KK5DR rates HF amplifiers.

Rates-an-amp

By Matt Erickson KK5DR

HF amplifiers I think are good, bad or ugly, & why. These are MY opinions, if you don't agree, put up your own web page and post yours.

The entries here are in no particular order. Ratings are 1-10, 10 being the best. 1 being "junk".

Drake;

L- 4 & B > The RF deck is built like a "Battleship", but the power supply is the weak point in these units. = 6

L-7 & B > The RF deck looks great, but the inside is not as good as the L-4, nor is the PS. = 6

L-75 > A rare beauty, looks much like an L7, but has only one 3-500Z, a good honest 600 watts output on all bands including the WARC bands. = 7

Heathkit; (only as good as the builder who assemblies them) Technically, Heathkit does not exist anymore, but these amps are some of the most popular and numerous of all amateur amplifiers made by anyone.

SB-200 & 201 > A good entry level amp, not good for high duty cycle work, but great for SSB, a bit on the "homely" side. A low cost unit. = 5

SB-220 & 221 > Bigger than the 200, but still a little ugly, with the same limitations as the little brother. A cheap step-up to kW output SSB operation. = 5

HA-14 > A mobile version of an SB-200. Heavy DC current-draw when used in a mobile operation. = 4

HA-10 "Warrior" > 4 x 811A tubes, no tuned input, designed primarily for AM & CW operation, very old units. Most require a lot of work and parts for getting them fit for modern operations. Big, heavy & old. = 3

HL-2200 > A later version of and SB-220, with the same limits, but it looks a lot nicer. Little changed inside. Built to match the HW-5400 & SS-9000. = 6

SB-230 > A matching unit for the old SB-104 transceiver. Uses a very rare 8873 tube. Nice looking unit. No fan noise at all, there isn't one. = 6

SB-1000 > Same as an AL-80A, but you build it yourself. = 5

Ameritron; (a higher grade of Heathkit, factory built of course)

AL-84 > A "sweep tube" unit, a pretty sad little amp, nearly impossible to replace the tubes; they don't last very long either. Tune it up a few seconds too long, and the tubes are dead. = 1

AL-80A & B > 600 watts output is the only reliable power level this amp can sustain, anymore and you will buy a new tube soon. Built for light SSB duty, can't handle RTTY or AM for a sustained length of time. Construction is fair, looks are OK, kinda boring as amps go. = 6

AL-811 & H > Good cheap tubes, but getting hard to buy. Light duty cycle modes only with this unit. Lots and lots of heat output. = 5

AL-572 > With 572B tubes no longer in production anywhere, this one might be a little problem if re-tubing is needed. = 4

AL-800 & H > 3CX800A7 tubes, delicate, expensive, and powerful. = 6

AL-1200 > Tough tube, but a little expensive to replace. The average 100 watt exciter can never hurt this tube. 1500 watts output all day, but I hope the PS can handle it. Noisy fan. = 7

AL-1500 > A single 8877, lots of power output with only 50 watts drive. Noisy fan! = 7

ALS-500 > Mobile solid-state amp, might not be a good unit for base operation due to the lack of filtering, and high current-draw. = 5

ALS-600 > Base solid-state amp, using 50Vdc power MOSFETS. = 5

Yaesu;

FL-2000 > A "sweep tube" amp, bloody awful! = 2 (not a 1, because it looks nice)

FL-2100B > Built better than an SB-200, but all of them are old now. = 6

FL-7000 > An "all-in-one" solid-state HF amp, with auto-tuner and PS in one HEAVY box. These are one of the nicest looking units out there. The fans in high-speed mode are incredibly loud! A good 600 watts output. = 7

"Quadra" VL/ VP-1000 system > Perhaps one of the best designed solid-state 1 kW output amps currently made for amateur service. It looks very, very nice too. Rather expensive! = 9 (not a 10 due to the high price).

