| K5DBX |
Rating:      |
2008-07-22 | |
| Good product |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| The AL-811 is a very good value for the money. Yes, you can spend enormous money for amps that have very high build quality, and much more power, but for those who are looking for a good value in an amp, it would be hard to find a better one than Ameritron. I have re-tubed mine with the Svetlana 572B, (NOS from 1996 from RF parts branded and resold as 811H) with graphite plates. They have made this amp fairly bullet-proof, especially in the arena of digital and rtty. I can run this amp at 400+ watts all day long, (in digital) and ragchew at 600+ SSB and it has performed flawlessly. |
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| N5VU |
Rating:      |
2008-04-16 | |
| Very Good. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I've had my AL-811 for a couple of months now and it performs quite well. I get the advertised 600 watts output with no problem. I give this amp a 5 because it is so docile.
My only wish is that the Grid meter had a little damping. During CW at full power it flops around quite a bit.
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| EA1EYG |
Rating:      |
2008-01-19 | |
| Potencia en su justa medida |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Compré este pequeño amplificador a un amigo local, su estado era impecable y estaba en un precio adecuado. Al poco tiempo de usarlo regularmente, observo que al ser un Ameritron AL-811XCE de las primeras series, tiene algunos pequeños defectos de diseño, que Ameritron ha ido perfeccionando (algunos de ellos al menos) en series posteriores, el más molesto de ellos es que lleva los supresores de parasitarias VHF en los ánodos de sus tubos, con un montaje tan clásico, rudimentario y poco eficaz, que cada cierto tiempo, sus resitencias cerámicas de 100 Ohm se queman o rompen... y esto resulta un incordio, pues siempre suele ocurrir en el momento más inesperado. Además de que las continuas oscilaciones, por este defecto, dificultan la carga del amplificador en las bandas de 10 y 12m principalmente.
Ante estos inconvenientes, empecé a buscar en la red, información para subsanar el problema, encontré a Richard AG6K, todo un experto en amplificadores, que me recomendo que lo más conveniente era modificar los supresores de parasitarias originales, así que monté el "suppressor retrofit kit" de AG6K, el me lo envió desde California, todo un caballero... y tan pronto como lo instalé, se solucionaron todos los problemas.
Ahora es fantástico, sencillo de cargar en cualquier banda, ha mejorado notablemente su estabilidad, trabaja bien con cualquier tubo 811a, ya sea de baja ganacia (mu) tipo antiguas RCA o de la muy alta ganacia como las Shuguam chinas, ningún problema hasta el momento.
Sus 600w PEP son más que suficientes para con una buena antena romper cualquier pile-up... en pocos minutos.
Por cierto el Kit de AG6K, incluye varias modificaciones de protección, que hace que el AL-811 trabaje mucho más seguro, ante cualquier imprevisto.
En un futuro próximo, aprovecharé para cambiar sus tubos 811a por los 572b, pues aunque funcionan bien, la disipación en su placa con unos 40-45 w es demasiado justa, para operar este amplificador de forma continuada, durante horas y a su máax. potencia. Con la 572b, no ganaremos en potencia, pero el amplificador trabajará más frio y menos forzado, durante largo tiempo.
Definitivamente, no necesito más de 1/2 KW, un pequeño empujón, más que suficiente para entrar en cualquier pile-up, claro está ayudado siempre por una buena antena.
Saludos
EA1EYG / Carlos |
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| EI7BA |
Rating:      |
2008-01-01 | |
| Value for money |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I got one cheap, that had been dropped. I did a bit of "panel beating" and a spray job, and it's like new. It's amazing. It puts out 700 W from three 811s!! I thought my peak reading meter was faulty, but it ain't. It tunes so smoothly, even on 10m. Whoever designed the Ameritron amps, knows a thing or two about Pi Tanks.
