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Reviews For: Ameritron AL-811

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

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Review Summary For : Ameritron AL-811
Reviews: 151MSRP: 650
Description:
Uses three tough 811A transmitting tubes
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.ameritron.com/products.php?prodid=AL-811
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001514.5
W0TDH Rating: 2016-06-18
Most economical for the $$$ Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My humble AL-811 was a Christmas gift from XYL 12-25-1993.

After a few glitches early on(replacement parts provided free ), it made all the difference
when my Elmer and I were in QSO's four times a week. (40Mtr CW)
He lived in STL with a lot of noise. The increased signal to him was a blessing.
My Elmer Passed and is a Silent Key. Mostly AM Ops for several years now, using
the AL-811 amp. Mostly 10Mtrs when Band opens.

I have gone through several sets of 811a's since 1993. They used to be 12.00 each :))

I have tried a set of 572B's....and flattened them in no time at all. ( according to RF Parts )
Too much heat. Went back to 811a's and added an external fan on exhaust port with five 1/2" holes in right
side of case. Stock fan was left in place. Tubes seem to last longer now.

AM Ops are at 100watts output. ( 400 wts Peak, 100% Mod). Long winded transmissions are the Norm.
Problems arise when I forget to plug in the external fan.....thus overheating tubes.

The amp is great for helping the Morrow Twins, Gonset G-28 and several AF-67'/68's
to achieve 100wts output using a fixed 6db attenuator to lower exciter output to about 8wts.
Only problem I have is with heat. Better tube life has been achieved with addition of the external fan.

This amp was not designed for longwinded AM Ops, I understand that.
I have pretty much learned to live with losing tubes due to heat, however there must be a better solution,
other than placing the amp in an ice box, ice house etc......perhaps cooling thermal couples on the air inlet....:))
The solution is most certainly not using 572B's. I find them much harder to cool. 811a's seem to shed heat better.

No complaints, just some hands on with the AL-811 amp and can not afford a different amp.

Using amp on CW & SSB I suspect the tubes would last a very long time.

73,

WØTDH
KL2EC Rating: 2016-06-13
great amplifier! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Never had an amplifier before this one. the learning curve was short and I really enjoy using this big box. I have read many varied reviews but I do like the perfomace.
KK4YDR Rating: 2016-01-27
Great little small amp Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Got this amplifier in a trade from another station. It was about 6 months old at the time of trade, last month 01/16.

Amplifier makes about 500watts pep peaks in SSB. I haven't used it for other modes other than SSB. I could tune it a little more aggressively but the 811's aren't 3cx1500 tubes like so many tend to think. They are a durable little inexpensive tube and are pretty tough. I accidentally hammered them with a 200ma grid current spike not paying attention and my self-installed GOP circuit kicked in. The amp still makes 500 watts pep. Don't count on these making 600 watts as advertised. That is definitely an overstatement. These are super easy to tune. A little practice and you will be tuning it within 15 seconds on average after a band switch.

Great little amplifier for the money and it's small size. No frills, lots of excitement.

I am NOT going to sell this amplifier. I am going to get a legal limit next and keep this as a rag chewing amp when I don't want to run a 1500 watt space heater in my shack.
VA6DWH Rating: 2015-12-04
Great Value !! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Please dont expect this amp to compare to the big dollar rigs.....but for what it costs and its durability....ease of use.....and up to six times the signal out..!...Pretty hard to beat....I have a legal limit rig I use most of the time....but I do keep my 811 exercised....as an inexpensive second or spare amp its super value....and the tubes are cheap....other than some routine cleaning....never had to fix anything....Build quality is so so...if you get one that works out of the box.....and you drive it properly....chances are you will be pleased....Regards..
VA6DWH
G3ZPS Rating: 2015-11-16
Good for light use Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Had this used amp for 4 years (its 8 years old), the previous owner put 572b tubes in it and gave me the 811s as spares. It has light use - which is probably what its best at, I don't push it hard with my old FT902 and I don't use a speech processor. I cut my teeth on tube gear so I can tune it very quickly. The one problem I had was a failure to go into transmit caused by one damn 1/8 Watt 10ohm resistor in the little 2 transistor relay switching circuit going open circuit. Getting to it (or any component at the back of the amp) is a complete pain, I had to take the back panel off and release enough of the wiring on the one large double sided PCB to get to it. This is one area where the money is saved, put most components on one big board. Its not a contesters amp, don't thrash it for every last watt, expect the odd repair and it will keep going
W2YM Rating: 2015-10-13
GREAT LITTLE AMP Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Great amp this little ALS-811. I have had know problems. with it at all. I am heard all over when using it.
W8EDW Rating: 2015-07-10
Better than expected! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I purchased the AL-811A about 6 months ago after having problems with my IC-2KL. I was a little cautious about purchasing a tube amp. Here is my set up: Icom 735, AL-811A, SGC-235 Antenna Coupler at the base of a ground mounted LDG S9V43 43' vertical. I am amazed at the performance of this combination with this amp. Absolutely no problems. Just take your time and tune the amp according to the manual. If I can hear 'em I can work 'em. Way to go Ameritron! What a great old design that just keeps working.
K9ILL Rating: 2015-05-24
Pretty good Amp Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Worked great at first but tubes only lasted a short time. Replaced the 811-A tubes with 572-B's and they lasted about a year and had to replace them. Went back to 811-A tubes. Maybe I'm not tuning the amp correctly.
I haven't used the amp for a long time but last night I turned it on and a station in Florida asked if I had added something in line.
I told him I just turned on my Amertron 811.
He said the difference was like "Going from mud to ice cream"... whatever that meant. lol
I love my Ameritron 811 and would recommend it to anyone. I can re-tube it for about $65 and I always keep a few sets of tubes around. The reason for the 4 rating is for replacing the tubes.
KF5HVW Rating: 2015-03-18
Great Value Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This was my first Linear Amp. It is very well built,
relatively low cost and works very well. I have had
several minor hardware issues with one of the meters and a switch. Ameritron's technical support and parts replacement was excellent.
VK5AGC Rating: 2015-01-30
Not very good. Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have had this has amp for some time now and only used it once. It started blowing a fuse now, and I discovered one of the tubes had blown out...Not bad for only using it once.