch (or have made some other dumb mistake).

The 89 puts out 1500W easily with only 30 or 40W of drive, and it's got plenty of headroom at that level. You notice quite a rise in exhaust air temperature at full output. If you plan to use it at high duty-cycle levels (contests, digital modes, etc.), the manual "recommends" the auxiliary fan, but I'd say it's a requirement.

I've been using it now for a little over 3 months DXing, dabbling in the contests, and making casual QSOs and am completely satisfied. It's got a very solid feel, electronically and mechanically. QRP is fun, but QRO is fun too - you don't have to choose one or the other. It sure made a difference in the 3Y0X pileups. With the prices of new amplifiers rising so rapidly, an older Alpha can be a real bargain.
W7IS Rating: 2005-01-14
Excellent Product Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Before I bought a used Alpha 89, I did a web search to find out what out problems others have had with the product over the years. And there were many comments about the large number of tin plated connectors possibly causing problems. So before using the amp, I closely inspected all the connectors. All were bright and shinny except for one connector located under the HV power supply board. This is a 3 pin connector on U2 (Lm305 power regulator). The regulator is attached to the aluminum chassis as a heat sink and hard wired over the circuit board. This 3 pin connector was very loose fitting on the Lm305 and didn’t appear to be the type that should have been used on a power device. So I cut the connector off and soldered the wires directly to U2. That was the only weak link I found in the amp. The connector is easy to see under the HV circuit board and only took a few minutes for this procedure. After recording the initial tune up settings, QSY is very fast since the veneer tuning has lighted log scales. This is not your average amp. It’s Great Amp. But you do have to have respect for the expensive tubes and take care not to exceed the grip current rating. Frank W7IS
K4QL Rating: 2004-01-15
Nice When It Works Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've owned my 89 for a number of years. It hasn't been trouble free but the service I've received from ALpha has been fine. I've had the problem with the squirrel cage coming off the motor shaft recently. Mine failed very loudly as the cage made a screaming noise at slipped on the motor shaft. The amp is built around the blower so one has to almost disassemble the entire RF section to replace the blower. A blower, being a mechanical beast is gonna fail sooner or later. It would be nice if the blower were mounted on an access plate similar to the access plate below the tube deck for ease of maintenance. As it is, its about the hardest thing to replace in the entire amp. So my biggest compliant is that it is not maintenance friendly. Anyone that has had to replace the TUNE and LOAD lamps knows what I mean. It has failed two other times other than the blower failure. Both times it failed just while idling, no RF input applied. Go figure. But when it works,
it works great. I haven't operated an amp that is quieter. All and all, I'm pleased.
PA1K Rating: 2003-11-20
great amp as usual Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought an 89 last week used.
I have an 87A, but this unit (89) comes very close.
Like to tune it by the numbers.
Silent,lots of power and very nice to use with any radio.
Still i think that Alpha is producing the best amps but more important the best aftersales service.
I advice anyone, if you buy an amplifier go for ALPHA power..
KC5CQF Rating: 2003-10-27
Terrific Amplifier Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Mechanically, this is one of the best amplifiers I have ever owned. It is very well built minus one thing which I will describe later. It has tremendous headroom in the power output department. I operate it on AM everyday with 375 watts of carrier, 1500 watts PEP. It tunes and peaks very smoothly and effertlessly. It is very well protected less what I will describe. This has got to be the quitest high power amplifier built. Cosmetically, it is a beutifull amplifier and well laid out.
The only problem I had with amplifier is the squirrel cage had migrated off the motor shaft and fell off into the Blower housing.The Blower cage is attached to the motor shaft with no type of locking at all (like set screws), it uses a "press fit". The amplifier runs so quite, and wearing headphones, I did not realize this. Needless to say, the tubes got very hot. One tube heated the plate strap to the point it seperated from the tube and arc welded a hole strait into the tube internals before I could unkey. The 89 does not have Temp monitoring or airflow protection. Alpha admited that this has happened before but then would not answer my emails or return my phone calls after that initial contact.
K5WAG Rating: 2003-05-01
Super Amp Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had 87a and a 99 and I think the 89 is the better of the 3.It is quite and does legal limit with 40 watts of drive.
K4NR Rating: 2003-01-24
One Word - Quality Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Quality product and support. This is my first Alpha and I understand why Alpha is a leader in the field.

