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Reviews For: ICOM PW-1

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

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Review Summary For : ICOM PW-1
Reviews: 78MSRP: 5000
Description:
HF/6 Meter All Band 1KW Amplifier
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.icomamerica.com/amateur/amplifiers/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00784.3
KI5WE Rating: 2014-04-24
JUNK-TRASH PLEASE DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought a new (ICOM)PW-1 had it for about 1 year and the switching power supply went out i sent it back to Icom and they wanted $2.300.00 to replace it. so no i have a i year old paper weight sitting on my desk.
never again don't waste you money ,I bought a new Alpha 9500 3 years ago and LOVE IT, lots more power then the PW-1 it is just like having a 1500 watt radio i could not be happier with my Alpha 9500 i wish i would have not wasted my money on the JUNK PW-1 (BUYER BE WARE)
KU4OT Rating: 2013-11-27
Impressed Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased my PW-1 used almost 5 years ago. I have not had a seconds problem with it. Care should be taken with initial ALC setup as it would be east to overdrive the amp and cause problems. Also, the tuner is only capable of handling a 3:1 SWR. High SWR coupled with 1200 or 1400 watts output is probably the reason some are having reliability issues. It only take about 25 watts of drive before the ALC kicks in to reach 1KW output. The only suggestion I would make to Icom is to include a Peak mode on the meter. From the factory the meter is RMS only which is fine for all modes except SSB. I also have an Alpha 99 and Palstar AT Auto for back-up but I have only turned them on about once a year to make sure they are still working. I would defiantly purchase this amp again.
G0PZA Rating: 2013-05-25
Good Amp but beware of ATU Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have been using this Amp mainly in contests for about 4 years. I have found the amp ok to use and it handshakes well with the Pro III. The power needle is a little lazy on SSB but fine on CW.

The Auto ATU failed recently, for the second time, and this time ICOM UK have quoted me USD 3,000 to install a new one. I shall not be doing so and buying a Palstar hF auto for about 1500, or an LDG pro2 for about 700. Also, I shall be slowly switching away from ICOM in the future, having been an ICOM proponent for 20 years.
Buyers beware!
W6DE Rating: 2013-05-03
Glad I have it Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have been using this PW-1 for over a two years now. I bought it used and have no regrets about buying it. I use it with my ICOM 756 PRO III. The two are great together. With my Steppir also being automatic, band changing is a snap. QSK works like a champ.

I did have some faulting at first due to the bad handling of CI-V collisions in the PW-1. If you use a PW-1 with a computer on the CI-V Bus you should read K8UT's web site article "Riding the CI-V Bus" pay attention to part 4 Solutions. When connected to a computer, using one of the "Solutions" is a must. I use the "K9JM CI-V ROUTER" as a substitute for the ICOM CT-17. I believe it is the solution ICOM should have done in the first place. That it needs another device to protect the PW-1 is why I rate the PW-1 a 4 instead of 5.

Using the K9JM Router with the PW-1 I now feel comfortable doing contesting with the PW-1.

N3NEP Rating: 2013-05-01
Not bad but a bit overpriced Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've had this amp a couple of weeks now and I have made a few observations.
1. Installation was pretty straight forward.
2. It's a bummer the meter provides avg reading instead of PEP.
3. Using the tuner on 6m the SWR goes crazy so I use the one in the radio instead. Still only seeing 700W on 6m though.
4. Instant on is nicer than waiting 3mins for 3cx800's in my Alpha 78 to warm up.
5. Nice to have an amp to use on 12m & 6m.
6. Still get reports of being the strongest station on the band using only 1kw.
7. The fans can be a bit noisy from time to time.
W6WRT Rating: 2013-03-30
Couldn't be more pleased Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Purchased mine used and am happy with everything except the CI-V control bus. If you use the Icom factory CT-17 level converter, there is a problem with "packet collisions" which can seriously damage the amp. There are a couple of work-arounds for this and you MUST use on of them if you wish to use a computer logging program with it. Google for K8UT's article "Riding the CI-V Bus" for complete information. Having applied one of the work-arounds, I couldn't be more pleased. This is a superbly designed and built amplifier with a solid 1000 watt output at 100% duty cycle. Having instant-on and no tune up is a blessing after years of tuning tube type amps. I am spoiled for anything else. I did give up 1.7 dB (less than 1/3 of an S-unit) from my old legal limit amp but I consider it a good tradeoff. I highly recommend this amp.
KF5XV Rating: 2012-08-01
GREAT AMP Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Sweet Amp .... I can QSY 6 to 160 quick and fun...Click the cluster and away you go.
VE6WQ Rating: 2012-03-29
Terrible Amp Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought the PW-1 2 years ago and it is in use with a 7600. in October I noted that the amp would not work on 10 or 12M but worked fine on the other bands. This seemed to be due to a diode problem in the filter assembly based on my internet reading. The amp was sent to ICOM Canada for service. They were not able to solve the problem and sent it to ICOM USA. I was told that parts in the ALC circuit were replaced, 2 diodes in the AF board and an IC on the AF board. The amp was returned after 3.5 months and the repairs cost $800 with shipping. Unfortunately I was busy with work when the amp was returned and only checked it out briefly. After a couple of weeks I went to use the amp on 12 m and as soon as I applied a few watts of drive the red fault light came on and there was no output on 10 or 12m. Other bands continued to work. Exactly the same problem as I had previously. I am pretty upset with the service and don't want to spend another $800.
W9ZX Rating: 2011-11-25
Great amplifier Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I won't bother to restate all the positive things that have been written. I've had my PW-1 attached to my 7700 for 3 years and have had no problems at all.
ZS2DL Rating: 2011-08-24
Little Jem! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
This little Amp, is in a nut shell all you need.
It is easy to setup, easy to use and idles at legal limit power for ZS. It will give more without complaint. It is also very responsive and as a result you seldom have to drive it with more than 25 or 30 watts from the exciter.
It is a fantastic companion to my IC7800.

I also have a Quadra next to it and must be honest all the Quadra for build quality, and ergonmics cannot come close to the PW1.

I realise there are Acoms and Alphas that may be better but hey ICOM AMPS for ICOM Rigs!!! Hi.

73
Donovan
ZS2DL