Hi Bill...
Enjoyed reading you posting (below) - naturally! But with all due respect,
even ALPHAs aren't "TOTALLY" idiot-proof.
The reason is - and please understand that the following absolutely is NOT
in any way personal - the reason is given in the well-known quotation, "It
is impossible to make anything idiot-proof because the idiots are so damned
ingenious."
I've heard that attributed to Richard Nixon, which seems improbable - to me
it sounds more like Albert Einstein in a frivolous mood - or Tom Edison in
a very serious one.
73, Dick W0ID/ex-W4ETO
-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Turner, W7TI [SMTP:wrt@eskimo.com]
Sent: Sunday, November 29, 1998 5:20 AM
To: K4ab@aol.com
Cc: cq-contest@contesting.com; amps@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [AMPS] (no subject)
On Sat, 28 Nov 1998 16:13:14 EST, K4ab@aol.com wrote:
>
>
>For the second time in as many contests, my Ameritron AL-1500 developed a
>problem during the contest. Probably not a major problem, but certainly a
>nuisance.
>
>My question...what is the most durable, legal-limit, commercially
available
>amp sold?
>
>I'm tired of having amp problems during the contests. I don't mistreat
the
>amp, but I do run 'em hard..i.e.- CQ'ing for hours at a time.
>
>If a commercially available amp is not available, who homebrews and sells
the
>best?
>
>Thanks!
>
>73,
>Larry K4AB
__________________________________________________________________
I suspect RTTY contesting is probably the hardest test of an amp's
durability, and I've worked about 20 or 25 RTTY contests since 1993.
I haven't used a lot of different amps, but I'm mightily impressed by
the Alpha 91b for four reasons:
1. It's totally idiot-proof. It has more ways of protecting itself
than you can shake a stick at. Transmit into the wrong antenna,
transmit mis-tuned, change the transceiver band but not the amp, you
name it and it shuts down instantly. I don't do this kind of abuse
often, but it's nice to know the protective circuits are there.
2. After CQing for hours at 1500 watts out on RTTY, it's barely warm.
My old Ameritron AL-1200 was a blast furnace by comparison. The
AL-1200 is ok for CW and SSB, but not RTTY, especially on 80 and 160.
Horror stories available on request.
3. I like the feel of it. Very subjective of course, but the 91b
knobs feel like they are connected to some SERIOUS tuning capacitors
and switches. It has never arced, glitched or had any other "funny"
behaviors (or if it did, it shut down so fast I was unaware of it).
The AL-1200 would arc across the loading capacitor if I wasn't
careful.
4. At the time I bought it a couple of years ago, the 91b (and other
Alphas) had the best warranty in the business. I presume it's still
the same, but check it out before putting down your money.
Nothing is perfect, so I have to admit the LED tuning took some
getting used to, which I finally did. I'm an old time meter kind of
guy, but I do appreciate the fact that LEDs show peak power better
than a meter. Like I say, it took a while, but I don't think I'd want
to go back to meters now. Also, if a LED ever blows, it will be a lot
cheaper to fix than a meter (I hope).
So there you are. All amplifiers have their fans (pun intended). Put
me down for Alpha.
73, Bill W7TI
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