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Reviews For: Ameritron AL-80B

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

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Review Summary For : Ameritron AL-80B
Reviews: 148MSRP: 1300
Description:
Kilowatt output HF desktop linear
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.ameritron.com/products.php?prodid=AL-80b
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
141484.6
KE4EAO Rating: 2006-12-20
Much better this time! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Well, the new unit I now have is operating well and is very quiet. I have it wired for 115v. Plate is running at 3200vdc and the amp will max out around 800 SSB at the moment. When I run the 220 line in here that should change. I still have to shave off an entire point due to the fact that there were still poor solder connections inside. This time it was the coil at the end of the HV tap before connecting to the anode. Not soldered at all. Merely set into the board and untouched by solder. Other than that, the HV drops to about 2800 at full load and outputs 800+ PEP with 60 watts drive. If I really try, it will do 900 to 1000 but thats pushing it on 115. Anyway, great little box! I love it! If you buy one, get out that iron and make sure she's solid before operating.

- KE4EAO
WB1AEX Rating: 2006-12-19
Simple, Effective, Reliable Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is a great little amplifier. The chassis construction is sturdy and the internal layout is clean. Mine is several years old and appears to have been assembled very well, with no evidence of any workmanship issues. It's a very quiet amp that produces no objectionable ambient noise in the station. The metering is outstanding and at a glance you can monitor grid current, plate current, RF output, and your choice of 4 other functions on the 4th scale. Setup couldn't be easier. Ground it to the station bus, coax in, coax out, RCA audio type jumper from the rig relay to the amp keying relay, plug it in and you are good to go. The keying requirement of the 12vdc 100ma pulldown circuit is safe for most modern rigs to handle. My 756 Pro III is rated at 16vdc and 500ma and has no trouble handling it. Individual tuned input adjustments are offered for each band. A few on the upper bands are shared, but a suitable setting is easy to find to satisfy each band. Consider adding the grid protection circuit, it is very slick. If you touch 200ma of grid current, the amp simply drops back to standby. Makes it pretty much foolproof. Mine is wired for 120 volts on the primary and easily reaches 800 watts cw output without dimming any of the lights. No problem hitting the 1KW mark on SSB with 80 watts of drive. I generally run mine at 500 to 600 watts output and let it loaf along. That first 500 watts makes a huge difference on the other end. This is a rugged and reliable little amplifier that offers a lot of bang for the buck. If you can grab a used one, go for it. If you buy it new, you won't be disappointed.
W4LGH Rating: 2006-12-08
So far so Good! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just received a new AL-80B. Have always wanted this amp, so I broke down and got one for Christmas. So far so good, it does do better than the 1KW it promises...We'll see what happens after a good burn in... And for the guy that made this comment....

"It seems like a kit that was put together by some illegal immigrant in a sweat shop somwhere. MFJ (Ameritron) needs to get their heads out of their asses and start taking care of business. Overall, not worth the hassle. But, when you are poor like me and can't afford to buy a brand new Alpha amp, where else do you go? QUALITY CONTROL DOESN'T EXIST WITHIN THIS COMPANY."

Who do you think is building this stuff for them?? MFJ designs, IDEAs and products are all great ideas...but their Quality Control is NOT there. I usually go over anything I buy from them with a fine tooth comb before operating it!

73 de W4LGH - Alan
http://www.w4lgh.com

W4TI Rating: 2006-11-03
Nicely done Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought the AL-80B with the QSK-5PC PIN diode switching module installed, and am very pleased indeed. The switching is instantaneous and silent, giving the impression of finesse rather than just brute force. I use it with the Yaesu FT-1000MP Mark-V Field, and the two work together flawlessly. On CW, with the QSK-5PC module, I can still run full break-in CW, and hear other stations between my own dits.

I am also very pleased with their attention to deatil with regard to setting the input voltage. We have very high line voltage, and with their two-tap boost/buck winding it is possible to set the line voltage all the way up to 250 volts, which I needed. This way, the filament voltage is correct, and the high voltage doesn't either run high or sag. Well done.

For a full review with pictures of the insides, look here: http://w4ti.net/al80b.html
JB5275 Rating: 2006-10-19
3rd time a charm Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have had 3 AL-80B's in as many weeks. The first the meters would not illuminate, the second the meter dials would not move under power (they did light up) and the third seems to do the job. I use this with a Icom 746PRO. The tech guys seemed to be accustomed to problems of quality control and replacement was never questioned. I run the amp on 120 VAC and have never had dimming of lights, loss of power or anything associated with that. It seems to preform as it is advertised, maybe even a bit more. It was highly reccommended to me and after a bad start, look as if the amp will do a good job.
OE3SGU Rating: 2006-10-14
Rugged Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I had an AL-80BX (the European version, including 10 meters) for some years and it served very well. sometimes using really bad antennas like non resonant longwires for 80 and 160 it was no problem at all with this amp. Yes its quite loud and lacks of full QSK, but for the price its just fine. Would buy one again without thinking twice.
K1FPV Rating: 2006-08-24
Big Bang For The Bucks! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I've owned a number of amps, but must admit, this is the best one for the dollar I've seen. It puts out 1kw easily when wired on 240 VAC with less than 100 watts drive. The IMD is good and I consistently get super reports. Who will notice the difference if I went to the legal limit to gain 1.76 dB? The soft start feature in nice.

The only down side is the input tuned circuits are not wide enough to cover the WARC bands and the other bands it is tied to on the band switch. I use another amp with tuned circuits specifically for the WARC bands and adjusted this amp for 160-10 meters minus the WARC bands. Input SWR is less than 1.2:1 on all bands.
KE4AWM Rating: 2006-08-23
HOLY MACKERAL ANDY Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS WOW " IT'S FULL OF STARS "
ONE OF THE BEST AMPS FOR THE MONEY -TODAY AND TOMORROW.
BUY THE AL80B AND SPEND THE REST OF YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY ON A GOOD ANTENNA SYSTEM. LATER FOR THE TWO KW AMPS...THEY ONLY CAUSE PROBLEMS WITH THE NEIGHBORS.
AE4NR Rating: 2006-07-17
so far so good Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Got this new just 3 days ago no problems arrived intact conversion to 240 volts really easy moving a jumper was all. Tunes all bands just fine. runs super quite in comparision to other amps I have had can not even hear it running.
Did not experience any problems tuning 17 meters as some have reported swr was about 1.5 between the rig and the amp on 17 and about 1.3 to one on 15 meters not bad at all alc works fine have not pushed the envelope on power out put as of yet only running about 800 watts out with an input of about 80 watts pretty good in to out ratio would reccomend this amp will update in about 3 months
N4MWY Rating: 2006-06-20
great no problem amp Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.


I use mine on phone mostly on 75, 40, 20, 17, 15 and 10 meters.

The 10 meter mod is simple, you just cut one wire. Ameritron will provide you with the instructions to do the mod for free (a copy of your amateur license is required).

The amp is easy to tune and is rugged and forgiving.

It will provide an output of 800-1000 watts.

At 48 pounds it is easier to move around the hamshack than some of the legal limit amps some of which weigh nearly twice as much as the AL 80 B.

I run mine on 120 volts; the 80B can easily be modified to run on 240 volts.