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Reviews For: Alpha 87A

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

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Review Summary For : Alpha 87A
Reviews: 98MSRP: 6500 + shipping
Description:
The Ultimate 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
00984.8
W7AFS Rating: 2013-12-08
best investment ever Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Never realized just how good the Alpha amps were till i bought a used 87a with less than 20 hours on it....wished i would have done it along time ago...
K6JU Rating: 2013-11-29
The Absolute Best! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I currently own and have owned many amps. My Alpha amp is far and away the best amp I have ever owned. It is a work of engineering art and it's performance has no equal. Best piece of equipment in my shack and you get what you pay for. It breaks through all the pileups and shines every time. With my Alpha amp and K3 I have reached amateur radio nirvana. Alpha put every protection into their amps and mine just flat out crushes it. It's the type of performance we all dream about but figure we will never experience but Alpha delivers. The sheer performance takes your breath away watching your SWR Power Meter peg over to 1.5kw plus automatically tuned to every band. I have made my ham buddies promise to put the Alpha in my casket. I hope I've convinced you of the quality and wow factor this amp achieves. If you are chasing DX like I do then you need an Alpha!
ZL2AL Rating: 2013-09-15
Simply Brilliant Design Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Years ago, I had an Alpha 374 Autotun amplifier. It was a fine amp that served me well for years. I have had many, many amplifiers over 60 years of hamming including TL-922, Drake L7, SB220, THP and lately a Yaesu Quadra plus many I have built myself over the years. I have always wanted an Alpha 87A and when one came up for sale recently, I sold my Quadra and bought it. This particular amplifier had been back to the factory and had the latest mods done including Alpha remote and Alpha Max. After several months of using the Alpha I have absolutely no regrets. It is everything I had hoped for. In short the Alpha 87 is bulletproof! One dit on the key and it bandhops and tunes up perfectly. The small “grunt” is reassuring. A second dit puts 1.5 KW into the antenna for hours on end with only a little warm air coming out of the top. The construction of the Alpha 87A is of an unbelievably high standard. 1.5KW key down on RTTY for an hour barely warms the massive transformer. Mistakes with wrong antenna, mismatch or drive to high are instantly taken care of with cutoff and warning LEDs. I can’t speak highly enough of the Alpha 87A and probably will buy the 9500 in the next year or so. Definitely 5 Star in my shack.
W8TN Rating: 2013-08-20
22 Years & Goin' Great Time Owned: more than 12 months.
22 years ago I purchased my Alpha 87a. Since I was an "early adopter", I did have some of the early PIN diode issues. But, before long, ETO fixed that problem and I had many, many years of uninterrupted service. Even when I transmitted into the wrong antenna, or forgot to reduce the drive, or made some other mistake, my 87a kept me safe by the many protection circuits built into it.

Then I experienced what is known as the "Fault 1" problem. This is a bias voltage issue. But, since it has happened to others, RF Concepts has placed a troubleshooting guide on their web site. I looked through that and decided to order all the parts that "might" need to be replaced (just 5 diodes and 1 resistor.)

It turned out that I needed some help in figuring out how to get to the part of the amp where the diodes needed replacing and RF Concepts came through again. They emailed me written instructions and even though the emails never seemed to show up (they got stuck in my SPAM folder), RF Concepts kept trying - even having the file sent directly to me by the CEO!

The end result was that my 87a is now back in A-1 shape and working just like new. The help I received from RF Concepts (who did not even own the company when I bought my amp 22 years ago) was nothing short of STELLAR! They went the extra mile to make sure I could repair my 87a and all they received was that I bought the half dozen parts from them.

