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Reviews For: Ameritron ALS-600

Category: Amplifiers: RF Power - HF & HF+6M

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Review Summary For : Ameritron ALS-600
Reviews: 197MSRP: 1299.99
Description:
600W Output Solid State Amplifier w /Power Supply on 100/110/120V for US
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.ameritron.com/Product.php?productid=ALS-600
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
451974.2
N4MWY Rating: 2006-04-11
very good compact lightweight 600 watt amp Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I mostly use it on 75 meters and it will put out 500-600 watts pep without breaking a sweat. This amp is easy to operate and you can forget that it is there unless you switch bands (when you switch bands no tuning is needed, you just change the band switch to the band you are going to).

This amp will produce as much output as most people need.
KL7NA Rating: 2006-04-09
Easy to operate.... Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I find the amplifier very easy to operate. You just select the band you want, turn it on and you are on the air.

As some others have mentioned, the power output isn't always 600 watts, however, on my unit, I found that the real problem was the calibration of the output meter. There is a little potentiometer that may not be set right. Using a 50 ohm dummy load and a calibrated oscilloscope, I found that after adjusting mine correctly, the output went between 500 and 700 watts depending on the band. It always seems to give me two S units on reports.

The actual amplifier deck is very light. The regular power supply is a bit heavy, but I like the fact that you can put it on the floor behind the desk and save your desk space for the important items.

The MOSFETS seem pretty well protected, as mine was hit by lightning, and they survived, though a diode in the power supply and the relay driver NPN transistor were both blown.

I wish that Ameritron had made it so the band switched automatically with some of the modern rigs, but that is my only real complaint.

It is a good amplifier.
K9KEJ Rating: 2006-04-03
Excellent value Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I drive my ALS-600 with a 756 PROII into a 4-BTV Vert., ground-mounted, and without any radials. I am very fortunate to have a wonderful piece of backyard real estate that is highly conductive. I have been able to work any DX I hear. As many already know, the ALS is super-sensitive to spikes in SWR, and will shut down at times because of the protection circuit. I have never had a problem with this model. Having run tube amplifiers for over 45-years, this amp is a breath of fresh air, in that there isn't any heat factor to deal with--plus the power is there, instantly when I need it. On 40 meters, with 100-watts drive, the amp loafs at 700-watts!
And any equipment is liable to break down--even right out of the box. I've heard lots of comments on 20 about new xcvrs from Yaseu that are loaded with glitches. The ALS-600 is well-worth the investment! My ALS-600 wored from day one without any problems.
Orrin-K9KEJ
KG6QKJ Rating: 2006-03-31
Purrs like a kitten Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
My amplifier is exactly what the maunufacturer claims.

It doesn't like high SWR (over 1.8:1) and it doesn't like to be overdriven. Both of these are taken care off with the protection circut built in.

I use an Icom IC-718 for the exciter and rarely push the amp over 500 watts. I try to keep the drive at about 50 watts but I have forgotten it at 100 and just kept talking my head off and then noticed it tripped the fault. I thought I had really screwed things up, but 15 minutes later when I got my nerve up to transmit again at the proper drive it just kept purring like a kitten and has to this day.

I trip the fault also when the SWR is high. I tend to change bands frequently and sometimes don't set the bandswitch to the right position.

All in all, this is a better amp than it replaced.

I like it's ease of use and also the simple looks of it.

The light bulb burnt out in the meter. But I don't think I should give it a bad rating for that. Anyone know what bulb to use when I tear it open to replace it? My callsign is good @arrl.net

Just my thoughts.
73
Marty

K5ADF Rating: 2006-03-03
Good value Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned the ALS600 for about five years. I have a 756Pro driving the amp with a LDG AT1000 autotuner into either a Hustler 5BTV or cushcraft A3S yagi. The amp is using 110 into the older power supply (boat anchor) sitting on the floor under the operating table. So far I have not had a problem with the amp and it performs well. It is very sensitive to SWR as noted in other reviews and typical of solid state amplifiers. I only run SSB with the amp so I have not experienced the switch problem noted in other reviews. The amp will tune itself to the transmit frequency and has protection from having the band switch on the wrong setting (I have made this mistake). I bought the mod for 10M and that also works well.

Now for the down part and hence the lower rating. The amp only puts out at best 450 watts cw/ssb. I have never used it on 160M so I can't speak for that band. All the power measurements come from the meter on the ALS600 which could be wrong. However the meter does show the 756Pro putting 100 watts of power into the amp. SWR due to the AT1000 is always 1.2 or less as displayed on both the ALS600 and AT1000. Perhaps if I put a higher quality power meter on the amp output I would get a different result.

I consider this problem to be minor though and am happy with the amp. I could lay out thousands more and get maximum legal power out in hopefully a higher quality amp. For the price this amp has served and continues to serve me well.
M5TAW Rating: 2006-03-03
Very good compact amp Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I was amazed how small the amplifier was when I collected it from the seller. I like the idea of positioning the PSU away from the operating position.
The reason for buying this amp was to reduce the amount of space my station was taking up and to make it more YL friendly (aesthetically pleasing). It replaces an AMP SUPPLY CO 500 amp which is an outstanding amp in all respects but is physically large in comparison.
The ALS 600 does need 100 watts input to achieve 600 watts out, 90 watts in provides just over 500 watts into a dummy load.
Construction is OK and there are some good safetly measures in place, such as high SWR protection and incorrect band selection shut down.
I find this amp more convenient than my previous valve amps - the lack of tuning makes operation very quick and easy.
I would recommend this amp
WA2AR Rating: 2005-10-07
Does what it says Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have been happy with my ALS-600 as it does what they say it will do. I wish to bring a few points up though. 1- The manual. Would MFJ please detail the ALC setup procedure? Who ever wrote this section sounds like a politican. Talks, but says nothing. 2- Why do the meters looks so darn cheap?
The meter is too small on the power supply. 3- Cabinet looks like I made it in my high school metal shop class and the front panel looks cheap too, as does the lettering on the front panel. Amp works great as long as SWR is under control but looks like junk and does not inspire product confidence.
AE6G Rating: 2005-07-20
Just as advertised Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
About 3 weeks ago, my new amp arrived. Felt the need for an amp again, but knew from past experience that a tube amp would not be nearly as useful. I got the old power supply. The amp takes up little room and adds very little heat. Altho I primarily operate CW, the lack of QSK is not a serious handicap to me. Don't like my monlogues interrupted hi.
K1ECW Rating: 2005-06-11
A Breeze To Operate Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I've owned my Ameritron ALS-600 for about 6 months. I previously used it with a manual tuner but recently opted for the MFJ-994. (See my separate review on that GREAT product.)

The ALS-600 is very easy to operate. In fact, it's almost idiot proof. It's no tune, no warm-up, and let's you change bands with the turn of a switch.

The unit runs cool, has virtually no fan noise, and gets great audio and signal reports.

As a caveat, you must have a 1.8 or less SWR for the unit to transmit. This means a well tuned antenna or a good tuner to bring down the SWR. If the SWR goes beyond 1.8:1, the fault circuit will kick-in. It's easily resettable with the touch or a button.

If you are used to tube amps, you'll spend a few hours on the learning curve using solid state amps and keeping reasonable SWRs. This appears to be a cheap complaint of some reviewers. In other words, two coat hangers with ends twisted together stuck out the window for a 160 meter antenna probably won't work.

The amp & power supplywork well on 110-115 volts and there's really no need to set it for 220. In fact, MFJ recommends 110-115 rather than 220 if 110 is available.

If you want ease of operation, use efficient and well tuned antennas, and don't mind paying about $2 per watt for solid state vs. about $1.25 per watt for a tube amp, you'll love the Ameritron ALS-600.



W6VA Rating: 2005-04-15
Works As Advertised Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I got the new ALS600S with the switching power supply. Comes with a long cable so you can put the supply down on the floor out of the way and the amplifier takes up a small amount of space on the desktop.

Getting full 600 watts out but needs 100 watts drive to reach full output. Using an Icom 756PROII.

The only downside I am experiencing is that the fans, although quiet, have some type of low frequency component and after the amplifier is on for awhile it becomes very disconcerting. Luckily being an instant on solid state amp I pretty much leave it off until ready to be used.

I'd like to see some options added in to make the amplifier even better. One being a built in antenna switch so you can run at least two antennas such as a 10-20 meter beam, and then dipole or vertical. Another would be a built in automatic antenna tuner. Band tracking would also be a nice touch.

The operation is smooth and easy and very tolerant of operator error such as forgetting to switch bands. Relay can be pretty noisy, especially on CW.

Signal reports give it about a 2 S unit gain on all bands and the audio reports are very good. No distortion at all noticed in the amplified signal vs regular power. All in all a very good amp for the cost. Beats having to tune up every time you change frequencies.