Hi Mike,
Huge thanks for your transparency and continued support. I didn't take any of
your posts in any sort of negative manner, in fact I found them thoughtful and
informative.
Some of us older hams (licensed in 1963) still like to repair our own rigs. I
own three Alpha 87a (2 operational, one spare parts if needed) and have done
the TX pin diode replacement in one, another needed some work on the LV board,
etc. I have kept my Collins 30S-1, KWS-1, Viking 500, etc, etc going for many
years. I think the special challenge for the 87a and all new autotuned amps is
the microprocessor programs and FPLA's as these are black boxes to us. I know
each amp has calibration data particularly for the stepper motors... I believe
we can download this directly but what if my Motorola 68k uprocessor got
fried? Could you make public the full code for us old-timers ?
73
Jerry, NY2KW
-----Original Message-----
From: Amps [mailto:amps-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Mike Dishop via
Amps
Sent: Tuesday, October 03, 2017 3:46 PM
To: Amps Amps <amps@contesting.com>
Subject: [Amps] Status of Alpha
So, anyone with a keyboard can say whatever they like about me or my
companies here, and yet if I exercise my free speech and present facts to back
up my claims and do it calmly without insulting anyone or knocking anyone's
head in, that is a rant? Trust me, you have NEVER seen me rant.
I would think that the people on the amps reflector would want to here the
facts straight from the guy who is in the know better than anyone else. If you
do not care to hear the truth just don't read further.
The DX2400 IMD is far better than -30 dB PEP. It is better than -30 dBc. It
is even better than the A9500. We simply don't publish it as such.
Let me clear up the misunderstanding about the 87A. That unit was designed and
released previous to 1987 and is a pretty good example of state of the art
technology for 1984. Some of you know I come from the appliance industry. In
the appliance industry we made specific provisions that a microprocessor would
be supported 20 years before incorporating it into a control. talk about
pulling teeth! How many microprocessor iterations have occurred since the 8080
/ Z80 / RCA 6502 technology of 1984? 286, 386, 486, Pentium, Pentium2,3
...Core 2,core 3, i5,i7... can anyone even name them all? Can you buy a brand
new 286 today? Or get one repaired easily and cheaply?
Here is the point. Manufacturers obsolete critical parts well before 20 years.
The 87A technology is now roughly 35 years old! The 87 itself is 30 years old
this year!
What is your thirty year old Chevy worth that you drove every day? Can you
still get EVERY single part for it brand new? We are not nearly as big as GM.
We are a specialty manufacturer like maybe Lamborghini. Can you get a
speedometer needle for a 1984 Muria if you need one?
Like it or not, there comes a time when things go obsolete. The previous
owners said they were not going to support the 87A and that ignited such a
backlash of a firestorm that they recanted. I have made the policy very clear
at Alpha. I will state it again so there will be no misunderstanding:
WE WILL REPAIR AT OUR DISCRESSION ANY AMPLIFIER WE MANUFACTURED, IF (and that
is a huge capitol "IF") WE CAN GET THE PARTS. We are happy to do it. We want
you on the air with our products. We support you every way we possibly can. I
personally get great happiness in my life when I put out a product that makes
someone happy. Life can be a real pain sometimes and it is really refreshing
to know that you can go home, flip the switch and depend on something. It is
comforting to know that if something does go wrong the experts who made it are
right here, speak your language and are willing to help you. How many times
has Glenn answered people on the weekend on his own time and tried to get
someone on the air? It happens all the time. Who else does that? We try to
go above and beyond consistently each and every time. Why would you want to buy
anything else from anyone else? You have the best safety net in the business
with a almost fifty year record of backing you up. T
hat is why I'm working with Alpha. That is the experience I want you to have
when you deal with us. I don't want to be the biggest fish in the pond. I just
want to be the best fish in the pond. Everything I do is controlled by that one
single goal.
Yes, the 87A is obsolete. Sometimes we get one in which is not repairable. If
the owner junks it we try to pull any parts out that might help someone else.
There is just no way around this. Other companies selling you amps haven't
even been around thirty years. Yes, it IS time to upgrade to a 9500. We will
keep supporting your 87A the best we can but sometimes we just can't fix them
or it would cost more than purchasing a new amp. Let's be realistic. If you've
been driving that car for thirty years, it isn't REASONABLE to expect it to
have any resale value. You've had it, you've enjoyed it, you've gotten your
money's worth out of it. What is there to complain about? And, considering
how good it has been to you, why would you not buy another one from us that is
current production that we can support?
Regarding the website issues it appears that the rules have changed this month
about SSL security or some such thing. The younger generation who understands
such things is looking into it. I believe they may have it sorted out soon I
hope.
I hope this is not considered a "rant". I have replied to some questions asked
in the threads. I have double spaced this and it looks fine from yahoo. I may
need to rejoin amps from my personal email if this comes up looking screwy
again. I noticed the previous post all periods were replaced by question marks
and it was all run together.
73 DE N8WFF
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