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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
W0LAW Rating: 2012-05-10
great amp Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
It is really nice to buy a quality piece of equipment that looks good and works great. I know I
have bought different things and had problems with them, but not with the Alpha 9500 she is a beauty and never complains THE Amplifier is quieter than my
last amplifier. I would reccomend the 9500 to all
those who want quality You get your money's worth and more. Robert C. Meyer W0LAW Section Traffic
Manager, Minnesota.
KB2EKX Rating: 2012-04-24
New Owner Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Bought a Alpha 87a from Molly last year I liked it so much I bought a alpha 9500 and it's the best amp I,ve ever owned looking forward to getting the new 4040 tuner
K8FC Rating: 2012-04-20
Observations after 5 months on the air. Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Thought I would drop a line or two and describe my operating experience after having the Alpha 9500 on my desk since December of 2011. I ,like many others, took advantage of the trade in special offered by RF Concepts. I must admit, the offer was too good to pass up. I have been a loyal Alpha amp owner since the 1970's. I have owned a 76, 76PA, 77, 95, 89 and the last amp prior to the 9500 was a wonderful 87A. I have to say, I was a bit skeptical as to how the 9500 would outperform my 87A since the 87A did all I wanted to do. Believe me, once you own an autotune amplifier you will never look back. Well, what a pleasant surprise. I never thought the performance of the 9500 would outshine the 87A. Oh how wrong I was. The 9500 arrived in two excellent containers and was ready to go after a couple of hours. I was immediately struck by ease of the initial setup. The manual is very comprehensive and well presented. The over all versitility of this amplifier compared to the 87A is readily apparent. I travel in the winter months and have totally automated the shack so that I can utilize the complete station while on the road. I had already prepared myself for the fact that I would not have my amplifier available while I was remote due to the difficulty of trying to control a high power amp safely while physically separated from the station. After further thought and with the aid of the Alpha remote PC control application I started to experiment with remote operation of the amplifier before I left. Due to the safety featurs of the 9500 there is really no need to worry about a malfunction that would cause serious and expensive damage. Using a remote desktop application (Teamviewer) and a combination of web switched hardware I was able to remotely turn on and boot one of the shack pc's and log in with the remote desktop. Using the webswitch I have the ability to control the power to the entire station including the amplifier. After that it was a simple task to launch the Alpha 9500 remote software. Now with the Alpha remote software displaying the amplifer operating conditions in real time it was totally feasable to not only use the amplifer at any desired power level but also to monitor all the operating conditions in real time . The automatic antenna selection and other features make this the amplifer to have. As with all good things, you get what you pay for. This is a high end amplifer that delivers high end performance on all levels. Lastly, dealing with Molly at RF Concepts was painless and enjoyable. If you are looking for a high quality HF amplifier, take a good look at the Alpha 9500.
K8RA Rating: 2012-04-16
A+ Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have had an Alpha 87A amplifier for years. Mine was manufactured in 1991 (21 years ago). That says something right there seeing that it was still performing flawlessly. But I have to admit the 9500 caught my eye. I called Molly and we talked a bit. She suggested I trade in the 87A and gave the me trade in the exact price I was thinking of selling it for. So the 9500 arrived a couple of months ago. First the manual is beautiful. I carefully followed the instructions and it has worked perfectly since I put it on the desk. I do recommend you have a friend help you install the transformer. The amp is a masterful piece of engineering and a beautiful design. It follows all of my radios around the bands and gives me instant 1500 watts everywhere. The tuning algorithm is fast and reliable. Just be careful to not give it too much drive power. It trips with a fault code but that is the only trip so far.

You that know me recognize that I don't buy many amplifiers .... I build them. For example the 3CX1500D7 in the current ARRL Handbook is mine. But I wanted a computer controlled no-tune full power amplifier. My homemade ones work great but you have to throw the bandswitch and crank the vacuum variables. The 9500 met the bill and I would buy it again in an instant. Pricey ...yep! But like anything else you pay for quality and it isn't that much more than some of the high power manual tune amps out there. I really do think a lot of this amp and having homebrewed a lot of amps, the 8877 is by far my favorite tube (plus I have some spares).
K6KAR Rating: 2012-04-06
Outstanding Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have held off this review as I do with any review so that I can provide an overall and long time use opinion.
I purchased my Alpha 9500 in July of 2008. (Serial #950008300080) During these past 4 years I have had a few minor problems occur which RF Concepts quickly resolved. In these past 50+ years that I have been a Ham, I have not only owned many commercially built amps but several that I've designed and built. The Alpha 9500 is without question not only the best designed amplifier I have owned but also is of the highest quality in workmanship. Obviously this forum is set as a place for equipment reviews. However, I think this a perfect venue to also praise a few of the RF Concepts individuals that I've had oppurtunity to work with. First, most of you have dealt with Molly Hardman. Molly is not only an exceptional problem solver she takes great interest in being sure all questions are answered. It is always a delightful experience when talking with her. Second is Gordon Hardman. Gordon is the engineers, engineer. I have earned a MSEE. Over the years I've worked with a lot of engineers but Gordon is not only extremely knowledgable you can tell that he really enjoys performing and conducting the outstanding engineering that go into the Alpha 9500. I'm sure there are other major (RF Concepts), contributors but the only other that I have is met is Brad. Brad really knows what goes into the Alpha 9500. He is extremely diligent and is always an outstanding source should you ever have any operational questions. The bottom line to this review is; When you purchase an Alpha 9500, you are purchasing the very best of the best. For me, I would not consider owning anything else.
W5RIM Rating: 2012-03-23
FOLLOW UP Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
This is a follow up review of the Alpha 9500 after 6 months of use. STILL THE BEST OF THE BEST. THE MORE I USE IT THE MORE I LOVE IT. Never a problem,never a glitch,just a fabulous amp. Hope to do a video in the near future showing the features and operation of this great amp. TURN IT ON AND LET THE AMP DO ITS THING, YOU ARE NOT AS SMART AS THE AMP,THOUGHT I WAS BUT I WAS WRONG. AMP HAS 5 MICRO PROCESSORS,AND MUCH SMARTER THAN ME. BUY IT YOU WILL LOVE IT
N7EO Rating: 2012-03-13
Great amp but not immune to failure Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned the Alpha 9500 for one year and have delayed an eham review for reasons that will be apparant.

