AMERITRON AL-80A HIGH POWER LINEAR AMPLIFIER INSTRUCTION MANUAL The Ameritron AL-80A Linear Amplifier is designed for over 1000 Watts output SSB PEP (850 Watts output or CW) with high efficiency and total reliability. The AL-80A covers the amateur radio bands 160 through 15 meters. It also features wide frequency coverage for MARS and other services authorized to operate at high power. The AL-80A uses an Eimac 3-500Z high-mu triode in a class ABy ground- ed grid circuit. A built-in ALC circuit prevents the amplifier output from flat-topping if the exciter gain is inadvertantly set too high. The AL-80A is factory wired for 117V, 50/60 Hz primary line voltage. =a AMERITRON— PRIME INSTRUMENTS, INC 00s Wattord Avenue # Cleveland, Gio 44102 Printed in U.S.A, Fe1035VENTILATION The AL-80A ventilation system has been designed and tested to maintain tube seal temperatures safely below the tube manufacturer's rating when operated within our guidelines. ‘To insure proper ventilation in your installation, observe the following: 1. Do not block or restrict the ventilation holes in the cover. 2. The exhaust airflow is over 50 CFM. Do not “assist” the air flow unless the fan used exceeds the AL-80A blower CFM by a factor of 2:1. 3. Do not mount additional fans on the AL-80A cabinet. 4, The exhaust air will become quite warm at high power levels. Do not place any heat sensitive objects in the exhaust air stream. POWER CONNECTIONS The AL-80A is supplied with a NEMA 5-15P plug for 117 VAC operation. The AL-80A can be modified for 234 VAC opera- tion. If you desire to make this modification, two jumper wires ‘must be moved to new locations an the terminal block. (see illustration below) The terminal block is located on the left side of the rear panel. ‘The wiring between the fuse box and the amplifier A.C. outlet must be No. 12 gauge or larger in order to supply the cur- rent required (15 amperes) without a significant drop in line voltage. The 117V outlet should be fused for 20 amperes. 00 [oo T L T u T Si 12 [0 Of Too} 117 VOLT OPERATION 234 VOLT OPERATION ALC Use a shielded audio-type cable to connect the 0-20 volt negative ALC voltage to the transmitter ALC input. Consult the transmitter manual for proper connection details. The amplifier must be properly tuned on CW before adjusting the ALC. Proper adjustment is achieved as follows: 1, Set the MULTIMETER switch to the PO. position. 2. Set the transmitter audio control about 20% higher than normal 3. Speak into the microphone in a normal tone of voice and observe the reading on the 0-2000 ALF. Watts scale. 4, Adjust the ALC ADJ control on the rear panel until the amplifier is not clipping on an AF scope. 5. Itan RF scope is not available, adjust the ALC contral so the audio peaks do not exceed the single tone output of 1000 watts. METERING FUNCTIONS The AL-80A has two illuminated panel meters. The Grid Cur. rent meter provides a continous reading of grid current. This is an exclusive feature of Ameritron amplifiers. Grid current will indicate proper operation of the ampiifier better than any other parameter. Do not exceed 200 mA on this meter dur- ing operation of the amplifier. The other meter reads Plate Voltage (HV), Plate Current (Ip), Peak P.F. Watts (PO) and ‘ALC. The functions are explained as follows: PLATE VOLTAGE (HV): Read D.C. Plate Voltage on the 0-3500 Volt scale. This scale is 100 volts per division. Nor- ‘mal voltages are 3100 volts no load, 2700 volts full load, PLATE CURRENT (Ip): Read Plate Current on the 0-700 mA, scale. This scale is 20 mA per division. The average operating current rating of the 3-502 is 400 mA maximum, PEAK R.F. WATTS (PO): Read Peak R.F. Watts on the 0-2000 scale, The scale has $0 watt divisions below 1000 watts and 100 watt divisions above 1000 watts. ALC: In this position the meter indicates the ALC detector voltage. It provides a relative drive level indication of 200 watts full scale. The approximate drive level (average, not PEP) can be estimated by dividing the Peak R.F. Watts