| K5INI |
Rating:      |
2022-05-11 | |
| Does everything it's suppose to |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I added an auto tuner behind it and this makes everything almost automatic. |
|
| K4RNA |
Rating:      |
2022-01-11 | |
| Honest Review here. |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
So here is the deal with this. I have always had either 3-500z or 572b amplifiers. maybe sweep tubes 6fl6 (wow memories). But is NOT that. What this is, is an awesome amp that you can run with blindfolds on. No it is not 1500w. But what it is magical. After blowing up my amp, I wanted something I could run remotely. I use Icom Remote software. But I could never use power. So now, I can run remote, auto band switching, and autotuning (mfj-998). I just hit the tune button, 10watts goes to the autotune, the band switches automatically, bingo. I am blind as heck. no more turning knobs. i love it. Ok enough on the bragging rights. let's get down to the numbers. This is not a 100% duty cycle 1200 watts. But, who needs 1200 watts 100% percent of the time. ON SSB you can drive it to 1500 and as you talk the numbers fall well below 1200. And it runs cool as hell. Now, digital is different. I can run at 1200 for maybe 2 minutes. I would never try sstv at that. But sstv at 800 all day long. If you run digi. No problem. What I do is run at 900 all day long, if i need more turn it up to1200. Is this not that what our FCC says? Anyhow, I can turn it up. Never have I excided 40 watts of drive. Very cool thing. And if you can afford 6,000 dollars for the next best thing, have at it. One other note. Certain bands like 17 or 30. They run hotter than others. on 30 even with 200 max it gets hotter than running 600. I think it might be my antenna
|
|
| N3FAA |
Rating:      |
2021-03-16 | |
| Great Amp |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I bought mine second hand...extremely low serial number (sub 20).
Generally speaking, the amp works great. Yes, you can get legal limit out of this amp. In fact, I have seen 1700w on my LP-700 and dummy load, all in the name of science, of course. But why? Treat her properly (1kw) and this amp will last forever.
My only gripes:
1) The fans are super loud...I mean...LOUD! I don't run any tube amps, so I really can't compare, but in relation to my other solid state amps, which are absolutely silent, the ALS-1300 is crazy loud. The fans run continuously, and can be quite obnoxious. Again, if you are coming from a tube amp, this fan noise is probably a welcome addition to the shack. For me, it's just too loud to run without having the amp way out of the way somewhere.
2) I don't really know what the issue is here, but when I run 20m and 30m into my dummy load, I get a fault at anything above 700-800w output. It is showing a mismatch between the two sides of the amp (and there is slightly, according to the onboard ammeter). However, as soon as I hook the amp up to my antenna, that issue is resolved. I cannot for the life of me figure out what is causing that issue, but as long as it works into the antenna, I really don't care.
For a barebones [almost] legal limit amp, it's hard to go wrong with the ALS-1300. I haven't put it through its paces as far as contesting is concerned, but just might for the upcoming WPX. |
|
| W9BB |
Rating:      |
2020-05-30 | |
| nice amp for the money |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I know everyone like's to bum rap ameritron , I have had 5 different ameritron's and never had a problem 811h , 80b ,572, als-600 and now als1300 .I have never had a failure. So I don't over driven. they work just fine for me. And you can service them in the usa..which I have not had to do ! |
|
| VE3VEE |
Rating:      |
2019-10-26 | |
| I haven't turned it off in over 3 years. Not a single issue. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I bought my solid state amplifier Ameritron ALS-1300 more than three years ago. I installed it inside an outdoor electrical enclosure attached to the base of my antenna tower. The enclosure houses all my equipment, TCVR, PA, rotor controller, network equipment, etc. The equipment is exposed to extreme hot and cold temperatures as well as variations in air humidity. I keep all my equipment turned on non-stop. The Ameritron amplifier has been turned on ever since I installed it over 3 years ago. I use it for DXing and for CQ WW DX contests. I have not experienced a single glitch. Should it fail one day, without a hesitation I would be ordering another ALS-1300 the same day.
