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Reviews For: Drake L-4B

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

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Review Summary For : Drake L-4B
Reviews: 27MSRP: 995.00
Description:
2000W PEP SSB, 1000W CW
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.dproducts.be/drake_museum/l-4b.htm
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00274.7
K8DGL Rating: 2003-01-18
One of the Best Time Owned: more than 12 months.
All I can say is I love mine. I have beefed up the power supply voltage to operate the 3-500Z tubes at their true potential. Nice heavy duty construction and easily gets 1500 watts key down output. Only wish it had 160 meters.
NZ4I Rating: 2002-12-28
Good Amp Time Owned: more than 12 months.
If you want a silent amplifier, this is it. However, the blower does need yearly oiling. I bought it with a blown up supply. After rebuilding the supply with new capacitors and diodes, it has been a real workhorse for several years now under heavy useage.

As someone said before, the power supply does get rather warm and a muffin fan is a good idea. Also, a soft key modification is a good idea if you plan to use the amp with a radio that has a relay designed for low voltages only.
KE6OI Rating: 2002-03-23
Best Amp w/ a pair of 3-500Z's available Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I replaced a SB-220 with my Drake L-4B. The L-4B consistently puts out 1500-1600 watts while being driven with 100 watts. This is fine American craftsmanship. This thing is built like a tank. I did replace the original 3-500Z's with 3-500ZG's (graphite) tubes and got an extra 100 watts or so out.

I have not been disappointed yet with anything about this amp. It's solid and a workhorse. The next step up in amplifiers would be an Alpha 99. For the price of an Alpha, you can buy 3 or 4 L-4B's. The Drake L-4B is a fantastic amp, audio sounds great run through it, and it will punch a BIG hole in QRM for you.

You can't go wrong with a Drake L-4B.
N2MR Rating: 2001-01-18
Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The power supply failed in the late 70's.
The band switch (which is crap) and TR relay failed in the early 90's. But I must say that the "N2MR LABS" version puts out more power, works on 160m, interfaces with the FT-920 for high VSWR shutdown, and runs rings around the stock version!! The best thing about the amp is that it uses 3-500's.
They are probably still the best value for power tubes. An earlier post said the max plate voltage is 3500v but the 1975 ARRL HB says it's 4KV.
My modified version looks pathetic and kicks butt!
Don't pay more than $650 for one.
K1JE Rating: 2001-01-17
Immacualte Workmanship Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Of all the linear amplifiers I have looked at, the Drake L-4B simply has the best workmanship. It is immaculate. The unit I have here is second-hand from a ham who used it regularly over the years. It still has the original 1977 Eimac 3-500 tubes and puts out full power (about 1200 Watt).

Electrically and mechanically Drake followed the Eimac specifications to the letter, to which I attribute the tubes' longevity. It may be possible to squeeze more power from the tubes, but the L-4B runs at 2500V, very conservatively (max rating of the tubes is 3500V) and gentle to the tubes.

You can drive the L-4B with 100W input without fear of overdriving it. A perfect match for most rigs.

As it comes, the amplifier makes virually no noise. The fan is so quiet you almost can't hear it. I placed a muffin fan on top of the (separate) power supply to keep it cool. That fan is louder than the amplifier's.

The L-4B not only works very reliably, it is an example for how this type of equipment should be constructed. It is the best dual 3-500 linear I've ever seen.
W8FU Rating: 2000-11-03
Very solid amp Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned the L4B since about 1974. I still have the original set of tubes in service. It is solid, quiet and very reliable. I do use a muffin fan on the power supply which I think helps dissipate the heat from the large bleeder resistors. Unlike the other review I find the fam noise to be non-existent. There is a provision for oiling the fan. Perhaps that's all it needs. If it's working properly there is just no noise. Except for the lack of 160 meters, it works well on all bands, including WARC.
KC6VCH Rating: 2000-03-26
Great amplifier, only problem is the fan noise. Time Owned: unknown months.
I owned this amplifier for about 6 months now and have had no problem with the arching, easy to tune, the only problem was loud fan noise.