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Reviews For: SPE Expert 2K-FA

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

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Review Summary For : SPE Expert 2K-FA
Reviews: 46MSRP: 4750 Euro
Description:
The most advanced solid state automatic linear amplifier in the world. the operator has only to move the frequency tuning knob on the transceiver.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.linear-amplifier.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
15464.8
WA1GZY Rating: 2013-02-26
Performs as advertised Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Retiring my microprocessor controlled Alpha 87A was not an easy decision but decided it deserved a rest after 20 years.

The new technology winner is clearly the SPE 2K. (Be sure to order the optional QSK vaccuum relays!) The amplifier easily outputs between 1800 and 2400 watts depending upon the band and allows up to two transceivers via input 1 and 2 and allows up to six antenna inputs (with up to 3 antennas user-selectable per band).

Another great feature is the internal antenna tuner which may be bypassed for antennas which are tuneable (like the SteppIR) or resonant below 1.5/1. The internal antenna tuner is also available even when the amplifier is in standby mode for barefoot operation! It monitors SWR both at the antenna input and following the tuner along with digital watt metering and a host of other operating parameters.

The suggested ALC drive control cable enables the user to use transceivers with up to 200 watts without damage. (Can't do that with the old Alpha 87A which drives with 45-50 watts).

The internal tuner can perfectly match SWR up to 3.5/1 but will fault (jump to standby) if the SWR rises beyond 2:1.

The amp. autotunes by band and frequency via CAT transceiver cable control or via its internal frequency counter. It also enables the tuneable SteppIR band and frequency auto-tracking with a single "port" cable even if you are using two transceivers (mine are the Icom 781 and Kenwood 480) without the bother of re-programming or switching baud and mode functions within the SteppIR controller.

A very useful feature is the free terminal software which enables complete computer or cellphone control of the amplifier from any remote location. All metering functions are readily accessed by cellphone or computer as well.

Weak points: The English language version on-line manual is poorly written and requires time and patience to set up the initial programming. There are no short-cuts to programming and it will take an hour or two to get it running. Be sure to have a dummy load handy.

An SPE blog indicates that the front panel ribbon control soft push/pressure buttons may fail prematurely after the 2 year warranty. Same for the final amplifier modules with reports of power loss of 50% for the 1K model. Failure to correct "fault" shut-down conditions can and will damage the final transistor modules. Solid state amps cannot take the abuse like tube amplifiers. Treat them accordingly.

At this early stage my amplifier is performing as advertised and I trust that it will stand the test of time.
I2DMI Rating: 2013-02-12
Last Experience as SO2R Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
SPE 2K - Last Experience as SO2R
I have just concluded the WPX RTTY contest and I feel to report my positive experience with this RF Amplifier. I had decided to use its features at maximum, namely:
A) Possibility to have two radios connected to one PA (Radio A=FTDX5000, radio B=Kenwood TS480HX)
B) Possibility to utilize one antenna (SO2R) to RX only (HF9V Butternut- automatically associated to the radio in RX)
C) Possibility to use the internal antenna switch (Ant1= Optibeam 12-4, Ant2= 80M dipole)
I used the fantastic software N1MM with SO2R setup and I have to say that I am fully satisfied. I worked both with Radio B= Run and Radio A=S&P setup and 2 radios in S&P. In both cases the band switches between Radio A/Radio B and Ant1/Ant2 were numerous. My SPE2K worked flawlessly with no hesitation or interferences. The radio connected in RX to the HF9V received impeccably all average and strong signals even when the SPE 2K was in TX. As for the weaker signals I noticed a slight saturation effect. I suppose it was because the HF9V is only “3 meters” below the Optibeam antenna.
My activity during the contest was: 29 hours activity, 1082 QSO, 563 prefixes and about 2.1 million points. It is not a record but not that bad for a 62-year-old buddy who lives in a 7-story condo with a limited space on the roof to have an optimal antennas separation.
I will get in contact with SPE technicians to ask to design a filter system for RX to reduce all reception problems for those who work SO2R.
ZL2HAM Rating: 2012-10-21
Well designed piece of engineering Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I'm driving the 2K-FA with Class A output from an FTdx-5000. The output side of the CAT from the FT5K is wired through a splitter to the 2K-FA. I'm also using ALC. I've had quite a few positive comments on the air about the quality of my signal.

The amp's full-auto capabilities add a new ease of operating that I'm enjoying even more than I thought I would. As I tune from one band segment to another, or from one band to another, I can hear the 2K-FA's relays click as it adjusts its internal tuner to the previously memorized settings.

I've also configured the amp to bypass the internal tuner for the low bands, where I use an external tuner instead. Not full-auto in that case, but still pretty easy.

I've connected a USB cable from the amp to my PC, and run an SPE-provided app there that mirrors the display and controls on the front panel; helps to keep an eye on things such as internal SWR and SWR at the antenna (the amp has two SWR meters).

As with most amps, the 2K-FA is only rated at half of max-power for continuous modes such as RTTY -- but that means you can get a full 1 kW there, vs. only 500W on the 1K-FA (which also won't let you bypass the internal tuner).

SPE recommends a dedicated 240V / 20A circuit for the amp. It weighs much less than I expected. The fan is relatively loud when transmitting, but the amp has a quiet mode (SSB only) where the fan slows down when you're not transmitting.

Unfortunately, it doesn't come with pre-built cables; you have to solder them yourself (somewhat painful for me, since my soldering skills are very rusty). The manual / documentation are also a bit difficult to decode in places, including the cable details.

