Worth lots of $$s.........thanks for the response. When did you=
buy the 87A....after the new ownership?
73 from....
Bob Otto
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0,,,,,,,
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=D4=BF=D4=AC
=A0=A0=A0=A0Cincinnati, Ohio
=A0=A0Scottsdale, Arizona
=AB::::=BB=A4=AB::::=BB=A4=A4=AB::::=BB=A4=AB::::=BB
Wednesday
10/16/2002
11:59:50 AM
|=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A50=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5|
=A0"Direct to you from high on top of Indian Hill, Ohio"
=A0=A0=A0* DXCC 10M * =A0 * WAC 10M * =A0 * WAS 10M *
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0N8NGA@one.net
|=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A50=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5|
Genius is eternal patience.
-- Michelangelo
|=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5|:0:|=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5|
=A4| On Wed, 16 Oct 2002 11:14:15 -0400
=A4| Paul Christensen wrote:
=A4|
=A4| =A0Of course, Alpha's main competitor in this performance and=
price
=A4| =A0class is the ACOM 2000A. =A0I have owned two ACOMs and two=
87As. =A0I
=A4| =A0now run only the older battleship Alphas. =A0Anyway...
=A4|
=A4|
=A4| =A0Both the 87A and ACOM performed well. =A0At the time, ACOM had=
not
=A4| =A0yet released their control software and promises were left=
empty
=A4| =A0for a long time. =A0I believe they've addressed this, however.=
=A0The
=A4| =A087A control software worked flawlessly.
=A4|
=A4|
=A4| =A0=A4| =A0From an operational perspective, I actually enjoyed using=
the
=A4| =A087A over the ACOM. =A0High speed CW with a high power PIN diode=
is
=A4| =A0tough to beat, but then its less forgiving to high VSWR than=
the
=A4| =A0ACOM's Kilovac KC-1 vacuum relay. =A0The ACOM was plenty fast=
and
=A4| =A0on my monitor scope, it never hot switched and the in/out
=A4| =A0sequencing was fine even at 45+ WPM.
=A4|
=A4|
=A4| =A0It's a close call., but I thought the overall construction of=
the
=A4| =A087A was superior to that of the ACOM. =A0In one particular
=A4| =A0area....the motor servos, the ACOM uses a really scary=
Russian
=A4| =A0type. =A0If you look at the servo, I swear it was machined by=
hand
=A4| =A0in a vise in someone's basement....very, very rough.=
=A0However,
=A4| =A0they seemed to perform fine. =A0Nevertheless, the look of the
=A4| =A0Russian servos scared the Hell out of me in the event the=
part no
=A4| =A0longer remained available or ACOM no longer supported the=
amp.
=A4| =A0On the other hand, if it's a common servo configuration both
=A4| =A0mechanically and electrical....maybe it's not a concern.
=A4|
=A4|
=A4| =A0In both ACOMs, I lost the 3-state electronic bias switch.=
=A0Same
=A4| =A0part....a TO-220 switching transistor as I recall. =A0Even=
though
=A4| =A0the amps did not come with a schematic (early 1999), I was=
able
=A4| =A0to repair it myself based on a couple e-mail exchanges with
=A4| =A0Vasko. =A0I didn't detect any other problems in the two years I=
had
=A4| =A0the ACOMs. =A0The only problem I had with one 87A was that the
=A4| =A0input bandswitch was not completely aligned and keyed=
properly.
=A4| =A0As the amp would automatically switch from band-to-band=
input
=A4| =A0VSWR would sometimes indicate considerably higher, but the=
fix
=A4| =A0was easy enough.
=A4|
=A4|
=A4| =A0The ACOM uses tubes that are less expensive than in the 87A.=
=A0The
=A4| =A087A is a GG design. =A0The ACOM uses tetrodes and the measured=
IMD
=A4| =A0performance of the 87A is significantly better than the ACOM
=A4| =A02000A (caveat: this data was measured by the ARRL labs on one=
set
=A4| =A0of amps. =A0Another set of amps may have yielded different IMD
=A4| =A0figures).
=A4|
=A4|
=A4| =A0The ACOM's autotuning feature works differently than=
Alpha's.
=A4| =A0You find the optimum tuning and loading point within any=
band
=A4| =A0segment just once and forget it. =A0If the antenna loading=
changes,
=A4| =A0the ACOM WILL NOT compensate. =A0The 87A's ALPHAMAX will=
compensate
=A4| =A0for load changes, but it does not have a precise, one-time=
auto
=A4| =A0tune/load function. =A0Yes, it is capable of full autotune,=
but
=A4| =A0it's not as precise as the ACOM. =A0The 87A is best adjusted
=A4| =A0manually for a given band segment and then saved in memory.
=A4| =A0Then, I would engage ALPHAMAX to take care of the rest. =A0The
=A4| =A0bottom line is that if you have antennas that are subject to
=A4| =A0loading variances, the 87A does the tuning best. =A0If you can
=A4| =A0count on the antenna's VSWR to remain absolutely constant,=
the
=A4| =A0ACOM does a better job.
=A4|
=A4|
=A4| =A0Just my opinion....and worth just what you paid for it...
=A4|
=A4|
=A4| =A0-Paul, W9AC
=A4|
=A4| =A0----- Original Message -----
=A4| =A0From: "Bob Otto N8NGA" <N8NGA@one.net>=A0To:=
<amps@contesting.com>
=A4| =A0Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 2002 10:38 AM Subject: [Amps]=
Alpha
=A4| =A087A amp
=A4|
=A4|
=A4|
=A4| =A0Forgive me if this is a subject covered......I'm new to the=
list.
=A4|
=A4|
=A4| =A0I'm considering purchasing a Alpha 87A amp 1Q03. =A0The price=
has
=A4| =A0increased substantially since the new ownership. =A0Does=
anyone
=A4| =A0have experience with the amp under the new ownership? =A0Are=
there
=A4| =A0better alternatives to the Alpha?
=A4|
=A4|
=A4|
=A4|
=A4| =A073 from....
=A4| =A0Bob Otto ,,,,,,, =D4=BF=D4=AC=A0Cincinnati, Ohio Scottsdale, Arizona
=A4| =A0=AB::::=BB=A4=AB::::=BB=A4=A4=AB::::=BB=A4=AB::::=BB=A0Wednesday
10/16/2002 10:35:05=
AM
=A4|
=A4|
=A0|=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A50=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5|
"Direct to you=
from
=A4| =A0high on top of Indian Hill, Ohio" * DXCC 10M * * WAC 10M * *=
WAS
=A4| =A010M * N8NGA@one.net=
|=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A50=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5=A5|
=A4|
=A4| =A0If a lot of people gripped a knife and fork the way they do=
a
=A4| =A0golf club, they'd starve to death.
=A4|
=A4|
=A4| =A0~Sam Snead
=A4|
=A4|
=A4|
=A4|
=A4|
=A4| =A0--- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---
=A4| =A0multipart/alternative xt/plain (text body -- kept) xt/html=
---
=A4| =A0_______________________________________________ Amps mailing=
list
=A4| =A0Amps@contesting.com
=A4| =A0http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/amps
--- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---
multipart/alternative
text/plain (text body -- kept)
text/html
---
|