ICOM;

IC-2KL > 500 watts of clean power, small size, fully automatic operation with an ICOM HF rig, add an AT-500 and it is nearly perfect. The stock fan in the RF deck is really noisy! = 8

IC-4KL > A beefy 1kW output version of the little 2KL, built-in auto-tuner. Incredibly expensive at the time they were built. = 7

PW-1 > Nice looking, but lacks some critical protective circuitry which the Quadra has. Very expensive. = 7

Henry;

All versions > These amps define the meaning of the phrase "built like a Battleship". Rarely does one hear of a Henry failing aside of tube failures. Now days, these amps are very expensive, and BIG/heavy! Not all that appealing in the "looks" area. (Henry no longer builds tube type amps for Amateur service) = 7

Kenwood;

TL-922 & A > A higher grade of SB-220. One of the nicest looking amps you can get. A light duty PS. = 6

ETO Alpha; (Late models not included)

PA-70V & A > Very old now, the original "first" Alpha made for amateur use. The 70V uses a long-discontinued 3CV1500 tube, but can be converted to an 8877. The 70A uses a 3CX1000A7, very expensive to replace. = 5

77 all versions > An outstanding amp, built like a "brick outhouse", super heavyweight of the deck top units.

(some are 160Lbs. !)

Tough as nails too. = 7

76 all versions > Quite likely the best HF amplifier ever made, if the tubes are in good condition. The main drawback is the expense of tube replacement. Easy to work on at home. = 9 (not a 10, due to the expense of tube replacement).

374 > A nice "no tune" unit. The original unit featured in the "brick on the key" advertisements, but with the same tube problem as the 76. = 8 ( not a 9 due to advanced age)

78 & 374A > A "no tune" version of the 76. = 8 (not a 9 due to the high price of used units, and tube replacement).

86 > Rare, but beautiful units, weak PIN diode T/R system, expensive 3CX800A7 tubes. Legal limit without even working very hard at it. = 9

89 > Manually tuned, updated version of the 86, very expensive on the used market, discontinued a few years ago. = 8

87A > Auto-tune version of the 89, very complex design, hard to repair at home. Expensive tubes. = 7

91b > This one does not count as an Alpha, since it was entirely built in Bulgaria by the company that would become ACOM. Nice amp though. (2) x Svetlana 4CX800's. = 8

ACOM; (made in Bulgaria)

1000A > A single 4CX800 tube, very nicely built. = 7

2000A > This is about as automatic as it gets in tube type amps. Not much for the user to do, other than turn it on & off. Uses the cheap & powerful Svetlana 4CX800 x (2). A really nice unit, but the price is rather high. = 9

QRO technology; These are heavy duty, well built units. They are very simple and reliable. = 9

Transworld> Two versions of solid-state HF broadband amp, 500 & 1000 watts output. Nicely made commercial grade units, very expensive when new. = 9

Amplifier makers that don't exist anymore; (not rated)

Dentron > Had a few models, but were very problematic, due to light duty designs.

Amp Supply > Had many models, most were fair to good, some were very problematic.

National > Makers of the famous NCL-2000. Very old units, now days.

Gonset > Restored units can be seen sometimes, these days. Very, very old!

Sigma > Few hams now even know about these, designed much like the SB-220.

Advanced Radio Devices (ARD) > Maker of the ARD-230A & CA. Remote controlled, auto-tuned legal limit units. Marketed by ICOM as the AT-1500. Went bankrupt in 1990.

A really cool amp, but nobody to fix them, and no parts to be had. = 8

Collins > Made legendary amps, but they no longer build for amateur service, commercial/military only.

Brad Thompson Industries (BTI) > Made amps that looked a lot like Henry. OLD!

Heathkit > More of their units are out there, than all others combined.

Tokyo Hy-power> The only model of this builder that I have used, is the HL-1KA (excellent, small amp).

JRC> They have a few models that are excellent, but none are sold in the US market.

RF Harris> These units are mostly commercial/military and are difficult to interface with amateur transceivers.

Ten-Tec> They are NOT on my list of approved vendors. (No, I will not discuss why, don't ask.)

There are many other makes of amplifiers out there, but I have named the main "players" in the market.

The opinions expressed on this page are those of the author and not necessarily those of the reader. Whatever you think isn't going to change anything on this page anyway. (Save your own opinion for your web site)