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Reviews For: Ameritron AL-1500

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

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Review Summary For : Ameritron AL-1500
Reviews: 75MSRP: 2845
Description:
3CX1500/8877 Tube Type Linear Amplifier
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.ameritron.com/products.php?prodid=AL-1500
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
25754.8
KA4ETV Rating: 2023-02-04
Great AMP Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Still a great amp. Just don't bother sending this back to MFJ for service. Mine was manufactured in 1996. The relay was sticking so sent for serve. MFJ didn't do a thing. They claimed it was fixed. Came back in the same condition. Ordered a new part to do it myself. They sent the wrong part. Then refused to cover the shipping back. Come to find out they don't even know how to burnish a relay and don't carry new ones. They couldn't have ever fixed this in the first place. Yet I was charged and out for the shipping. Just have a reliable local tech repair. I am never buying anything from MFJ again, but this is a keeper. MFJ needs to do a lot better and hire staff that are competent. The employees seem disinterested at best. You also need to tell customers up front that you don't have parts and don't know how to fix your own unit. Or you should repay shipping charges.
K5INI Rating: 2023-02-03
Keep the Grid Current under 75 and it will last forever Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Heavy - has some real "presents" -takes 3 minutes to
warm up - works as advertised - read the manual and it will serve you from now on.
KE4AMQ Rating: 2022-06-15
the best Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Just got another al1500. This one was abused but I fixxed her all up and installed a new 3cpx1500a7. The amp works fine now after doing a bit of work to it. Puts out 1800 watts with 55 watts of drive now. I have owned every amp known to man from home brews to alphas the Ameritron al1500 is the best amp I every owned mine has the pd transformer and it is a tank it will outlast me for sure and legal limit is loafing.. run 1500 watts all day everyday don't miss a lick. the number one plus is you could call Ameritron and speak with a tech...buy a alpha and open your wallet I had the 77sx and the dx and you couldn't give me one
W8NIC Rating: 2021-01-26
Does what it's suppose to! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
10 year old amp. 43 watts drive gets me 1500 watts out on 20m and 30w drive on 40. Very solid amp. Do not abuse because if you do, you'll be out a few $'s getting an 8877 tube which is very expensive. Fan is noisy on mine, don't know how to fix.
All in all, it's a very good amp. It better be, they cost $6k new.
N4RSS Rating: 2020-11-29
Works Well Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Off-loaded for parts a QRO HF2500DX that had seen better days and overnighted the AL-1500 with the Chinese tube from DX Engineering, yikes.

Installation was straightforward enough. Did need to buy a 6" socket extension and used some poster putty in the socket to retain and install the transformer nuts on the tight inboard side.

Tune up was fine. You won't get 2000+ RTTY carrier without seeing 75 ma grid current, which is within spec but FYI. Legal limit 50 ma yes.

Not as substantial as the QRO but works well. I was disappointed that one of the aluminum cabinet pieces was gouged, which must have occurred at the factory since the shipping box and amp were otherwise fine, but I was made whole on that issue.
W8JI Rating: 2020-05-28
Please Read This Time Owned: more than 12 months.
People are modifying amplifiers for no reason based on a single Internet post. The data sheets for 8877/3CX1500A7 tubes specify 3 minutes warm up, NOT four minutes.

There is no benefit in extending warm up time beyond factory time. Even the 180 seconds from Eimac is very conservative.

Also, never lower filament voltage below 5 volts. It will NOT extend tube life. It can actually shorten it. I have seen cases where people put the filaments at 4.75 volts and they poison the cathode when power line dips. Follow the manual.

WR0F Rating: 2020-01-20
Long wait for a nice amplifier Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
We purchased our AL-1500 Q about 5+ months ago and just received it 1/14/2020 back ordered special order with qsk board ..
We ordered ours with QSK kit being installed at the factory . The amp has a loud fan but it has a solid band switch and is very easy to tune. On 75 meters with 33 watts drive we get legal limit 1500 watts output power.
This amp is solid and should last me a longtime with the Eimac 3cx1500a7 8877 tube.

With the QSK board installed the connections from rectifier board to transformer are on the side facing the transformer .No need to remove top qsk board to hookup the voltage .
N8WGM Rating: 2015-09-17
I'm an ampaholic Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've owned quite a number of amplifiers. Ameritron (AL82, . AL1200, AL1500) , Dentron (Clipperton L) , Heathkit (SB220) and Alpha (76PA) and a few others.

I just got a new to me Ameritron AL1500.....the second one I've owned. The first one I had got hit by lightning and was totaled by the insurance company quite a number of years ago. So I went to Dentron and got a Clipperton L and pocketed the difference. While the Clipperton L was a great amp, I really did like my original AL1500.

So I found one local as I hate the idea of shipping amps as Fedex and UPS have in the past destroyed amps I either bought or sold.

The AL1500 is no Alpha....and that is OK as it is still being made and supported. Plus the 8877 tubes are still being used and made by Eimac and by Chinese manufacturers. The Chinese tubes are as good as the Eimacs I'm told by those who have used them. Plus they are about half the cost of new Eimacs.

The AL1500 I got had a few problems. The start up timer was off by about a minute. The 3cx1500a7 requires a 3 minute warm up to prevent tube damage. That was an easy fix with a 330 ohm resistor instead of the 680 ohm resistor on the start up board that was going bad. The other problem I had was the power supply caps...two of them....were out of spec and were causing shorting across the bleeder resistors. So a call to Ameritron got me a new set of power supply caps and resistors. Very easy fixes. The Ameritron AL1500 to get is the one with the Peter Dahl transformer. That is what I have and it is a brute.

This amp is very easy to tune despite what some have said. Follow the owners manual and make sure you put all that power into a low SWR antenna, preferably resonant, and enjoy easy QRO. Legal limit is easy with very low drive.

For the price, you cannot beat the Ameritron AL1500. It is no Rolls Royce but is is a high performance Chevy of amps and nobody at the other end will complain that it is not an Alpha or other high end amp.....plus it is still manufactured and supported by Ameritron. The 3cx1500A7 tube can be purchased new or as medical pulls. I got a 3CPX1500A7 which can be used and are usually a bit less expensive than the regular 3cx1500a7 tube. They are pulse rated and have a more stout build and can survive a bit better from mis-tuning or other mistakes.

If you can find one used, make sure it has the Peter Dahl transformer and check to make sure that the caps don't snap when turned on. The fix is easy but it will cost around $150 to get the parts from Ameritron.

I highly recommend this amp if you want to stay with tube type amplifiers. If you can find one with the Peter Dahl transformer for under $2500, there is no better value out there.
W9BR Rating: 2015-07-26
Great amp. Owned now for 8 years Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought a used AL-1500 8 years ago. I have had great service out of it. I don't have to tell you about the power output as everyone else will tell you what a power house it is. I have everything updated in this amp except the blower mod for lower noise. I still think I will do that and looking for any good hints in addition to the rubber gasket!

I would HIGHLY advise anyone owning one of these AL-1500 amps to look at the timing circuit of their HV relay. Ameritron has it set from the factory (by a cap) somewhere around three mintues. THIS IS NOT ENOUGH TIME. The EIMAC spec sheet calls for at least four minutes. I repeat, it should go at least FOUR MINUTES. I changed the timing cap and have set mine for 6 minutes. The 8877 better come up to full temp and all those little metal particles need to get off the tube components before you hit the HV!! Trust me as I have replaced the 8877 with a new Eimac on account of the poor timing.
W2JUQ Rating: 2014-01-27
AL-1500 AMP Time Owned: more than 12 months.
HI WELL LET ME START OFF BY GIVING YOU THE BACK ROUND ON THIS AMP IT WAS MADE IN OHIO IN THE EARLY 80'S LONG BEFORE MFJ BOUGHT THEM I HAVE IT 3YEARS I AM ON THE AIR 2HR MAYBE 3HR A NITE OLNLY ON 40M.I LOAD AS PER SPECS 50 WATTS IN 1500 OUT.WHEN I GOT THE AMP I GOT A EXTRA TUBE WITH IT WOW GREAT.WELL A YEAR WENT BY AND BANG TIME FOR REPAIR NEW CAPPS ,RELAYS ECT AND OF COUSE ANOTHER TUBE THERE GOES THE EXTRA TUBE.SENT OUT FOR REPAIR.OK 2 YEARS LATER BANG AGAIN SAME PROBLEM DIFFERANT TEC ANOTHER TUBE.3RD YEAR BANG AGAIN WELL THIS TIME I HEARD ABOUT BILL N4ATS READ ALL HIS GLOWING REVEIWS WELL I CANT TELL YOU ALL THE REWIREING AND REPAIRING OF FAULTY REPARIRS HE HAD TO COPE WITH BEFORE HE FOUND THE PROBLEM THAT THE OTHERS NEVER SAW AND NOW THANKS TO BILL ALL IS WELL.THE THING THAT IMPRESSED ME WITH BILL WAS HOW A GUY WEIGHTING 140LG PICKED UP THAT 80LB AMP AND PUT IT IN MY TRUCK.