| W1JTP |
Rating:      |
2022-04-25 | |
| Great Amp! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Got my Icom 2kl/ AT500 back in 1985 and was my first and only AMP since first licensed in 1959.Never a problem and always reliable and still going strong for 37 years now. Great Amp!!! |
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| W0BKR |
Rating:      |
2022-01-05 | |
| Great Compact Size with Great Reliability |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Great 160-15 meter amp, small footprint, super quiet, no tuning, very reliable. What more can you ask for! |
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| SP5MXF |
Rating:      |
2020-12-12 | |
| Very good amplifier |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Hello everyone, for a few years I am a satisfied and even happy user of the IC-2Kl power amplifier, this amplifier is a very interesting design, a useful function is the auto mode, so you do not need to manually select bands, IC-2KL does it automatically, a problem is to attach loud fan, but you can modify it and the problem goes away. For me, a very interesting thing is that replacing the original power supply, which has limited performance at the limit of the possibility of another, more powerful impulse power supply, then we can easily use more power, 650 W key down.
Using SSB modulation, we obtain as much as 950 W of PEP power. This is due to a special type of amplifier protection, in this model it is so made that if you use modulation of a low-load amplifier, the amplifier gives more momentary power, with the modulation of a more burdening amplifier, the protection will limit the output power. To make it work, one should use a very efficient switching power supply with a voltage of 43V and a current of at least 35A. Use more input power of about 80 W input, which ALC will reduce to an optimal level.
In most transistor amplifiers, the PEP power is equal to the key down power due to the fact that they are powered by a stabilized voltage and not as in tube amplifiers, receiving power from the power supply capacitors where voltage fluctuates. In IC2KL, the power supply provides stabilized voltage to the amplifier transistors so the PEP power should be equal to the power key but it is not. This is because the power of this amplifier is artificially limited by ICOM by means of an output limiter due to low cooling capacity, when the power limiting circuit detects less load it allows to use more power. The use of a sound processor increases the load, so the output power will be less in the vicinity of 700W, it is worth considering turning off the sound processor by observing reports from correspondents.
Power key down = 650W
Power PEP CW = 700W
Power PEP SSB = 950W
http://sp5mxf.com/icom-ic-2kl/
Best wishes
Thomas
sp5mxf.com |
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| K6TLA |
Rating:      |
2019-03-23 | |
| Purfect |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I recently acquired the IC2KL and the AT-500. What a nice package. In auto mode both change bands with the 756 Pro3 for a tightly integrated system. I wanted a solid state amplifier that runs on 120 VAC and I got it. While testing I found that my amplifier does have the 10/12 meter mod. What else is there to want? My tube based amplifiers will likely be seldom used now. |
|
| N1EE |
Rating:      |
2018-08-04 | |
| Insanely good |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I bought one of these after reading all the 5 start eHam reviews. I wanted something reasonably priced that would allow me to punch through to a local friend in a deep valley. I read this was a bulletproof design with excellent protection circuits. It is true. I don't know if you could kill this. I bought this from a Ham on Long Island about a hours drive for me, and it inclued the Amp, and power supply, for about $550. I next bought an AT-500 for $350. The first thing I discovered is the 10-meter band was not installed in my Amp. But it looked like an easy job to finish it. Wrong. While I could find the circuit diagram it did not include the values of any of the components. I found a guy in the state of Washington that installed kits and sent it off to him. Cost was around $200 as I recall. About $1100 total and these sets are selling for $1500 now (2018). I also was short one control cable which I bought for $35. The manual for both the AT-500 and IC-2KL are available on the ICOM America website. The only things you need to know: 1) Adjust the ALC on the amplifier as recommended. 2) band switching is automatic with ICOM radios (I've used it with an IC-7300 which matches all three (amp, tuner, and power supply) in size exactly, and my IC-9100. Here I am with two of the most modern rigs and this antique amplifier works perfectly with them including band switching. 3) The control cables can be attached to either of the sockets on the AT-500. They are daisy chained. 4) If it is not working, you have done something wrong. Check your antenna, connecting cables |
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| K6XN |
Rating:      |
2017-06-14 | |
| Outstanding |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
We now have three (3) IC-2KL linear amplifiers that we use with IC AT-500 antenna tuners and IC 775 DSP and IC-751A transceivers for contesting operations and they have all performed flawlessly over the years during our contest operations at W6DOJ, NC6DX, NN7NN and NC6DX. Great equipment!
