| KC9MOS |
Rating:   |
2013-11-14 | |
| Stopped working after 3 month |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I bought this amp from DX-Engineering and it worked fine for 3 month. All of a sudden it would not power on any more, no matter what I tried. I called Ameritron and was told to send it in, that was $30 via FEDEX. I got a ticket and was told by John: "Ok, we will keep an eye out for it and get it back as soon as possible." Today I received another message with a slightly different tune "We are a bit backed up, so it might be a couple weeks after we receive it before we can get to it." I will keep you updated about what's going to happen. Ben
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| K5TUE |
Rating:     |
2013-09-26 | |
| decent amp |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Bought used about 2 years ago, finally got it hooked up and running on a new vertical. I run reduced drive most of the time (happier neighbors) and it works well. Easy to tune, quiet fan, clean output. Will probably run forever at 300-400 watts SSB. |
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| WY4J |
Rating:      |
2013-09-22 | |
| I got my Money's Worth |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
For the money, you just cannot beat the AL-811. I purchased mine brand new some 8 years ago. It worked flawlessly from the day I pulled it out of the box and put the tubes in the sockets. I later sold it where it traveled to Bismark North Dakota and where it is still performing without a hitch for its new owner. So I can truthfully state that two hams have received what they paid for, which is a hell of a good amplifier. BTW, it was replaced by an Ameritron ALS-600 amp. Also a hell of a good amp.
I would just like to add that I have been purchasing MFJ products since I became a ham in 1976 and to this day I have never purchased anything that was defective, broken, broke, with cold solders, hot solders, loose solders, missing parts, screws, wires, meters, manuals, scratched, bent, incorrect parts or anything else the imagination might come up with. Did I mention that MFJ has a great customer service department and a bunch of nice folks working there.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by WY4J on 2007-11-23
I have been playing with radios and amplifiers for 32 years. Purchased this little amp to complement my newly acquired IC-746PRO. Great value for the money and puts out just enough to get everyone's attention. The design is simple and the tubes very inexpensive. If I want a bit more power than I turn on the old Drake L4B but so far the old boy is been resting since this AL 811 seems to be doing all I ask for.
Great little amp for very little cash outlay. |
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| N4KC |
Rating:      |
2013-09-22 | |
| Yes, you DO get what you pay for |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This is only one of the most popular amplifiers in the world and even here on eHam, where folks tend to fashionably low-ball any MFJ/Ameritron product, it has a 4.5-out-of-5.0 rating after 143 reviews.
With thousands sold and in service, I suppose it is possible for someone to get one that has an issue. And with hundreds and hundreds passing from one user to another, some will have suffered abuse. And yes, because of its economical design, if you do not follow proper tune-up and operating parameters, you can do some damage.
The truth is, though, that this is a solid amp, brilliantly designed, and has for many, many years enabled thousands of users to economically and cleanly add multiple decibels to their transmitted signal when needed. I urge anyone who believes he can design, manufacture, and sell something better for less than $800 brand new to have at it. You just better be prepared for guys to give it a "0 - Awful!" rating on eHam even if hundreds more find it to be a fine piece of reasonably-priced gear.
Mine was heavily used prior to my purchase, still has (so far as I can tell) the original tubes, is at least 15 years old, and still works like a champ on all bands except for a high input SWR on 12 and 17. I choose not to try to tweak it out because I use it more on 15 and 10 and it performs wonderfully on those bands. But the previous owners (apparently) and I know how to tune and run the amp. Check W8JI's web site and you will, too.
73,
Don N4KC
www.n4kc.com
www.donkeith.com
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Earlier 5-star review posted by N4KC on 2013-03-06
Yes, it is a basic 400/600-watt amplifier with few bells and whistles, but it works remarkably well and gives you considerable gain over your typical 100-watt transceiver...when you need it.
The 811 tube is easily available, inexpensive, requires no "netralization," and, though not that forgiving if run for long periods without being properly tuned or over-driven, can last a long, long time if not abused.
There are literally thousands of them out there...and thousands more of its big brother, the 811H...and I defy anyone to identify one on the air by observing any spurious output emissions if it is being properly operated. You can coax plenty of spurs out of just about any amplifier on the market if you try hard enough.
I bought mine used and the previous owner had about ten years worth of vigorous enjoyment before going SK. Yes, the T/R relay had started to get a little balky, but it was a simple matter to clean the contacts. It has been working flawlessly for another five years now, and still with the original tubes.
Anyone would be foolish to replace the 811s with 572Bs solely in an attempt to get more power out. That puts strain on other components not intended to deliver more than the rated power.
It is also foolish to compare the price of this amp when bought new to used amps in the same class. Yes, you can find old Heathkits or other brands out there, but unless you are comfortable evaluating amplifiers that may have been abused, and then sourcing parts for and repairing them, you may want to stay with new gear. Even then, you can often find used AL-811s for about half the new price. As noted, they have sold thousands of them. They are easy to work on and, as mentioned, you don't have to mortgage the house to re-tube one.
Sorry if at least one of you wants to take a hammer to one of these things. You can just send it to me next time and I'll be happy to take care of it for you!
