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Reviews For: HF SuperPacker Pro – 100 W Amplifier Version 2

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

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Review Summary For : HF SuperPacker Pro – 100 W Amplifier Version 2
Reviews: 2MSRP: 429
Description:
Dimensions (inch) Overall: 6.5 Deep x 7.0 Width x 2.8 High • Weight (lbs): 3

• DC Power: 13.8 VDC 20A max. Reverse-Polarity Protection; Power Pole rear-mounted connector. ON/OFF switch.

• Filters: Auto selection: 160-10 meters; Sized for 100W operation

• Control: Shaft Encoder, 1x16 LCD back-lit display

• Input Drive: 1-5W; Overdrive protection

• Monitoring: In power, out power, SWR, Temperature, Voltage, Frequency, LED Bar Graph of Power, SWR, Filter Selection and other operational status.

• Adjustments: VOX; PTT

• Indicators: LED: Power, TX, Overdrive

• Duty Cycle: Continuous; Computer Controlled, Internal fan

• Spurious Products: -40 dB or better @ 100 watts

• RF Control: RF Sensing or PTT T-R Relay

• Modes: SSB, CW, PSK

• Power Transistors: MRF-454 type matched pair (subject to type change based on availability of transistors)

• Circuitry: Class AB, Push Pull

• Construction: Precision fabricated vented Aluminum enclosure, Black anodized Panels, Silkscreen rear panel, lexan overlay front panel. Supplied with all circuit boards and parts. Construction manual on CD.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.hfprojectsyahoo.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0024.5
WB5IRI Rating: 2011-03-07
Fantastic Kit! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
This kit was an absolute joy to build. Bought mine online from a ham who did not have time to put it together. The instructions are detailed, the parts are first quality, and the boards are excellent, with silk screened outlines for placement and plated through holes. A quality job all around.

I blew the finals on this amp through my own inattention to the instructions -- so beware, you builders out there, check everything, then check it again, and then check it once more, as my missing just one thing was a costly mistake. This is not a kit for beginners, as the instructions clearly point out. I can't knock the amp for my own oversight.

I have used it with my FT817, and I get 80 to 107 watts across the bands, with the exception of 160, where the output is around 70 watts. It's in excess of 100 watts on 40 through 17 meters with 2.5 watts of drive. On 160, Virgil thinks I may have to remove a turn on the coils in the 160 meter filter, which I will do when I get around to it. I don't operate much 160, though, so it's not on my priority list.

The amp automatically selects the correct filter for the band you are on, puts in an attenuator if it detect over drive, has digital readouts of gain, frequency, power in, power out, SWR, voltage, current -- it does just about everything except get up and dance. As an experiment, I even dropped the output on my FT 817 to .8 watts, to drive the amp to 35 watts out, then used that to drive my Alpha 89 to a kilowatt -- all reports were that the signal is clean, as a scope confirms it to be.

If you want one of these amps, go to the HF Products web page and sign up. Virgil has to wait until enough people have signed up for a project to make another production run feasible. Get on the bandwagon and do what hams are supposed to do: build something!
HB9LFU Rating: 2011-02-24
Fine Project Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The super packer pro is a fine project for a 100W amplifier. It is very compact; input and output power, temperature, current and more can be monitored from the front panel. At the moment the kit is not available in full. I had a problem with the rf board. Could have been my own fault. But could also show a weakness in rf design.