The MLA-2500 will live in contest service, but not at legal limit
levels. For contest duty its a great 1200W amp on CW/SSB.
I've seen these amps produce tremendous amounts of power for short to
moderate periods of time, but definitely not in contest service. If I
recall correctly, the ARRL review of the amp in 1976 stated their test unit
put out 2500W into a dummy load on the bench. Pretty ridiculous when you
consider the two tubes together had a total plate dissipation rating of
600W :-(
However, these are really great DXpedition amps. Not many other units will
deliver a contest-grade 1000W with 160M, and do it in a 44 pound box that
can be made to fit into a suitcase.
At 11:15 PM 6/1/2006, Jim Reisert AD1C wrote:
>At 10:46 PM 6/1/2006, Radiosporting Fan wrote:
>
> >Is this amp capable of supporting "Contest Duty Cycle"
> >operation? I see them on e-Bay from time to time (and
> >they have 160-meters, which interests me).
>
>And they have a very expensive tube to replace. There are several
>published modifications for using cheaper, more readily-available tubes.
None of these mods are drop ins, and are not for the technically faint of
heart. My favorite was W5AJ's substitution of a pair of 3CX800s, resulting
in an "MLA-2800".
Dave/K8CC
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