| WE1X |
Rating:      |
2010-07-17 | |
| Pure Joy |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Purchased my HL-1.2Kfx 6+ months ago. Simple to set up and operate. Well designed, manufactured and packaged. Yes, a bit sensitive to stray RF and SWR at 2:1, but a few snap on ferrite chokes fixed the stray RF problem. Protection circuits work as they should (yes, occasional pilot error operating the amp on the wrong band).
The only nits I have (and they are nits) are (a) the fan is a bit loud (tolerable, but loud nonetheless) and (b) if you do trip the unit into protection mode you need to shut the amp down then power back on (given you shouldn't allow this to happen very often it's really not much of an obstacle).
By the way, for those of you having two rigs and wanting to interface both to the HL-1.2Kfx there is a nice elegant solution. I use the LDG ALK-2 to interface the key and ALC lines from each rig to the amp. Works great.
Harry WE1X |
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| W7TAE |
Rating:      |
2010-07-03 | |
| Reliable powerhouse |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
In over two years of service this little gem has performed flawlessly. Worked the CQ WW SSB contest for 48hours with no complaint. Always sitting ready to add power literally at a moments notice.
After easily adjusting the transformer connections, I have gotten the rated power from 110vac and rated power plus on 220vac.
A rugged, reliable performer. I have well tuned (generally less than 1.5:1 SWR) antennas and use the HL 1.2 with no external tuner.
I had very good service from Array Solutions and the amp came tested with the plug attached for my application.
Instant band switching, reasonably quiet operation (I have mine mounted on a roller cart under my operating table) and reliable power on instant call. Worth every penny. |
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| KD4RAY |
Rating:      |
2010-06-29 | |
| Excellent machine |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| This solid state 750 watt linear amplifier is an excellent piece of equipment. It is reliable and easy to operate, once the set up has been accomplished. The machine has sensors which turn off the amplifier if one or another of several unacceptable events occur. It will not accept a VSWR in excess of 2:1 nor will it accept reflected power in excess of 70 watts. Other sensors will interrupt operation if the unit is overloaded or if the band to which it is set does not conform to that of the transmitter. The manufacturer urges that the user employ an Alc cable between transmitter and amplifier so as to protect the amplifier. Once this is connected, a bit of trial and error is required in setting the Alc control at the back of the unit. Jay at Array Solutions was very helpful. A good company to do business with. |
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| K7UNZ |
Rating:      |
2010-03-31 | |
| Very nice indeed! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Okay, ordered thru HRO Phoenix, and was advised all the THP amps ship out of the Virginia store, so it would be a few days delivery. No problem for me.
Amp arrived, well packed, and after changing the power plug and set-up, I discovered that it had a problem. As soon as you applied any RF drive, it would go into drive overload alarm, and lock-up. Tried it with several radios/antennas, and even a dummy load. Same thing.
Called the tech service number an the THP web site and left a message. Had a return call within two minutes, and after going thru a few tests with the tech rep, he said it sounded like a bad RF amp section, and to contact HRO for a replacement unit.
Next day called Gary, HRO Phoenix, as he took the original order, and he contacted the Virginia store about the problem. About 30 minutes later Gary called and said a replacement would ship that day from Virginia, and would also have return shipping lables for the bad unit.
A few days later the new unit arrived, and after unoacking and installation, it worked like a charm.
I still can't get over the fact that HRO shipped me a new unit WITHOUT waiting for me to return the old one, and even included pre-paid labels for UPS (who picked it up the following day). Now that's service!
Anyway, the new one works great and the only problem is that I still haven't gotten over the fact that all I have to do it turn it on (hi). I also switched from an AL-811 amp to this one, and still sort of feel like there's something I need to tune when switching bands, but I'll get over that.
I run it with four different radios (FT-990, IC-746pro, FT-2000, and FTdx-5000), feeding either a vertical or dipole antenna thru an LDG AT-1000. Usually at 300w, CW only. Perfect!
73, Jim/k7unz
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| KE6YX |
Rating:      |
2010-03-29 | |
| A real keeper |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I obtained my THP HL-1.2 used from a ham in Guam, and had to rewire the transformer to 120V to keep the idle current in the green band.
I am driving it with a Ten Tec OMNI VII which does not have provision for negative ALC which can be a little dicey if you want to protect the final transistors. What I did is to adjust the trip point of the Overdrive limiting circuit to 70-Watts, which is fine the way I operate. At 50 Watts drive as measured on my Bird wattmeter, the THP HL-1.2 will deliver about 400 Watts key down. When operating SSB, I set the OMNI VII to 50 watts, and switch to SSB, and operate. I also use about 30% speech processing.
