| W9ZX |
Rating:      |
2022-10-13 | |
| This is a keeper |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Five years ago I bought an Expert 1.3K amplifier and it has served me well since it was new. It has been so dependable I decided to try the Expert 2K amplifier. I've had the 2K about 30 days with no problems so far. It performs beautifully and delivers the power to the antenna. It loafs at 1500 watts. If I hear a DX station I want to work I push the "ON' switch followed by the "OPERATE" switch and I can immediately begin calling him. If I'm on 20 meters and the amp is on 75 meters it will instantly detect the change in frequency and move the amp to 20 meters. That's pretty cool. A cable that allows it to follow your radio is available but not absolutely necessary. What do I dislike? The instructions could be clearer and they could be included in printed form instead of a CD. I guess I'm old school because I had Staples print the instruction book for me. One of the switches on my amp can annoy me. My "OFF" switch often takes several pushes to get it to actuate. The others are all fine. I am being awfully picky in my complaints. I would buy the amp again in a heartbeat. It's awesome. It has the look and feel of quality construction with everything in one fairly small box.
Update: I've now had this amplifier a year and a half and it has performed flawlessly during that time. I have had no issues what so ever and would recommend it to anyone. |
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| LX1AX |
Rating:      |
2021-11-30 | |
| Fantastic |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Dear all,
I have also bought the last version of the Expert 1k 12 years ago which still is working but there were a lot of improvements made in the Expert 2 K.
I want not to mentionned them all, but you can't really compare, because the Expert 2K is playing in a completely other league much better cooling system, it runs cool for hours and hours with no noise, you have an automatic tuner or you can bypass the tuner and a lot more.......
It's a fantastic product and it has really amazed me.
Thank you SPE and his team making such nice ( and big amplifier, if you compare with the Expert 1 K ) with advanced technology.
73's Alain LX1AX |
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| IK3BNO |
Rating:      |
2021-08-05 | |
| dream of life become true |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Fantastic experience with this gorgeus amplifier, no word enought to describe the way is working , all antennas switched automatically , a linearity uncredible on emission , very narrow one.
in the begining its a bit complicate to install and to make it comunicating with FT dx 101MP but at the end .....the paradise and plenty of dx!!!!! |
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| W9BR |
Rating:      |
2020-08-24 | |
| Phenominal amp |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I have owned this amplifier for several years. It never ceases to amaze me. Performance is phenomenal. Built in tuner is incredible. I do not post reviews on anything, but felt that I had to pay tribute to this fine piece of gear! It loafs along at legal limit as it can put out 2k without a problem! |
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| K4VUD |
Rating:      |
2020-08-10 | |
| System-by-system evaluation |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
update....8-8-2020-----Still great. Small lizards got inside & shorted p.s. Repair easy and included adding screen wire to openings to keep out critters. i would own no other amp.
Eval is on a brand new SPE Expert 2K-FA, 5mos, no vacuum relay, all factory standard, 220VAC.
Book: read prior to plugging in, yes it matters due to antenna tuning system, ant output sockets, and 232 interconnects to radios. Setting up ants is not intuitive.
Physical: bigger, heavier, and better looking based on Web photos. Has "film type" front panel switches which are not tactile, not cap touch, and require a learned touch--not too hard, not too soft; requires trials. But overall subjective "feel" is very strong and positive. Design is not pretty, not military.
Hooking up: 232 connection is best to radios and works to change bands and antennas automatically. Factory says USE ALC which seems to kick in at full power only; some users say 'no ALC." Works both ways with manual control of RF from driver. Also senses RF frequency to switch same functions and that works good.
Setting up: It helps to use the factory Data Disk, supplied, to display front panel and controls on computer and to operate the buttons; but computer not necessary. The most important set-up is antennas/output sockets/and which of 2 driver radios is in use. Select Radio, select output socket and what you want done with that for all bands. The book is unclear what "t" display means: it means "tunable antenna" (like StepIR), and does NOT mean 'interior ant tuner." You will appreciate this tip greatly.
Go ahead and use tune/key down for all antennas, bands, and band segments; yes just do it like the book says; tip is turn OPERATE off.
Using: Invisible; it just works with no additional tweaking. You forget it is there except you keep being heard so well.
