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Reviews For: Alpha 9500

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

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Review Summary For : Alpha 9500
Reviews: 122MSRP: 7950. USD
Description:
Fully-automatic 160-10M amplifier, successor to the 87A. Uses a single 8877 tube in grounded-grid configuration. Integrated antenna switching, full QSK with vacuum relay.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.alpharfsystems.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001224.8
WI6T Rating: 2010-12-16
Best tube amp Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Had the opportunity to observe the 9500 at a meeting of the Mile Hi DX Assn at which Alpha personnel were present. Discussion included tube vs. solid state, construction techniques and materials used. Able to observe and touch internal components. This amp is absolutely rock solid. Consider this a lifetime purchase.
IK0OZD Rating: 2010-12-08
I have reached after many years of radio's dream! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The 'alpha 9500 is the arrival point for every amateur,
the amplifier for excellence, the amplifier for those who love radio, dx, contest, the others are just toys for girls especially solid state,
the score?
5 for solid state?
500 for the art
W1JO Rating: 2010-12-08
A 20 year Amplifier. Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Eighteen years ago, I purchased an Alpha 87A.
I ran that amplifier almost every day. Full output, never failed.
I sold the 87A to an amateur friend of mine and
and purchased a new 9500 about 6 months ago.
The quality and workmanship in the 9500 is the tip off, that this amplifier will last me another eighteen to 20 years. Think about how many amplifiers you have purchased over the years, and add up how much you have spent keeping them going.
The 9500 if treated right, will out perform all those other's, and will be with you a long time.
KQ0C Rating: 2010-11-22
1500 Wattts Rock Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have a terrible location at the bottom of a valley, and so have always had a hard time hearing or being heard. Better antennas helped a lot on the hearing side. With this amp I have put the fun back into ham radio, particularly contesting, since I don't spend frustrating time calling stations and not being heard. Basically if I can hear them then they can hear me at least as well, and generally better.

There was a learning curve, particularly on the low bands where my TenTec Hercules AMP (550 Watts) and LDG auto tuner had made life very easy. With the increased power this amp needs to be fine tuned as power is increased... and when I use a tuner it needs to be fine tuned as well. What's OK for 500 watts isn't for 1500. But after a few calls to Molly I learned how to work into the right tuning settings and then use the memories to make it quicker "next time". The tuning is "automatic" but you still need to apply it in steps as you work up to a final setting. With SSB you are better turning the auto tuning on and off... with CW you can just leave it always on (if you leave the auto tuning on with SSB it tries to tune out the fluctuations in power caused by your voice inflections).

I have now done both CQWW and The ARRL Sweeps with the amp and can change bands in seconds. While I was learning all this the amp "protected" itself several times which is highly reassuring, since this is not a cheap product.

I use 8 antennas and only one of these needs to be tuned with a tuner (an 80 meter loop). The internal tuning in this amp can handle my 160 meter inverted L and 80 meter 1/4wl wire vertical directly... and all of my high band antennas.

The quality of this amp is immediately apparent, the manual is terrific, Alpha is only a few hours away should I ever need repairs, but Molly's hand holding is what really gets it all the way up to a 5.
KL5X Rating: 2010-11-09
Great Amp, Service even better Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
As I started as a ham in 1976 an Alpha was an unreachable product. I always wanted one and now my bid with the ARRL was high enough that they send me a brand new 9500.. tested in the October QST
It came with Fedex, undamaged and after putting the transformer in it I was ready to fire it up.. it blew my fuses twice and then it gave a constant fault code.. oh boy i was terrified something brokedown..
A phonecall to Molly from RFConcepts did the job. She spent more than an hour on the phone with me, servicing the Amp by remote and finally we got the failure.. there was some tiny little resistor who failed.. Why.. we never know..
Putting everything back together, the amp responded flawlessly and gave me 370 Watts with 10 watt drive.. 30 watts over 1 Kw..

It is a great unit and the service is even better. you can count on the Amp and the company who is behind it..

73 de Tom HB9DOD

ND5T Rating: 2010-11-08
Great Amp Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I received my amp a couple of weeks ago, Molly at RF Concepts shipped my amp out in 4 Days so I would have it for the CQ Worldwide DX Contest, SSB. This is the finest amp I have ever seen or used. This amp does want a resonate antenna, so I had to retune my antennas to be 1.5 or lower in the phone portion of the bands. Tunes up with just a spoken word, and has the looks to kill. I look forward to having this amp for a very long time.

KJ4KNJ Rating: 2010-11-04
Very Good AMP Time Owned: N.A.
I have always wanted to get myself a amp and I had the chance to check this one out and I simply fell in love with the way it worked. I think it is great, but now that I am disabled and can no longer work I do not see myself buying one.
W8GE Rating: 2010-09-24
Alpha 9500: GREAT AMPLIFIER Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After being in ham radio for over 48 years and owning 4 different Alpha amplifiers, I believe that my new Alpha 9500 is the best amplifier I have ever owned and operated. In addition to the concise, easy-to-read/understand, and attractive manual, the 9500 amplifier performs flawlessly and exceeds my expectations. I have it installed in a ventilated closet about 15 feet from my operating table, and it automatically tunes each frequency change I make without any effort on my part. It is quiet, attractive in its appearance, and puts out full power on all bands. I especially like being able to monitor all aspects of the amplifier's performance (including power output and SWR) on the real-time LED's. My first contact in Europe gave me a 5-9 plus 20 over, and said I was the strongest signal on the band. What more can you ask out of an amplifier?

Thanks for making this great amplifier!

W8GE
NZ3O Rating: 2010-08-23
What To Do To Upgrade from An Alpha? Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I had purchased a used Alpha 87A some years ago from a fellow club member. I always loved the amp and found the auto-tune a fabulous advantage in contesting and DXing when using cluster spots to locate multipliers. As the 87A tubes began to age, I made a decision to update the technology and take the plunge into the 9500. I had second thoughts, and almost backed out. But am I glad to have this. Long after you get over the sticker shock (and it's not as bad as it once was) you will just LOVE this amp. Molly, and her new team from RF Concepts, are to be lauded for a terrific product. I'd write more but I have to get back to the shack! 73 (Ditto the comments on the added features of the 9500, plus I did dump all that extra band switching on eBay - the amp does it all!)
K5AND Rating: 2010-08-12
Outstanding product Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I've owned this amp for a little over six months now. Simply rock solid, repeatable performance. I have it mounted in an 'amp wall', so noise and heat go into another room; hence you're simply not aware that an amp is on-line. I like to build amps in my spare time, but this one is at the top of the heap (more time to operate now).
Presently awaiting my 8406, for six meters.
Great to see these products coming from the re-energized team at Alpha.
Dick, K5AND
Austin, TX