Running this amp at full swing to see what she's got. Automatic band switching, no tune. Remote capable. Available at www.gigaparts.com, or www.mfjenterprises.com
I purchased a ALS 1306 a few months ago and is an outstanding amp. At 50watts drive from a Icom 7300, it gives 1200 watts and will last forever at that drive level. Great amp.
Drive power DOES NOT hurt these amps. They are tested with well over 100 watts power on a 30 second duty cycle over night solid. It’s the poor heat sink build from Ameritron that won’t let the heat transfer through the heat sink correctly that will pop the FET’s.
@@matthewoakley2376 a 30 second duty cycle is a Joke.Look at a Real Amplifier such as the ICOM PW-1 or an Alpha and look at the Duty Cycle.It will show you which will last longer than you.The Ameritron solid state amplifiers are JUNK and barely a step up from a CB Amplifier. If you want a dependable amplifier from Ameritron then buy a tube amplifier such as the AL-82, AL-1200,or the AL-1500 and never buy the solid state amplifiers.
attention everyone. stop calling Ralph K2kit and myself. You can instead call ameritron and tell them that 100 watts in, gets more than 1200 watts out, more like 1500.... I do not call anyone I disagree with on youtube. keep the comments to just that. A comment... not malicious emails, paying for phone number lookups or writing handwritten letters in the mail... If you don't like it, go somewhere else.. or go get yourself a cb and stay off the ham bands if you are going to cry.
OUTSTANDING VID…….was thinking of getting one.... I have the ALS -600 Works as expected...after your show...I'msold.... think I will sell the als600 and move on up to the ALS-1306... Thanks again....
The Amp is nice and the video is cool I will say you can produce the same signal report with a good antenna and radio! I to have contacted k2kit and S57 land many times with 100 qrp watts. still great amp i have one homebrewed. N1RCX
Video shows using 998 tuner AND internal tuner in the ft-1000D. Sadly this practice blew the front end on my unit the first day. Ameritron says not to do this. NOTE: it probably works with very low SWR antennas but places unit at great risk.
You should never use the rig's internal tuner when using a solid state linear like this. It can cause damage to either the transceiver or the amp, or both. If SWR is high, you should use a legal limit capable tuner downstream from the ampifier so you can achieve 1.5:1 SWR or better. The critical issue with SS amps is avoiding over driving them (as was being done here!), and high SWR presented to the amp.
I managed to score some Triquint RF transistors, and am leisurely working on a solid state linear RF amplifier. The Triquint transistor I am using for this one is linear from essentially DC up to a couple dozen GHz. They are not cheap, but when I saw Alpha was taking advance orders for a new linear amp, that must have suffered a crib death, as I don't see it listed anymore, I justified spending the money on the Triquint Qs. I like that comment some idiot made about transmitting above legal limit. It's an analog meter, IDIOT! they tend to swing past the true reading with phone, and we are probably seeing closer to 1300 watts than 1500 watts. I am running about $8000 in transistors, but I can conceivably run up in the 2cm band. I can also conceivably run at or above 3000 watts, but, I plan to have my home brew's finals outlast me. In the mean time, the Ameritron 1306 is no slouch. I don't shove 100 watts into mine. I can dial my antiquated Kenwoods, and Jurassic Heathkits, Drakes, Vikings, and other transmitters at 20 watts or less. My Yeasu Shack In The Box 857/897 transceivers will drop to I think 5 or 10 watts on HF bands, and I know 5 watts on 2 meter and 70 cm. Nice review, and best wishes from the dry heat of my QTH in Arizona. I am not an RF expert. I am an audio guy specializing in musical instrument & vocal amplification, with 40+ years of experience, who passed the Technician & General class in one night, and went back for my Extra Class the next month. It was a decision I absolutely do NOT regret. I shall try to straighten some of these internet trolls out, with some valid answers. 73s KI7AQJ
Great Video. Thinking of buying one of these. It's been out a few years. Is there anything better for the cost? Is it worth the extra cost over the ALS 606? I value your judgement. Thanks
1306 is a great amp. As with the 606, it will also need the heat sink worked on if they have not fixed the milling issue with it. CTR engineering can help with this. They are the original Ameritron crew
What was shown in this video was incorrect - if SWR is higher than 1.5:1, an ant. tuner is required DOWNSTREAM from the amp- not in front of it. That way, the amp will be 'seeing' a low SWR at all times, which is important when running a SS linear amp. . The MFJ 998 was correctly installed in this setup, but the FT1000's internal ATU should not have been turned on, since the amp has a built in 50 ohm tuned circuit. Damage could have resulted here, especially since operator was overdriving the ALS-1306 well past it's rated power output of 1.2KW.
