Bill,
The two components mentioned are sourced up through the +40V supply. So,
I'm not at all surprised an 8877 arc or K-to-grid short took out the supply.
Pricing of the SPE 2K-FA is a bit more than the 9500 and looks like a good
alternative. My only reservation about commercially-available SS amps is
that cooling is still relatively inefficient -- and loud in high duty-cycle
modes. Having a LAN-enabled remote head would be a nice way to deal with
the noise issue.
I own the SPE 1K-FA and if the 2K-FA's fault protection scheme is similar,
the PA and power supply are very well protected from a number of fault
conditions.
Paul, W9AC
-----Original Message-----
From: Amps [mailto:amps-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Bill Turner
Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2015 11:10 AM
To: Amps group <amps@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [Amps] Alpha 9500 Repair
------------ ORIGINAL MESSAGE ------------(may be snipped)
On Mon, 14 Sep 2015 23:57:41 -0700, you wrote:
> Aside from that, they really should have designed it, such that
>components don't blow up with a simple cathode to grid short, int or
>hard fault.
>
>Jim VE7RF
REPLY:
Agreed. Arc protection is a weak point.
I have owned two 9500's. The first one, about four years ago, arced when it
was a few months old and blew out the 40 volt supply. The factory repaired
it under warranty and even paid for shipping both ways. My second one, a
used one less than a year old, has been flawless so far, but I see the
factory no longer pays shipping if it fails under warranty.
I'm hoping Alpha cones out with a brick-on-the-key solid state amp.
Done right at the right price, that would be a world beater. A pair of
BLF188XR's costs about a third of an Eimac 8877 and is rated at 2800 watts
PEP. Going with four of them to be conservative would be my suggestion and
still costs less than an 8877. No warm up, no tuning but does need an
antenna tuner.
If Alpha is not interested, here's an opportunity for an entrepreneur to
start a new world class company in their garage. The technology is already
known, it just takes someone to put it to work.
73, Bill W6WRT
_______________________________________________
Amps mailing list
Amps@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/amps
_______________________________________________
Amps mailing list
Amps@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/amps
|