Being inside the 87a let me see first-hand the top-drawer quality with which this amp is built. I don't recommend many things, but I will not hesitate to recommend this amp or RF Concepts. I have seen few things that continue to work as well today as they did 22 years ago when they were first built. But, if I ever need to replace my 87a, RF Concepts will be the only place I look.
WX4B Rating: 2013-08-20
Still love it!! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had my Alpha for a couple of years, now, and thought it time I added my kudos to the reviews. When I first received the 87 A, after a great experience with the RF concepts sales people, and opened the two boxes (amp and transformer shipped separately) the quality of construction was obvious just by looking. The installation of the transformer and the setup for operating were straightforward. The amp operates itself and protects itself from operator forgetfulness. I've never regretted spending the money for this Amp.

To me the only less than stellar comment is on the operators manual, which leaves me scratching my head at times. And I consider my self to be of at least average intelligence. This is really a minor drawback as the Amp operates itself.

Trust it. Get one if you can find one. Decades old, still top of the line.

VA3AVT Rating: 2013-08-15
Another fine product worth the hay Ur money grows on. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Still going strong in my shack.. Looking to pick up 9500.. Why?? Because I enjoyed test driving it,, and I can afford every dollar it’s worth… Unlike some others on here who like to criticize & judge me for writing an honest review. I guess there just upset because the truth hurts..

This amp is smooth fast quiet and always keeps me at legal limit with 40watts in.

Thanks ETO for building a fine amp..

73
VA3AVT


----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by VA3AVT on 2012-10-29

We’ll all I can tell you after some confusion with shipping, the correct amp was finally shipped to me. All I can say is this 87A amp is amazing!!! Tune what? Where? Oh don’t touch it. It does it all by is self. SO AWESOME!!!

Full power on all bands.. You guys know the rest.

73’s to the Alpha team..

VA3AVT . . . . .. ….
W4FMS Rating: 2013-08-04
Excellent Amp Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought my 87A used in 2002. It's just a great amp and I can't say enough good things about it. It couldn't be any easier to use and looks great in the shack. Although the 3CX800 tubes are expensive, the fault circuitry works perfectly and hopefully these last the life of the amp based on casual use. Frank, W4FMS
KA2Z Rating: 2013-03-28
Great Amp! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The Alpha 87A aill meet all your needs and surpass all your expectations. You will not be disappointed!
W8FLC Rating: 2013-03-27
Satisfied Alpha Customer Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased this amp used over a year and a half ago, and I am still amazed how the amp performs. Love the auto band switching & tuning ease. I got a 1.1 match on all the bands that I use it on and If I want 1500 watts, all I need to do is put in about 35 watts drive and there it is.
On a dummy load I have gotten over 2400 watts output 80 watts drive. Let me tell you, this amp is built like no other. The craftmanship is just simply beautiful inside, and the customer service is second to none. Molly at RF Concepts is simply the best and will help you with any request. At least she did with me and from what I have heard a lot of other Hams also.
Would I recommed an Alpha amp to anyone? You bet I would without the slightest hesitation.
73 all and great hamming
N7WY Rating: 2013-03-18
Operating Simplified Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I had been looking around for an amplifier to boost my K3's output by the legal limit of 15 dB. I read a lot of reviews, and one thing kept coming up - a lot of amplifiers need a lot of attention to keep from damaging them, and many require constant retuning when you QSY within a band. This lead me back to the brick on key advertising of Alpha amplifiers. I reviewed the YouTube videos on the RF Concepts website, and then ordered a refurbished 87a from HRO.

Still being a bit anxious, I carefully read the 87a manual I downloaded. It arrived, I installed the power transformer, did a bit of shack 240vac rewiring, and had the 87a on the air.

AlphaMax makes using the amplifier totally transparent - I press two buttons to activate the software, and then let AlphaMax do bandswitching and retuning without my even thinking about it. This is a blessing during contests when I am moving back and forth across 10, 15 and 20 meters and sliding up and down the bands pouncing on stations to be worked.

After I watched the videos, I knew I had to have an Alpha, and my operating experience validates all the claims - the design of the Alpha 87a is unrivaled, except perhaps in its successor the 9500. I wish I had bought one years ago - I'd have saved my investment in a lesser amplifier that went to the electronic recycing center last September.