The one thing that owning a solid state amp will do, is force you to make sure that your antennas are in good shape as the solid state amps are not tolerant of high SWR. My antenna is a home brewed doublet fed with 450-ohm window line tuned by a Ten Tec 229, and presents a very good load to the amp.
On the air reports have all been positive, and this unit takes up so little space on my desk. It replaced an AL811, which was a space hog so I sold it.
A side note to owners of the Ten Tec OMNI VII. Many of them do not deliver the wattage that it says on the power control. It tends to be less. In my case 100W indicated, is closer to 85 watts output. When driving my amp, I set the power out to 58 watts, which gives me the 50W needed to drive the amp conservatively.
The THP HL-1.2 is a real keeper.
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| K5ADF |
Rating:      |
2010-03-28 | |
| Good amp |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I bought my THP HL-1.2 at Dayton last year. It replaced a solid state amp from the folks in MS which is another story that most can guess the outcome. I talked to the US rep and he told me the PA in the 1.2 was the same as the one in the 1.5 but driven less. Being an engineer, I like the idea of not driving a PA to its maximum. The exciter is a 756Pro. The amp has been great. I operate on 80, 40 and 20 with 10 when conditions improve. I am very happy with the amp so far. I have it connected to a 240V outlet. |
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| K2JX |
Rating:      |
2010-03-28 | |
| Great |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Sold my Ten-Tec Centurion when down sizing the shack to smaller lighter gear. I knew I wanted a solid state linear mainly due to the high cost of RF tubes. In addition I wanted more room on the op desk. I seldom needed a full kilowatt rf anyway so to stay within my budget I chose the HL-1.2k solid state amp without 6m.
I ordered my amp from HRO and it arrived in good condition, double boxed no problem. Set-up was straight forward. Only change needed was to install a 15a 240v plug on the factory line cord.
My unit came wired for 240v but the factory line cord is a 115v 15a type. Before operating the amp I read the users manual and the FAQ's on Tokyo's web page. This is a must !
No, I did not buy that very expensive power meter with the blue read-out. I used my trusty Bird-43 with 1k slug. Pre-tuned the antenna to 1:1 set the drive to 25 watts on the Omni-7, keyed the rig and the amp. Raised the drive slowly, and to my complete satifaction, 65w drive on 80m put 450w of clean RF into my Inverted V.
The fan noise is acceptable, the fit and finish is excellent. The wiring and component lay out is what we'd expect from Japan. Good user's manual with fold out schematics and pictorial views of the pc boards. The pictorials could be better they're copies of poor copies. The multi-meter is lighted. However, the control panel is not and is rather hard to see in low light. Fix this Tokyo!
Current draw at full output is less than 7a at 240v. The HL-1.2 is 25 pounds lighter than my previous amp and takes up half the room on the op desk! Clean RF output on all bands. If you don't need 1kw or 6m the HL-1.2K is a solid choice. I did look at the new 1kw solid state amp from the company in Misissipi but like others before me I've had issues with thier quality control.
73/K2JX
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| VR2XMQ |
Rating:      |
2010-03-20 | |
| No Hassle Muscle |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
This amp. is solid and no hassle, just plug and play. No tuning except for band switching, no need to warm up and tune up tubes.
Get solid 59 reports with most QSO's and amp pairs up nicely with the FT-2000.
This one is for keeps.
VR2XMQ |
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| KI7DG |
Rating:      |
2010-02-11 | |
| Good Investment |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| This little unit replaced my big SB200. It was a tough decision between the HL-1.2kfx and the AmCom 1010 both are excellent units. Size wise it did free up some additional space. Upon receiving the amp I opened it up and inspected for loose or ? Did find a IC and some protective plastic covers laying in the bottom. An Email to Array Solutions with pictures and Jay was quick to respond that it looked like shipping damage and had it picked up and shipped another one. Opened the second one and no problem. I liked the ease of operation. The protective circuits work very well. It does shuts down and becomes annoying when operating outside the resonant part of the antennas. The manual says it will shut down when the reflective power is 80watts or more. However I found by cutting back the drive the system will continue to put out a respectable 300-400 watts without reaching the 80watts reflective power. I usually do not run it at more that 550-600 watts anyways. I am very happy with the unit and would I buy it again? YES would I recommend it to a friend? YES. The customer service from Array Solutions was very good. |
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| KB3SI |
Rating:      |
2010-01-07 | |
| Great Amp |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Bob at Array Solutions handled my order very efficiently with my HL-1.2Kfx arriving in three days. Nice to have the power plug already installed. Unit works like a charm and looks good in the shack. Only recommendation would be to have an LED above the stand-by operate switch as they do for the power switch. |
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