[Amps] Alpha 8410 -- The Market should be D.O.A.

[jeremy-ca]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rob Atkinson" <ranchorobbo at gmail.com>
To: <amps at contesting.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2008 6:59 PM
Subject: Re: [Amps] Alpha 8410 -- The Market should be D.O.A.


> Now that Tokyo Hi-Power has a 1.5 kw s.s. amp on the market for around 
> $5500
> (American street price) the high end price ceiling for a s.s. legal limit
> amp has been broken and any well-heeled ham would be, IMO, unwise to spend
> multi-thousands on a tube amp.   Oh sure if you're a prol. like I am 
> you'll
> go get an AL-82 or 80B and call it a day but the days of these big gold
> plated automated tube amps from outfits like Alpha and Acom are numbered.
> If I were them I'd have a 1.5 kw s.s. amp on the drawing board and if I 
> were
> a customer I'd be looking closely at the Tokyo Hi-Power 2.5.  These
> automatic no-tune tube amps have mostly been bought by competitive hams
> looking for any edge they can get such as quick QSY.  S.S. amsp have all 
> of
> that without the motors, and high voltage, but have the reliability you 
> have
> gotten over the years with your s.s. exciter.
>
> Alpha has a choice of four options:
> 1.  Go solid state
> 2.  Go out of business
> 3.  Start making reasonable tube amps for the Ameritron crowd
> 4.  Make platinum plated silver wire tube amps studded with diamonds for 
> the
> 3 or 4 hams who have a lot more money than brains.
>
> 73,
>
> rob / k5uj

5. Similar to #4 but make big tube amps for the audiophool crowd who will 
pay whatever it takes to get one up on others. Like the $65K PP 304TL amp 
that runs only 100W.

The audiophools are buying up all the old glass triodes they can get and 
have driven prices crazy.

Carl
KM1H