73,
Don N4KC
www.n4kc.com
www.donkeith.com
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Earlier 5-star review posted by N4KC on 2008-04-16
Only been a ham 46 years and never had an amp before. I bought this one from a friend's estate when he went SK, so I knew it had received good treatment. Though it is at least 8 or 10 years old, it worked fine from the get-go...with one minor glitch. The T/R relay was not making after transmitting, leaving the antenna disconnected on receive. A bit of contact cleaner and it has worked fine since.
Also, don't be frightened by all the flak on how to tune one of these things up. Get a good wattmeter (MFJ makes a good peak-reading one, but don't use the peak setting when tuning! That is for SSB or CW.) and tune...with 20 watts or so of drive...for max power out while watching limits on PA and grid current. Re-touch with 40 or 45 watts drive, depending on how much compression and audio gain you run on SSB, and watch the wattmeter. Do it all quickly and make notes of the plate and load settings and your 811s will love you, even if they are cheap.
Seems to be a good entry-level, backup, or--in my case--go-to-when you-need-to amp. No, it won't handle full-break-in CW as is. No, it does not have a wattmeter. It is NOT a KW amp! But for the money, it is a workhorse. It seems mostly oblivious to reasonably high mismatches. Mine runs cool and the fan is quieter than I was led to believe it would be. And with as many in the field as there are, you know you would hear if there were any problems other than the ones caused by those who try to get the last watt out of one of these things before it fries. Or those nuts who spend fifteen minutes key-down (usually on top of DX) trying to tweak to the nth degree.
Don N4KC
www.n4kc.com
www.donkeith.com
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| AC4R |
Rating:  |
2013-09-22 | |
| Pass on this one |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I bought a AL-811 new and it was downhill from there. One trip back to Ameritron for repairs , and to another repair man within 6 months. after the next failure i gave the amp away to get it out of the shack. you get what you pay ! You have been warned.
AC4R
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Earlier 0-star review posted by AC4R on 2009-12-05
After owning a AL-811 for two years and over $300.00 in repairs i am junking it out. You get what you pay for !
AC4R
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| VK2IMM |
Rating:     |
2013-03-07 | |
| Good but not without problems |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I had experience similar with previous reviewer.
My AL811 was purchased brand new from DXE. No issues on delivery.
Later discovered that load capacitor did not have enough capacitance on 80m. Moved coil tap by couple of turns to add inductance instead. About 3 months into operation one of the front panel switches failed. It is very hard to get these switches out from front panel as I found and they are made from some cheap plastic. In fact, I had to replace whole front panel at the end and new front panel assembly that I purchased from Ameritron had three rocker switches already pre-installed.
The same problem with having not enough capacitance was also found in the lower part of 160m band. Not fixed in my PA yet but I will add a capacitor.
Good amplifier and it delivers power as expected. It runs well with 450W on CW and 500-600W on SSB, output power is a bit less on 10 and 15m.
On WARC bands 17m works best.
Having said that I am not happy to have these issues in a brand new unit. |
|
| K7TXA |
Rating:     |
2013-03-06 | |
| Not an Alpha, but for the money, not too bad! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I've had two other amplifiers in the past: an SB-221 and an Elecraft KPA500. The SB-221 is long gone. The KPA500 worked OK and interfaced nicely with my K3, but had to get rid of it for several reasons. Couple months ago I decided to go back to QRO. Not a whole lot of money to spend, and after reading reviews, decided on the AL-811. $700 for a brand new 500-watt amp? Why not? If they were total junk, Ameritron/MFJ would not have been able to sell thousands of them. Mine came from DXE. - $709.
I carefully plugged in the three 811A tubes, read the operating manual a few times, read W8JI's tune-up procedure a few more times, and gave it a try. Worked fine. My only issue was that I could not get it completely tuned up at the bottom of 80 meters. Not enough capacitance in the tank. Several calls to Ameritron resulted in them sending to me (no charge) several additional padding caps to add to the band switch for 80 meters. It took a couple minutes to open the cabinet, solder in the additional caps, and that was all it needed. Loads up fine now on 80 and easily puts out 500+ watts down to the bottom of the band.
I drive the amp with an Elecraft K3. Following the amp is an LDG AT-600 Pro II and the M-600 meter. The tuner connects to one of three antennas via an external switch: 160 meter Inverted L, 80 meter Inverted L, and an 88-foot long, 45-foot high doublet fed with 450 ohm ladder line and a home brew 1:1 KW balun. The AL-811 has no problem producing 500 watts on 160-10 meters in this configuration.
Not the most powerful amp on the market, but I doubt anyone is going to find a new, under-warranty 500 watt amplifier for less money. Treat it right and you should enjoy having a bit more muscle in your signal! |
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| PU1KGZ |
Rating:      |
2013-03-05 | |
| Works as designed. Works Great! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I'm new to amplifiers and I read the manual and did a quick web research on the subject before trying to operate my new acquisition.