Question Ralph Great video. Thanks Will I need an Ameritron 704 unit to interface between my IC-7300 and this amplifier? Icom recommends using the 704 for any non- Icom amplifier
Certainly a nice SS amp. Altho, it's hardly a fair comparrison to the homemade tube amp you showed. A far better comparison would be the Ameritron AL-82.. far less bulk than the ALS-1308.. no external power supply, far simpler straight-foward circuit design, higher over-all effeciency, more power output, AND...it costs less! Certainly a better amp for the seasoned ham. ;-D
I noticed while it was putting out 1.5kw during the QSO that the amp was set for current draw and both meters said it was pulling 25A each. So it pulls 50A total? That's a lot for house wiring. Does the power supply require 2, 220 outlets?
+Dave NT9E The amplifier draws a total of 25 amps on 110v, or 12.5 amps on 220v.... The power supply is not recommended to be wired for 110v unless you have a solid large gauge home run of appropriate electrical wiring to a dedicated breaker in the panel..Then you could wire it for 110v, but 220v is more efficient and the amp will run a lot better.
The dual needle current meter is showing the DC current drawn by each of the two PA units. If one of the PA units has a problem, it will probably show up on the ammeter.
The AL1500 is a great amp until you have to replace the 8877 tube. A new Eimac costs around $1800. Even the Chinese 8877's are around $7-800. An AlS 1306 never needs to be retubed.
Right now I have a LDG AT-1000ProII between my tube amp and the antenna switch. Am I right that I no longer need that auto tuner? Is there a way I can keep it in the loop for running barefoot? I have not hooked up the new ALS-1300 yet and am trying to get it right the first time. You said something about having a tuner in bypass mode?
No tune amplifier means you don't have to tune the tubes or output stage for maximum power, it is solid state, watts in = a lot of watts out. YOu need your antenna tuner if you are running multiple bands on a wire, and your tuner is after the amp, before the antenna. Do not use a tuner between the radio and amp, dont need it.
tuner in bypass mode means I have an antenna with a 1.4:1 SWR or lower, and I dont need to add the tuner circuitry inline, when a 1.4:1 swr is perfectly acceptable...So I run it is bypass mode, power goes straight through it, no tuning circuitry involved..... Currently, I do not run a tuner at all, i have a brand new tuner in the box, my antennas are all resonant, so thats one less thing I need in line..
John Frost Simply put the amplifier in standby Then tune your antenna with your auto tuner as you normally would. Once it’s tuned, you can put your amplifier in the operate position. if you don’t have the interface cable, ensure your amplifier is switched to the correct band.
@@HamRadioConceptsha, that would be fun to explain, "sorry man, I blew your amp up keying it up on 11m" either way, enjoyed the vid. Hope to hear you on the bands!
Nice video! Question On mine, I noticed that with the switch in the PAB mode, there is a small indication on the ALC/HV scale on the right indicator. The needle rises to about a 5 on that scale. Is this normal, or is there an inbalance that should be corrected? Also, the instructions say to start with the ALC knob turned up to 10, but nothing about turning it down later. Yours was on zero. Thanks
That antenna switch sounds cheap & clunky at best.Frank has a handle also? Wonder what Channel he talks on? Let's leave the handles down on 11 meters PLEASE! Also we have another handle from Ralph.I use 35 watts of drive with my ICOM PW-1 & get about 1200 watts PEP on all HF bands & 1100 watts PEP on 6 meters & never touch the amplifier & it will also do well over 1500 watts with 75 watts of drive but why stress the amp when nobody can hear or see the difference anyway?The fans are very loud in that amp also.I owned an ALS-600 before & it spent more time on the UPS truck than at my home in my shack.The 1306 is nothing more than TWO ALS-600 amplifiers that Ameritron added 6 meters to.I'd be scared to death too own one of those because I'd keep having flashbacks of the ALS-600.Hope they hold up but I have some serious doubts about them.Putting your test on TH-cam just opens you up for comments that you may not agree with so remember that before posting again.I'll stick with my PW-1 & all in one box including the tuner & power supply because it works perfect with my ICOM 7600 driving it. LOL {:>)
CTR engineering / the original Ameritron can fix these issues you are talking about. It’s a build issue as time has went along with the MFJ corruption on these amps. My 1306 has blown 3 times due to just throwing another FET in it and not prepping the heat sink correctly.
