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AL-1500 2x mod

Great info here. Neighbor has a Commander 1200 amp using a single 3CX800 and it was acting erratic. Doing a "Easter Egg Inspection" we found two connections in the Pi network NOT soldered. Went home and got my 150 watt soldering iron, all fixed. But the tube looked like it got real hot and the Teflon chimney looked like it was just starting to burn. Found the internal Fan clogged with hair, ook, gook, goo, and dirt. 27,000 Q-Tips and a bunch of acetone the fan all cleaned up and pretty. I suspect the stock internal fan is not big enough for big straps or even ham guy QSO's.

Added a 5 inch muffin fan on the of the amp to suck air out of the amp, as that's were the hot air from the tube was exhausted. Adding the fan was a big help in keeping the amp cool for SSB and RTTY. Yeah the stock fan isn't cutting the mustard!

Jay in the Great Mojave Desert.... "Next Gas 150 Miles"
 
I have read a fair amount about the amp online but haven't seen anyone mentioning the blower as "weak". I have seen where they complained about the noise but haven't seen it as a "weak" point. I have seen a lot complaints about the meter lights.

Did you have a personal bad experience with a blower on one?
Keep in mind that the Eimac specs are for a 50c ambient Room intake temp , that’s 122 degrees Fahrenheit.

Specs change with cooler intake temp. Good tool to check to see what you actually have for pressure is a magnehelic gauge.

Adding any sort of back pressure to exhaust would require a increase in blower size , hence why radio station pa’s and other commercial pa’s generally have oversized blowers.

Some , especially broadcast pa’s also tend to be housed at a higher elevation , which as the spec sheet states also requires a increase in blower size.

Extensive work must be done to the rest of the pa to handle a doubling of output. And for 3 dB is it really worth it.

The 8877 is not a cheap tube now a days, a new 3x6 from econco can be had for about 1200 bucks .
 
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Apro questo vecchio argomento perché ho recentemente acquistato un al1500, e sto cercando tutte le informazioni possibili dal web.
Probabilmente dentro PA hai visto spazio e lamiera tagliata per 2x, ma forse e' per due 800 o 3/500z..
Con due tubi, 8877, anche il circuito Pigreco sarebbe da modificare.
Qualche collega riparatore dice che i
condensatori sotto vuoto rispetto a quelli a lamelle sarebbero migliori e gia' necessari visto che il C tune e già a limite per un solo tubo (4,5kv)
Inoltre sempre un circuito che collega due tubi (Push pull) ha almeno una perdita di 1db, quindi è sempre preferibile cambiare il finale con uno ma più potente e' performante in linea di massima, (3cx2500a3 ) hihi
Credo che la unica soluzione, su Al1500 sia mettere la cpx1500 ma questo ha senso solo se la tua 8877 e' vecchia.. (la nuova tensione del filamento del tubo cpx e' 5,5v) e solo se hai già effettuato queste mods che scriverò a seguire.
1) usare circa 4000v dal trasformatore; se hai 240+volt e' facile ottenere, basta connettere filo green220/230v del trasformatore primario.
2) evitare che la tensione scenda sotto carico dunque (nuovi)! condensatori elettrolitici per 4000/5000volt e @100uF e le resistenze nuove.
3) linea elettrica corta e abbondante spessore dei fili perché la caduta di tensione reale potrebbe essere facilmente di 10volt = 5% che potrebbe essere una riduzione indesiderata di 300/400 volt su potenza anodica.
4) per un uso cw e rtty/dgt il trasformatore e' inadeguato già per 8877, a 2kw+ RF out,
ma per un uso in ssb potresti leggere facilmente 3,5kw pep, con cpx e appunto conviene avere Pigreco sotto vuoto e relè rf adeguati e anche rly3 e rly2 per potere durare nel tempo ed evitare sorprese durante qso. RLY 3+RLY2
sono adeguati per 3,5/4 Kw in ingresso dalla rete elettrica, questo è un problema frequente, si consumano a circa 2000H. e andrebbero raddoppiati 2(rly2+rly3)
a lo spazio interno non c'è..
Questa è la mia opinione
e dunque già che stai restaurando uno vecchio, conviene acquistare materiale migliore, quindi se al1500 e' originale e vecchio (1500H+) difficilmente puoi vedere 2kw RF out, ma se e' restaurato e migliorato a 4000kvolt, anche da una sola 8877 potrai leggere in RF, 2,5kw+ o 3kw per pochi secondi...
73 to all

Queste in foto, le mie migliorie , ma la tensione nella mia baracca e' solitamente di 220/225 volt e quindi non ottengo nulla più che 3500volt noload :(
mi servirebbe forse un al1500 con T1Jap...
1000011423.jpg
 
Better option is buying a higher output amplifier. Less money & less issues in the long run. How much is a Half S Unit worth?
 
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I use to get asked "how much to put that second tube in my AL1500? I would answer the price of a second amplifier plus 800 bucks labor to move both power supplies into one cabinet, and both tubes into the other. To double the RF power output you need to double the DC power supply capacity. Not enough room to do that in one cabinet.

The second empty tube socket opening reflects the money MFJ saved by using the same chassis for either a one-tube or two-tube amplifier. The only 'second' tube found in that type amplifier was a 3-500Z. Both the AL-1200 and AL-1500 had a cover plate over the empty socket opening. Fabricating a separate chassis base with only one tube socket opening would have been more expensive than adding a cover plate and making just one sub chassis type with two openings.

73
 
The only real benefit of adding another tube to an amplifier and not upgrading its plate supply is that you double the dissipation of the amplifier. Not the power out. This will aid in more demanding duty cycle operation.
 

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