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Reviews For: Tokyo Hy-Power HL-1.5KFX

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

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Review Summary For : Tokyo Hy-Power HL-1.5KFX
Reviews: 48MSRP: 2,980
Description:
Amplifier, HF + 6m 1.5KW Solid State
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.tokyohypower.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00484.8
KE4EX Rating: 2015-01-01
2 Year + Update Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Runs and runs and runs....
Okay it's not a Timex, however, this small foot print Kiil-0-watt amp is my choice for rag-chewing, contest, CW. She has never, ever missed a beat. Changing bands, I punch in my selection on my FT 2000, look over and she is there waiting, SWEEET.
I work a bunch of digital RTTY, PSK and the like, with 35 watts. I turn on the amp for rag-chewing and I get 700 watts out. If I run the drive up to 95 watts I hit most times 1200.

Since my earlier review Tokyo HP has filed Chapter 7. SO !! Even if they break I am not selling this amp. Always a place somewhere to get things fixed. I do run this baby daily on 240V, I love her.

Keep our troops in your prayers.
God bless the USA
73
NJ5G Rating: 2014-03-25
Orphan? Repairs? Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had the amp for over a year now. It just worked and its protection circuits kept any lapse on my part from smoking it. Right now when I turn the amp off my transceiver "hears" fine but when I switch the amp on I lose reception. Something is not right. This happened briefly before and I attributed it to too many moving parts (all the switches I throw to control remote coax switches etc.)

The problem is back and I have now isolated the problem to the amp. Power on breaks the antenna feed to the transceiver and power off permits the transceiver to "see" the antenna.

Now how to find good service for this orphan??
It WAS a terrific amp. I rate it a 4. If it hadn't developed this problem I would rate it a 5+++.
N1BNC Rating: 2014-01-15
Reliable and slick! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
This amplifier runs beautifully and quietly. It is the most uneventful object in the RF line. It changes bands with the TS590 like magic. I have it set off to the side because I don't need to look at it because it just works so well. The 6 meter feature is a nice touch and the 2nd antenna option brings 6 to the amp without an antenna switch.

It is a really slick amp!

It is sad they went chapter 7.
W9OWO Rating: 2012-12-27
A true "gem" Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My THP HL-1.5 more than lives up to all the praise in the other reviews. I use it with my Yaesu FT-950 and a Palstar HF AUTO. The amp and tuner are wonderful companions and the auto bandswitching from the FT-950 is the "icing on the cake." I just acquired a Ten Tec Orion II and I have to give up the auto bandswitching until I can get a data converter built for it- the O2 doesn't "speak Japanese" and neither THP nor Ten Tec seem interested enough to make it easy. None the less, I'd do it all again.
VE3CZF Rating: 2012-09-20
Very Pleased Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Owned well over a year now and just love the amp. Certainly ease of operation and very quiet. Could never go back to tube amps

----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by VE3CZF on 2011-02-07

Living in the Caribbean as J6/VE3CZF and wanted an amp that had a good reputation and wanted to buy it off a good dealer. I have both requirements filled. Array Solutions are terrific to deal with and the amp is a work of art. Plug and play, quiet and nice with no tune and automatic band changing. Shipped well and arrived promptly. Highly recommended.
former_KO0Q Rating: 2011-11-18
Excellent Product Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Purchased the HL-1.5KFX about a year ago. I used it almost daily for DXing and could not be happier. I have it connected to my Ten Tec Orion II, and made the interface board to go from Ten Tec to Yaesu (very easy circuit) rather than purchase one.

I had one question in setting the appropriate voltage for my unit due to what the power company delivers (too high), and the THP engineer responded from Tokyo in less than a day.
TI7N5BEK Rating: 2011-10-04
Super Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Live in Costa Rica and needed an amp. that was reliable. There were no HL-1.5 amps in the states,because of earthquake in Japan, except one that had been repaired because of case damage. Since I had a trip planned to LA I had it shipped there and brought it back to Central America. The amp. worked great except the ALC was a no show. I had several emails to and from the factory and they sent parts to solve the problem. Great company, service, people and great amp.(Problem was incorrect wiring of new ALC pot replaced by tech. in the states)
K4ELO Rating: 2011-09-29
Excellent Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Bought this amp from Array Solutions about a year ago and was traveling so much I did not have time to install a 240vac line.
But now that we have moved into a new house with dedicated ac lines to the ham shack, I have been using the amp for about 3 months and I'm very happy with it.
Support from Array Solutions has been great even after their franchise was unfortunately terminated. I had a problem getting the ptt working (my setup error) and Jay helped me get it going.