technically you are right but I don't think there is any problem during our testing, ralph has been operating legal limit for 50 years so I know he knows what he is doing.. myself I do not use power in the 12 years I have been in radio, I like to keep it challenging from qrp to 100 watts.. but don't worry about us in this video demo, worry about the guy in south America running henry 3K..
I see C'B'ers running some of the WORST splattery harmonic ridden horrible old sweep tube linear amps at 1,000-3,000 watts on TH-cam all the time, and no one has kicked their doors in yet. There were a few excursions above 1500 watts in this demo, but hardly anything overtly deliberate enough to even raise an eyebrow at. If you want to complain, go watch some of these CB jockeys with their empty heads, half full beer cans and overflowing ash trays rolling around on the repair bench as they blast 5000 watts AM on 11 meters with some backroom manufactured export only ___tbox linear amp. My favorite is the one with the home brew Eimac 4-400 who blows the main breaker in his house. Some of their favorite coveted prize treasured vintage linear amps, were made by companies that the FCC went after with hammer and tongs. The FCC shut these manufacturers down because their products were so poorly designed they splattered all over the place, and had harmonic emissions that interfered with EVERYTHING owned by everyone within a mile radius of the antenna. I don't begrudge a truck driver a solid state bootleg transceiver he can crank up to 50 or 100 watts while he is up in a remote mountain pass in rural New Mexico, but these idiots at home in the suburbs with a 10,000 watt CB linear amp? Yeah, the FCC should seize ALL their equipment, including all their test gear and repair tools, and slap them with a hefty fine.
HAHAHA Thank You. We were only trying to test this amplifier hard. That's what a lot of people want to know when they spend that much money, right? RIP Mr.Ralph K2KIT, he passed a couple of months ago.
The FCC doesn't take action based on what some person's needle indicates in a video. Complicated field strength measurements would have to be done with certified equipment that would hold up in a court of law at or near the person's transmitter location to eliminate any band propagation variables if they got any complaints about a person running illegal power. Quit pushing the panic button over minor stuff.
S57DX is now a SK. 😢 was always a pleasure to work him.
110% agree. Class act and was a good ham. He will be missed. de KB2AT
I purchased a ALS 1306 a few months ago and is an outstanding amp. At 50watts drive from a Icom 7300, it gives 1200 watts and will last forever at that drive level. Great amp.
Drive power DOES NOT hurt these amps. They are tested with well over 100 watts power on a 30 second duty cycle over night solid. It’s the poor heat sink build from Ameritron that won’t let the heat transfer through the heat sink correctly that will pop the FET’s.
@@matthewoakley2376 a 30 second duty cycle is a Joke.Look at a Real Amplifier such as the ICOM PW-1 or an Alpha and look at the Duty Cycle.It will show you which will last longer than you.The Ameritron solid state amplifiers are JUNK and barely a step up from a CB Amplifier. If you want a dependable amplifier from Ameritron then buy a tube amplifier such as the AL-82, AL-1200,or the AL-1500 and never buy the solid state amplifiers.
@@1OFGODSOWN I love mine
@@AARON-K4RNA What is your amplifier?
@@1OFGODSOWN als-1300
attention everyone. stop calling Ralph K2kit and myself. You can instead call ameritron and tell them that 100 watts in, gets more than 1200 watts out, more like 1500.... I do not call anyone I disagree with on youtube. keep the comments to just that. A comment... not malicious emails, paying for phone number lookups or writing handwritten letters in the mail... If you don't like it, go somewhere else.. or go get yourself a cb and stay off the ham bands if you are going to cry.
