Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: Yaesu FL-7000

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

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : Yaesu FL-7000
Reviews: 28MSRP: 1895
Description:
500-700 watts out. 10-80 meter solid state.
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.n4ats.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00284.6
ZL4IV Rating: 2011-09-14
Set the SS standard in it's time. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Some would not think it should get a '5'. I repair these amps often and to see the abuse dished out by hams like full power RTTY etc and survive says something about the Yaesu design. Mine is like the day it came from the shop. Took out my FT1kv and plugged in my FT2kd and it all works, follows my 200w rig around the bands and throttles the output without tripping. BTW I have not done the protection mod in this one. Something like 25 years difference in technology! Age is catching up but as long as you re-do the thermal paste in the finals, don't abuse it you can't get better value for your dollar.
VK4RD Rating: 2007-12-31
Superb Amp Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned it for more than a decade. My FL-7000 is the three button model. I have had no problems with it in that time. It performs great.
I read up on Bill Grassa, N4ATS web page and found it very very informative in all aspects of FL-7000 operation. I run it through a 5 element tribander, and when using the WARC and lower bands use it through an SGC239 auto tuner, no problems. The protect system also works well. Coupled with my FT990 I feel I have a good radio station that has served me well in the past and will serve me well in to the future. It more than handles the VK power limit of 400 watts. A highly recommended amp in any radio shack around the world.

73's
Graeme
VK4RD
IK0YKM Rating: 2007-10-26
Great amplifier Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I use this amplifier since 2005 with a Yeesu FT-1000-D. It's a wonderful line.
The fans are noisy. It is a good amplifier, very robust and well-protected.
I had to reduce the input power at 90 watts so I working "on air" without auto-protection
Many thanks to Bill - N4ATS for all advices that he gave my.
For now the FL-7000 remains in my shack.
Henry IK0YKM
DK5DR Rating: 2007-04-22
A real work horse Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Having used and built tube amps for the past 36 years I wanted to try a solid state amp to run our legal 750W PEP out. After repeated reading of the general introduction of VA7OJ ( What makes a good solid state amp ? ) it seemed that Mosfets like the MOTOROLA MRF 150 were state-of-the-art. So I considered the AMERITRON ALS-600 and the Italian SPE Expert 1K-FA. What made me feel insecure about the whole subject was the fact that few fellow hams use HF solid states except those wealthy plug-and-play guys with the latest ICOM and YAESU amps for $ 5000 up...
But then I ran into this amazing homepage of Bill N4ATS, wow, that FL-7000 appeared to be a real classic piece of equipment.
A few weeks later, the (in)famous German contest-station DR1A threw 4 of them into the 2nd hand market after having used them as pre-drivers @ 200W for contest-work ( now employing 4 brand new ACOM1000 amps )
So I paid the requested $ 1400 and was given a dusty, heavy-weight old lady less instruction manual or any other documentation. Oh-oh-oh....
On the one hand I was impressed by the solid construction and shining beauty after cleaning,
but on the other hand the PROTECT kept tripping whenever 10W drive power were exceeded.
I downloaded the manual from N4ATS and tried to re-align, but without noticeable effect.
Being the shy guy I hesitated to contact Bill who obviously has achieved some status when it comes to the FL-7000.
Much to my surprise though, Bill not only gave me the breakthrough instructions to overcome the difficulties - no, he has cared more than any after-sales-service I ever ran into. This ham spirit is very hard to find these days.
But after having performed dozens of test-runs with the FL-7000, I am not exaggerating when I say:
Without Bill, following the YAESU specs, be prepared for all kinds of surprises.
With Bill, the FL-7000 to me is the best solid state HF amp this sort of money can buy. Now this
FL, costing me 70% of the price when it was new, has turned into a work horse. 600W as per Bill
is enough power ( although you can get more )
Required drive is 20...50W for 160m...10m....
K6SBA Rating: 2007-04-13
AN AMP WITH A FUTURE Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
If you are looking for an under-1KW amp, and want solid state, your choices are limited. There are of course the $4K amps from ICOM and Yaesu. The is also the newly approved Tokyo Hi-Power units for +$3K. At the other end of the scale (in more ways than one) are the offerings from MFJ/Ameritron. Somewhere in between is the SGC Power Cube, Tentec Herc II, and finally the Yaesu FL-7000.

