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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
N5LHD Rating: 2001-12-22
Excelent Amplifier - Worth Every $$$ Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned the Alpha 89 for four years, and have had no problems. It has a very quite blower and the PIN Diode T/R switching is totally silent. I have used the unit for RTTY, SSTV, PSK31, CW and SSB Rag chew, even loaded up 375 watts carrier for AM several times, all with no problems. Easily delivers 1500++ outputs at low drive. Great engineering for the protection circuitry. Worth Every Penny! I am very saddened that Alpha dropped this unit from production.
73'
Mark - N5LHD
W2DAP Rating: 2001-11-25
Tops in quality of components Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The only unfortunate thing about this amplifier is that it has been discontinued and the new company now produces 87s the 91b and something on the horizon which will be called the Alpha 6; I wonder what that means?

Regardless, this is commercial quality all the way with superior components, a tried and tested design and well thought out circuitry. Much has been written about the fragility of the finals, 3CX800s, but in fact they are extremely rugged in this non-pulse version.

One of the things I like is that the negative-going ALC circuitry is really effective in maximizing "talk power." Don't think of using ALC in an attempt to hold your output power down, as some might erroneously suggest. I find that with proper use of this ALC voltage, even in a modern radio, I am able to obtain up to 3db additional average power; in other words, use it.

Most components are rated at 50% or better above amateur service within the ratings of the amplifier.

I strongly recommend this manually tuned amp for anyone seeking high power, superb IMD and extraordinary linearity. Look for one on the used market and probably be assured that its extensive protective circuitry will assure you that even a LID won't have damaged it!

AA1LN Rating: 2001-11-21
Best amp I've ever used Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I don't have anything negative to say of this model. I have had mine for over 4 years and never had a problem. It EASILY makes 1500w on all bands with 50w of drive. QSK is silent and smooth. No spurious byproducts, very clean output. It's built like a tank. If you don't mind the 10 seconds or so it takes to manually tune an amp, this is the best.
W4ABW Rating: 2001-11-13
Alpha 89, a good amp Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My Alpha 89 is great now but I had a year of grief due to the fact that Alpha service was pitiful. I had a power supply problem and the guys at the old Alpha factory just said NDF.
No Defect Found.

After 4 returns to the factory, they finally changed out the power supply board and the rig has now played well for 3 years. It was in warranty when I had all the problems and those folks just did not want to honor the their warranty.

I got mine in Feb of 1994 at the price of $2995 so I got a better deal than you can get nowadays.

Alpha is the way to go but why they have to try and stiff you on the warranty is still a mystery to me.
K4IQ Rating: 1999-10-05
What? No reviews of the 89? Comparison with AL-150 Time Owned: unknown months.
Well then, here's one. Great amplifier. Sold a much-loved AL-1500 to help afford this one. The power levels are about the same, so here's a side-by-side. The 89 is much quieter than the 1500 at factory fan settings, which is about the minimum blower speed if you contest. The pin diode QSK has been flawless thus far; altho' I expect some repairs eventually, given the experience of others. The best words for this amp's operations are "smooth and quiet." I got the external fan which is a remarkable bargain at 40 bucks installed at purchase. The tuning dials are easy to preset for each band, and qsy takes only a few seconds, with no soft faults, provided I keep drive power at 40-50 watts. Alpha just does it right. Instead of a million screws and a cheap tin case, like the Ameritron, it has this solid heavy case that fits like the back of a Rolex watch. Hopefully, it won't have to be removed as often. The AL-1500, by the way, although a great performer, presented with these symptoms, which are evident of its less than stellar lineage: the bias circuit was mis-wired at the factory, which caused some non-linearity of the signal (this was missed by service techs when it returned to factory for next problem); the bandswitch sustained a burned contact which was confirmed by W8JI to be caused by a design flaw which was then repaired at the factory, no charge; and the blower fan developed a noisy bearing, which Ameritron let me replace, rather than do without the amp for a month or two, which took me several hours to disassemble and wriggle old blower out and new one in - bottom line I got new blower free. This is a potential problem area, as that part's failure at a key time, such as during a contest when you're under the phones, would render the 8877 dead in minutes.

Anyway, I'll report back here when I experience my first failure or evidence of such slipshod design and workmanship on the 89, but, knock on wood, it looks like you get what you pay for.