That ALS-1306 is a BAD BOY ! I would love to have one . Thanks for making the video Great JOB. 73 AE4OY WILLIAM EM-81UF (OLDYELLA)
Great Job and thank you for the video. The video gave me a lot of information to make a better buying decision. 73, Gary W8VI
OUTSTANDING VID…….was thinking of getting one.... I have the ALS -600 Works as expected...after your show...I'msold.... think I will sell the als600 and move on up to the ALS-1306... Thanks again....
The Amp is nice and the video is cool
I will say you can produce the same signal report with a good antenna and radio! I to have contacted k2kit and S57 land many times with 100 qrp watts. still great amp i have one homebrewed. N1RCX
Video shows using 998 tuner AND internal tuner in the ft-1000D. Sadly this practice blew the front end on my unit the first day. Ameritron says not to do this. NOTE: it probably works with very low SWR antennas but places unit at great risk.
Doing that is how some get the needed tuned input which some require but it can be done without a tuner.
You should never use the rig's internal tuner when using a solid state linear like this. It can cause damage to either the transceiver or the amp, or both. If SWR is high, you should use a legal limit capable tuner downstream from the ampifier so you can achieve 1.5:1 SWR or better. The critical issue with SS amps is avoiding over driving them (as was being done here!), and high SWR presented to the amp.
I managed to score some Triquint RF transistors, and am leisurely working on a solid state linear RF amplifier. The Triquint transistor I am using for this one is linear from essentially DC up to a couple dozen GHz. They are not cheap, but when I saw Alpha was taking advance orders for a new linear amp, that must have suffered a crib death, as I don't see it listed anymore, I justified spending the money on the Triquint Qs. I like that comment some idiot made about transmitting above legal limit. It's an analog meter, IDIOT! they tend to swing past the true reading with phone, and we are probably seeing closer to 1300 watts than 1500 watts. I am running about $8000 in transistors, but I can conceivably run up in the 2cm band. I can also conceivably run at or above 3000 watts, but, I plan to have my home brew's finals outlast me. In the mean time, the Ameritron 1306 is no slouch. I don't shove 100 watts into mine. I can dial my antiquated Kenwoods, and Jurassic Heathkits, Drakes, Vikings, and other transmitters at 20 watts or less. My Yeasu Shack In The Box 857/897 transceivers will drop to I think 5 or 10 watts on HF bands, and I know 5 watts on 2 meter and 70 cm. Nice review, and best wishes from the dry heat of my QTH in Arizona. I am not an RF expert. I am an audio guy specializing in musical instrument & vocal amplification, with 40+ years of experience, who passed the Technician & General class in one night, and went back for my Extra Class the next month. It was a decision I absolutely do NOT regret. I shall try to straighten some of these internet trolls out, with some valid answers. 73s KI7AQJ
I have a modified al811 for CB, time for an upgrade.
Please do a video of that green home made amp... much more intresting than the auto solid state amp... XE1ZLG
ALC is way down too! If you bring it up to where it just barely flickers, you wouldn’t have needed that much drive.
Great Video. Thinking of buying one of these. It's been out a few years. Is there anything better for the cost? Is it worth the extra cost over the ALS 606? I value your judgement. Thanks
1306 is a great amp. As with the 606, it will also need the heat sink worked on if they have not fixed the milling issue with it. CTR engineering can help with this. They are the original Ameritron crew
I don't see why you need the tuner between the rig and the amp. The amp's input z should be 50 ohms
What was shown in this video was incorrect - if SWR is higher than 1.5:1, an ant. tuner is required DOWNSTREAM from the amp- not in front of it. That way, the amp will be 'seeing' a low SWR at all times, which is important when running a SS linear amp. . The MFJ 998 was correctly installed in this setup, but the FT1000's internal ATU should not have been turned on, since the amp has a built in 50 ohm tuned circuit. Damage could have resulted here, especially since operator was overdriving the ALS-1306 well past it's rated power output of 1.2KW.
Hey, ive talked to him.
Newbie here..Can I internally tune in standby mode then fire up or must an antenna tuner be used?
Question Ralph
Great video. Thanks
Will I need an Ameritron 704 unit to interface between my IC-7300 and this amplifier? Icom recommends using the 704 for any non- Icom amplifier
No grandpa jones you should not use the 704 it is not needed
Certainly a nice SS amp. Altho, it's hardly a fair comparrison to the homemade tube amp you showed. A far better comparison would be the Ameritron AL-82.. far less bulk than the ALS-1308.. no external power supply, far simpler straight-foward circuit design, higher over-all effeciency, more power output, AND...it costs less!