scale by 10. IMPORTANT Do not make any modifications to the AL-80A cir- cuit before checking with our engineering staff. Improper changes may damage the AL-80A and void the warranty.Connection Diagram RF OUT RELAY Transmitter or Transceiver ALC To Antenna RELAY ALC OUT @©arc aos @i2v GND To Earth Ground INSTALLATION Connect the RF output of the transmitter to the RF IN ‘connector on the rear of the AL-80A with 50 ohm coax. Con- rect the existing station antenna system to the RF OUT con- nector on the AL-80A with RG-8 type coax. Connect the RELAY phono jack on the rear of the AL-80A to the normal- ly open terminals of the RELAY jack on the transmitter. The RELAY jack on the AL-B0A has positive 12 VDC open circuit and provides 100 MA of current when pulled to ground. Con- ect as short a ground lead as possible from a good earth ground to the GND terminal The 12V connection on the rear panel provides 12 VDC at 100 MA maximum to operate external dial lamps or accessories.MULTIMETER nin METER AMERITRON AL-80A AMPLIFIER MULTIMETER c Fro PWR OPR HV ALC OFF ‘sTBY POWER OPERATE- switch STANDBY switch TUNING INSTRUCTIONS Follow the instructions in numerical order. If the various meter readings are different than indicated in the instructions, check the connections from the exciter to the amplifier and make sure they are correct. Consult the manual for the exciter if necessary. 1. Set the AL-B0A front panel switches as follows PWR - OFF to OFF OPR - STBY to STBY MULTIMETER to HV 2, Plug the A.C. line cord into the proper voltage outlet. The AL-80A is factory wired for 117VAC 50/60 Hz operation 3. Set the PWA-OFF switch to PWR. The meter lamps should light and the blower should start. Read the 0-3500V scale on the multimeter. It should indicate 3100 volts nominal, 4. With the amplifier stil on standby, tune the exciter into the normal 50 ohm load according to the manufacturer's instructions. Turn the exciter drive fully down after tuning. 5. Place the bandswitch on the same band as the exciter, the PLATE tuning control in the dial range for the band selected and the LOAD control at the recommended point for the band in use. 6. With the exciter drive stil at zero, place the MULTIMETER switch in the Ip position. Observe the 0-700 mA scale. it should read zero. Place the STBY-OPR switch in the OPR position.10. " 12. 13, Key the exciter (no drive) and observe the plate current on the 0-700 mA scale. Plate current should now read between 50 mA and 100 mA. Apply only enough drive to indicate a grid current of 50 mA or an Ip of no more than 200 mA. Tune the PLATE control for maximum grid current. tis normal for the plate current to dip at this point. I the grid current goes over 100 mA reduce the drive at once. Unkey the excite. Place the MULTIMETER switch in the PO position and observe the 0-2000 peak R.F. watts scale. Apply the same drive again and adjust the LOAD and:PLATE controls for maximum output on the 0-2000 scale. Increase the drive until 125mA of grid current is indicated. Adjust the LOAD and PLATE controls again for max imum output. The grid current will be lower now. ‘Advance the drive to 200 mA of grid current. Adjust the LOAD and PLATE controls for maximum output power. (Repeat this step twice.) The output should be around 1000 watts now with 100 watts of exciter power. Apply enough drive to indicate either 1000 watts of output power or 200 mA of grid current. Re-peak the LOAD and PLATE controls, The grid current must not be over 200 mA, the plate current over S50mA or the output over 1200 watts. In CW operation the drive power should be reduced until the plate current is 400 mA or less. For SSB operation the modulation crest should not exceed 400 mA plate current, 100 mA grid current or 1200 watts PEP output TUNING CHART (Typical) FREQUENCY BANDSWITCH PLATE CONTROL LOAD CONTROL 1.85 160 160 4 3.5 80 80 1y 3.8 80 80 3 7.2 40 40 5 14.2 20 20 5h 21.2 15 15 ty 824.5 10 20 7 428.7 10 15 8 + AL-BOAX (export model) ‘The AL-80A will operate with full output on all WARC bands except 24.5 MHz, The AL-B0AX (export model) will operate with full output on all WARC bands. STANDARD FREQUENCY COVERAGE AL-8OA AL-B0AX 160 meters. 