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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
W8COC Rating: 2000-10-03
More Than I Expected Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I do not work CW or RTTY, I am just a phone kind of guy. I have been reading some not so good reports about the 8877 tube in the AL1500. I have had this Amp 5 days and I could not be pleased more. 50 watts drive gives 1500 watts out on all frequencies. I did have a problem with the AL1500 watt meter. A call to the factory and that was solved over the phone. I recemond this Amp to anyone wanting a 1500 watt Amp. I also got the ATR-30 antenna tunner to go with this Amp and it looks like a great combination. GO FOR IT!!!
K4DLJ Rating: 2000-03-10
Good value but... Time Owned: unknown months.
Recently, I have purchased a AL-1500 and find it is a real fine amp. Full legal output can easily be obtained with only 60 watts on any band. The only complaint I have is that the 1500 is missing a few needed parts. In a discussion with Richard Measures AG6K we have both come to the same conclusion. #1-parasitic supressor. #2- by-pass capacitors around the plate
chokes. However, the amp does work without them it appears that it is just a matter of time before a parasitic will get the best of the tube and possible other components. I have added the components to insure the propper stability and it appears that the tuning is much smoother on the higher bands. Some minor improvement on lower freq.'s. 4 additional by-pass capacitors - .002/6kvd.- ceramic disk-before and after the in plate chokes. The parasitic choke has been made of 1/2"-silver strap with 2 -100ohm 2 watt carbon resistors bent in a half moon just enough to house the 2 watt resistors and grid dipped at 110mhz. All of these items have been carefully modeled after the ETO/Alpha 77dx. The only other week link I can see is the band switch. Rated at 10 amps. So far so good though. Would not be a good idea to put the AL-1500 into anything worse than a 3:1 swr or accidently switching bands while transmitting. Otherwise I really think the AL-1500 is a good value for the watts out.
K2UA Rating: 2000-02-21
A very solid value Time Owned: unknown months.
In spite of the very expensive 8877 tube it uses, the AL-1500 is exactly what I want in a contest amplifier: full output with low drive (60 W typ), cool-running, lots of design margin, and some basic protection (grid-overcurrent trip). It comes from the factory with NO parasitic suppression, so order the parts from AG6K (measures@vc.net) the same day you order the amplifier. Other than that, I couldn't be happier with an amplifier, and I've used a lot of different ones over the years. If I could change one thing, it would be the three-minute warmup--but that's an inherent requirement of the 8877's indirectly heated cathode.
W9QX Rating: 1999-09-04
IF YOU DON'T HAVE ONE BUY ONE ITS THE BEST Time Owned: unknown months.
OH BUT IT'S THE BEST ALL AROUND ES I AM ONE WHO HAS HAD THEM ALL YOU NAME IT I HAD IT THIS AL1500
WILL BE WITH ME TILL I DIE IF THAY ALLOW IT TO BE BURYED WITH ME THEN IT WILL BE ALL HAMS BUY ONE ASAP BEFORE ITS DISCOTIUED THANK GOD I GOT ONE


PAUL W9QX
W4AN Rating: 1999-08-27
Best Amplifier for the Money! Time Owned: unknown months.
I have owned by AL1500 now for 3 years. 11 months after I bought it, I got a phone call from some guy on the factory floor at Ameritron. He wanted to know if I was satisfied with the amplifier that he helped build and asked if I wanted to send it back to fix anything before the warranty was up. This is the only phone call of this type I have ever received by a ham radio manufacturer. That was just the beginning of my satisfaction with this amplifier. It's rock solid. Only thing negative I would say about it is the flimsy case they use. And the 10 billion screws they use to hold it on. If you have to get in this amplifier, set aside a week for taking off the cover. :)