any advice for NEw owner of and Ameritron al-811

[kb9rqz]

just got one over weekend my wives idea than mine

just got it outof the box and puzzling through thedirection which seem straigth forward but I have yet to find any directions that were realy complete

[N2RJ]

I have the 4 tube one - the 811H.

First word of advice - don't use the amp all the time. Really! It's not needed for every contact.

Second word of advice - get a watt meter. Doesn't have to be a bird. But it has to be reasonably accurate. I use a big cross needle Daiwa CN 801. Good enough for ham use. I have no idea why Ameritron didn't include one on the front panel, but you need one.

Tuning is super easy. Follow the manual. Warm up for 10-20 seconds minimum. Switch to your desired band, use the approx settings in the manual (or your own set, see below), start with LOW drive (about 25w), adjust for max power out using the plate and load controls. Then increase your drive (50w or so) and repeat. Go until you get the max power out then back your drive down to get the desired power level. Watch your grid current. I cannot stress how important that is! If your grid current is too high for too long, you'll be buying new tubes very shortly. If necessary, increase the load control to reduce grid current then peak up with the plate. Apply more drive if necessary, but don't exceed the max (70-80w).

With a resonant antenna, (or a dummy load) load up on each band. Note your settings in the paper for each band (on 40 and 75/80 you may have different settings for each edge of the band). Stick it somewhere on your amp or nearby. That way you can change bands somewhat quickly.

Using an amp is easy. You just have to be careful.

BTW, what part of the directions were incomplete? Connecting the amp is fairly straightforward -

Rig ant jack to RF in, Watt meter RF in to amp RF out, antenna to watt meter RF out.

KEY or RELAY to your rig's keying circuit (consult your rig's manual). ALC to your rig's ALC.

Oh, btw, a word about ALC - it's not necessary, but you should hook it up. Why? To prevent from accidentally overdriving your amp. Here's how you set it. Disconnect the ALC. Load up. Turn the ALC to min (I think it's counterclockwise). Apply carrier (CW) then quickly back off the ALC until the rig just starts to reduce power. Then at that point just turn it a smidgen back to when your rig stops cutting back. That's it.

[K1OU]

I have the 4 tube one - the 811H.

First word of advice - don't use the amp all the time. Really! It's not needed for every contact.

Second word of advice - get a watt meter. Doesn't have to be a bird. But it has to be reasonably accurate. I use a big cross needle Daiwa CN 801. Good enough for ham use. I have no idea why Ameritron didn't include one on the front panel, but you need one.

Tuning is super easy. Follow the manual. Warm up for 10-20 seconds minimum. Switch to your desired band, use the approx settings in the manual (or your own set, see below), start with LOW drive (about 25w), adjust for max power out using the plate and load controls. Then increase your drive (50w or so) and repeat. Go until you get the max power out then back your drive down to get the desired power level. Watch your grid current. I cannot stress how important that is! If your grid current is too high for too long, you'll be buying new tubes very shortly. If necessary, increase the load control to reduce grid current then peak up with the plate. Apply more drive if necessary, but don't exceed the max (70-80w).

With a resonant antenna, (or a dummy load) load up on each band. Note your settings in the paper for each band (on 40 and 75/80 you may have different settings for each edge of the band). Stick it somewhere on your amp or nearby. That way you can change bands somewhat quickly.

Using an amp is easy. You just have to be careful.

BTW, what part of the directions were incomplete? Connecting the amp is fairly straightforward -

Rig ant jack to RF in, Watt meter RF in to amp RF out, antenna to watt meter RF out.

KEY or RELAY to your rig's keying circuit (consult your rig's manual). ALC to your rig's ALC.

Oh, btw, a word about ALC - it's not necessary, but you should hook it up. Why? To prevent from accidentally overdriving your amp. Here's how you set it. Disconnect the ALC. Load up. Turn the ALC to min (I think it's counterclockwise). Apply carrier (CW) then quickly back off the ALC until the rig just starts to reduce power. Then at that point just turn it a smidgen back to when your rig stops cutting back. That's it.

I would definitely consider swapping out the 811 tubes and replacing them with 572B's. It's a direct pinout replacement, and the amp will run a LOT cooler. Will you get any more power out? No, but you'll have an amp that will last for years.

[al2i]

my wives idea than mine

Have you ever considered wife-swapping? ;)

[kb9rqz]

my wives idea than mine

Have you ever considered wife-swapping? ;)
gee I thought we were suposed to keep the place PG-13

[kb9rqz]

I have the 4 tube one - the 811H.

First word of advice - don't use the amp all the time. Really! It's not needed for every contact.

Second word of advice - get a watt meter. Doesn't have to be a bird. But it has to be reasonably accurate. I use a big cross needle Daiwa CN 801. Good enough for ham use. I have no idea why Ameritron didn't include one on the front panel, but you need one.

