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Reviews For: Yaesu Quadra VL-1000

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

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Review Summary For : Yaesu Quadra VL-1000
Reviews: 87MSRP: 4000
Description:
Solid-state, automated 1 kW HF/6m linear amplifier
Product is not in production
More Info: https://www.yaesu.com/indexVS.cfm?cmd=DisplayProducts&ProdCatID=102&encProdID=261A83CAF673084AAC58C6801013F76F&DivisionID=65&isArchived=1
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
25874.3
G3YPV Rating: 2001-03-10
Disappointing Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
First impressions of the Quadra were very favourable. It came carefully packed, and the instruction book looked comprehensive. I put it together according to the instructions and then turned it on. The fan noise was intrusive, much worse than the Alpha 91b I had owned before. Interfacing with my FT1000MP worked very well, but I could not get it to interface with my second radio, an ICOM. Although the description indicated that it would sense incoming RF and switch to the correct band, I could never make it do that with the ICOM, even after a call to the dealer. One of the reasons why I bought the Quadra was its coverage of six metres. Previously, I had used a homebrew amplifier with a 3-500Z to give about 700W output. The Quadra was rated at 500W and I got it going with the ICOM on 6m by means of switching the amplifier manually. The next report on the amplifier came from my XYL, who said that the TV picture was being affected by my transmission. This was the first TVI report ever on 6m. I thought that the antenna had a fault, or something else was wrong. The day after I hooked up the old homebrew 6m amp and tried again. No TVI. Hooked up the Quadra again and TVI reappeared.

I called the dealer (in the UK Midlands) and aske for a replacement unit to be sent. After an argument about it (!) another unit arrived the next day. It also sounded like a plane taking off when turned on - and yes 6m TVI was there again.

Not wishing to prolong the agony of owning this unit I took it back to the retailers shop and got a refund.

I had gotten used to operating an automatic amplifier and rang the UK distributor of ACOM (Vine Antennas) who were very helpful, and shipped me an ACOM 2000A the next day. This is a beautiful unit, the same price as the Quadra but with twice the power. It also handled both the 1000MP and ICOM with no problem. My only worry was that 1.5 kW was just too easy to obtain.

My verdict on the Quadra. Overpriced for what it is. Noisy, good only for Yaesu radios. I would not risk using it on six unless I was in the middle of no-where!
GM3WKZ Rating: 2001-02-10
A first class professionally built linear amplifier. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
a) The Quadra is the "Rolls Royce" of HF + 6m linear amplifiers. The unit interfaces well with my Yaesu FT920 and has given me consistently strong and clear (low /zero distortion) signal reports. Harmonic emissions are well down with good filtering such that I have not received any TVI complaints to date. The amplifier is extremely well and ruggedly built.

b) The instructions for the use and operation of the automatic aerial tuning unit (auto ATU) could be expanded in the operating manual. The unit does seem to need the >60W output from the exciter for the auto ATU to function correctly. In addition the VL-1000 seems to need exciter key down for some 6+ seconds in order for the ATU to find suitable settings for a match and prefers continuous carrier to work through from "tuning" to "complete" cycles so as to avoid "error" appearing in the Anntenna Tuning Meter display (p13 of operating manual). On some bands I have experienced difficulty in making the VL-1000 go into the tuning mode and to store the appropriate ATU settings. This is especially the case when the aerial impedance is initially badly matched (SWR>5) or when it is a near perfect match. In such cases my unit - Serial No. 0D180022 -immediately goes into "error" display without "HI SWR" or "PROTECT" advice being displayed. I would welcome operations advice / comments from other users concerning this subject either through this site or via my e-mail as per qrz.com. This is obviously a problem arising from my own operator inexperience which might indicate the need for an expanded operations manual or a short article by an eham browser!

c) The linear is doing a great job for me with some really good on air reports!
N8MIS Rating: 2001-02-07
Good Service Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
After about 6 months my VL1000 displayed a error code indicating unbalanced pa boards. Was instructed to send back the amp and power supply.
Big shipping bill! (not refunded for shipping there). In was in Ca for over a month. One FET replaced and arrived back here in great shape and working fine. Glad to have a 3 year warranty but look out for shipping.
BILLAXELRODK3WA Rating: 2000-12-18
Super amp Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have had my Quadra for about one month and am very pleased with it.