1.8.2.0 MHz 160 meters 1.8-2.0 MHz 80 meters. 3.9-4.4 MHz 80 meters © 3.3.4.4 MHz 40 meters 6.38.3 MHz 40 meters 6.3-8.3 MHz 20 meters —9.5-15.5 MHz 20 meters 9.5-15.5 MHz 1S meters 15.5:21.5 MHz 15 meters 18.5-21.5 MHz 10 meters 24-29 MHzAc LY FO. IN METER BOARD FP-160 SL 2+6 poss rotary (AR-S63) 5% —! 2 RESISTORS IM OWNS, FILTER CAPACITOR BOARD FP-163 Ac. x RECTIFIER BOARD FP-161 ALC/POWER BOARD FP-162ae ee Fe-leL FP-162 FP-163 Li L2 0. nv. ue a. 4] AL-BOA Tuned Input Choi ieee ovtpet Ce = any “ crt 150 | 300 tan-osor | ast. tre-tas) | 2700 con 0 [100 cm-ivey | ate, crP-isoy | 20 non we sw anson | wee, «pay | x60 canon » | 2 ana | ae wea | 20 ance [50 aaa | se. eeasn | 0 onsen wor [ao ana | ae. eran | 27 aan Teqont volsin only PARTS LIST ba "L" coil T 200-2 toroidal core (FP-165) ‘Rctsts Fan #x20360-10 (aR-138) Ea See input hare TDi ue Sov aioe tate) ai fletaetecs O°] on 420 olm Gn-692) “OL UE Led ev dige e22 m2 Grid eter, Oot ma 420 cm ance33) “OL uE T'avaise ta aaty ret Parasitic choke and plate cap esoenbly (FP-1L “oor ue 713 WW dioe Gagze) at {PC chm, att carbon (38-402) late turing 250 pf 005" spacing vecianie ania) BE Sy ciate carbene) Leading 800° pe 2-2 KV vactsble (R37) fel Fiasrene‘cheke (Pel) 150 pens0, Bs aectes doors (N39) Se? 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RELIABLE LONG-LIFE PERFORMANCE TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS AL~80A Input, circuit type: Pi-network maximum VSWR at resonance: 1.3:1 or less minimum VSWR bandwidth 20% or greater maximum drive power permissible: 100 w typical drive for full power output: 85 w output, circuit type: Pi-L network 4 hour continuous carrier: 500 watts 30 second continuous carrier: 850 watts 4; hour PEP two-tone test: 850 watts 30 second PEP two-tone test: 1000 watts Power Supply circuit type: voltage doubler no load voltage: 3000 full load voltage: 2700 full load current: .450 amp regulation: 10% trans forme: : 22 lbs. capacitors: computer grade, 26 mfd total maximum draw at rated output: 12 amps at 120 v 50/60 HzTube type: 3-5002 continuous dissipation: 500 w warm-up time: 10 seconds estimated life: 20,000 hours factory cost: $90.00 Metering: dual’meters; plate volts, plate current, grid current power output PEP AL : adjustable, 0-20 v, negative going, phono jack Efficiency CW: =708 Efficiency SSB (envelope crest): =708 MARS/WARC: yes, set to nearest amateur band Keying: requires contact closure or sink of +12 VDC at 100 mA, phono jack RF Connectors: $0239 Line Connector: NEMA 5-15P, standard 120 v three wire Dimensions: 155" D. x 144" W. x 8" H. Weight: 60 lbs. Frequency Coverage: all amateur bands from 1.8 to 21 MHz, including WARC and most MARS Third Order IMD at Rated output: -35 4Bmm ANMERITRON. 2 AL-80A UNPACKING INSTRUCT(ONS Carefully lift the amplifier out of the packing material. Examine it for visible damage. If the amplifier has been damaged in shipment, notify the transportation company. Remove the . Phillips screws holdin Slide the cover bac and remove it from the amplifier. the cover on. Remove the packing material from th plate cap assembly, TUBE INSTALLATION Insert the 3-500Z tube into the sock- at on the amplifier chassis. Install the plate cap connector on the tube cap and secure it in place with the screw provided. BR SURE the solder lug is on the underside of the connec- tor - see illustration. 0 NOT over- tighten the screw. Replace the an- Plifler cover and the 13 screws that secure it. The additional screws are attached to these instructions. IMPORTANT Save all the hardware and packing materials in case you ever need to return your AL-80A for factory service. Any units returned without Proper packing may be damaged and shipping claims cannot be made. Wever ship the amplifier with the tube installed. PR-LOL2A PremereyAR 109-28 DIVISION OF PRIME INSTRUMENTS, INC. (9005 Watford Ave. « Cleveland, