Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes
Reviews Home

Reviews For: ACOM 1000

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

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : ACOM 1000
Reviews: 198MSRP: 3250 USD
Description:
HF+6M Linear Amplifier

The ACOM 1000 HF Linear Amplifier is the world's best value in an amateur HF amplifier. The ACOM 1000 gives you a comfortable 1000 watts output on all amateur bands from 160 through 6 meters.
Power Output: 1000W PEP or continuous carrier, no mode limit. Uses single 4CX800A (GU74B)
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.acom-bg.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
151984.9
PA3FUN Rating: 2008-12-22
Value for money Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This amplifier simply is the best value for money one can get in my honest opinion. Excellent craftmanship, very well build. I would buy a second one if they should ever become available in black painting ;)
K1EY Rating: 2008-12-08
Sheer excellence! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
IMHO Acom 1000 is one of the best amplifiers on the market. It is made in Bulgaria by the same company which used to build Alpha 91b for ETO Alpha back in the ‘90s. The amplifier represents an absolute excellence in RF design. It is built around a single 4CX800A tetrode in grid-driven configuration. 4CX800A/GU74b are a little more expensive than what they used to be but still very cheap compared to some other tubes. These tubes are also very robust (GU74b was manufactured by Svetlana for military applications).
The RF deck has a very nice and well thought outt layout – not much space is wasted but it is not cramped as with some other amps. The built quality is superb – all high quality, heavy duty components, silver plated coils, heavy duty band-switch, etc. All RF components (band-switch, tank coils, tuning caps, parasitic suppresors, etc.) are connected with wide silver-plated copper strips. Full-QSK is standard (and near silent thanks to special relay mounting) using a vacuum relay for the output! The amplifier has a huge power transformer with galore of taps for different AC voltages and very well designed HV and screen supply. Now – the best part – a microprocessor monitors all important parameters
and circuits, controls and protects the amplifier, displays data and even aids in the tuning process. This offers an incredible level of protection – something I have not seen in any other amplifier – it makes almost impossible to damage the amplifier with the controls, even on purpose! Backlit LCD shows all of the important parameters (voltages, currents, SWR, gain, temperature, power levels) and warning messages. Built-in attenuator is automatically switched in-line by the microcontroller if the amplifier is not properly tuned to assist the coarse tuning process at low power and switched off (automatically again) for final tuning at high-power. This means that you don’t have to touch the power control on the rig. The actual tuning process is assisted by the on-board microcontroller and makes the procedure very quick (5-10 sec), easy and accurate. The amp is almost silent – the computer in my shack is much louder! The blower is controlled (based on the exhaust air temperature) by the microcontroller (it also actually monitors the health of the blower and it will shut off the amp if the blower fails - just one of more than a dozen protections). There is a provision for an optional intake fan for high-duty cycle modes. The amp delivers a full kilowatt with only 65W drive on any mode and it will actually do more on SSB. When I contacted the factory in Bulgaria about information on updates/upgrades, all of my emails were answered by the principal engineer – Stan, LZ1IU who offered me the level of support I’ve only seen with one other company – Elecraft. He literally flooded my email with technical information, explaining in details everything I wanted to know about the amplifier. Great company and absolutely great amplifier!!!
As for the cons – there are very few I can think of – the LCD display could be a little bigger – 4 lines instead of 2, showing the plate and grid currents at the same time during the tuning. (It normally shows the output power and one other user-selectable parameter with its two lines of text). I wouldn’t mind Vernier dials on the tuning caps. Customer service in US could be a little better too, but one can always address the company in Bulgaria.
The other thing is the price – it is on the high end if compared watt-to-watt with some other models. On another hand, taking into an account the absolute quality , features, protection and level of support – you are getting what you are paying for –excellence! It will be my last amplifier until I get the ACOM 2000.
Did I mention that I picked up my second one?
G0WCK Rating: 2008-12-08
wow ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I been looking for a replacement amp for some time i read all the reviews on the acom 1000 and new i had to get me one.

what can i say this amp is super in every way looks , time tuning , lcd info screen , protection , and so quiet.

if you ever get the chance to own one , go ahead buy with confidence

thanks guys .
daz G0WCK
G4RRA Rating: 2008-11-17
Great amp Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I was a lucky man and got one of these second hand.

Its every bit as good as all the reviews say.
Whisper quiet,easy to use,plenty of power,and nice to look at.
OH2XX Rating: 2008-10-28
Great amp Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.

Just adding my rating (5) here - this amp truly deserves it. Ordered mine from Vine Antennas. Everything has just been perfect with this one - from the purchase to heavy contest use. If there have been any surprises they have all been pleasant ones. How often can you say that.
PA5CW Rating: 2008-10-20
tr4b error Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Great Amp for cw very quiet, but after 1 year had a tr4b error. Ron of Vine antennas had a few suggestions, (low main voltage), but I could not solve the problem because of all the safety checks mad by the CPU. I suspected the output relay, but could not test this. Returned the unit to Ron and it was repaired without costs (2 year warranty). Indeed the output relay caused the error. I wonder if the relay lasts when heavely used with CW (semi QSK with K3).

Kees PA5CW
W4TDC Rating: 2008-10-13
A superb amp! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I've been active for nearly fifty years and owned a half dozen amplifiers, but none of these come close to the Acom 1000 in terms of quality, ease of use, and value. I am very pleased with
my purchase.
GM6JUA Rating: 2008-10-13
Best there is Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Hi,had one of the original models but sold it and went off air for 2 years,then got back into the hobby,purchased an ameritron al 800 amp, not so much a noisy amp, more like a motor bike,went to Vine Antenna's and ordered a new acom 1000 from Ron.can now hear my ft2000 when using the amp.Save yourself a lot of distress and purchase this amp.it really is the best out there and the reliability is second to none
EI6GRB Rating: 2008-09-17
Highly recommended Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This gets 5/5 from me hands down. Easily the best amplifier I have ever owned. I purchased it from Ron at Vine Antennas and they provide great after sales service. I had a small issue with mine and Ron was fantastic and getting me up and running.
It really does take about 5 seconds to tune this amp. It takes 120 seconds to warm up but that's never been an issue for me as I turn all on and listen around the bands first anyway.
It also gives you a lot of peace of mind as it has so much fault protection circuitry. If you make a mistake with it it will let you know! And it won't let you damage it.
It only takes a few watts of input to give a nice clean signal out.
It really is a great amp and if you are thinking of getting one just go ahead and you won't be disappointed.
F4DPT Rating: 2008-08-11
nice amplifier Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Hello
I contribute a little my share, I tested Acom 1010 which is very very good, I wanted to pass on Acom 1000, and this amplifier is very good, it makes less noise than my computer!!!! Acom 1010 fact much more noise.
As regards operation, that functions very extremely. It is very simple to regulate, it takes 15 seconds to be on the air.

Here what I raised,
50w --- 950w
55w --- 1040w
60w --- 1120w
65w ---1210w
70w--- 1290w
75w-1340w
Me, I it drive have 60/65w, and the power is the same one on all the tapes, I did not test on the 50Mhz.
It is an amplifier which I recommend to 200%
So long on the air
73's
Arnaud F4DPT