| W3ODJ |
Rating:  |
2010-08-11 | |
| Outstanding |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Kudos to the crew at RF Concepts. They produce outstanding ham radio gear, and a real live person answers the phone when you need answers!
I received my Alpha-9500 amplifier on 21 January 2009. Being somewhat intimidated by the size and weight and expense of this amplifier, and burdened with unpleasant memories of my first and only other legal-limit amplifier (made by another manufacturer) I over-cautiously proceeded to read the manual, make phone calls and send e-mails to Alpha for advice and clarification. I finally managed to wed the Alpha-9500 to my Ten•Tec Omni VI, and had my first QSK-QSO on 9 February 2009.
I have been using the 9500 now for eighteen months. Absolutely no problems. The amplifier is a joy to use. The auto-tune feature makes band-changing easier than pie. What I find most satisfying is the solid repeatability of this device - - it responds today to a given antenna and drive power just like it responded yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that. (It took a lot of tedious persuasion to get my previous amplifier to do one day what it had done the day before. That rig was not an Alpha product, and it had two catastrophic failures requiring major repairs in the first two months of operation.)
I give five-stars all around to RF Concepts/Alpha Amplifiers for this outstanding rig.
Richard , W3ODJ |
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| W5DNT |
Rating: |
2010-07-15 | |
| Another Alpha |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
As an Alpha 87A owner and fan, I decided to go ahead and also invest in a 9500. I will be keeping the 87A for use at my second station, where it will be nice to have a full QSK autotune amp. The 9500 is now my primary HF amp at the main station.
First let me say, I rate the 87A a 5+ and won't part with mine. But the 9500 is loaded with features that the 87A simply does not have.
One feature I like the most is the 1500w bypass capability with vacuum relays. The 87A with pin diodes is limited to 150w. With a new transceiver that can run 200w this is a huge plus for the 9500. The extra noise of the relays is a small and acceptable price to pay for the additional bypass rating.
Another major feature is easy programming of two user profiles for each segment of the band, in addition to default memory. It is easy, simply push one button to save!
Autotune (AlphaMax equivalent) is easy with one button to push for activation and no blinking light like the 87A has when in auto mode. In autotune, my opinion is the 9500 tunes quicker and easier as power is increased than the 87A. Tuning is very rapid.
Much more information is made available to the 9500 operator. RF Power, with a full function digital meter which the 87A does not have, SWR, Grid Curent, Plate Current, Plate Voltage and Gain, all simultaneously displayed by LED. This gives the operator much more situational awareness as to what the amp is doing, all the time. As an 87A user, this took some getting used to at first. After a couple of days I became very aclimated to the additional information.
Multiple antenna ports are added, which I really do not use, since I use a coax switch to facilitate full disconnect for lightning. Anyone that remotes the amp will love the 4 antenna ports!
Fault protection is rock solid, so there appears to me to be little chance of pilot error that results in damage, although not zero chance of course.
Workmanship is the highest quality, as Alpha owners have come to know over the years. Customer support is exceptional. Brad and Molly have been available for questions, and Brad helped walk me through most of the amp's features by phone once I had it set up.
In short, Alpha has lived up to their reputation and delivered another high quality, high performance amplifier for demanding hams that are serious about the hobby. In my opinion, the 9500 is a logical and "value added" progression up from the 87A. But please don't ask me how much I want for the 87A, it is a 5+ keeper too!!
One thing I forgot to mention in the previous review that is an improvement over the 87A is the 9500's ability to operate at much higher SWR without faulting. Whereas the 87A will fault protect at about 1.8:1, the 9500 loads quite well at 2.5:1. This dramatically improves the usable bandwidth of a 160M or 80M antenna. On 160M, the amp comfortably makes legal limit into a 2:1 SWR, which in my case adds about 20KHz to the usable range of the antenna without having to use the antenna tuner. On 80M, this translates to better than 50KHz additional coverage. |
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| W5MC |
Rating: |
2010-07-13 | |
| The BEST choice |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| The 9500 is the best, although i love my 77sx and 87a and retain both, the 9500 is tops, consider the long term investement of it, what other pieces of ham gear you buy new will still offer the ROI that ALPHAS consistantly yield..Seldon has NEW ownership had the profound impact than has occured at ALPHA, PRICES go DOWN Delivery times get better, Buy Alpha i have since 1981 and not a single regret...regards mac/mc w5mc |
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| WA6DKN |
Rating: |
2010-05-08 | |
| Great Amp |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I have had the Alpha 9500 for about three months and it has worked flawlessly. I traded in my Alpha 87A which I had for 20 years (still working great) for the Alpha 9500.
One of the big improvements is the fast tune up ability of the 9500. The LED displays are great and very informative and you know instantly the status of all major functions of the amplifier. I drive it with my Yaesu FTdx9000D running about 40 watts in Class A for full legal output.
I did have a few questions when I first got the 9500 and they were promptly answered by Molly. The manual is well done and easy to read. I got delivery of the 9500 in about
two weeks which is a great improvement in their turn around time.
I think the 9500 is one of the best amplifiers you can buy today. The cost is reasonable if you amortize it over a period of time. I had my Alpha 87A for 20 years and the resale value is close to what I paid for it.
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| WD4AAS |
Rating: |
2010-05-05 | |
| Best Amp Period. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have owned Alpha Products for many years. This 9500 is the finest piece of Ham Radio Gear have ever owned. I have a retail Ham Shop, Marc's Amateur Radio Center in Boca Raton Florida. I only wish Molly would set me up as a Dealer. I would buy the entire line for resale in my store. I just ordered another 9500 for my other shack in Ft. Lauderdale.