Once tuned, it worked fine in 40 and 15 meters. I use a MFJ969 antenna tuner to tune my antena with SWR below 2:1 and the peak power meter on the MFJ969 indicates the antenna get 550+ watts. If you do not overdrive it (I set my Yaesu 950 to Tx pwr 75W), there will be no distorsion, since the amp will work within its linearity range.
Before buying this amp I compared the price for tube and solid state amps and dcided to go with the tube, besides the additional complexities. Overall, I believe it is a good buy, with a very good cost/benefit trade-off.
Good luck to all. |
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| W6WUH |
Rating:  |
2013-03-04 | |
| Burping Bread Box for Appliance Ops. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Common Fellas ! Only hams who don't know anything about radio will buy this piece of junk!
First of all.. it has NO Netralization ! It is a giant oscillator, if keyed up off resonance.
So, no... it will not give you a Clean Signal.
You may think so... but un-uh.
Second, it is absolute hell to service the circuit board where you will find a tiny relay smaller than your thumb acting as the T/R relay.
Good bunch of luck changing that out.
572-B's in this thing ? Maybe 2.. but use three and you are on a fast road to hell. About the only thing "good" about this thing is the power supply.... and parts availability.
Tell me why you would pay $650 for this burping bread box ... when you could buy a bullet proof Heathkit SB-200 for less than half the money.??
I took a hammer to mine, so it wouldnt go back on the air EVER. FCC Commercial Op.
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Earlier 3-star review posted by W6WUH on 2010-05-27
The AL-811 is a confusing mixed bag.
It uses good components, but the soldering is not to be trusted. If you buy one.. inspect every solder joint and re-do anything questionable.
Small and light, warc bands and 160 !
( See W8JI website regarding problems with 572B and 811 tubes in general )
With 572B tubes this amp should be bullet proof.
With 811-A's the tubes are run beyond thier plate current maximum ratings. This is ok for SSB with it's low duty cycle.. but follow the manual's advice and reduce power for other modes, if you use 811's.
Using 572B's is a a no brainer plug in replacement with all ups, and no downside.
The power supply is the same as in the 800 W PEP output 4 tube 811-H.. it appears the tank coil, switch and etc are also the same. So why not run it at 800w output using 572B's ? Beats me.
Works fine - IF it doesnt suffer from neutralization problems. There is NO neutralization provision in this amplifier... and with 811-A's or 572B tubes that is a BIG Design MISTAKE.
All decent amplifiers ( gonset, heathkit, etc)
have neutralization for these tubes.. as does the 4 tube 811-H version !
The grids are directly grounded in the AL-811.
That is very good. Unless they forgot to solder one ! That's what happened in my amp... and the previous owner melted several tubes ( cetron, taylor, and chinese) in that one socket. Singed the paper on the Xfmr and charred a corner of the parasitic board. Not nice. Crummy quality control Ameritron !
When everything is right, these seem to tune smoothly, and make oodles of power.
Biggest issue is that DECENT TUBES are now harder to get. Cheap tubes are easy.
RCA 811-A's have a new transconductance above 1300.
New Chinese and Russian 811-A's and 572B's test at only 900 !
Even new Cetrons from Surplus Sales were 900 !
That sucks.
Ditto 572-B's same specs, same shortfall.
My used Taylor 572-B's test in the 1300 range.
(From RF Parts). Buy Those !
So, if you only run 500w output, and burn in your sub par new tubes for 24 hours before you use them... you can use the cheap tubes.
Otherwise, Get RCA's, Taylors ( pre-tested),
or Old Stock Cetrons if you can find them.
When I get this thing repaired, I will complete the review with a close look at stability, and parasitics.
Good news is that every part down to the nuts and bolts is listed on the Ameritron / MFJ website and are available. Most are pretty cheap.
They sure pump a lot of power through very tiny relays. I would like to open one up someday.
Switching time is very good. ALC is widely adjustable. Very easily driven. Even a few watts works.
I cannot get Ameritron to give me a value for the cathode bias used in the AL-811.
In my first letter to them ( faxed) I got a phone reply in a day or two. I have gotten no reply to my second.. pointing up thier unsoldered grid connection, and asking for the bias voltage . So, mixed bag there.
Parts ordering process is kind of odd..you order and pay online.. then have to go back and re-confirm your order all over again, adding a day or two delay, to what seems not to be a very speedy process anyway.
IMHO.. when a production error on thier part caused the loss of several tubes, and a parasitic board... the least they could do would be to offer to send the board ( retail $30 actual value about $3 ) as a " sorry we goofed" good will gesture.
But then I believe in truth, justice and the american way ( no shorts outside my tights ).
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|
| VK3BFR |
Rating:      |
2012-12-02 | |
| This amp has worked well for nearly 20 years |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I bought an AL811 second hand while I was living in the States (Texas) in 1994. The tubes were shipped separately and when I plugged them in only two of the three lit up. I bought a new tube and a spare set of three as well (matched). When replacing the non lit up tube I discovered that some idiot (me!!!) had not plugged the tube in properly. Once removed and plugged in properly, it worked, as did the amplifier. I am still using the original tubes; however, I will say that I don't use it often. I think the amp with the spare tubes will see me out! |
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