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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
VR2SA Rating: 2005-01-22
Very compact but no AM Amplification & fan noise Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Very compact and excellent when hooked with Icom Radio. But have some minor programming problem with the CI-V address with two Icom Radios and the operating manual is not clear to explain how to perform the correct programming procedures.

No AM Amplification and quite a bit of fan noicse is the problem. But the compact size is the excellent for small Radio shack !
W7ZR Rating: 2004-12-01
Great Box! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
First, thanks to all of the reviews that were here to help me make my decision to acquire a PW-1.

I did purchase a used unit. I called ICOM first and asked if there were any major changes in the production runs of this unit. They said "no". Wrong! The major item was that in the later units you do not have to have the amp on to use the exciter. So I got an older unit. No big deal.

I have now used the amp through 3 major contests and it performed flawlessly. I do miss the ability to use my VFD peak meter. The 4 output connectors do not allow you to do this. However my next purchase is going to be a Wavenode WN-1 meter.

Back to the amp. No real complaints about fan noise. I operate almost exclusively with headsets so that does help. Also by having the remote unit next to the desk and the amp the full distance away does reduce that fan noise.

I use a IC775 with the PW1 and it is just super for fast bandchanges and of course no tuning.

The manual is a bit weak in spots but if you read it CAREFULLY you will pick up on how to properly set up the unit with a CT-17 for example.

ALC adjustment can not be over emphasized. Did that right out of the box. A bit on the touchy side and had to go back one more time to do it but really no problem.

Bottom line.....great amp.
KK5DR Rating: 2004-11-06
A kW transciever Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
The hardest part about my PW1, was understanding the manual, and finally figuring out what it "really" meant.
Flawless performance, easy operation, in spite of the poorly written manual. More detail,a logical simplified approach needed.
Stop in at my web site for more in-depth reviews.
www.qsl.net/kk5dr
PY1BR Rating: 2003-12-17
Absolutely Great Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought mine in 2001 and since then just one failure. One of the relays failed and the protection system blocked any operation. I fixed it by replacing the relay, diode, and the IC that drivers the switching circuitry.
A very good project and very well built.
Some reviewers analyzed their equipment by the eventual failures and not the product itself. A failed relay may happen with any equipment. What I take into account is the whole product.
Even the best military specs system may fail.
I love my PW-1. If you want to be fast in contest or DX, that's the amp. With 1KW, even in low bands, I could contact several long distance stations or pile-ups without any difficulty. I have also an Alpha 99 with 1.5KW and I could not "feel" any difference between them.
K1TQK Rating: 2003-12-17
Flawless Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Have had this amp attached to my 746pro and it
works great with plenty of power (1200 easy) on
all bands. What a smooth set-up. Tuner works fine with dipole on 75 and 40 and will tune entire ssb part with no problem. Use beam on other bands with great results too.
Have Yaseu Mark V attached to second input and
it also works great but with no auto band switch.
Fan noise is not a problem with the unit on the
floor and not THAT bad with it on the operating
desk. A first class amp that is really goof proof
and a joy to use.
K9XK Rating: 2003-06-23
Almost TOO Slick Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Boy, I remember the days, especially in preparation for a contest, when I would me making little inserts out of 3x5 cards to drop behind the knobs on the amp, with pencil marks all over them to denote approximate tuning positions for each band. Along with those, there would be the Post-It notes hung here and there with all the tuner settings. Kind of made you feel like a real ham. These little add-ons also helped give the shack that cluttered "no nonsense" look that undoubtedly translated to a better score.

Now I just have a little box sitting on top of the 'ol '756 Pro II, and I am sitting here with nothing to do. I can practically work a DX test and write reviews at the same time (actually, that is no joke with the cycle in its current state)

There is not much that can be said about the PW-1 because, well frankly, it either works or it doesn't. Mine works, as it does for others, it appears. After going through the remote head setup, which involves not much more than pulling the top off and moving some cable connections around, I was ready to move my heavy brick to a "remote" (somewhere with eight feet) location.

I did find that most of my proposed locations could not quite accept the amp, so it ended up under the table off to the side, which was a little less creative a solution that I had envisioned.

Noisy? Well I guess I have to ask - compared to what? I would say that it is definitely louder than fans in previous amps I have owned but not necessarily when those fans kicked up a notch with temperature. Those other amps could not be hidden under a table, though. That said, you would not want to set this on the operating position.

Setup was easy, although directions for the "syncing" of the radio to the amp were not completely clear because the power switch they refer to is actually the one for the radio, not the amp.

You then have to make an ALC adjustment, which takes just a minute and then you'll have a kw out everywhere with about 50-60w in.

The antenna tuner works within the range specified, about 3:1 SWR and below. If your antenna is way out of range, it will not tune it as might a more robust roller inductor tuner, but why are you using that antenna in the first place?

You do not need to turn the amp on in order to use its antenna-switching capabilities. When you turn on the rig, the appropriate indicators on the control head will illuminate. Turning on the Power switch on the control head will turn on the amp and its fan.