Beware of first impressions. When I bought my FT1000MP I was intimidated by the sheer number of knobs and buttons and the thickness of the users manual. But, in about a week I realized that it was a user friendly radio, well laid out, and easy to learn. My experience with the Quadra was just the opposite. Two black boxes, no knobs, and a thin manual. I wondered "where's the amp".

Well, it's there. It just sits there and pumps out the rated power plus some. This amp is totally integrated with the FT1000MP. It could be in another room and I'd never notice the difference. The internal antenna tuner goes to the right spot when I change bands on the transceiver just as advertised. To me, it's worth the cost.

A couple of minor quibbles.

This is a top-of-the-line amplifier. And it is priced accordingly. So why doesn't it run the legal limit? Some may argue that there's only 500W difference, 1 1/2 db. But that could make the difference in a pile up, all the theory in the world notwithstanding.

The Quadra comes with all the needed cables to interface with the FT1000MP or other rigs. All but one are ready for use out of the box. The cable that is used to key a rig for antenna tuning that comes in the box is a generic cable. To make it work with a Yaesu transceiver you have to change the plug at the transceiver end and re-wire one wire at the amplifier side. Not hard to do, but when I buy a $4000 amplifier designed to look like and work with the manufacturer's top-of-the-line transceiver, I expect it to have what I need out of the box.

Yes, I would buy one again.
VR2BG Rating: 2000-02-18
Some problems & short comings, but I'd probably bu Time Owned: unknown months.
I use a VL-1000 when on holiday in 9M6. This particular unit was originally used by 9M0C.

The unit has seen quite a bit of use by its new owner & I've put a few thousand QSOs in the log with it, too - including two major contests (one being CQ WW RTTY).

The only fault so far has been both fans in the RF deck. One must've died some time ago & the second called it a day in the middle of the RTTY contest, so there's some margin in there for abuse if it can run RTTY with only half the cooling. These fans are awfully quiet, otherwise the failure of the first would've been noticable to the operator.

I note the fans in the power supply are from a different manufacturer, so perhaps that's a sign that the ones that failed might not be used in production today. Beware replacing these yourself - they are rather low current models & I burned the fan control circuitry with the only 12V fans I could find for sale in Sabah (I completed the RTTY contest by powering them
continuously with an external supply).

In addition to the need to power the unit in order to route an antenna through it that was mentioned by someone else, I find that it would be nice if the second radio input were routed to an antenna output when the amp is being used with radio one. A second rig in the shack is always on 6m, but to make use of the amp when the band opens requires some fast cable swapping that discourages me from going QRO.

From XX9 I've had quite a bit of time using a FL-7000 & the VL-1000 is a significant improvement over the older model. It runs cool, quiet, makes power & largely can be ignored as one concentrates on operating.

I'd buy one myself right away but I spent that money on excess baggage bringing this one back home with me for repair & I've still got to take it back to 9M6. One thing all Japanese equipment manufacturers could do is make greater use of aluminum in their equipment cabinets!
N9ZA Rating: 2000-02-17
Can't live with it, and can't live without it! Time Owned: unknown months.
I also owned Yaesu's VL-1000 amplifier for a very brief time, about one week. During that time I was quite impressed with it. Unlike other amplifiers that look aesthetically like they were put together in a basement worshop, including the expensive ones that'll remain nameless, the cabinets are superb, commercial looking all the way, like the good old days of Collins. And when fired up it put out a solid 1240 watts on all bands, with no fold down on the upper bands. Using it was a breeze. The FT-1000MP tied into the VL-1000 was a dream machine. But there were some features I did not like.