Certainly a better amp for the seasoned ham. ;-D
yeah but you have to tune it. lol
Just out of curiosity have you tried to transmit on 11M into a dummy load?
Your equipment is missing ground straps in back of the amp,and tuner.All equipment should be grounded to a ground bus to prevent rf in the shack.
And what if one hasn't RF in the shack? Still grounding?
@@eknaap8800 or you can manufacture your self some really nice ground loops and now you got even bigger problems
@@donalddavis581 I just wondered when/if. I normally ground such equipment. Never had RF in the shack, though. Never experienced ground loops as well.
Simple grounding bar will be good for all this
Niiiice ""liniker""!
Can you run this amp on 11 meters, Thanks
He’s certainly overdriving the shit out of it
These are tested with well over the amount drive power on a 30 second duty cycle overnight. Drive power won’t hurt them but could cause some splatter
I noticed while it was putting out 1.5kw during the QSO that the amp was set for current draw and both meters said it was pulling 25A each. So it pulls 50A total? That's a lot for house wiring. Does the power supply require 2, 220 outlets?
+Dave NT9E The amplifier draws a total of 25 amps on 110v, or 12.5 amps on 220v.... The power supply is not recommended to be wired for 110v unless you have a solid large gauge home run of appropriate electrical wiring to a dedicated breaker in the panel..Then you could wire it for 110v, but 220v is more efficient and the amp will run a lot better.
+Dave NT9E And i don't know where you saw 2 meters drawing 25 amps.. One meter is for power out, reflected, the other is current draw.
The dual needle current meter is showing the DC current drawn by each of the two PA units. If one of the PA units has a problem, it will probably show up on the ammeter.
@@HamRadioConcepts it was the twin needles
he sounds like R. Lee Ermey
I'm torn between this amp and the AL-1500...
The AL1500 is a great amp until you have to replace the 8877 tube. A new Eimac costs around $1800. Even the Chinese 8877's are around $7-800. An AlS 1306 never needs to be retubed.
Right now I have a LDG AT-1000ProII between my tube amp and the antenna switch. Am I right that I no longer need that auto tuner? Is there a way I can keep it in the loop for running barefoot? I have not hooked up the new ALS-1300 yet and am trying to get it right the first time. You said something about having a tuner in bypass mode?
No tune amplifier means you don't have to tune the tubes or output stage for maximum power, it is solid state, watts in = a lot of watts out. YOu need your antenna tuner if you are running multiple bands on a wire, and your tuner is after the amp, before the antenna. Do not use a tuner between the radio and amp, dont need it.
tuner in bypass mode means I have an antenna with a 1.4:1 SWR or lower, and I dont need to add the tuner circuitry inline, when a 1.4:1 swr is perfectly acceptable...So I run it is bypass mode, power goes straight through it, no tuning circuitry involved..... Currently, I do not run a tuner at all, i have a brand new tuner in the box, my antennas are all resonant, so thats one less thing I need in line..
OK Thanks. I am using a 73'end fed multi-band antenna, so I assume I will have to tune when I change bands.
My tuner is a LDG AT-1000PROII auto tuner. Not sure how the auto part work with the new amp. Any idea here?
John Frost Simply put the amplifier in standby Then tune your antenna with your auto tuner as you normally would. Once it’s tuned, you can put your amplifier in the operate position. if you don’t have the interface cable, ensure your amplifier is switched to the correct band.
Not that I'm gonna try it, but what happens if you key up at 27 mhz on this amp? Ide love it for the ham bands regardless.
I totally want to use this for 27Mhz but I don't know I dont have this amp it was just borrowed
@@HamRadioConceptsha, that would be fun to explain, "sorry man, I blew your amp up keying it up on 11m" either way, enjoyed the vid. Hope to hear you on the bands!
Manual says amp automatically disables above 25MHz and below 28MHz and that there is no way to circumvent it.
@@robertwalling9010 interesting.
@@HamRadioConcepts these amps WONT run on 11M. Believe the instruction manual states that
Wue hermoso no tener dinero y comprarme uno....
Nice video!
