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Reviews For: Elecraft KPA-500

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

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Review Summary For : Elecraft KPA-500
Reviews: 124MSRP: 1999.95 Kit Form
Description:
KPA-500 Solid State Amplifier 160-10M Plus 6M, Auto Band
Switching via RF sense or cable connection.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.elecraft.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
251244.9
KY6R Rating: 2012-12-02
Perfect Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I was using an Ameritron AL-811H and love that amp, but when I saw the KPA-500 at Pacificon I was "smitten". I am mainly a DX-er.

Its wonderful to not have to tune the amplifier, and fast band changes when DX-ing is fantastic.

The fit, finish and fault protection so far seem perfect for my needs. My first serious test was working ZL9HR, and it passes with flying colors.
K4YAB Rating: 2012-11-19
Fine Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased Mine Factory Built. I had some trouble after installing the fuses on pushing the Fuse block back in. Called Elecraft before forcing/ pushing the fuse block in. While talking too Elecraft, I pushed harder on the fuse block and it went in.
Then the little black cover that swings back over the fuse block hit the On/Off Toggle switch.
After carefully pressing on each side the same amount, it went over the switch and fuse block.
I am 69 years old maybe that had something to do with my trouble...Great little self contained 500 watt amplifier. Beautifully Designed!!!
N3PZT Rating: 2012-11-06
Well Done Elecraft Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I assembled the kit over a period of two days. The assembly manual is excellent. Using it with my Flex 3K and it works perfectly. I looked at a lot of amps, both tube and solid state, and this one won out on price and features. Its great to have both the power supply and amp in one compact box.

Stewart WI3J
KK5JY Rating: 2012-09-27
Pretty Good (Mostly) Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
My unit was built from a kit. Kit assembly was very straightforward. Pay attention to cautions regarding the heavy toroid transformer. It is indeed very heavy for its size. Dropping it during assembly would probably destroy it. Dropping it onto something else would probably destroy both items. Just be careful.

I use the KPA-500 with a K3, which easily drives it to 500W. The protection features work well, and the K3/KPA integration is fairly good. I keep the KPA some distance from my operating position, and use Elecraft's utility to control it from my PC. This setup seems to work well.

The fan is LOUD at any speed above "1." I don't understand why amplifier manufacturers can't find quiet fans to use on their units. PC manufacturers have had quiet, high-volume fans and control circuits for years. In fairness, the fan doesn't operate during normal SSB, and is really only heard when doing high duty-cycle modes.

My unit's ALC output failed after a few months, in a way that caused the ALC voltage to be asserted all the time, even when the in STBY or OFF. I contacted Elecraft, and their first two responses were "just don't use ALC." After some really insistent email exchanges with them, I was transferred to a support technician who was able to confirm that my unit had an op-amp part installed that was the wrong part number. They swapped front boards with me, and all is good again.

I have had similar hesitation with Elecraft support on other products, and I am disappointed that they are becoming increasingly difficult to work with for support. This is especially true when things are obviously broken. Perhaps it's a sign of the times.

The amplifier itself gets a 5. The support gets a 3, since I had to drag a solution out of them. Their factory QC gets a 2.

I find that the amplifier is a nice improvement in value compared to the THP amplifiers, which I also enjoy. The dollar/watt+features seems to be better with the KPA. It is remote-able, upgradable, and more feature-rich than THP for the same price/watt point.
KH6DC Rating: 2012-09-20
Excellent Amp Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Sold my Tokyo Hy-Power HL1.2KFX for the KPA500 kit. Building it was fun and it's awesome to not have to change bands. If follows wherever the K3 goes and vice versa. The drop from 750w to 500w is not a big deal plus I usually stay around the 300-400w zone when working DX. Smaller footprint and lighter weight is a plus along with lower power required to drive this amp (30-40w vs. 70-90w with the THP) for full output. I now have the entire K-Line. Maybe I'll get the tuner also?
WP4O Rating: 2012-09-20
Perfecto! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Works fantastic with my Flex 3000. nice compact
quiet amplifier and user friendly.. full output on 6 meters!
73 Ed WP4O
G0VHS Rating: 2012-09-17
Sweet. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Does exactly what it should, simple, uncluttered and nicely made.

No warm-up, no soft tubes, well protected and good looking.

Wish I had saved money and not bought an Acom previously!
WA4FOM Rating: 2012-07-31
Makes small signals big. No hassles. Any questions? Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Rig plugs in one jack. PTT in another. Antenna
in the other one. Plug it in the wall.
Turn it on. Transmit.

Anybody can use this amplifier with most any
rig, not just a K3. You don't have to remember
to switch bands. If the SWR is out in Wacky
Land, the amplifier will gracefully protect
itself without going up in smoke.

The only thing you have to deal with is the
fact that the amplifier might very well be
smaller than your rig.

No tubes to go soft in a few years. No worries.
AB4BJ Rating: 2012-07-31
Wonderful Amp! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I am very pleased with my purchase of this amp. I have previously used the Yaesu FL-7000 and the Icom PW-1, but this amp is my favorite. My KPA-500 is interfaced with my Flex-5000A and a SteppIR Big IR Mark III vertical antenna. With the software interconnections and the RF auto band change feature of the KPA-500, band changes are automatic and seamless. The KPA-500 realy shines using the free DDUTIL program to control it with the Flex radio. Every aspect of the amp can be controlled with a click of the mouse, and the auto drive feature lets the user define default drive levels for each band.

This amp performs flawlessly and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a small, light 500 watt amp. Expensive? Yes, but as the old saying goes, "You get what you pay for". The price is clearly worth it to me.
IK4VFD Rating: 2012-06-14
great qsk ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought the KPA500, for use it only in cw qsk, often at high speeds, and I can assure It is a machine gun, switching ultrarapid (without relay) even at space velocities ... easy to use, quick banda change, high quality general and an excellent Italian assistance. one little flaw is the fan noise, which for a delicate ear like mine, is a little annoying ..
Rodolfo IK4VFD