Howard, you have a very good point about the new gear. It is either not as
well built or it isn't being bench tested. Actually, I think it is a
combination of both. I remember the day when the manufacturers would bench
test every piece of gear they produced. From my understanding, they do not
do that anymore.
My old Alpha 374 amp wasn't nearly as fancy as the ALS-1306, and it had
three big tubes in the final, but it was built like a brick outhouse, and it
never gave me one nanosecond of trouble. However, I understand the newest
Alpha amps have several problems and many of them have been returned back to
the factory for repairs. They are really fancy and have all kinds of bells
and whistles on them, but if they don't work right and have problems, all
the bells and whistles in the world don't make them worth the big prices.
The good news is that I have my loop antenna and my TS-590 and can still get
on the air with a pretty solid signal. The ALS-1306 was just frosting on the
delicious cake!! <Smile>
Ron, K8HSY
-----Original Message-----
From: howard kaufman [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, February 12, 2016 7:46 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: RE: New Ameritron ALS-1306 goes back to Ameritron!
Either not built as well, or not bench tested as well.
-----Original Message-----
From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Dr. Ronald E. Milliman
Sent: Thursday, February 11, 2016 10:05 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: New Ameritron ALS-1306 goes back to Ameritron!
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Well, I finally got my new ALS-1306 operational today. However, I was
chasing DX on 20 meters CW and suddenly my ALS-1306 went dead! I was only
driving it with 25 watts, and it was running a cool 500 watts output. I
immediately checked the Operator's manual to see what it said about
resetting it if it just totally kicked off. It said to wait a few minutes
with it powered completely down, and it would reset itself. That is what I
did, but it never reset. I called Palma over to see if she could spot
anything, and she said there were a couple of lights flashing, but the most
important finding was that in the HV1 voltage position of the meter, it read
50 volts, which it should, but in the HV2 position, it read zero, when it
should read 50 volts just like in the HV1 position. I picked up the phone
and called Ameritron and told the service tech what happened and what the
meter was reading, and he immediately told me that I most likely had a blown
final. There are 8 transistors in the final, and he said that if just one of
those transistors went bad, it would shut down the whole amp, and I would
get the kind of reading I was getting from the meter. So, we boxed it back
up in the same box it came in and shipped it back to Ameritron this
afternoon.
I am totally stunned! My newest TS-590s was defective coming right out of
the box, and I had to ship it to the Kenwood service center to be repaired
under its warranty, and now, my new ALS-1306 blew up within a couple of
hours of getting it connected up and operational. Whatever protective
circuits it has in it certainly didn't protect it from whatever caused the
final to die!
Based upon my very limited recent experiences, I tend to conclude that the
gear just isn't being built as well as it used to be. I wonder just how much
cheap Chinese parts are going into these new rigs?
Ron, K8HSY
Dr. Ronald E. Milliman
Retired Professor of Marketing
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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=3DEN-US link=3Dblue =
vlink=3Dpurple><div class=3DWordSection1><p class=3DMsoNormal>Well, I =
finally got my new ALS-1306 operational today. However, I was chasing DX =
on 20 meters CW and suddenly my ALS-1306 went dead! I was only driving = it
with 25 watts, and it was running a cool 500 watts output. I = immediately
checked the Operator’s manual to see what it said = about resetting it
if it just totally kicked off. It said to wait a few = minutes with it
powered completely down, and it would reset itself. That = is what I did,
but it never reset. I called Palma over to see if she = could spot anything,
and she said there were a couple of lights = flashing, but the most
important finding was that in the HV1 voltage = position of the meter, it
read 50 volts, which it should, but in the HV2 = position, it read zero,
when it should read 50 volts just like in the =
HV1 position. I picked up the phone and called Ameritron and told the =
service tech what happened and what the meter was reading, and he =
immediately told me that I most likely had a blown final. There are 8 =
transistors in the final, and he said that if just one of those =
transistors went bad, it would shut down the whole amp, and I would get =
the kind of reading I was getting from the meter. So, we boxed it back = up
in the same box it came in and shipped it back to Ameritron this =
afternoon. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p =
class=3DMsoNormal>I am totally stunned! My newest TS-590s was defective =
coming right out of the box, and I had to ship it to the Kenwood service =
center to be repaired under its warranty, and now, my new ALS-1306 blew = up
within a couple of hours of getting it connected up and operational. =
Whatever protective circuits it has in it certainly didn’t protect =
it from whatever caused the final to die! <o:p></o:p></p><p =
class=3DMsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=3DMsoNormal>Based upon = my
very limited recent experiences, I tend to conclude that the gear = just
isn’t being built as well as it used to be. I wonder just how = much
cheap Chinese parts are going into these new rigs?<o:p></o:p></p><p =
class=3DMsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=3DMsoNormal>Ron, =
K8HSY<o:p></o:p></p><p class=3DMsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p =
class=3DMsoNormal>Dr. Ronald E. Milliman<o:p></o:p></p><p =
class=3DMsoNormal>Retired Professor of =
Marketing<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>
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