[Amps] AL-1500 for legal-limit 160m AM?

[Al Kozakiewicz]

I know it's not AM, but I have an AL-1500 that I use for RTTY contesting at maximum output.  It runs for hours at a time without problems.  I believe I've read (maybe in the manual?) that it was rated for 1500W output continuous for 30 minutes at a clip.

Al
AB2ZY

-----Original Message-----
From: amps-bounces at contesting.com [mailto:amps-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Jim Barber
Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2011 9:54 PM
To: Amps at contesting.com
Subject: [Amps] AL-1500 for legal-limit 160m AM?

I'm considering an AL-1500 as a backup amp, tilted to favor 160m AM operation.
They are (relatively) inexpensive to buy, and I've cached up enough new and like-new 8877's to last a long, long time with decent treatment.

My question is if anyone here has been successful long-term running an AL-1500 at or near the legal limit on 160m AM? To be explicitly clear, I'm talking about running 375 watts carrier and 1500 watts PEP modulated output, with key-down times that (in my case at least) *can* go two to three minutes, generally with breaks at least that long and usually longer between transmissions.

So - do you think the overall power supply, the tank circuit, plate choke, cooling etc are up to the task? Even things like underrated parts in the tuned input can be more of an issue with full-power AM than SSB.

Opinions solicited and TIA,
Jim, N7CXI

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