Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: Yaesu FL-2100B/Z

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

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : Yaesu FL-2100B/Z
Reviews: 57MSRP: 2000.00
Description:
fl2100b
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.foxtango.org
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00574.7
WS2L Rating: 2009-12-30
Excellent amp Time Owned: more than 12 months.
In 30+ years of being a ham this was my very first HF amp. I have the FL2100F and I purchased it from a friend for $325 last year. Still in excellent condition inside and out I average between 500-600 watts on all bands. I know that there are a lot better amp's out there but I am in a unique situation. I live in a rented house and do not have a 220 line anywhere in my apartment so having an amp that runs on 110 forces my choices. Another friend of mine had owned the FL-2100 and he gave it a good rating so I trusted his word and have not been disappointed yet.
K4SPS Rating: 2009-11-13
Quality never goes out of style! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I ordered this FL-2100B amplifier off E-bay for $450 and I am very happy with it. It appears as essentially new and unused. It has a new pair of Svetlana 572B tubes installed. The appropriate minor mods for these new tubes, as recommended by Yaesu and RF parts, had already been done. These quality tubes perform well and they output perfectly on all bands with 500 to 700 watts respectively.

I am driving this amp with an equally mint FT-901DM and this combination has been superb! I studied again all the Ameribomb amplifiers and decided once again to buy an older vintage machine instead. (The first time I bought a Collins 30-L and have been exceptionally pleased with it) Fox Tango net-resource is the education and only resource that you need to keep it running. With a small and easy to build transmit-relay to key these amps, most all modern transceivers will drive them.

My point is this. These older amplifiers are worth considering for several reasons. 1) They are from a more quality driven era. 2) They are bargains relative to the expensive modern-day offerings. 3) And they if need be, can be refurbished with new tubes and capacitors and you will learn a great deal more - to enhance your amateur radio hobby! 73's from K4SPS
IW1DFU Rating: 2009-09-15
Good choice! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Great Amp! I've got the Z version (with WARC included) and I really love this small big amp. With a new set of Tube the output is 700W on 40 mt and abt 650 on higer bands. The 572B are cheaper and easy to find. Inside it's well done and easy to manage and modify. The input tuned circuits are a big plus on warc. I've made some mods: soft warm up and added a cuple of fans on the top to let the air flow better inside and keep it cold. If you find an used one, get it! The Z version is the best choice-
WB2BM Rating: 2008-04-27
Good AMP! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just got mine from ebay about a month ago. Was very clean with almost no dust inside and still has the original plastic on the front. Puts out 800+ on ssb. Have not used it on long rag chews yet so don't know how hot it can get. In stand by mode it stays cool wich is a plus. There were 2 problems with the amp when I first plugged it in. First problem was that the keying cucuit was constantly keyed upon power up. This was fixed by replacing the 2.2uf capacitor in the keying curcuit, took some time to diagnose this problem. The second problem was a bad 1000pf doorknob capacitor in the grid curcuit that was broken in half rendering the amp totally innoperable. I could actually see this through the top without taking the cover off! With the new capacitors it works flawlessly. The band switch issue was noted to be a problem by Yaesu and is not a big problem if it is kept clean and not abused. I do plan on replacing the power supply capacitors in the future also. I recommend this amp for those who don't mind opening up the case and doing some work under the hood once in a while. I am looking forward to many years of service from this box.
Francisco Martinez Rating: 2008-03-10
great amplifier Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
The FL-2100B resembles the legendary HK SB200, very compact,space saver and performer. I have done some mods to make it a little better. Some of them develop parasitcs oscillation, very easy to fix. Mod are very well documented and ready available on the internet.
If you have one, keep it, the FL2100B is one of most compact reliable amplifier ever made by yaesu.
73/nq2t
WG2Y Rating: 2007-09-21
Dynamyte Amp Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I purchased my amp from a ham that said it was not operational. the mainline fuse would blow upon power up. Through a small amount of trouble shooting I discovered there was a cathode to grid short on one of the tubes. 5 diodes on the rectifier board were also open. I replaced the diodes and the tubes and i have worked 82 countries in the past 3 months. It puts out a solid 700 watts on SSB. For what I paid for it and what I have gotten in return it was a real steal.
K5BJM Rating: 2007-09-09
GREAT AMP! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is a solid 750-850 Watt Amp. I continuosly use it at 700 Watts at 85 watts drive with my Icom 7000. It has always performed perfectly. Unit still has plastic on the front and still looks like new. I think I will always have this one around. I always get great audio reports. No distortion no TVI on SSB. This is a GREAT AMPLIFIER!
W6PSA Rating: 2007-09-06
Still Great Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This amp works great with my Yaesu FT-2000. I bought it second-hand and it works fine. It gives me enough power to break through the noise and rag-chew on 75 meters. Great for a first time amp owner or backup amp.
VK3KBC Rating: 2007-02-18
FL-2100Z - Great Amp Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Hi All,

I've owned an FL-2100Z for about five years and have found it to be a great amplifier.

It was purchased for AU$600 and was in excellent condition with almost no internal dust and all components in perfect condition.

The output averages around 700 Watts on all bands into a dummy load and does the VK limit of 400 Watts easily with about 50 Watts of drive.

Tuning is straight forward and smooth and it doesn't play up when tuning into a poorly matched antenna.

The amplifier does run very warm, with the two bottom chassis mounted fans driving quite a bit of hot air out through the top vented cover, so it would be better suited to cold shacks and may not be the best choice if you're operating in warmer climates.

Having said that, it hasn't missed a beat operating in VK at ambient air temperatures of 35 degrees C (95F).

The fans in the unit are similar to those found on the rear of the FT101 Series of transceivers and are very quiet.

I've also recently constructed and used a Fox Tango Pecker (http://www.iol.ie/~bravo/Woodpecker.htm) to tune the amplifier and would highly recommend the combination as it always results in a perfect tune
and removes the risk of accidental damage to the amplifer.

In summary, the 2100Z is a great amplifier to help improve your signals when the bands are not at their best. If the other station can't hear you when using this amplifier, then you probably need a better antenna !!

Regards,

Ben VK3KBC.
DK7LX Rating: 2007-02-14
FL-2100Z. Great PA! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have purchased this little package back in 2002 and it has never left me alone ever since. Blows out up to 750 Watts and even 800 Watts down on 80 and a good 500 to 700 Watts on higher Bands. Since I mostly run CW I tend to change the Tubes regularily. Never had a single problem with this equipment. I run it with an FT1K MKV. Should some of you need new tubes (matched) and have trouble to find them, send me an email. I can tell you a good shop here in DL where you get them at a reasonable price. Is there any FL2100 user-Forum existing?

Best regards!