Band switching is seamless, although I have found that at times there is a slight delay between switching bands on the radio and when the amp switches, perhaps one or two seconds.

This unit allows you to move all over the place and never touch a thing. Great for contesting. I am waiting for a good one in order to see if it will blow up, because this convenience is almost too good to be true!
WA2BHJ Rating: 2003-02-03
great, but noisy Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
When I first got it (new), the antenna tuner was broken. So I immediately sent it back to Icom. Icom covered the shipping both ways and fixed it. I was on the air in a few weeks. The 12/10 mod was pretty easy.

I've used it with an Icom 746 and drive a KLM KT34A tribander, a 160/80 half sloper (that also works on 30, 17 and 12), and a Force 12 vertical dipole on 40. It only requires about 50 w in to get 1K out.

I'm very happy with it. The antenna tuner is a little more picky than the tuner in the 746. For the half sloper, I use a manual tuner in case the PW1 can't handle what I'm throwing at it.

The main complaint is (surprise!) it's noisy. In particular, there is a fan that goes on and off with every dot and dash in full-QSK mode. This seems silly! I've got the amp under the table where I operate and I find the noise annoying, even with headphones on (it sounds like a little more band noise.) But I can live with it. I've got the fans facing me, because otherwise they'd be facing into a wall, which is probably not a good idea. (Or maybe that would be OK?)

Anyway, were it not for the keying of the fan, I'd have given it a 5. And, of course, it's expensive.

Oh, one more suggestion: it would be nice if there were a special mode that limited power on 30 m. to 200w, so it wouldn't be necessary to adjust the exciter power every time I switch to 30m. (I don't know if any amps do that. )
N6KZB Rating: 2003-01-26
It Works ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought this amp to run with my ICOM 775DSP, and it performs very well. I was told that it would not do the CT-17 rig control and the amp at the same time. Wrong! My Ser# 01442, does do both. We just plugged it in the #2 rig port on the CT-17 level converter, and the CT-17 rig port #1 went to the remote jack on the radio. Set all baud rates to 9600, and my Win-EQF log/rig software controls the radio, and the amp tracs, very nice.

The PW-1 runs on 220 VAC and I get a clean 1000+ watts, normally I run it at around 600. The PW-1 tunes my broadband B&W dipole just fine, as well as my Tennadye 8 elem log.

Then I ran the amp, same CT-17 level converter and Win-Eqf sofware with my Ten Ten Omni 6+, running the Omni as an "Icom 735", the amp thinks its an Icom, and tracs right along. (Hope Ten Tec keeps the Icom emulation feature and remote jack in their new Orion radio).

A bit noisy on the fan, but location of the amp, away from my operating area, it really doesn't bother me, nor get into the mic, even with processor on.

This amp performs as well as my previous Yaesu Quadra, and it does have a broader and more robust antenna tuner. It is a smaller one piece package as delivered, than the Quadra.

I even took an Argosy II 50 watt radio, and just hooked it up as radio #2, and ran the cable to the PTT jack on the amp, and got 800 watts.

I have not used the amp on 6 meters, as my 6 meter radio is gone, for a few months.

The 10/12 meter mod was easy, but the printed docs were out of date, and it took a bit to find the diode, but a simple clip, cover back on, and 10/12 ops was ready to go. Was a lot better and faster to do, than the 10/12 meter mod for the Quadra.

Final thoughts,..... its pricy, but works better than claimed, and I get good audio and signal reports.

73................ Mike

KQ9L Rating: 2003-01-19
Great Features Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
The amp works as advertised. The automatic band switching feature is great when hunting DX and a fast QSY is necessary. I run my amp off 110VAC and get out about 500W peak, but I know the amp can put out more with 220VAC. I did the mod to get 10-12M coverage which was easy enough albeit delicate work. My only complaints are as follows: 1) NOISY! There is no two ways about it, this sucker is loud, I had to put the amp beneath my operating position in a cabinet which leads to 2) The amp heats up fast, even before I moved the amp to the cabinet, it would heat up fast especially during contest. Finally I drive the amp with a 756proII and control the whole thing via a W2ENY interface, works great!! Overall, I'm happy, but next time (if there is a next amp) I'd consider spending a little more and getting one of the other automatic band switching amps on the market- you know the one.
Rich
KQ9L
KG4LRU Rating: 2003-01-19
Nice Amp Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had my PW 1 for Just now going on 2 years and has worked to spec until recently , no out put amp went in trip mode yet everythiny else looked ok.I sent in for service and updates.The service dept.at ICOM is good the guys get the job done and well always call you back. Some thing most manfactures do not do. As it turns out one final failed and small cap. it cost 300.00 they have to replace the finals in Pairs I only needed one) and theirs 8 of them. The PW-1 is heavy save the BOXs for shipping.I used the repaired now 45 days and works like new. Since then I have heard of few pw1 with the same symptoms. By the way I run Four radio with radio its great! Good antenna and This amp will go along way working that rare DX. I purchased This amp used and remind you that I beleive its one of the nices no brainer amp out their in its price range. And does everything very well, I wish it had more power!