[Amps] Good amp to buy

[Lee Buller]

Carl and all those who are reading this thread (AL-82),

With your range of experience, I am not going to contest any point you have made.  I always thought the SB-220 (a good amp) was a big trade off to sit on the desktop and to hit a price point.  Also, the one I had (I did not put it together) seemed to be a TVI generator, in the day.  It just ripped up TVs not matter what I did.  Barefoot...nada...another amp...nada...the SB220...TVI.  I could never tame the beast so I sold it when I had to move.

Although the AL-82 meets the price point, if you operate the amp with in reason, it is not going to blow up.  I am sure that the suggested operating parameters of the AL-82 come within Eimac's 3-500Z specifications.  But, I just don't run it hard as suggested by the manual.

What I do like about the AL-82 is "the price," the fact that it uses a pressurize plenum with chimneys (the way 3-500s were meant to be used), it is repairable, it has been in production for a long time and it had 160 meters.

Next time I am in Dayton, I am going to look at the differences between the RF components from the AL-82 - AL-1200 - and the AL-1500.  That is an interesting fact if the RF components are different between the different BIG Ameritron amps.

Interesting thread....  Thanks for sharing.

Lee - K0WA


You can blow up any amplifier - with any tube - if you operate it over the parameters or it is not tuned right.  
 In our day and age it seems that Common Sense is in short supply.  If you don't have any Common Sense - get some Common Sense and use it.  If you can't find any Common Sense, ask for help from somebody who has some Common Sense.  Is Common Sense divine?

Common Sense is the image of the Creator expressing revealed truth in my mind. -  J. Wolf