Overall, the 2K-FA is a wonderful piece of engineering, and a very welcome addition to my shack.
GW3NWS Rating: 2012-08-24
I never thought! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I never thought that I would buy a solid state amplifier after spending more than fifty years designing and building valve (tube) amps. I was offered a used Expert 1K FA at a very good price, I bought it and I must say that I was impressed.
My LF amtenna is a doublet fed with open wire line and a 4:1 balun. The auto ATU in the 1K FA is permenently in line and can not be bypassed because it also doubles as the hamonic filter for the PA. It could not match the very wide impedence excursions presented at the end of the feeder on the required bands so an external wide range ATU was needed.
Tuning was ticky with two ATU's in series to say the least! but, with great care we managed and the amp worked well. After a year or so The 2K appeared on the market and I bought one.
The 2K FA has dedicated harmonic filters for each band and a separate auto ATU which can be bypassed.... A great feature for me! I still have to use an external ATU on the LF bands but I am much more at easy with this arrangement.
The amp is easy to setup and integrates seamlessly with my 7600.
This amp is well made and will bear close inspection.
Nine months of solid use and total reliability. It does the business!
Highly recommended.

Ross, GW3NWS.

NZ6E Rating: 2012-04-27
Excellent Amp! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This AMP truly gives you a 1.5K Transceiver. Tuner is quick but it you pretune the band segments a QSY is immediate. I'm using the Array Solutions 8 Pak so the antennas follow the radio. Now with the 2K-FA band changes are a snap with my Icom 7600. Drive levels are in the 35 watt range for 1.5k out. I love this beast!

I upgraded from an Ameritron AL-1500 and having the instant band switching is a welcome change. I'll update my review after a contest or two.

Frosty was a pleasure to deal with!

AC2AC Rating: 2012-04-14
Spetacular!!! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
My 2kFA was the first one from the west side of the Atlantic Ocean. I've got it directly from Giancarloand, the owner of SPE in Italy durind Dayton 2011. It was much higher than my espectations. Real 2 KW, fast automatic antenna tuner, very easy to use, plug&play...
100% reliable.
Thanks Giancarlo de PY2AAZ/AC2AC
KA1YJ Rating: 2012-04-04
Update of my Review of Aug 2011 Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Well, it has been 7 full months of use with this amp. Works great on all bands from 160-6 meters. I just ordered a second SPE 2K-FA for my station. I guess this would be the ultimate review !! hihi, Aloha , Stan, KH6CG
K9RX Rating: 2012-02-04
One SUPERB amplifier... Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The phrase "like a 1KW transceiver" (ala PW1, VL1000, ALS600) is literally blown away with this amp... it is so well designed - bullet proof to the hilt... it comes with a test sheet showing test results on all bands at the distributer (I'm sure with a healthy dummy load attached)... and it is around 2400W out on all bands but 6 where it drops to an "anemic" 2000W!
The amp is super easy to set up - the tuner is fantastic in how it operates allowing for it to be inline all the time so if you have an antenna that has low SWR at one point but changes above and/or below this point... you will have little loss due to the tuner components where it is matched and a correct, essentially 1.01:1 match everywhere on the band up to and beyond 3:1. AND it's like the battery bunny - if the SWR is suddenly high, like when I xmited on my 80/75 dipole and forgot to throw the switches to select the phone end - the SWR was 4.2:1... it did NOT trip out! Instead it put out ~430W. Flip the switch and BAMM! - back to a cool 1500W out.
The temperature for me has not gone above about 48 or so... most of the time it is in the mid 30's. There's plenty of air and it is on demand - it actually can be set to be off (the fans) unless needed...
Having instant on, full legal limit WITH headroom, no worries about mismatches... full autotune, and to top it off - 6 meters in the same box... it cannot be beat.

[received my amp mid November, 2011, writing this review on 4 Feb 2012]

NOTE further... the distributers in the US are great guys - extremely responsive, quality conscience and informed. Keep up the great work Bob and Frosty!
N4UR Rating: 2012-01-18
So far - the best Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I received my 2K-FA just before Christmas. So far it is the best amplifier I have ever owned. I have owned a Ten Tec Titan, Alpha 97A, Acom 2000A, Yaesu VL-1000, Tokyo Hi Power HL2.5KFX, and others. They were all good amplifiers, but the 2K-FA has more features than any of the others. It is compatable with mose rigs including my K3 and the features work well. It is very quiet. It runs relatively cool at high power. It requires low drive. IT RUNS FULL LEGAL POWER ON 6 METERS! The only weakness I have found is the manual and Expert Amps is working on a new manual to fix that problem. The folks at Expert Amps are friendly and helpful. This is not an inexpensive amplifier, but if you spend the money, you will be happy with this amplifier. I purchased the amplifier for 6 meters, but the extra features such as 2 inputs (with 2 RS232, ALC and PTT inputs), 6 antenna outputs that are programmable individually per band, programmable autotuner and more. Protection for almost every thinkable fault has been provided for. This is the one.
W9CLA Rating: 2012-01-08
The Ultmate linear! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I was introduced to SPE several years ago when I purchased an Expert 1K-FA. I was totally impressed with the amp and the manner In which it functioned. Having owned about every Alpha amps including an 87A and more recently the 9500 I must say that my new 2K-FA is in a class by itself.

It is so automatic once you get your antennas programmed into the tuner that you forget it is on the desk. With three power levels from which to choose from you can tailor it to handle any antenna. I am driving my 2K-FA with an Icom IC-7800 and I reduced the power out from the 7800 to about 75 watts.

I really enjoy working 6M DX and this is why I went with my original 1K-FA. Now I have a max legal limit amp on 6M what a joy. My only concerns are with the relays and whether or not they will hod up as compared to the high power vacuum relays I am used to in my Alpha amps. Time will tell.