I didn't want to spend $3000 or more and I don't trust the low end offerings. The Herc II is a real risk because of the unavailability of the PA finals. There seems to be pretty mixed reviews of the SGC product, and less than complete satisfaction with after sales service.

I guess I am "stuck" with the FL-7000, and am I happy! An FL-7000 that is in good shape AND has been serviced by Bill Grassa, N4ATS, is some of the best $1200-1400 you will spend in ham radio. My particular model was purchased directly from Bill with all of his tweaks and mods. This amp is a super combination with both my FT-2000 (automatic band change with one cable) and my little FT-897 (no cable yet, so band change is manual).

When used in conjunction with a good manual tuner (a Palstar AT1KM, in my case)you have a powerhouse with all kinds of fault protection.

The amp is extremely well built with components that will last a long time was proper operating care. Bill Grassa is available for fantastic support and service.

It has been said that the first 500 watts is what really matters. Busting a pile-up with N8S on 17-meters has convinced me of that.

If you are looking for a low profile amp, don't overlook this aging but still hot beauty.
KE4EX Rating: 2006-11-23
# 4 # $ 4 $ Money well spent Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Purchased this used from a retiring ham.
True to his word, not a skuff, scratch, blem anywhere. I run it with my FT 990 and MKV Field.
As they say it's the first 500 watts that makes the biggest differance. How true that statement is. I am getting 500 to 675 output depending on the band, on 75 meters with 1:1 swr and no tuner I have gotten 700+. most of the time I run in th RTTY position, 1/2 power. I have ran it several weekends hard and true. Protection system is absolutly great. I have fallen in love with this little package.

I don't care about operating it with other rigs however, it preformed flawless with my "706MKIIG and Pro-II", Now gone.
Yep $ 4 $ # 4 # she is here to stay.
Thanks
73
IK4CIE Rating: 2006-08-25
good Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Purchased used in 2002, now after 4 years of use i can write my review. Positive: the unit is good, well protected, no damage is possible with his very speedy protections. More than 500-600 W out in all bands 160m enclosed.
Negative: antenna tuner extremly slow and meter inaccurate for power and SWR measure.
A good one for no waiting at power-on, small size, automatic band change with yaesu transceivers.
Regards, Vittorio ik4cie
N5TML Rating: 2006-02-10
great Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
this unit is a very quiet and very smooth amp as far as my experience with the solid state unit goes. just very smooth...get one you will love it
KR4XD Rating: 2005-09-09
Great AMP Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This was my first amp and it has performed well w/Yaesu 1000MV 200w with no problem 500w to 800w is par.Bill Grassa shipped amp well protected.Tuning is no problem with the built-in amp even though I added an external tuner. Great piece of equipment and looks good.
WA3IRJ Rating: 2005-05-15
like it ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Purchased the FL-7000 as a companion to my Ft-767gx. I had some initial issues, with the solid state finals. Buyer beware of used units. But after another cash investment..amp repaired and working fine. Great, clean signal reports on all bands.I can drive it all the way to 750-800 watts. But I fear this may be a little tough on the amp. Had the protection circut fix done..and I keep the max power down to 500-600 watts out. It works well , as long as the SWR is 1.5 or less. No prothection shut downs. I sometimes run in the lower power (300 watt) RTTY mode,in SSB..as it loafs along, and the fans rarely come on. Asside from the initial problems, I find the amp to be a good performer. The ATU even works better than some have reported. Would buy one again. But this time, I would check it before laying the cash down !!
73
JohnB
KB3LXY