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Earlier 5-star review posted by K6XN on 2014-09-12
I have two IC-2KL and AT-500 combinations and both perform flawlessly. The first IC-2KL and AT-500 I acquired 20 years ago and we have used this with out any problems whatsoever in many contests and in chasing a lot of DX. I recently was presented with an opportunity to buy another second setup and I did. Both combinations function flawlessly and we use them for multi-multi contesting up in the Sierra from our contest stations. What wonderful amplifiers! If you find one buy it. You will be happy that you did. 73, Ted, K6XN |
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| VK2AAF |
Rating:      |
2017-03-24 | |
| Best in class - buy if you can find |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Took 3 years of searching to find an IC-2KL, power supply & AT-500 set in Australia. Was expensive but worth every cent.
Paired with an Icom HF rig, it's a set & forget amplifier. If you drive it hard, although definitely not recommended, it will deliver a clean 850W PEP SSB and barely get warm. The IC-LPS power supply will happily keep up, but the fan will come on to keep affairs in order.
As you may imagine, these units are in high demand. Scammers are aware of this. If you place a wanted ad for a 2KL, expect scammers to reply with a lower than market price offering & photos nicked from commercial ham radio equipment sites. Poor English syntax is a giveaway. As always with any high value piece of kit, ask for original photos with common household articles placed near the item. You're less likely to get a nicked photo.
If you find one of these, buy it without hesitation. Icom really should be making an amp in this output class at a decent price; they'd sell heaps. 4KL & PW1 are beauties but far too expensive for most hams.
73 de Brian VK2AAF |
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| AC5RM |
Rating:      |
2015-09-06 | |
| Awesome little Amp/tuner combo! |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
A fairly recent licensee, I realized not long after accomplishing DXCC that I could really use a little extra punch. However, I like to "Hunt and pounce", often on many different bands relatively quickly. Thus, I really didn't want a tube type amp to have to tune...
My elmer had put up a beam, and since the majority of his time is spent on the digital modes, he really wasn't using his IC-2KL/AT500 combo. When I sold one of my project Corvettes and found myself with extra cash, he and I struck a deal.
Now it sits proudly alongside my trusty workhorse, an Icom 746 nonpro, turning it into basically a 500 watt transceiver. No tune, no muss, I just change bands, and along comes the power. The only thing I would change is I'd like to have the 10 meter mod, which has not been done on my amp.
Running it into the hexbeam at 50 feet, I almost feel like a big gun- I don't think there's been a pileup I waded into yet that I couldn't get through, most of the time fairly quickly.
After having this, I don't know that I could ever go with anything that wasn't a solid state. If I ever upgrade powerwise, I'll be saving my pennies for its big brother, the PW-1. Until then though, this little guy has a happy home in my shack. I still don't understand why Icom quit making these. If you find one in good shape, grab it! |
|
| KM1B |
Rating:      |
2015-08-24 | |
| Awesome!! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I recently bought an IC-2KL and AT-500 and love it so much. The original fan was a little noisy, so I replaced it with a quieter fan with higher CFM for better cooling. I also performed a full-time low speed fan mod. Ever since this mod is done, the amp runs whisper quiet.
I am using this amp with my IC-746Pro and it works so well and 500W seems plenty of power in most cases, and my Commander HF-2500 is now collecting dust.
The only other thing that I want to do to this amp is QSK mod. This will be the mighty amp in all mode when it is done. I am extremely happy. |
|
| WX2CX |
Rating:      |
2013-06-03 | |
| Superb! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Still no better HF amp on the market, I regretted selling my 2kl set, lucky to find a brand new one!
Will not sell it for nothing. Solid as a rock and able to deliver the 500w with no problem. Quality, no plastic parts, aluminum front bezel,not like the new amps, plastic and tin!
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Earlier 5-star review posted by WX2CX on 2011-03-20
This is a outstanding amp,have it connected to my back up radio, it is a rock solid 500W++ amp!\
Have not seen a better 500W amp on the market, worth every penny! |
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