Ameritron produce good value for money amps, and even though they're short on frills, they don't cut any corners where it matters. Check out those electrolytics.. good for a couple of amps ripple I'll bet. |
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| KC0GSB |
Rating:      |
2007-12-19 | |
| Good Amp & Good Price |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| This is an inexpensive amp that puts out reasonable power. I bought it to back up the SB-221, and to give me a little punch on 10 meters if i need it. I did replace the 811 tubes with 572b tubes, but it worked well with the originals. I just wanted more rugged tubes. It will do it's rated 600 watts PEP but be careful not to over drive it, or just use the ALC. I got this new for $567 with free shipping from GigaParts. I just couldn't pass it up for that price, less than a dollar a watt. One other thing, I have used it to do RTTY on 40 meters at 300 to 350 watts output without any problems. |
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| AA2HA |
Rating:      |
2007-11-23 | |
| Very good amp for the money |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| Great little amp for the money. I got it as a back-up amp but found myself using it as my primary amp. I did have a minor problem when the amp was new, but tech support was great! I would recommend buying or building, as I did, a soft-start module. I also hade an AL80 with no problems. Keep up the good work Ameritron! |
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| WM2P |
Rating:      |
2007-11-05 | |
| Tough as nails |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Bought one from HRO a month or so ago. Within the first week I blew a fuse and two tubes, all due to MY FAULT for forgetting to reduce power from 200 watts down to the recommended tuning settings. Despite the flashs of light and noises made, all it took was a new fuse and two new tubes. Cheap enough for a lesson in what not to do. I was very surprised that nothing else was damaged. Checked a few things with my Multimeter just to be sure but all works as it should.
The 500 watts made a big difference for me with a CC&R stealth antenna. I had all but given up working DX for now since I was often weak and barely heard. Since I got the amp I am making more contacts in a weekend than I used to do in a month.
Best thing that I did was buy a Pecker from Mr. Pecker to tune. It allows me to stay on SSB and with the flip of a switch sends out a 30% duty cycle tone that allows me to tune the amp for SSB in a very short period of time. You do not even use the amp's meters but instead just tune the amp to produce the rated output using a peak reading meter (a must have to use the Pecker). Tuning is now safer and much easier and like others who bought the Pecker, we can get the amp tuned to the 600 watts rated output where before it would have taken us a long time to get there if at all. It is also amazing to see the difference in tuning up using a steady carrier or even CW and using something that simulates SSB. When I used CW to tune I always had to make minor adjustments when I switched to SSB. Now I tune for SSB and that is it. |
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| W6GF |
Rating:      |
2007-10-24 | |
| A workhorse |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
A distributor was having a super sale and I bought one. I must admit I like Ameritron amps. I now own 8. I have 2 AL-811Hs also. These amps tune easy and are tough. I must admit I did put 3 572-Bs in the amp. It now puts out the same power as the AL-811Hs. There is a lot of information about how to tune these amps. Here is how I do it
1) With the exciter keyed up and drive at 40 watts (FM) adjust for max output on linear
2) Switch to SSB mode and with 70 watts drive do the following
3) Using a keyer with a speaker start sending a string of dots.. Key up exciter....Using a watt meter set to peak put the mike near the speaker, but be careful not to overdrive...Adjust amp for max output..Once at max output you should increase load control to a point where increasing lowers the grid current without lowering power output.. This is the best operating condition for amp.
This may sound complicated, but it becomes a very fast and least stressful way to tune up.
-------If you do not use a dummy load, Please listen to tune up frequency first.---------
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Earlier 5-star review posted by W6GF on 2006-03-23
I just needed another amp....right. This one was going with me in my motorhome. I did not want to buy a solid state amp and run it on batteries....I use the set-up mainly parked, where I hook-ups or the generator. It puts out a solid 600 watts without any fuss. It is easy to tune and, if you make a "big mistake", the tubes are inexpensive. If this is your first amp, your only amp, or you want a standby amp it is a great deal. |
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| N3OQD |
Rating:      |
2007-09-27 | |
| First HF amplifier |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Got this modest fella from AES just before they went up by about $50. Well packed in a double box. Tubes padded well inside. Did have to do just one solder joint on the Load capacitor. After that, fired it up and it was fine. The 811A's were rather forgiving of my brief mistunes as I learned to tune it the correct way. Used modest drive during this period. Decided that I like it enough to go for the 572B Penta Labs drop in's. Did this for the long haul and not to squeeze out more power. With a dedicated 20 amp 110v line gives a very good audio signal as reported by other hams. This is the updated version that has the parasitic section added as an intragal part of the main PCB. Originally this was an option. Now to see how things go over time. |
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| AD5TD |
Rating:     |
2007-09-21 | |
| It's a Tank! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I can't fault much on this amp. I bought it used for $300 and then retubed it for $38. I was "run hard and put away wet" by an ex CBer. I have used it it for over a year now. No matter what I do to it, it just works. Gives an honest 6-700 watts (on peak reading meter) and is easy to use. I would highly recomend it to anyone looking for a mid range output amp. |
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