Tim;
I guess the begging question is; "What is your budget, and how serious do you
want to be?"
I am currently using an Ameritron AL-1500, which is one of the most robust amps
out there for the price . It has a lot of gain, (45W in for 1500W full legal
limit) output. At such low drive levels the exciter stays nice and cool, and
the Ameritron barely gets warm at that level even during long runs. I have also
an old Amp Supply amp which used to really heat up the shack during big
contests. Those 3-500Zs put out 150W of heat just in grid current.....
The AL-1500 is a very efficient amplifier, but very easy to mis-tune and get a
grid current spike, especially with a guest op or late in a contest when your
eyes are not open fully. Using the overlays made by Idiom Press that give you
numbers (0-100 graduations for the Load and Plate controls) instead of "band
segments" does make band changes much quicker. (I keep a chart of all SSB and
CW settings for each band and at hand). No, I do not work for Ameritron or
Idiom Press....
That said, I think the AL-1200 would be my pick if I had to buy another amp in
this class. It is less finicky about input power, (can take 100W) and with the
3CX1200A7 tube with much greater grid current capacity is probably easier to
tune quickly. Others may comment on this, I have no experience with it other
than what I have read.
Of course, you cannot beat a "two tube" Alpha 77, but for the money ....
I would not recommend the SB-2xx (Especially the SB-200) for any serious
contesting, although others may argue the point. The power supplies are just
not up to task in stock form. I had a good run of JAs going in the 1982 IARU
contest with my newly built SB-220 and after a while you could smell the
transformer baking. As any good contester would do, I turned the room's AC down
as low as it would go (about 50 degrees) and kept going....
"Ah, I love the smell of melting varnish in the morning....." You knew you had
a good run going.
73;
Mike, W7VO
----- Original Message -----
From: "Maarten van Rossum" <pd2r.maarten@gmail.com>
To: "Timothy Coker" <n6win73@gmail.com>
Cc: "CQ Contest" <cq-contest@contesting.com>, "SCCC" <sccc@contesting.com>
Sent: Friday, December 17, 2010 2:39:41 AM
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] 1st legal limit amplifier
My vote goes to the Acom 2000a. Great, reliable amplifier that will tune
automatic and easily deliver US legal power limit.
It also has a very effective protection circuitry, you would have to try
very hard to damage this piece of equipment.
Acom website: http://www.hfpower.com/
Eham reviews: http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/39
73, Maarten
PD2R
2010/12/16 Timothy Coker <n6win73@gmail.com>
> Is anyone willing to share with me their experiences with their
> amplifier that they are using for contesting? My main HP contest
> interest is the California QSO Party, CQ WW WPX, and ARRL DX. I have a
> lesser interest in working DX through the week for all time new ones
> or new band/entities. During contests that I am not serious about I
> will S&P Assisted using point and click on packet/skimmer spots to
> hand out the points.
>
> My station setup is as follows:
>
> FT-2000, SB-220 (usually 800-400w output), Top Ten Automatic band
> decoder, Array Solutions Sixpack
>
> Antennas:
>
> F12 C31XR w/separate feed lines, Cushcraft A3WS w/30m, Cushcraft
> XM240, 80m dipole on top of 54' tower.
>
> I imagine having something that is easy to tune for quick band changes
> will be helpful while contesting. My current SB-220 is easy, but it's
> narrow and needs retuning as I go throughout the band if I want to be
> anywhere near my max output.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Tim, N6WIN.
> _______________________________________________
> CQ-Contest mailing list
> CQ-Contest@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
>
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