I have a KPA500, and an Alpha 8410. The 8410, running a pair of 4cx1000A tetrodes in conventional AB1, can deal with rather high SWR directly without grid current that can destroy a tube. However, if any of the complex supporting monitoring circuitry or protection circuity goes blewwy, one needs the nearby manufacturer who will actually have the parts to fix it.
Elecraft is all there for you and easy to get to. With higher freight charges for all the extra weight and size, so is Alpha. The crucial element is whether it can be serviced in the US by someone who will have the parts and can honor a warranty. For me it was a good thing that the Alpha boys were around because mine suffered a very weird blowup in the screen circuitry that took a lot of stuff with it. Alpha fixed it, and it's back on line. Who's the servicing in the US for Amptec and what kind of a reputation do they have? Funny you would come on the Elecraft reflector to ask about Amptec. Time to go Google and chase leads. Then there's the other thing, that you only need the extra S unit for QSO's that are at the edge of serviceable propagation. I had a friend that sold his Acom 2000 after he had his KPA500 for a while. Breaking a pileup is way more between the ears than between the conductors on the power cord. Good luck in any event. 73, Guy K2AV On Fri, May 27, 2016 at 8:05 PM, Mike Rhodes <[email protected]> wrote: > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:[email protected] > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > Message delivered to [email protected] > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [email protected]
