ACOM 2000 - Thinking of Giving up on PowerGenius

Eric Gruff

Russ - sounds like you have a very solid perspective, and I think you've hit the nail on the head as far as hit or miss. One thing that hasn't come up in this discussion that is germane is that SS PAs with multiple power devices are less likely to go up in flames as those that use only one (like my late 1.3K-FA). The heat dissipation of a single device running hundreds to 1.5k Watts is an awful lot for that relatively tiny package.

Neal Pollack, N6YFM

Chris DL5NAM

Mark_WS7M

Ian1

hammenitup

It sounds fantastic. But I'd hate to be one of those poorr souls hat have been waiting for two years just to get on a list. Ouch.

N5NHJ

ctate243

a decent amp, but SPE cannot handle full legal limit full key down. PGXL Can.  nuff said.

ctate243

PS I have both.

Mike-VA3MW

Hi Ian

If you call the Sales line and talk to Matt, he can update on the delivery for you.  

Mike

Larry - WA7LZO

N2WQ

You may want to consider this when deciding if 1.8 dB is a big deal or not: http://www.ab7e.com/weak_signal/mdd.html

KT0AM - Mark

Thanks for sharing this study, Larry. It was interesting to observe a real-wold systematic analysis on the effect of noise on a signal under controlled conditions. We talk about power but it's often difficult to quantify what the discussion really means.

Norm - W7CK

I can't see spending all that money just to say "59 73's".  Or worse yet having WSJT-X send it for me.   I have a simple wire antenna and modest station running 500w.  Its all the fun I need.  I had a big tower and antenna at 60' when I lived in Alaska.  It was a pita to maintain and a money pit but that was back in the day when people actually still rag chewed on the air and phone patches kept folks in touch with their families from all over the world.  I felt it was worth it at the time but now in hind site, I wonder.

I don't have any plans to expand my station.  Happy with wire antennas and my measly 500w amp which I normally only run at about 300w.   I guess if I was a contester I would look at things differently but I never could figure out the attraction to contesting.

W7NGA

Excellent reply Norm ...

Pat N6PAT

Sergey KN7K

Guys,
If you do not need this amp, it is ok, you do not have to make excuses.
You are contacted 300 contries with 100mW, great. Keep going.

I am getting mine probably next month and happy about it.
Also, using Acom2000A for about 10 years and still going strong.

Sergey, KN7K

David Decoons, wo2x

Sounds like the KPA1500s with blown finals may have been built before they started adding zener diodes across the gates of the LDMOS devices. The zeners help protect the LDMOS against getting whacked with high input wattage. Dave wo2x

Mark_WS7M

I also put in a vote for SPE-2K-FA.  Flawless for me as well.

The only downside is that the amp will auto dial down output if the signal duty cycle is close to 100%.  So it is not a full legal limit amp on 100% duty cycle.

The only place this ever is an issue is RTTY or FT8.  In both cases the most the amp will produce is about 1200W and that is stretching it.

However, I find that 1000W is usually more than enough to do what I want.   

As a developer I've integrated the SPE amp into my logging software so FRLogger offers complete control of the amp.   

I have most of my ham gear in a shed about 30 feet away.  But from anywhere, including my office, I can control my radio and amp.

Mark - WS7M

Michael N3LI

I have a linear, the PW-1. I've been asked why I don't get a real amp by some folks. It does what I need and I like it. And ahem..... some folks consider full legal limit too restraining. Not sayin', just sayin.

Patrick

Hi Mark, I agree with you on all your points. In my case I managed to use all 6 ports. Port six is my dummy load. My antenna system is a set of dedicated antennas, and kind of avoids to running problems. My main antenna is a log periodic and is flat from one end to the other, except for the band edges at 20m and 10m. My 40m rotary dipole is the same in that only the band edges need tuning. My other antennas are purpose tuned for FT8 on 80 and another on 75m for a narrow range of SSB frequencies. Oh yes one antenna for 60m dedicated to Net frequency here in the islands. I love the amp, and especially like the ability to assign up to 3 antennas per band. Example: I can select port six , which is my dummy load on each band. Or you n another case 40 meters of n two different antennas. I love that feature! Any way love my SPE 2K-FA.