AMERITRON AL-80A User manual

AMERITRON AL-8OA
HIG
FIPOWER
LINEAR
AMPLIFIER
i
INSTRUCTION
MANUAL
TheAmentronAL-BOA
LinearAmplif
ieris
designed
for
over
1000Watts
outputSSB
PEP(850
WattsoutputonCW)
withhighefficiencyandtotal
reliability.TheAL-BOAcoverstheamateur
radio
bands
160through15
meters.ltalso
featureswidefrequency
coverage
forMARSandother
srrvicesauthorized
tooperateathigh
power.
TheAL-BOAusesanEimac3-5002
high-mu
triode
in
aclassAB, ground-
ed
grid
circurt.
A built-in
ALC
circuit
prevents
theamplifier
output
from
flat-toppingif
theexciter
gain
is
inadvertantlysettoohrgh.
TheAL-BOA
isfactorywiredfor117V,
50/60Hz
primary
line
voltage.
-AMEREERSDN:
F-1
03!

VEI.iTILATION
-l-he
AL-804ventilation
system
has
been
designed
and
tested
to maintain
tube
sealtemperatures
safeiy
below
thetube
manufacturer'srating
when
operatedwithin
our
guidelines.
Toinsure
proper
ventilation
in
your
installation,
observe
the
following:
1. Donot
blockor restrict
the
ventilation
holesin
the
cover.
2.The
exhaustairllowis
over
50CFM.Do
not
"assist"
the
airflowunless
the
fan
used
exceeds
theAL-B0A
blower
CFMbya factor
ol2:1.
3. Donotmount
additionalfans
ontheAL-BOA
cabinet.
4. The
exhaust
airwill
become
quite
warm
athigh
power
levels.
Donot
place
anyheat
sensitive
objects
intheexhaust
air
stream.
POWER
CCNNECTIONS
TheAL-BOAis
supptiedwith
aNEMA
5-i
5p
ptug
for1
17VAC
operation.
TheAL-80A
can
bemodified
tor
234VAC
opera-
tion.lf
you
desiretomake
thismodification,
two
jumper
wires
must
bemoved
to
new
locations
ontheterminal
block.
(see
rllustration
below)
The
terminal
blockislocated
ontheleft
stdeof
the
rear
panel.
The
rviring
between
the
fuse
boxand
theamplifierA.C.
outlet
must
be
No.
12
gauge
orlargerin
order
to
supplythe
cur-
rent
required
(15
amperes)
without
asignificant
dropinline
voltage.
The
117V
outlet
should
befused
for20
amperes.
ALC
Usea shieldedaudio-type
cable
to connect
the
0-20
volt
negative
ALC
voltage
tothe
transmitter
ALC
input.
Consult
the
transmitter
manual
for
proper
connection
details.
The
amplifier
must
be
properly
tuned
on
CW
before
adjusting
the
Proper
adjustmentis achreved
as follows:
1. Setthe
MULTIMETER
switch
to
the PO position.
2. Set the transmitter
audiocontrol
about
200/o
hiqher
thannormal.
3. Speakinto
themicrophone
in a normal
tone
ol
voice
and
observe
thereading
on the
0-2000
R.F.
Watts
scale.
4.Adjust
theALCADJ control
on the rear
panel
until
the
amplifieris not
clipping
on an RF
scope.
5.lfan
RFscopeis
not
available,
adlust
theALC
control
so
theaudio
peaks
donot
exceed
the
single
tone
output
of
1000
watts.
METERING
FUNCTIONS
The
AL-BOA
has
two
illuminatedpanel
meters.
The
Grrd
Cur_
rent
meter
provides
a
continous
reading
of
grid
current.
This
is
an
exclusive
feature
of
Ameritron
amplifiers.
Grid
current
willindicateproper
operation
of
the
amplifier
better
than
any
other
parameter.
Do
not
exceed
200
mA
on
thismeter
dur_
Ing
operation
of
the
amplifier.
The
other
meterreads
plate
Voltage
(HV),
Plate
Current
(lp),
peak
R.F.
Watts(pO)
and
ALC.
The
functions
areexplained
asfoJlows:
PLATE
VOLTAGE
(HV):
Read
DC. ptare
Vottage
on rhe
0-3500
Volt
scale.
This
scaleis 100
voltsper
division.
lrlor-
mal
voltages
are
3100
voltsno
load,2700
vcils
fullload.
PLATE
CURRENT(lp):
Read
ptate
Current
on
the
0-700
mA
scale.
This scale is 20 mA per division.
The average
operating
current
rating
ofthe
3-5002
is
400
mA
maximum.
PEAK
R.F.WATTS(PO):
Read
peakR.F,
Wats on the
0-2000
scale.The
scale
has
50
watt
divisions
below
i0O0
watts
and100
watt
divisions
above
1000
watts.
ALC:
In
this
position
themeter
indicates
theALC
detector
voltage.
lt provides
a relative drive
level
indication
of 200
watts
full
scale.Theapproximate
drivelevel
(average,
not
PEP)
can
beestimated
bydividing
the
peak
R.F.Watts
scale
by
10.
234 VOLT
OPERATION
IMPORTANT
Donotmake
any
modifications
to theAL-B0A
cir-
cuit beforechecking
with our engineering
staff.
lmproper
changes
may
damagethe
AL-B0A
and
void
the warranty.
I I7 VOLT OPERATION

