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Reviews For: Commander HF-1250

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

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Review Summary For : Commander HF-1250
Reviews: 9MSRP: 1695
Description:
HF amp 160-10 meters 1.2 KW output 1 3CX800A7 tube
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.palstar.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0094.8
KE4AMQ Rating: 2018-09-03
great amp Time Owned: more than 12 months.
i have two of the commanders the 1250 and the 2500 great amps never any problems i also have a alpha 87a and i would put the commanders in front of the alpha any day of the week. they take a lickin and keep on tickin same as the qro amps i love my commanders

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Earlier 5-star review posted by KE4AMQ on 2006-04-29

I BOUGHT THIS AMP ABOUT 3 WEEKS AGO, ITS USING A UPGRADED 3CXP800A7 TUBE. THE AMP IS SUPER QUITE AND WORKS GREAT EASY TUNING , AND I LIKE THE FACT IT HAS THE 2 MINUTE WARM UP LIGHT..THE ONLY THING I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THIS AMP IS IF YOU FIND ONE GET IT...THE ONE TUBE 1250 AMP WILL PUT OUT 1500 WATTS WITH THE UPGRADED CPX TUBE AND WELL I AM IN LOVE WITH IT.. I HAVE SEEN THEM FOR SALE FOR 1200-1500 DOLLARS AND THATS A GOOD DEAL IF YOUR LOOKING FOR A AMP THAT WILL LAST THE REST OF YOUR LIFETIME. THE 3CXP800A7 WILL ALSO LAST THAT LONG IF ITS NOT ABUSED.
VA3AQB Rating: 2018-02-20
Band switch Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had one for a while, my concern was the band switch. No replacement available. Nice solid amp no protection on it, just the way amps were built at the time. My biggest concern is that the 1250 is rare, everything else in the amp is common to the HF2500 but the band switch. If you damage this then you will be in trouble trying to replace. You maybe able to drill out the rivet to replace contacts. This is a big job even bigger than other amps. For that reason I give it a 3. For the operation is a 4 because no protection and tube is not cheap to replace.
K2UE Rating: 2011-10-14
Excellent! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Purchased the E version (export) with QSK from a ham in Canada for use at my summer house. I wanted a linear that would give me at least 1KW, cover 160m, and not need huge drive, to assure good IM from a solid-state transceiver driver. After replacing the original drifted HV meter resistors, and the original electrolytics (that appeared to still be OK), I am extremely pleased with the amp. Smooth easily logged tuning with the vernier caps, low input VSWR, low grid current way below tube spec. The only shortcoming is no output metering, so you will need an in-line power meter. Tank is of the highest grade materials like we used to used to build commercial SSB gear for continuous duty. Highly recommended.
K2FCL Rating: 2010-12-15
ROCK SOLID ! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Recently acquired this amp from an acquaintance in Canada not realizing how nice an amp it really is. It still looks and works as new, and makes most other amps I've owned seem like toys. The build quality, ruggedness, and component selection are top shelf. Believe me, when you turn the bandswitch on this 1250 and you hear and feel the "snap" you'll realize too how things are supposed to be !!! If you can find one, buy it !!
Recently the tube has become pricy but with proper care will last many years and they are still quite available as "medical" pulls.
PA1K Rating: 2010-01-31
super Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I bought an HF1250E in 2009.
Great amplifier with 1200-1300 watts output.
Very well build, with great parts.
If you find one, buy it.
50-60 watts gives you full output.
NL7FK Rating: 2008-03-23
WOW!!!!!!!!!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I recently bought this amp at a ham fest with the intention of passing it on to a friend who was looking for an amp. I did pass on the amp to him but while testing the amp the decision to pass it on was difficult to say the least.

This is one great amplifier. Can one say overkill? The components are top shelf. The fit and finish are one of the best on the market. The amplifier was 5 or 6 years old but the operation and output of the amp was as it was the day it was originally sold. Major attributes:
Quality components
Low Drive Requirements
NO noisy fan noise
Silky smooth qsk
and on and on.........

Note this is no little amp. The amp is quite large and it is heavy. The performance leaves the other 1KW to 1.2KW amps in the dust. This is a real hams amplifier. To make a long story short if you can put your hands on one of these gems you are backing up if you do not snag it up.
K1QAR Rating: 2007-08-06
Big juice for ricebox AM Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I got one of the few 4cx800a prototypes, serial 420. On AM with a 100W SSB rated ricebox it takes the 8 Watts of decent AM carrier and turns it into 300.
Basically a no-frills Acom 1000.

Someone oughta make more of these.
AB2PN Rating: 2003-10-17
Great Amp! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Having owned a Commander HF-1250 for about 9 months now I'd have to say that this is one of the best built amps you will ever find.

This well designed amp uses a single Eimac 3CX800A7 tube to put out a solid 1250 watts PEP or 750 watts continuous for RTTY, SSTV, etc.

The only draw back I could find is that it is not in production anymore, so it's only available on the used market.

My advice would be if you see one grab it before someone else does.
WV4X Rating: 2002-07-23
Great Product Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Its rare that any product does as advertised, and simply put this amp meets all its specs, a clean 1.3 kw on all bands it coasts at a kw, its imd products are equal to any amp out there. Now the bad news this amp is not in production anymore, nothing wrong but the larger 2500 got so popular they stopped production, if you want a easy kw out with no stray harmonics this is the one, my comparison is to brand X 2 3500zs that was to noisy and made lots of heat. This 1 3CX800 is great,(50 watt drive 1KW out) tunes up easy runs quiet and cool.So if you see one used go for it.