EDIT: It has now been 5 years since I turned it on... Still running problem free... I wonder if I should replace the fans, they've been on 24/7 for the past 5 years... :-)
Marvin VE3VEE |
|
| K0DXV |
Rating:      |
2018-11-04 | |
| Excellent Amplfier |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I know people have had quality issues with various Ameritron products. But, the bottom line is they stand behind their products and provide excellent support.
Fortunately for me I haven't had any problems with my new ALS-1300. I just set it up a few days ago. I spend about 2 hours on the air with it and all I can say is it's worth ever penny. My good quality peak-reading power meter indicates peak power is just touching 1300 watts with only 50 watts input drive power. This is peak power. Average power with 50 watts in is about 1000. This is just outstanding in my book. I'll probable never run it any hotter. 1KW average power is plenty.
I replaced an AL-572 amplifier which has been in continuous use for about 3 years. One of the tubes reached its demise quite abruptly. (As an aside, I wish I had gotten the AL80B). I probably need to get a new set of tubes for it. I was shocked to see that 572 tubes are quite rare now. So I decided it was time for a different amplifier. I thought long and hard about another tube amp. The AL-800F looked like my choice - but the size wouldn't work on my small radio desk.
After some careful consideration the ALS-1300 made a lot of sense. Its width was modest and would fit well. The power supply goes on a small table beside the desk. I like the front panel - simple and useful.
I've had no issues. It worked perfectly from the first power up. Does everything I expect it to. For $2400 it truly is a bargain. I'm perfectly happy with my new amplifier and I don't think you can go wrong with it.
On last comment on its design. Many have said that the MRF150 power transistor has had its day and should now be considered obsolete. Yes, there are much newer options and we will see a new generation of solid state amps like the Palstar come on to the market. But honestly, they MRF150 has been with us for a long time with a long successful history. With a proper supply and well designed circuitry it is nearly indestructible. They can fail like anything else. I just personally like its tried and true history. <> |
|
| N6TCO |
Rating:      |
2018-03-29 | |
| Outstanding |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
Upgraded from Ameritron ALS-600 to the ALS-1300 and I have found it to an outstanding piece of equipment. Full power out(+) with nominal drive 1500 on 20, 1200 on 80.
Matched with the Palstar HF-AUTO Tuner another Superlative piece of equipment they make a Great team. I have no intention of ever changing and with the quality of this gear I should never have to.
You won't regret purchase of either.
|
|
| KB6HRT |
Rating:      |
2017-05-26 | |
| MY FAULT! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Start using the ALS1300 a quite 1200w amplifier in early 2016 after I traded off my Yaesu FT9000D an its matching amplifier because of back problems was having and could not sit in a chair for long periods of time. The ALS1300 served me well, until I decided to mod my 43' vertical in 2017 an added 43' of wire off the top to make the electrically 86' long, when testing the new antenna I made wiring mistakes then I manually powered the ALS1300 with no load on it. That took out 1 final from each bank, cost of repairs was $275 at Ameritron. They had to matched the new finals to the other finals all is well now, I have since changed the station too a lot simpler set up. I believe the ALS 1300 is a GREAT amplifier for the bucks and cost effective to repair.............kb6hrt
----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by KB6HRT on 2016-02-20
Brough a ALS600S in Oct of last year It worked GREAT but needed a little more on 160m. I stepped
up to the ALS1300 about a week ago because of the good luck I had with the ALS600S. Once I got the ALS1300 dialed in good on 160m now using it remote an it works as it should, 1200+ watts on a peaks with 75w drive on 160m. For 160m using a compermise shortened dipole antenna 82' long fed with 450 ohm LL it works 160-17m with out any problems, the extra S unit is doing the job.............73s............kb6hrt |
|
| KX2T |
Rating:    |
2017-05-26 | |
| OK amp but needs a 50ohm load |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Had the ALS 1300 for 1.5 years and after 3 months bought the extended warranty which was very smart on my part. I have owned more than a few Ameritron amps like an early AL1200 pre MFJ, AL1500 and AL80B. All those amps have been excellent value but if you want Alpha quality you need to spend more. The 1300 was easy to drive but what I found what was a pain is you needed to use different drive levels on different bands also unless you were going into a perfect 50 ohm load the amp was all over the place in its output and even with trying to get the remote switching box to work with the MFJ998 auto tuner it just never got it right. The nice thing about SS amps is no tune but they are not as forgiving as tube amps and the slightest amount of over driving will get the IMD creeping into the red zone. IMO the amp is a good 1Kw amp, nothing more and its a good thing I bought the extended warranty cause right after the factory warranty was up I just turned the amp on and it went south, didn't even transmit and for mosfets bit the dust. Ameritron fix the amp in 4 weeks time and good as new. After a few months I sold the amp and picked up an Acom 1000, yes I have to tune this amp but it loads into a 3:1 swr and is very well protected. I feel that both the 1300 and the 1306 are designs of the past, those costly mosfets with not so high reliability factors are kind of long in the tooth, there are much more rugged SS devices out now which they could use and cost about the same plus if they really want to be competitive they should offer either a matching auto tuner of one built in, sorry I cannot recommend this SS amp.