If you like 1200 watt level, use MID RF power setting. Its input is not swamped.
Antenna tuner: this is not a tank circuit tuning; it is a REAL antenna tuner which handles, as per specs. from 3:1 down, and is very fast and close to instant after programming as per book. It is fun to watch SWR come down fast and very low.
AC power: seems to handle range of AC input from 195 to 240VAC flawlessly; you never know otherwise; it just puts out RF power even with fast AC supply changes, a real plus for bad AC locations.
If you do not use the SO2R rear socket, short it to ground to provide extra isolation between 2 radios.
Overall: This amp is flawless. It sets the convenience and performance standard. It is the absolute ideal remote amp because it just works. It, along with its brother, 1.3K-FA, should be in every shack that wants more RF. Problem is demand now rather far exceeds supply... and for good reason.
These SPE's walk all over the KPA-500 with its add-on ant tuner, SWR meter, and price-to-power consideration. The 8kg/17lbs makes 1.3K obvious DXpedition choice.
(my amp history: Alpha 87a, 9500, 76pac, Titan I, DTR-2000, SB-220, and IC-2KL; guess which is not sold.) |
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| VK4SX |
Rating:      |
2018-10-07 | |
| What else is there to say ? |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Incredible amp, uncomplicated, reliable, solid performer,
FA, Fully Automatic, does not mean Idiot Proof,
I have other SPE products, this is the pinnacle.
daylight second,
Dennis vk4sx
ps
near Three years in use,
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|
| WC2W |
Rating:      |
2018-09-19 | |
| Wonderful Amp |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I recently purchased this amp and so far I'm in love with it (don't tell my XYL!). I upgraded from an Ameritron AL-1500, which is a good amp, but I just got tired of tuning it each time I changed bands, especially during a contest. Every once it a while I would forget to change the band switch to the new band, or forget to change the antenna switch. Not a good thing. The 2K-FA makes that impossible. Instant band switching and it picks the right antenna at the same time and your transmitting on the new band in just seconds.
Setup was pretty easy, but lets face it, with an amp that has all the features of this one, yea, there are a bunch of cables to connect and things to configure.
Configuring the 2K-FA took just a few minutes, including programming the ATU.
The only negative thing I can say about this box is that the display is a bit cheezy. Considering the cost of the unit, they could have put in a better LCD unit. All things considered, that's a pretty small negative.
Lou
WC2W |
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| W5FCX |
Rating:      |
2018-05-07 | |
| Perfect Tools for the Job |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I suppose amplifiers and radios are a lot like boats - your happiest days are when you get them and when you sell them.
In this case, I'm going to review both the Product and the Service.
The Product: 2K-FA w/ Tuner +
Flex interface cable by KC5PCB
Pros
- Very nice signal reports, reliably able to bust through DX and contesting pileups with the 2K-FA (why I bought it)
- Works very well as part of my remote station setup
- Quick and easy to configure and tune the amplifier in about 30 minutes
- Very impressed by how fast and excellent the match was for my three different antennas. I've used a lot of tuners and this is by far the best yet
- Thorough and concise documentation
- Custom cable by Dan Tassell, KC5PCB, worked perfectly for direct CAT based frequency tracking, transmitter drive power control (instead of ALC) and automatic power on/off of amplifier with the Flex radio via USB
- Term_2K_232 remote RS-232 GUI provides full-featured remote access and same exact GUI controls as front panel of amp. This is tremendous for those of us operating remote stations.
- Built-in protections provide peace of mind for those of us who may be prone to operating errors or remote mishaps
- Gorgeous carrying case
- Option to keep fan off when not transmitting in operating mode reduces annoying noise
- Secondary fan kicks in as temperature rises above threshold
- 6 antenna connectors provides plenty of antenna access options
Cons
- None
The Service - ExpertLinears and KC5PCB Cable
Pros
- Elva and Bob were very responsive and helpful at each step of the way during the purchase cycle, including accommodating my desire to pick up the amp locally on a specific day with short notice
- I was impressed by how the amplifier was tested/verified by Bob and the cable created by Dan was included with it as a turnkey package
- Dan/KC5PCB was very helpful when I called him about the cable, and ensuring the cable was delivered with the amp. Dan also spent time explaining to me during setup how to properly deploy the cable and get the most value from the configuration.
Cons
- None
Summary
So far I am very pleased with both the product and the services I received from Elva, Bob and Dan. Very impressive teamwork and services around a great "whole product". It's one of those rare time the "ideal product" the customer actually wants is actually delivered vs. just the generic product you get out of the box from most manufacturers.
The product itself is like the Ferrari of linear amplifiers, with all its built-in protections and features.
Couldn't be happier. Well worth the investment. Probably the only amplifier I'll ever need.
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|
| W2PP |
Rating:      |
2018-03-19 | |
| Very effective amp |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
When reading reviews I'm often left to think that the individual who wrote it was not exactly being objective having spent a tidy sum for this or that.
However, I do not suffer from that problem. I've had tons of gear and am never impressed by price. I am impressed with reviewers who really go through it.
So, I have the SPE 2KFA amp. What's good?
Instant on, ready to operate immediately.
Power out: 2 KW PLUS a might, measured with an Array Solutions Powermaster II
Input power 40 to 55 watts for full out.
Ease of setup?
Depends what you want to do. I found setting power settings for each band a great idea and VERY easy and fast, really no big deal at all.
Antenna Tuner, cake to set up. apply 10 watts hit the button and done in 1 to 3 secs. I went ahead and tuned all the bands 160 thru 6, I did sub segments on the bigger bands. The result is that when zipping form 160 to 15 to 6 back to 160 the tuning is INSTANT. Why? They use torroidal coils and caps and the computer just remembers the combo and instantly your tuned. This is a ONE time exercise, takes no time at all and then forget it.
I've got mine tied into a Flex 6700, so, two radios in one box and I use both input one and two of the amp for this. Cake to set up. I got cables made by Dan Tassell ...on the home page of SPE Expert amp....so plug and play on all the SO2R stuff.
What about SO2R? Yes it does work. Not sure what the other reviewer was complaining about. I've tested full duplex, works just fine. Will I use it, probably not like most hams its nice to have but it and QSK will never be used. Oh, yep the amp does QSK too.
Noise? I set the fan on "quiet" mode. Meaning the fan only runs when the amp it xmitting or hot. By the way that means 99 percent of the time the fan never runs. Its quieter even when running than the fans inside the Flex 6700, and they are quiet. WAY WAY quieter than any other amp I've owned, and I've owned a ton of them.
Software? Yep comes with a little app that I leave on and up on the second monitor. Huge print so its easy to see across the room. You can do all the programming through the app to which speeds things up quite a bit.
Operationally?
On the air that instant "on" and instant band change with antenna tuner ... that is where the rubber hit the road. My other amps, had to send a few dits or dots, wait, then hope you got the input power right, I usually did but when it was critical I didn't...none of that nonsense. Just go and the amp has all the correct metrics set, it won't let me down.
What's bad:
Well, its not a pretty amp by comparison I find the Alpha 9500 nice to look at, of course mine blew up sitting on the table so it may have looked good but was pretty unreliable.
I don't like the touch buttons, but, with the app I never ever use them so I don't care.
That's about all that's not perfect.
I would say this is as nice an amp to own as my Alpha 87a was in the early 1990's. I don't see selling this amp any time soon! 2k plus out, cake to set up, quiet, easy to operate in a hurry, instant band tuning to your antenna without any noise or delay.
I am very satisfied that this was a good choice for an amp. If it wasn't I'd tell you.
Peter
W2PP
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| W4PGM |
Rating:      |
2018-02-03 | |
| Great amp with great after sale service |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I have owned this amp for about 6 years and it has been a great performer. I developed a few issues and contacted Bob Hardie at Expert Linears America for service. Bob has always been responsive to my questions/issues and this time was no different. No RMA just send it in. When it arrived he asked me about a dozen very detailed questions about the issues. We whittled down the list over a couple of emails and the next thing I saw was the FedEx notice that it was on he way. The bill was way more fair than I expected for the time that he spent and the Amp is working, dare I say, better than new. If you are questioning if there is quality service for the amp after purchase the answer is a resounding yes. Great product with exceptional service! |
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