Tuning is super easy. Follow the manual. Warm up for 10-20 seconds minimum. Switch to your desired band, use the approx settings in the manual (or your own set, see below), start with LOW drive (about 25w), adjust for max power out using the plate and load controls. Then increase your drive (50w or so) and repeat. Go until you get the max power out then back your drive down to get the desired power level. Watch your grid current. I cannot stress how important that is! If your grid current is too high for too long, you'll be buying new tubes very shortly. If necessary, increase the load control to reduce grid current then peak up with the plate. Apply more drive if necessary, but don't exceed the max (70-80w).

With a resonant antenna, (or a dummy load) load up on each band. Note your settings in the paper for each band (on 40 and 75/80 you may have different settings for each edge of the band). Stick it somewhere on your amp or nearby. That way you can change bands somewhat quickly.

Using an amp is easy. You just have to be careful.

BTW, what part of the directions were incomplete? Connecting the amp is fairly straightforward -

Rig ant jack to RF in, Watt meter RF in to amp RF out, antenna to watt meter RF out.

KEY or RELAY to your rig's keying circuit (consult your rig's manual). ALC to your rig's ALC.

Oh, btw, a word about ALC - it's not necessary, but you should hook it up. Why? To prevent from accidentally overdriving your amp. Here's how you set it. Disconnect the ALC. Load up. Turn the ALC to min (I think it's counterclockwise). Apply carrier (CW) then quickly back off the ALC until the rig just starts to reduce power. Then at that point just turn it a smidgen back to when your rig stops cutting back. That's it.

so far I am not using it every contact but somehow I am not pronoucing "q" or 'qubec" right the number of time I was hearing a response calling me "KB9RZ" was dis heartening

My problem with the drections is SI now know american made a slight packing mistake and the intructions were a different amp in their line. they fixed it with many apologies


Now Honestly given the fact that a Dummy load should always load up 1to 1 and the real anttena does not always why does one use a dummy load to tune. Sorry I simply don't understand

[N2RJ]

so far I am not using it every contact but somehow I am not pronoucing "q" or 'qubec" right the number of time I was hearing a response calling me "KB9RZ" was dis heartening

My problem with the drections is SI now know american made a slight packing mistake and the intructions were a different amp in their line. they fixed it with many apologies


Now Honestly given the fact that a Dummy load should always load up 1to 1 and the real anttena does not always why does one use a dummy load to tune. Sorry I simply don't understand

As for why you'd use the dummy load instead of the antenna - it's to not cause unneccessary QRM. Tune into the dummy load, switch to the antenna and then if necessary make minor adjustments. That way you don't needlessly QRM people while you're slowly tuning up your amp.

[w2amr]

so far I am not using it every contact but somehow I am not pronoucing "q" or 'qubec" right the number of time I was hearing a response calling me "KB9RZ" was dis heartening

My problem with the drections is SI now know american made a slight packing mistake and the intructions were a different amp in their line. they fixed it with many apologies


Now Honestly given the fact that a Dummy load should always load up 1to 1 and the real anttena does not always why does one use a dummy load to tune. Sorry I simply don't understand

As for why you'd use the dummy load instead of the antenna - it's to not cause unneccessary QRM. Tune into the dummy load, switch to the antenna and then if necessary make minor adjustments. That way you don't needlessly QRM people while you're slowly tuning up your amp.
What fun is that? :P

[ad4mg]

so far I am not using it every contact but somehow I am not pronoucing "q" or 'qubec" right the number of time I was hearing a response calling me "KB9RZ" was dis heartening

My problem with the drections is SI now know american made a slight packing mistake and the intructions were a different amp in their line. they fixed it with many apologies


Now Honestly given the fact that a Dummy load should always load up 1to 1 and the real anttena does not always why does one use a dummy load to tune. Sorry I simply don't understand
Actually, there is an explanation. The proper sequence is to:

1. Tune the antenna, if necessary, but using only minimum power from your rig only (Use enough power to assure accuracy from your SWR meter! Normally 30-50 watts is sufficient for most meters).
2. Tune the amp into the dummy load. This matches the tank circuit of the amp to a 50 ohm load at the drive level you wish to operate, which the antenna should now be tuned for as well

You may need to "touch up" the amp tuning slightly, but if the dummy load presented a proper load to the amp, probably not necessary. Step #1 minimizes QRM on the air, step #2 minimizes wear on your amp tubes. After figuring out the settings for each band, it should take only a second or two of keydown time to tune the amplifier to that dummy load.

The first amplifier I owned used sweep tubes. Mistreat those babies, and they get toasted. I learned very quickly how to get tuned up and on the air!