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Reviews For: Ameritron AL-1200

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

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Review Summary For : Ameritron AL-1200
Reviews: 58MSRP: 3310
Description:
Tube Type Linear Amplifier
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.ameritron.com/products.php?prodid=AL-1200
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00584.9
K0HB Rating: 2002-09-05
Does the job Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Solid conservative design. Trouble free, loafs at full legal limit, and tolerant of "heat of battle" contest operating.

I like it.

73, de Hans, K0HB


KE4EKW Rating: 2002-06-30
Best Bang For The Buck! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I own several different amps (Amp Supply LK-550, Kenwood TL922A, AL-80B, a couple of 4-1000A homebrews, ect.) and I find the AL-1200 a real dependable workhorse. I did add a four position switch for the fan to the front panel to easily adjust the speed of the fan, however, the stock fan noise is not bad. The AL-1200 loafs along at legal output and is easily capable of 2,200+ watts. I use the AL-1200 with a Kenwood TS-950SDX. The amp has been flawless for over 4 years and the added standard features of inrush protection circuits and the super rugged 3CX1200A7 tube make a great amp at a very reasonable price. It is not as sensitive to misadjustment by the operator as a 3CX800A7 or the 3CX1500A7 tube amps. I honestly do not think one can do any better for several hundred dollars more, and the money saved can be put on antennas! I am confident the AL-1200 will perform very well for many years to come.
WA5IMF Rating: 2002-06-26
Works great! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have owned this amp for over 6 months. I am very pleased with its performance and ruggedness. I have had no problems at all with it and would definitely recommend it.
N5TML Rating: 2002-03-08
nice surprise Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
this is the older model with the grey face. serial number 150. still has full output and voltage is still just right. some things i noticed
no blower adjustment taps. one speed

hey a real bandswitch!

the voltage to the meter bulbs is actually 11.5 volts! they all look origional.

this unit was probably made in either 1986 or 87 and still has the origional tube.

the plate choke has been replaced. seems there was a "recall" or something to that effect with some of the first ones built.

even the filament voltage was right on. unusual nowdays

only thing i had to adjust. i took 400pf of pad out of the 160 mtr position and the power came up along the lines of 80 and 40 mtrs.

real nice amp, maybe it will outlast me
N5PAF Rating: 2002-02-15
Great Amp Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My friend purchased the Great Alpha 89 for $6000, a month later I bought my AL-1200 for a little over $2000. The Alpha will load up at about 2200 watts. My Ameritron will load up at a little over 2200 watts. And I back my exciter input down to run at legal limit. I have been very happy with my amp for over three years. The 3CX1200A is as rugged as a glass tube but with more output. I think that my Ameritron will run along and compare with any Alpha if you compare the output and audio quality. I am a happy ham, and I recommend this amp.
KX2A Rating: 2001-11-27
Excellent Amp. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have an AL-1200, serial number 023, that I have had for 192 months now, enough time to evaluate it. Over the 16 years, I had to replace a 3CX1200 that developed a filament-to-grid short, probably because the 220 voltage at my new QTH was too high. The amp also blew the parasitic suppressor with a bang, and I installed the Richard Measures parasitic mods, but I probably should just have put it back the way it was.

This amp was made before the nice touches were incorporated, like a tapped filament supply, but it is a workhorse. I use it on more than half my QSOs. It has hundreds of countries under its belt, and cannot be overdriven by my Omni VI that puts out 80 watts, driving the amp to 1 kw on 10, and to 1400 - 1500 watts on the other bands. I also run this amp at 1000 watts output on RTTY. The fan is loud, but I don't hear it through the headphones. The instant-on feature has caught rare ones quite a number of times.

As for value, I paid $1227 for it 16 years ago, and used it to work VP8SGK for a new one last night.
AB4RY Rating: 2001-06-12
Great amp Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My Al-1200 started life as an Al-82 ! After 2 years of problems with the 3-500 tubes , I called John at Ameritron , he suggested that I take the amp to the factory to check it out . Well to make a long story short, I did back in April of 1999.

The people at MFJ, President Martin Jue and the team at Ameritron John and Mike threated me like family they took me on a tour of all their plants . As they bench tested the AL-82 and one of the tubes shorted out !

John advised that the last tubes made at Eimac had poor seels and he advise that they could convert the amp to a AL-1200. They asked if I could stay two days and they would convert it over . Since it was my vacation I agreed to stay! The folks at Ameritron completely converted it tested it and , as promised two days later it was being loaded into my vehicle .

Well , my hat goes out to Mr. Jue and John and Mike at Ameritron . Here is the scoop after two years and two months of use the 1200 , has worked perfectly .It will do full legal output out on all bands plus .

It has run faithfully and never missed a beat . No long warm up period , a time and tested rugged tube and great folks at the factory .The amp runs cool, the only commentI could wish for and have discussed with the staff , would be a quieter fan. I like mine so much I'm going to buy a second one. 73's Larry AB4RY
AB4KN Rating: 2001-04-14
Followup after 16 months Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Hello Everyone,
I originally wrote a review of my AL-1200 after a few days operation, back in Dec. 1999. You can see that report further down the reviews here. I promised to come back and give a longer term review in that report.

After almost a year and a half of operation, I am still very pleased with this amplifier. Power output is still extraordinary on all bands. Never need more than around 85 watts to get legal limit and on lower HF bands 50-60 watts gives 1500 watts output. NO mechanical or electrical problems whatsoever. Tuneup is easy and forgiving.
I highly recommend the AL-1200. If you have any questions, Email me at:

ab4kn@yahoo.com

73 and God bless,
George, AB4KN
KG5BV Rating: 2000-10-04
Grrreat!!!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After reading all I could abt the AL-1200, I finally bought one. It worked fine right out of the box. No sparks, arcs or smoke, just 1500 watts out on all bands. The 3CX1200A7 tube is built like a brick, so I don't expect to ever have to replace it. A very well constructed product, I don't expect to ever have to buy another amp.

And some have said its blower is too noisy. Compared to what? For a centrifugal blower, it's a lot quieter than my homebrew amp using a Dayton 4C012 blower, and I thought it was quiet.

Over all, I couldn't be happier.
KE6RD Rating: 2000-07-07
Nice amp Time Owned: more than 12 months.
It's been in my shack for 3years now. Except for a small failure that I encountered once, it's been working great with my DX77T, TH7DX and Heil mic. The pricing is OK, easy to operate. The fan is a bit noisy, but can live with it. I don't see any reason to replace it with another.