PowerGenius XL review?

Sergey KN7K

With PGXL shipping I beleive quite few amplifiers already in use.
I cannot find a single reciew in eham.
Does anyone plannig to post a feedback review any time soon, or may be al least to publish it here?
I am interested in output power per band, on 6m specifically, noise level on CW, RTTY or FT8, connectivity, settings and etc.
I preordered one recently, but completely blind besides few posts from users that is a great amp.
Thanks
Sergey,KN7K

KF4HR

Aside from the PG-XL's already owned by the Alpha Testers, I've only seen one Post indicating someone has received their PG-XL, and one other Post indicating their PG-XL is on the way.  I would imagine if the PG-XL were shipping in large numbers we'd be hearing about it via Posts, just as we did with the 6400/6600 transceivers. 

Richard

Gentlemen....  I have only seen one person state he was about to get his amp but no one has stated "I got it" and it is......  I do know from the Dayton Hamfest they were stating that they were shipping "10 per week".  I do not know if that is still the case but by the looks o no or little feedback I would think that would still be true.
Richard - N4RWG

Steve K9ZW

I would have posted a review, but it seems my critique of eHam has resulted in my eHam posting abilities being curtailed.  

Not certain if it is a true "technical issue" or Shadow Banning.  

On reflection, does it really matter?  As eHam is about selling advertising First, and any service to our hobby is a distant second, I personally wouldn't depend on eHam to influence my approach to the hobby.  

Not that I wouldn't enjoy being paid by ad revenue like the eHam owners are, but I don't think I could run a website quite the way they are doing it.

More on eHam and Shadow Banning:  https://k9zw.wordpress.com/2018/06/14/can-you-be-shadow-banned-at-eham/

73

Steve
K9ZW

Bill -VA3WTB

It's simple Steve, just say you like it or you don't like most the reviews on there. Most people can't talk about the nuts and the bolts of gear anyways so  you don't need to bother.

Alan C

Agree with the eHam comments. I put in an ad (a few years ago) regard repair service that I do for TS-440's. I repair the DOT problem. They immediately took down my ad stating it was a commercial business. Ham radio is a hobby, and I do this as a favor to Hams. They don't see it that way.

K1UO Larry

You probably scared them off with your callsign   I tell that to my friend Bill  K4CIA.

WX7Y

I myself do not put much stock in eHam opinions because of ALL the false reviewers, as soon as there is a new model radio / AMP released they put on a bad (FALSE) Review with out even owning the rig, and if I remember right there was one on there for the PGXL before the ALPHA testing even began last year. 
I am sure you will see a TRUE review here long before you'll see a honest opinion on eHam because there will be questions that you will see here from the new users and people praising the AMP or asking about a problem. 

Remember just human nature, if there are happy customers they usually say NOTHING but if there is one tinny issue or they don't understand how things are supposed to work they will let that be known far and wide. 

As with ALL FLEX equipment they don't release it to the General public unless it is RIGHT and ready for prime time. 
This of course is my opinion and leave it at that.

73's
Bret
WX7Y

Sergey KN7K

"As with ALL FLEX equipment they don't release it to the General public unless it is RIGHT and ready for prime time"

Bret, my understanding is that a 2nd batch is shipping Now.
I am in line for a 3rd batch somewhere by end of the year.

Since 2nd batch is sipping I assume quite few HAM's have them, that's why I would expect to see some users feedback and shared experience.
Regards
Sergey, KN7K

David Decoons, wo2x

I posted a negative review of a product sold by one of their top sponsors and the review was deleted. Eham is not a good site to get completely unbiased reviews.

As with anything do your due diligence and check reviews on several sites.

David Decoons, wo2x

Sergey,

I have been testing the amp and have had a production unit here for a while.

Power out is 1500 watts on each band (6 - 160) with 55 - 60 watts drive. The amp can do full legal limit on FT8 on all bands. With MEffA enabled the amp runs in class AB on single tone modes (CW, RTTY, FT8, etc). This requires slightly more drive than SSB which runs in class AAB and has more bias to the LDMOS devices.

With that kind of duty cycle and power output capability comes the need for heat dissipation. The fans noticeable and I run the amp on a table about 5 feet from the operating position. I would recommend good airflow in front and in back of the amp. When operating in SSB I run the fans in contest mode which allow the fan speed to gradually ramp up as the amp heats up. In this configuration I have not had the amp reach the point where the fans ramp up to full speed.

If you are concerned with fan noise you can easily remote the amp away from the operating position as the amp control is embedded in SmartSDR, SmartSDR for IOS and a standalone Windows app. Amp monitoring is available in Maestro and amp control will be coming to Maestro in an upcoming release.

The amp is contest ready. It can definitely handle the duty cycle as one of the testers used it in a RTTY contest in SO2R mode. That is demanding duty cycle.

I love the instant on, full power out on all bands/all modes, and seamless integration to the Flex using Ethernet cabling.

Currently I have Ant1 on 6600 going to Input A on amp and Output A of amp going to my PalStar HF Auto which automatically feeds a G5RV for 40/80, a 30 meter dipole and a 6 meter dipole (until I can get a better antenna up). The tuner has a 3rd party program that switches the tuner in and out of circuit based on frequency from radio without need to first transmit.

Antenna 2 of 6600 feeds Input B of amp and Output B of amp goes to a resonant 5 band Yagi for 10 - 20 meters.

The 6600 and PG XL combination on SSB has very respectable IMD on transmit thanks to the amp's ability to set bias to AAB mode when radio is on LSB or USB.

I have an Antenna Genius 2x8 on order to make antenna switching a little more flexible which will allow any two antennas to be connected to the radio at a given time.

I hope this answers some of your questions you have.

73
Dave wo2x

Sergey KN7K

Thank you Dave.
Very helpful and some food for thoughts.
I preordered the Amp, but having Acom 2000A sitting next to me (2.5ft) I barely hear it even without headphones. And I got used to it!
I am just afraid that I will be annoyed with extra noise compared to a current Amp.
Unforunatly I do not have another position or room where I could place it.
Small city lot with CCR&HOA here. And I still managed to hide 2el Steppir and 43ft vertical between trees

How about setup? Can you setup all by LCD screen? Is is a touchscreen? Or do you need a PC for that?
If you use CW or SSB, do you need to enable Meffa?
How do you decide which mode need Meffa?
Thanks
Sergey,KN7K

K1UO Larry

Sergey,  Please go here to the 4O3A web site and read about the features you are asking about...  I.E.  Harmonic Load, Cooling, Meffa, Touch Screen and other features of this very nice Amp.
http://www.4o3a.com/power-genius-xl/
Larry  K1UO    PGXL Alpha testor

David Decoons, wo2x

Meffa is used in single tone modes (CW, FT8,RTTY). It will increase efficiency of the amp in these modes and reduce PA temp but increase harmonic load temp. Both PA and load have fans and temperature sensors. SSB has more bias and does not use Meffa. You can use the Windows app to initially set up the amp. For a Flex 6000 series you can use the network connection which carries both control and PTT over Ethernet. For other radios there is support for Yaesu or Kenwood CAT via serial connection or Icom via CI-V. The amp can also support RF sense band switching. The LCD is touch screen. More info available in the manual http://www.flexradio.com/downloads/power-genius-xl-user-guide-pdf/ Dave wo2x