----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by KX2T on 2013-11-28
I bought this amp used about two months ago, its a late production amp and has about three months left on the warranty. It came with the remote box so I was able to conect it to my FTDX3000 and after having way to many manual tuned amps and some auto band switched amp this is a real nice option. There has been lots of semi bad press here on E ham about these amps and all I can say is after they built close to 2000 of these amps Ameritron must be doing something right and I feel sometimes E ham becomes a bitch forum. The amp does a clean 1200W out , the extra 300W to bring you up to 1500W will not be seen on any s meter unless maybe you are running a 4 bay stack monoband yagi's and even then it would be slight. Its well protected and if you do something stupid it lest you know. The only things that I would say are weak points that the fan noise is a little more than an AL80B but less than an AL1500 and when used with remote switching the standby switch is off line but I placed a spst switch between the exicter and amp for times when I just want to use an antenna tuner with lower power. The amp when used with a scope is clean and almost has that tube sound that all you essb guys like. After owning 6 different Ameritrons, 5 Alphas, two Heathkits, one QRO, two Dentrons and one Amp supply amps in my past I gotta say I like the no tune no worries day to day use of this amp and for SSB/CW contesting it has been a breeze to use. The only other amp I would have liked to own is the Alpha 87A but those 3CX800's are way to much to replace on an amp thats 15 plus years old and even used that fetch almost twice the price of one of these amps new. For those out there who wanna run this type of amp in a RTTY contest well I feel you sould be looking for some of the rock crusher amps that cost two to three times as much. I feel W8JI design another nice value priced amp in todays solid state amp market. |
|
| K8DXX |
Rating:      |
2017-05-25 | |
| Couldn't Be More Pleased! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Initially, I wanted a big, hot, demanding legal limit tube amplifier... until I started comparing prices and considering all I've read lately about tube prices and reliability. I concluded that we've reached the point where solid state is cheaper dollar per watt than tube (except for perhaps the Ameritron AL 80B).
Several years ago, Ameritron/MFJ came out with the ALS 1300, 1200 watt no tune, solid state "near legal limit" amplifier. It had some initial issues that appear to have been corrected. To get out from under the 1300's bad reputation (partially, I think), Ameritron came out with the ALS 1306 which adds 6 meters and built in remote band switching. The ALS 1300 sits in the catalog as basically the same amplifier but costing $500 - $600 less than the 1306. Can I flip a band switch or do without 6 meters (and add a $30 10 meter kit). You betcha!
Got a great deal on an ALS 1300 at Hamvention 2017. So far, I am very pleased. Inspection of both the amp and power supply show good workmanship. Fit and finish were excellent (nice paint, reinstalling screws didn't require struggling with sheet metal). After installation, I hit it with 20 watts on 40 meters and got 600 out. I've had several QSOs this afternoon driving it with 40 and getting 1250 out. WOW! Tried it briefly on 80 and got 1KW out with 30 watts in. This is much better than two ALS 600s in a box (the 600 being notoriously low on 80 meter output).
So far, so good. I'll post an update if anything changes. |
|