(1) The display on the amplifier is so dim it is difficult to read, having very little contrast. Not even a darkened room helped And the brightness doesn't help a bit. Shame on Yaesu. (2) It also has an inexcusable design flaw. If you want to operate straight through barefoot without the added punch of the amplifier the power supply of the amplifier must still be turned on. Otherwise it's a dead-end street for the signal with no hope of it reaching the antenna. Again, shame on Yaesu. A couple of nickels would correct the problem, but Yaesu steadfastly refuses to correct this flaw. (3) One reviewer praised the fans for their low noise level. Well maybe, if one is a bit on the deaf side, like me. But at arm's length with no help from a hearing aid the fans can be heard above the level of a computer fan. But then, I'm a purist when it comes to fan noise. Anything above zero is anathema. Here SGC out shines them all.

Why did I sell it after only one week? Foolishly for the reasons cited. Shame on me. I can't live with it, and I can't live without it!
AB4OJ Rating: 1999-09-22
Yaesu VL-1000 Quadra - just keeps on chugging alon Time Owned: unknown months.
After 10 years of totally trouble-free operation with an Icom iC-2KL, I felt it was time to "up the power", while remaining in the solid-state world. I purchased the Quadra in November 1998, and connected it to my IC-756. The amplifier has been running flawlessly ever since.

The Quadra delivers 1 kW PEP or CW on all HF bands, and 500W PEP or CW on 6m, when powered from 220V mains (500W output on all bands/modes with 120V mains.) I measured IP3 at -35 dB relative to peak 2-tone, for 1 kW P.E.P. out at 14.150 MHz. Power gain is approx. 11 dB (80W drive for 1 kW output).

I have not used the Quadra with a Yaesu exciter. When the amplifier is used with a non-Yaesu exciter which does not furnish band selection data, pressing the [F SET] key on the Quadra's front panel causes a relay contact in the amplifier to key the exciter via a remote keying cable. The exciter transmits a carrier to the Quadra, which counts the drive frequency and sets its bandswitching relays and autotuner accordingly. The whole process takes less than a second. The exciter must be in RTTY ofr FM mode during band setup.

The built-in autotuner covers all HF bands and 6m, and tunes an SWR range up to 3:1 (HF) or 2:1 (6m). The tuner can memorize 256 tuning solutions. When the Quadra is first taken into service, tuning solutions are set up on as needed by pressing the [TUNE] key. A tuning cycle takes about 5 seconds; during tuning, a nifty display shows rotating icons of the tuning capacitors, and an SWR bargraph.

The Quadra LCD screen is very informative; by pressing front-panel keys, one can configure it to display peak and average power, SWR, drain supply voltage and current in various combinations. One very useful feature is a built-in antenna analyzer, which displays SWR at the input and output of the autotuner, as a function of frequency. Each tuning solution in memory puts a point on the graph; each of the 4 possible antenna selections displays its own curve.

The amplifier has superb protective features. Excessive antenna SWR, wrong band selection, overcurrent and over-temperature will take the PA stage off-line, and an appropriate error message will be displayed. The ALC line must, of course, be connected to the transceiver ALC input; this is a vital part of the protection subsystem. The Quadra also features power-on self-test and automatic relay routining (to clean the relays).

The RF deck and 2.5 kVA switching power supply are in separate cabinets, each the size of an average HF transceiver. Both cabinets are equipped with quiet muffin fans. T/R switching is via high-speed relays, and QSK CW operation is possible. A little relay noise is audible, but not disturbing. Operationally, after several hours of operation, both cabinets are cool to the touch; a little warm air can be felt at the back of the RF deck. This amplifier certainly runs cool!

The only automation feature which does not carry over with a non-Yaesu exciter is the automatic antenna selection by band. I have to press the [ANT] key to switch between my 40-10m and 80m verticals. Another minor concern is 1 kW P.E.P. out, versus 1.5 kW. After all, though, that is only 1.5 dB - a quarter S-unit!

To view the "innards" of the Quadra, please check out my website:

http://www.qsl.net/ab4oj/quadra.html

All in all, I would rate the Quadra "5-star" . Truly "another Energizer Bunny"; it just keeps chuggin' along. And the price tag, at around $3800, is not too bad - especially considering that there are no tube replacement bills, ever!