Pros: I won't repeat all of the good stuff said about this amp, but to me the best is convenience. Auto band switch and auto tune - can't beat it. Plus, I think after all of my amp research that it is a good value for the money compared to the competition.
The one time I took the covers off, I was very impressed with the build quality - it doesn't get much better than this.

Cons: the fan noise level could bother some folks. I usually use a headset so I don't hear it, but if you didn't it would be noticeable. Not really objectionable, but you would hear it.

I have made my share of mistakes with this amp but it has always kicked in it's protection circuits and let me know, then after a power cycle, it just keeps on ticking.

Would definitely buy it again.

73
Wayne
K4ELO

K7JQ Rating: 2011-03-13
Over 3 1/2 years with nary a glitch Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had this amp for over 3 1/2 years, use it pretty much every day and in contests....never skipped a beat.

The previous review has some mis-information. The amp does not have to always be turned on if you want to run barefoot. If it's turned off or in standby mode, the xvcr output is automatically fed through to the antenna. I've always used Icom radios with it, but I can't imagine Yaesu would be any different. The amp is 1 KW PEP (SSB), with a CW carrier at 900 watts, when driven with a nominal 80-85 watts. I've always been able to achieve these ratings. The power output will vary, however, with band changes, SWR, and line voltage variations, as the power supply is linear.

I've reviewed this amp before, and haven't changed my 5/5 opinion as to its' convenience, reliability, construction, and overall satisfaction with its' performance.

73, Bob, K7JQ
N7UF Rating: 2011-03-12
Very nice Amp Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This my first experience with a solid state amp. I have used tube amplifiers for more than four decades. I purchased this amp from Array Solutions. The amp was plug and play when it arrived with the 240 volt plug installed, (free shipping was very nice also) Bob at AS was very helpful and took the time to answer my questions about this amp. If you are interested in a Tokyo High Power amp, consider Array Solutions, their customer service is very good and Jay and Bob are the best.

The quality of this THP HL-1.5KFX is excellent. It is very well built and very easy to set up and operate. The auto band switching is a very nice feature. The amp came with a cable that connected my FT1000MP Mk5 with the amp via the data plug, set the front control knob to Yeasu and you are ready to go, with no tuning required.
The amp also has 6 meters, (I get 650 watts on 6) so another plus if you are a fan of the magic band. The cooling fan has several speeds. I never noticed the fan as it is really quite, I just noticed the fan LED had lighted, as it went to a higher speed. If the cooling fan goes to the highest setting, it will be noticed it as it is loud; at least that is what I was told. This amp also has a lot of protective feature to save the finals in case of a mistake, (hopefully I will not make.)

There are a couple of feature about this amp I really dislike, it has to be turned on all the time or the connected antennas do not work and I cannot run my FT1000MP MK5 bear foot. There are times when 150/200 watts is all that is needed, and I just don’t want to run the amp. The other side of the coin as Bob at AS pointed out to me, if I run the amp and Mk5 together, at 200/300 watts, I am not beating up the finals on the Mk5 or the THP amp, a good point. It only takes about 12 watts for a little over 350 watts out.

THP sells the HL-1.5KFX as a 1KW amp. I get 850/900 watts on all bands measured on my Palstar SWR/watt meter. Not quite a KW, but an extra 100 watts would never be noticed on the air anyway. I rate this amp at 5/5 for quality and most features, other than the dislikes I stated above. It is an expensive amp, but so are Yaesu and Icom’s solid state 1KW amps. To me it was worth the money for the auto band switching and no tune features, plus 6 meters is an added bonus. This amp is a keeper, and I am sure I will learn to live with the negatives. I will do an update on this amp in a few months when I see how it holds up to the every day world of Amateur Radio.