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Reviews For: N4UQ Alpha Amplifier Repair & Upgrade Service

Category: Amateur Radio Equipment Repair

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Review Summary For : N4UQ Alpha Amplifier Repair & Upgrade Service
Reviews: 52MSRP: Varies
Description:
Excellent repair and upgrade service for the Alpha 76, 77, 78 & 374 amplfier line.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.n4uq.com/index.htm
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
15525
K4DBC Rating: 2022-10-03
N4UQ Is The Master Technician For Alpha Amps Bar None Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I picked up a Alpha 76pa that had been upgraded to 2 3cx800a7 tubes. It worked but didn't seem to work like it should and finally stopped keying. I called Dick and he had me pull the transformer and tubes and ship it up to him. Called me the day it arrived and told me the bandswitch was burned and luckily he actually had one in stock. He also found other things he didn't like inside and gave me a price for repair. While he had it I had him add the grid protection circuit to keep me from killing the tubes if I made a mistake when tuning.
The amp was returned to be a week later! Unbelievable service! He sent back a list of all the parts he replaced along with the old parts, a new tuning chart which had actually changed a bit from when it went in and it ran beautifully for a little over a month.
Then one morning I turned the amp on and after the 3 minute warm up time the lamps turned green like they should and when I tried to use the amp nothing. They red transmit lights didn't come on and no RF period was going through the amp. I thought I must have not pushed the transmit standby button hard enough or something so I reached over to turn it off to start over and KA-POW! Sounded like a rifle shot as soon as I hit the power off button. All the breakers in the shack tripped and I almost spilled my coffee.
I called Dick up and he answered the phone immediately. Explained what happened and he said it's under warranty, remove and keep your transformer and send me the rest. When I opened the amp to remove the transformer I found a blown to bits 3w resistor that was across the step start relay. So boxed it up and off to Atlanta it went again.
Dick sent me an email saying he didn't know why but 3 HV caps were open and the coil was melted in a relay. All that had tested good when he had it not now. I told him I was paying for parts warranty or not so just replace everything and let me know how it went.
Dick replaced the cap bank, both little start relays, and a lot of parts he had already replaced previously. Total bill with shipping was around $200. That's a screaming deal by my book! He kept it a few extra days just to test it and had it back in under two weeks. It ran great before, now it runs even better. I don't know what magic pixie dust he sprinkled on it but its completely silent now. I had to keep feeling for air coming out of the top to assure myself the fan was even running. It tunes easier and I'm putting 5 to 10 watts less into it than before for the same output. It runs like I imagine it did fresh from the factory.
Dick is the master for Alpha amps no question period. If it lasts another 40 years like it did before he worked on it I won't need to worry about finding a repair shop. Dick Byrd is the best repair tech out there for these beautiful old school amps and if you need repair work don't hesitate to send your amp to him.


K1FE Rating: 2021-11-29
Superb work, Alpha Ace Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Alpha 87A was having receive issues, shipped it off to Dick and within a few days he had diagnosed and repaired the problem and the amp was on its way back to me. I really appreciate that he went through the Amp and thoroughly tested and checked it out. Found my plug was cooked, replaced aged and troublesome rocker switches, verified output, checked tuning and repaired an old Alpha bug he knew about. Absolutely fantastic work, excellent communication throughout the process. We are lucky to have such a skilled and honest person to repair our gear.
WR4N Rating: 2021-05-12
ALPHA GURU #1 Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I had heard about Dick for years, but he almost sounded too good to be true. Once I met him, I knew he was even better than I’d heard. One of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet and he’s forgotten more about all things related to ALPHAs than anyone else will ever know! (Translation: no one else is in his league). He allowed me to schedule an appointment and drive my ALPHA to him (9 hours round trip, but I hate shipping an amp). He immediately diagnosed the issue, took care of it, went through the amp completely, and had me back on the road in 90 minutes - WOW! As for the cost - I left feeling guilty. If your ALPHA needs anything, I can’t imagine anyone other than Dick doing the work.
KB1OOG Rating: 2020-12-19
none finer Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Picked up a 87a that has had some work done and it did work but I felt it was off a bit.
Dick took it on and without emptying the bank account I have a wonderful amp with no issues
very nice to deal with
Mark KB1OOG
K5DSQ Rating: 2020-09-03
Excellent Amp Repair!! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Dick does it all... Quick repair, fair pricing and is a good communicator! You will not be disappointed with his great service!!
KM4BS Rating: 2020-03-09
Alpha 87A Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I highly recommend N4UQ for all your amp repairs. I just got my 87a back from him and was very happy with the service I received. Sent the amp on Monday, he received it on Wednesday and had it on the bench within a couple of hours. He kept me updated every step of the diagnostics. Found the problem very quickly and advised of the repair required. Fixed it up and I had it back on Saturday. Very nice gentleman to talk to and very reasonable prices. Glad to have my amp back working. Thank you Dick for the Great service.
K6RP Rating: 2019-08-13
Alpha repair A+++ Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Fixed my Alpha 89 twice. First time was a general fix up (soft start and protection circuits inop). Second time was a near total meltdown due to age related issues. Richard took his time and replaced dozens components and got it back to 100%. Had his own transformer for 87A/89 amps so I saved a ton on shipping. Look nowhere else if you've got an Alpha in need of help.
N4RSS Rating: 2018-06-21
Great work Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Dick agreed to repair my QRO 2500 after another shop failed to identify the underlying problems of blown equalizing resistors and associated caps.

He kept in constant communication, showing me photos of the damage, and repaired the problems effectively. He also identified a burnt trace and a heavily clogged fan and fixed both.

He tested the amp, gave me a tune-up sheet and the old parts. Price was very fair and he's a nice guy to work with.
former_K7FU Rating: 2018-02-24
A++++ Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Dick fixed my golden screwdriver screwups, and did it quickly. Thank you sir for an excellent job and quick turn-around. I would not hesitate to send him any repairs needed on my Alpha 86.
W8SPM Rating: 2018-01-17
Great Service Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Dick Byrd-N4UQ is the Guru of Vintage Alpha Amplifiers ! He upgraded my Alpha 78 #8605 in June 2010 ! The amplifier since then has worked as a new one ! These amplifiers when taken care of are timeless ! Mine has the original date coded 8874 tubes and will deliver full legal output ! I run it in a conservative manner and I'm hoping it will operate for many years ! If you need help with your Alpha amp call Dick Byrd-N4UQ