Question
On mine, I noticed that with the switch in the PAB mode, there is a small indication on the ALC/HV scale on the right indicator. The needle rises to about a 5 on that scale. Is this normal, or is there an inbalance that should be corrected?
Also, the instructions say to start with the ALC knob turned up to 10, but nothing about turning it down later. Yours was on zero.
Thanks
ALC light is supposed to flicker when operating. Usually around 2 is where that is but can vary
Let me guess...about $2500-$3000? No way can I pay for the crazy prices these things go for. I will settle for opening the window and shouting louder.
DO A VIDEO ABOUT ELECTRICAL GROUNDING LID
Make the bed !
That antenna switch sounds cheap & clunky at best.Frank has a handle also? Wonder what Channel he talks on? Let's leave the handles down on 11 meters PLEASE! Also we have another handle from Ralph.I use 35 watts of drive with my ICOM PW-1 & get about 1200 watts PEP on all HF bands & 1100 watts PEP on 6 meters & never touch the amplifier & it will also do well over 1500 watts with 75 watts of drive but why stress the amp when nobody can hear or see the difference anyway?The fans are very loud in that amp also.I owned an ALS-600 before & it spent more time on the UPS truck than at my home in my shack.The 1306 is nothing more than TWO ALS-600 amplifiers that Ameritron added 6 meters to.I'd be scared to death too own one of those because I'd keep having flashbacks of the ALS-600.Hope they hold up but I have some serious doubts about them.Putting your test on TH-cam just opens you up for comments that you may not agree with so remember that before posting again.I'll stick with my PW-1 & all in one box including the tuner & power supply because it works perfect with my ICOM 7600 driving it. LOL {:>)
CTR engineering / the original Ameritron can fix these issues you are talking about. It’s a build issue as time has went along with the MFJ corruption on these amps. My 1306 has blown 3 times due to just throwing another FET in it and not prepping the heat sink correctly.
careful....1.5kw is LIMIT hihi
If the LEGAL LIMIT is 1500 watts P.E.P. That means in that entire video you were running ILLEGAL ! Not smart.
technically you are right but I don't think there is any problem during our testing, ralph has been operating legal limit for 50 years so I know he knows what he is doing.. myself I do not use power in the 12 years I have been in radio, I like to keep it challenging from qrp to 100 watts.. but don't worry about us in this video demo, worry about the guy in south America running henry 3K..
I see C'B'ers running some of the WORST splattery harmonic ridden horrible old sweep tube linear amps at 1,000-3,000 watts on TH-cam all the time, and no one has kicked their doors in yet. There were a few excursions above 1500 watts in this demo, but hardly anything overtly deliberate enough to even raise an eyebrow at. If you want to complain, go watch some of these CB jockeys with their empty heads, half full beer cans and overflowing ash trays rolling around on the repair bench as they blast 5000 watts AM on 11 meters with some backroom manufactured export only ___tbox linear amp. My favorite is the one with the home brew Eimac 4-400 who blows the main breaker in his house. Some of their favorite coveted prize treasured vintage linear amps, were made by companies that the FCC went after with hammer and tongs. The FCC shut these manufacturers down because their products were so poorly designed they splattered all over the place, and had harmonic emissions that interfered with EVERYTHING owned by everyone within a mile radius of the antenna. I don't begrudge a truck driver a solid state bootleg transceiver he can crank up to 50 or 100 watts while he is up in a remote mountain pass in rural New Mexico, but these idiots at home in the suburbs with a 10,000 watt CB linear amp? Yeah, the FCC should seize ALL their equipment, including all their test gear and repair tools, and slap them with a hefty fine.
HAHAHA Thank You. We were only trying to test this amplifier hard. That's what a lot of people want to know when they spend that much money, right? RIP Mr.Ralph K2KIT, he passed a couple of months ago.
The FCC doesn't take action based on what some person's needle indicates in a video.
Complicated field strength measurements would have to be done with certified equipment that would hold up in a court of law at or near the person's transmitter location to eliminate any band propagation variables if they got any complaints about a person running illegal power. Quit pushing the panic button over minor stuff.
I doubt he was getting anywhere near 1500 watts at the antenna. However, he was probably splattering like an SOB! LOL!
Looked this callsign up...K2KIT expired. SK maybe?
Yes, sad to report K2KIT is now a SK, as of Aug 2020.