In additon to the Alpha I own two other tube amplifiers, but specifically wanted the auto tune function for quick band change, percise tuning and reliability afforded by the Alpha 9500. Saving my pennies and forgoing a fishing boat I took the plunge in March 2011.

My new Alpha 9500 failed in the first ten minutes of operation. The unit was returned to Colorado from Florida. A defective relay was replaced and the unit quickly returned. The relay failure was apparantly was not an exceptional failure in this run of amplifiers.

After three months of satisfactory operation the unit again failed. A line voltage surge wiped out multiple pieces of equipment. Contrary to popular belief the 9500 is not bullet proof as in transient voltage surges. But neither was $5k of other equipment including telephones and televisions. The unit was again shipped to Colorado but this time for non-warranty repairs that were effected in both resonable time and expense. Thank God for a good insurance company that covered the losses.

This is about the time the RFConcepts website started running notes about unplugging equipment power and antennas. Maybe I wasn't alone. I'd always disconnected antennas because I live in the lighting belt of Florida, but all the power disconnected when not in the shack? There is now a large sign on the door to my shack that reminds me to disconnect EVERYTHING when leaving the room.

The relay culprit hit for the second time at six months of ownership. This time with guidance from Brad I was able to remove the relay board with minimimal effort and ship it to Colorado. I had already checked and no shipping company offered a discount for frequent traveler miles to Colorado. Once again, repairs were made and the board returned in reasonable time.

The unit has weathered a number of contests in the last six month and has been problem free. I do note that occasionaly when switching bands/antennas the unit will not always select the correct preset antenna. I have developed the habit of double checking the antenna selection to avoid faulting the amp.

Telephone contact with RFConcepts has always been exceptional. Email contact does understandedly lag due to volume. In either case a knowing individual has responded with sincere interest in my problem. I only wish other equipment manufacters and retailers had the same customer is king attitude that prevails at RFConcepts.
W4VKU Rating: 2012-03-11
Fantastic amp Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have had this for a week now and will revise the review over time. I am yet to
perform the latest firmware updates to it. However, so far, it works great. I pushed
it up to almost 2kw for a few secs on
20m to see how much it will do and there was
still more it could do.

The best feature i like is the ability to drive
2 antennas at the same time.
I can drive the 2 ele 40m yagi and the G5RV at
the same time or i can drive 2 yagis at different
heights at the same time.

Just love the ability to hop band to band without
having to mess with the tuning. Also the ability
to switch between 4 antennas at the flip of a
switch is cool. No need for my old tuner anymore
to switch antennae.
The antennae and the metering are available
even without the amp being powered on and the
tube is not turned on in fact.
Overall pleased with it so far. Down the road,
this amp will be made to operate remote in
conjunction with a TS480.
N5AQ Rating: 2012-03-05
Best Amp available Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I purchased my Alpha 9500 in October 2011, and have had a few problems. Not surprisingly, all of the problems were mine. The amplifier works beautifully, patiently informing me when I do something wrong and protecting itself from my blunders. Now I don't have any problems at all. I guess I should have been more diligent in reading the high quality manual. I notice that I don't usually have to call many times before I get a return, especially when I work simplex. After 5 months using it, I am convinced that this is the best amateur linear amp on the market, and I recommend it to anyone wanting a legal limit, key down no time limit linear amplifier.
KC4YLX Rating: 2012-02-15
Here I go again :-) Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Having owned a 99 and 8410 when I opened the 9500 to install the transformer it was no surprise to see top notch quality construction. The auto tune is... well.... very nice. I am waiting for the 4040 auto tuner to become available to pair with the 9500 and until then I am using a HF-AUTO with good results. The amp tunes quickly and the stepper motors are very quiet. The HF-AUTO stepper motors are much more noisy when it tunes. The fan noise some have spoken of is not loud to me. I have been able to get the fan to speed up a bit and it is still not loud. I am very happy and am sure I will be for years to come. I am sure you will be happy with yours too.