Connection Diogrom
To Antenno
@ atc ao.r
IO AMP
ONtY
To Eorth
Ground
INSTALLATION
Connect
theRF
output
ofthe
transmitter
totheRFlN
connector
on
the
rear
ofthe
AL-BOAwith
50
ohm
coax.
Con-
nect
theexisting
station
antenna
system
tothe
RF
OUTcon-
nector
on the
AL-80A
withRG-8
typecoax.
Connect
the
RELAY
phono
jack
ontherear
of
the
AL-BOA
to
the
normal-
ly
open
terminals
ofthe
RELAY
jack
onthetransmitter.
The
RELAY
jack
on
theAL-80A
has
positive
12VDC
open
circuit
and
provides
100
MA
of
currentwhen
pulled
to
ground.
Con-
nectas
short
aground lead
as
possible
from
a good
earlh
ground
to
the
GND
terminal.
The
12V
connection
ontherear
panelprovides
12VDC
at
100 MA maximum
to operate
external
dial lamps or
accessories.
tti
i
Tronsmitter or
Tronsceiver
RFOUT RELAY ALC

MUI.TIMETER GRIO METER
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AL-BOA
AMPLIFIER
PL
ATE
LOAO
MULTIMETER XMT
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5WtTCH
TUNINGINSTRUCTIONS
Follow
the
instructionsrnnumencal
order.
lf
the
various
meterreadings
are
different
than
indicatedin
the
instructions,
checktheconnections
from
theexcitertothe
amplifier
and
make
suretheyarecorrect.
Consulttho
manualfor
tho
excrter
if necessary.
'1
. Set
theAL-80Afront
panel
switchesas follows:
PWR
-
OFFto
OFF
OPR
-
STBYlo STBY
MULTIMETER
to
HV
Plug
the
A.C.line
cord
into
the
proper
voltage
outlet.TheAL-80A
is
factorywired
for
117VAC
50/60
Hz
operation.
Set
the
PWR-OFF
switchtoPWR.Themeterlamps should
light
and
theblower
shouldstart.
Read
the0-3500V
scaleonthe
multimeter.
ltshould
indicate
3100
voltsnominal.
4. With lhe
amplifier
stillonstandby,tunetheexciterinto
the
normal
5Oohm
loadaccordingtoth€manufacturer's
instructions.
Turn
the
exctterdrive
lully
downaftertuning.
qPlace
thebandswitchonthesameband
as
the
exciter,thePLATE
tuning
conlrol
inthedial
range
for
the
band
selected
andtheLOADcontrol
atthe
recommended
point
for
theband
in use.
With
the
exciterdrivestillat
zero,
place
the
MULTIMETER
switch
in
the
lp
position.
Observe
the
0-700mA
scale.
Itshould
read
zero Place theSTBY-OPR switchin theOPR
position.
POWER OPTRATE-
SWITCH STANDEY

7. Key
theexciter
(no
drive)andobserve
theplate current
onthe 0-700mAscale.Platecurrent
should
now
reacj
between50 mA and100mA.
B. Applyonlyenough
drive
toindicate
a grid current
of5C
mAoran
lp
ofnomore
than
200
mA.
Tune
the
pLATE
controlformaximurn
grid
current.
ltisnormalfor
the
plate
currenttodip
atthis
point.
lfthe
gnd
current
goes
over
100mA
reduce
thedrive
at
once.
Unkevtheexciter.
9. PlacetheMULTIMETERswitchin
thePO
position
andobserve
the0-2000
peak
R.F.
vrattsscale.Apply
the
sanre
driveagain
andadlust
theLOADandPLATE
controlsfor
maximumoutput
on the
0-2000
scale.
10.
Increasethedrive
until
125mA
of
grid
current
is
indicated.
Adjust
theLOAD
and
PLATE
controls
againfor
max-
imum
output.
The
grid
currentwill
be
lower
now.
11. Advance
the
drive
to
200mAof
grid
current.Ad1ust
the
LOAUandPLATE
contrcls
{or
maximum
output
power
(Repeat
thissteptwice.)
The
output
shouldbearound
I000wattsnor.v
withiO0wattsof exciter
power.
12.Apply
enoughdrivetoindicate eithert000watts
of
output
power
or 200mA
of grid
current.
Re-peak
the
LOAD
. andPLATE
controls.The
grid
currentmust
notbe
over200
mA,the
plate
current
over55OmA
or
the
ouipur
over
.1200
watts.
13. In
CWoperationthe
drive
power
shouldbereduced
until
the
plate
current
is400
mAor less.
For
SSBoperation
themodulation
crest
shouldnot
exceed
400
mA
plate
current,
100mA
grid
currenr
or 1200watts
PEP
output
TUNING CHART (Typicol)
FREQUENCY BANDSWITCH PLATE CONTROI, LOAD CONTROL
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1
e
::
AL-80AX(export
model)
I
The
AL-80A
will
operate
withfull
output
on allwARC bands
except
24.5
MHz.
The
AL-BOAX
(export
modet)
wiil
operare
with
fuil
output
on ail
wARC bands.
STANDARD
FREQUENCY
COVERAGE
AL.8OA
160
meters 1.8-2.0
MHz
80 meters 3.3-4.4
MHz
40meters 6.3-8.3
MHz
20melers 9.5-15.5
MHz
'15
meters 15.5-21
.5MHz
AL.sOAX
160
meters
80meters
40meters
20 meters
15
meters
10
meters
1.8-2.0
MHz
3.3-4.4MHz
6.3-8.3
MHz
9.5-15.5
MHz
15.5-21.5
MHz
2a-29 MHz

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