73 Marc WD4AAS |
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| K6RIM |
Rating: |
2010-03-27 | |
| Another Superb Alpha! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Alpha has been my amplifier of choice for almost twenty years. My first Alpha was the 89; then, during the last twelve years, I operated an 87A, and now I am the proud owner of an Alpha 9500.
Alpha’s 40 years of experience in building high quality linear amplifiers was a key consideration in my purchase of the 9500.
The 9500 did have a few issues when it first launched, notably some software glitches and, apparently, a very loud blower. Alpha, true to form, promptly resolved all of the issues.
When the 9500 arrived, my XYL, who is neither a ham nor tech-savvy, immediately remarked that the high construction quality of the amplifier was obvious, even to her.
To date, my experience with the 9500 has been 100% positive. Band changes are lightning-fast – even faster than the 87A. And, boy, can it put out the power!
Initially, I was concerned about the sound produced by the vacuum relays during CW operation, but I cannot hear them when using headphones. And during those occasions when I do not use headphones, I have become accustomed to the relay sounds. I view the change from pin diodes to vacuum relays as a small price to pay for the elimination of the issues some have experienced with pin diodes.
Due to a recent infusion of capital into the company, Alpha has been able to dramatically reduce the ordering backlog for its products, including the 9500.
In summary, I’m absolutely delighted with my new 9500, and highly recommend R.F. Concepts and its products.
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| N1JMS |
Rating: |
2010-02-23 | |
| My Favorite |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I’ve had this amp for two years and like it more each day. I’ve got about 20 different good amplifiers, all great performers in their league. The 9500 is simply the finest, most rock-solid and “fun” amp I own. It’s not even on my favorite rig, but I seem to use it more than the rest of my amplifiers combined. Factory support has been superior. With the new pricing structure it is actually a good value as an investment too. Please feel free to contact me anytime to discus. I can’t wait to see some new products from the Alpha folks! 73, jim N1JMS |
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| W9CLA |
Rating: |
2010-02-23 | |
| Great amp and fast shipping |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I ordered my 9500 with the expectation that it would be delivered in 4 weeks but to my surprise it was delivered last week (Feb 19th) which was only two weeks after placing my order. It comes on a small wooden pallet via FED-X 3 day air freight. The packing is custom made for the amp and it arrived unscathed.
Delivery has really improved since the new owner has taken over. It is obvious that Alpha is trying to build for inventory instead of building to order as they had been in the past.
It replaces my Alpha 87A Omega and I am really pleased with the amp. For anyone who has previously owned an 87A the big difference that is immediately noticeable is the sound of the stepper motors. It sounds very "Robotic" as compared to my 87A Omega. It tunes very quickly.
This was my retirement present to myself and I am very pleased with the amp particularly the single tube 8877 final which because of multiple vendors has a replacement cost less than half of the 3CX800A7's in my 87A with the benefit of not having to have matched tubes.
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| K4SX |
Rating: |
2010-02-22 | |
| Excellent product |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I took delivery on my Alpha9500 on Friday evening February 19th. It is important to note that it only took 2 weeks to receive my 9500 which is a postive improvement.
As usual with Alpha, their packing and shipping far exceeds expectations. It was shipped on a pallet which ensured it arriving via FEDEX without damage. The internal packaging was excellent.
From unpacking to power on is extremely easy. The transformer placement is very easy. There are guide rails for transformer placement and only 3 connections.
Once the transformer is installed and top reinstalled, the only item left is installing the power plug and power on.
I found the amplifier manual to be excellent and of very good quality. I look forward to receiving the updated professional manual for my Alpha 8410 that I took delivery on last year.
I have pictures of the amplifier on my webpage, http://www.k4sx.com and also on QRZ.COM If you have any questions please feel free to contact me and will be glad to answer them as best I can.
73, K4SX |
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| K7ZP |
Rating: |
2008-09-29 | |
| OUTSTANDING DESIGN AND EXECUTION |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I received my Alpha 9500 in early July and it has been functional, without issues since. As a professional RF Systems Engineer, I am very aware of the corners cut and questionable design practices put into production by many manufactures. The form, fit, function and implementation of the Alpha 9500 is outstanding. Thorough inspection reveals how much thought went into this design. I'm sure there were some firmware issues in the very early pre- production units however the current production example, Ser 81, Firmware V 1.33 is just about perfect. The autotune function, coupled with multiple processors does it's job with ease and does not need to be manually touched up with Tune and Load controls. Much of the design requirements appear to be similar to the Alpha 87A however the implementation is flawless.
I wanted to wait a couple of months before doing this evaluation. One of my problems reading user evaluations is with a person doing the evaluation that does not have the technical ability or the person who spent a great deal of money for the product (did I mention the Alpha 9500 is value received for the money spent) and then gives the product an evaluation based on cost rather than being objective.
I installed the fan mod that the Alpha folks developed. It lowers the rear supply fan speed until the RF deck temp rises to 33C, once cooled back below the fan returns to the slower speed....it works great.
Tuning is very easy and always spot on when returning to a pre-tuned frequency. It was mentioned in a previous review that the TX relay was loud. To my ear, and review of past owned amplifiers, it can be heard but is not loud or bothersome.... this design consideration makes for very reliable RF switching without the VSWR and power considerations of using silent PIN devices.
In conclusion, this is the best of the three Alpha amplifiers I have owned.... the Alpha 99 being second. It is a pleasure to call the Alpha folks with a question or request and realize customer support and satisfaction is alive and well at Alpha. Thanx again Alpha crew.
Frank, K7ZP |
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