[Amps] ALS-600 vs ALS-1300

[Roger]

On 4/10/2014 12:30 PM, Vic Rosenthal K2VCO wrote:

Too bad the Tokyo Hy Power amps are no longer made. They were good 
looking, well made, good performing amps

> First, I agree with W6WRT. For DXing, especially on 80/160m, you should
> have a legal limit amplifier. If you want to operate RTTY or AM, you
> also want one that can do it for a long period of time without burning up.

DXing, contesting, or satisfaction, that extra 3db sometimes makes a a 
big difference!

>
> Having said that, what about quality and reliability? One place to look
> is at the reviews posted by users at eham.net. Don't laugh -- I know
> that many of the reviewers are less than competent. But when there are

There are a lot of over rated  (by the manufacturers) on there, that are 
not capable of running that much power without self destructing.  Legal 
limit amps that are only good for that on low duty cycle that receive 
glowing reports.


But look for problems and if they are prevalent in that amp.

An occasional "Terrible service, or bad attitude" may not mean a lot. 
Most of us have known people who couldn't give a complement with out 
upsetting the recipient. People answering telephones often do not 
respond well to this personality.<:-)) A polite approach will often get 
outstanding service. I was a project manager for a large, multinational 
corporation with engineers and techs in the teams, so maybe I saw more 
than my share of these types<:-)) Although I think I had some pretty 
good teams.

73

Roger (K8RI)


> /enough/ reviews, you can get a picture of the overall degree of
> satisfaction with a product. So here are some of the average ratings for
> in-production amplifiers with a reasonable number of reviews, both solid
> state (the first 7) and vacuum tube:
>
> Amplifier    Reviews        Average rating
> ALS-600        146        4.2
> ALS-1300    55        3.8
> Elecraft KPA500    65        4.9
> SGC SG-500    36        4.3
> SPE 1K-FA    77        4.9
> SPE 2K-FA    24        4.8
> Yaesu VL-1000    70        4.3
>
> Alpha 9500    108        4.9
> Acom 1000    147        4.9
> Acom 1010    46        4.9
> Amer. AL1500    67        4.8
> Amer. AL80B    119        4.6
> Amer AL811H    159        4.5
>
> I think it is significant the NO other amplifier with more than a few
> reviews has an average as low as 3.8 (the Dentron 160-10 has 16 reviews
> and a rating of 3.6). I would think twice about buying an ALS-1300!
>
> If I wanted a lower-powered amplifier I would look at the Elecraft or
> SPE-1KFA. The SPE-2KFA is an excellent choice for a higher power
> amplifier, although it is more than twice the price of the ALS-1300!
>
> If the guy needs high power but is constrained by available funds, then
> maybe he should look at a tube amplifier like the AL-1500, which is a
> few bucks cheaper than the ALS-1300.
>
> On 4/10/2014 6:57 AM, John K0CQW wrote:
>> Looking for info on these SS amps. ALS-600 vs ALS-1300. A ham ask me what
>> one to buy ? I have no experience on SS amps.
>>
>> I did tell him not much difference in S units between the 600 vs 1200 w .
>>
>> Any thoughts ?
>>
>> Thanks de John KØCQW
>
>