I was impressed with the shipping containers. The transformer is secured to a piece of finished plywood. There are extra screws for the case and to secure the transformer. The transformer leads end in Molex-style plugs that go to the main, low voltage, and high voltage sections. The transformer bolts go in through the bottom of the case making it a snap to install. The case fits well and there are only about a dozen screws rather then the 20 plus in the Ameritrons I've owned (I still think Ameritron is a good value--see my other reviews). The quality of the construction and workmanship on the interior is some of the best I've seen (Tentec does a nice job in this area as well). The 3CX800A7's were already installed and secured by a stand-off between the top of the case and the tube anodes--these can be left in place. Total time from delivery to operation was about 30 minutes. This included installing a 220 volt 20 amp plug.

When first turned on the amp goes into wait mode for about 3 minutes to allow the tubes to warm-up. I have the optional exterior fan which has a small toggle switch on the back (nice touch if you don't want the extra noise--if you can call it that). The first thing you notice is the lack of blower noise. With both fans running it makes about as much noise as the PC on the floor next to the operating position. The blower is shock-mounted to further reduce noise.

Once the warm-up period is completed the amp is ready to tune. Set the amp to the presets for tune / load, set the bandswitch (Hey--this one has positions for all 9 bands!), turn the mulimeter to tune, and apply 10 watts of RF. (I have an adaptor on my IC-746 that allows the rig to output 10 watts of continuous RF for 10 seconds, it then reverts back to the original mode and power level) The amp is then easily tuned by centering the tune LED. If you are used to watching the grid and power out, this seems odd at first, but it works well and it does not need to be touched up for higher levels (I did have to touch it up on 12 and 10 meters). Easily does 1500+ on all bands. Again, 10 and 12 meters require closer tuning.

Loads of protection. I forgot to turn on the antenna switch (open feedline) and the amp just soft-faulted and the reflected power LEDs blinked. Turned on the switch, reset the amp and it was back to 1500 watts.

Given the overkill used throughout and the quality part / construction, I expect many years of solid performance from the Alpha 89.

73 de Tom, K4NR

OK1RI Rating: 2002-03-20
Good Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I (together with OK1RF) have 2 pcs. The AMP is nicely build, but to access some parts some major dissassembly might be needed. We bought it in 1994. We use it heavilly in contests. I have once lost the output big PINs without obvious reason why, I replaced them and everything was OK - see later.
It is driven by the IC775DSP. Several times happend that suddenly the IC775DSP stops transmitting RX is OK; TX is dead. What happens is that the transistor (small MESA 4 GHz SMD device) driving the PA unit in the TRX burns out. It happend more than 6-10 times and it happend with both the IC775's and both the 89's during years. I spoke several times with service people in both companies and all of them vere nice and friendly all of them insisted it is a problem of the other's product. Since the PCB in IC775 started to be "worn out" I decided it is time to solve this problem. I was not 100% sure it is the "89" since we use it also with IC751A and there never was a problem. After inspecting the input RF connector of the AMP with HP storage scope I have found out that sometimes - very seldomly there is a glitch of about 400-600V (!!!) which then goes to the RX input of the TRX, there it goes through the diode switching system in the TRX. The RX input stage surprisingly survives but through the diodes this MESA SMD baby gets those big volts into Base and..... It never happens with the IC751A since there is good old relay on the input and before the realy gets back from TX to RX (when this happens) the glitch is long time away.
I have not found out why it happens, but if you switch the PTT hundred times you will see it. If you inspect the switching schematics it could be understood why since the PIN diodes are switched by -1200V +200V swing generated by power FETs. After some hesitation,(already 3 years back) I have replaced the PIN switching board with conventional relay on input and vacuum relay on output and never had a problem since.
I have had another problem, there is a 12V stabilizer feeding all the logic, connected by "snap" on connector. The connector is of very bad quality with tined contacts only. The connector lost conntact on the ground lead of the stabiliser which caused 24V on the "logic" board with ALL the CMOS circuitry burned out. OK it happens. I replaced all the IC's+some resistors and transistors and back again.
The AMP is very quite, as mentioned by others. During those 7 years we have never had any problem with the tubes and the RF part.
It is "overprotected" so you have to watch it all the time, and at least 5 times during the contest it switches itselves off without obvious reason, you just flip the STBY/OP switch and here you are again. The same thing happens with both pieces. After replacing the PIN switching system it is little better but still existent. Probably this problem is well known to ETO since the newer AMPs have the feature that the AMP "tries" to reset automatically.
You can drive it with 80-90W in to "ALL three RED" LEDs OUT.
Jiri OK1RI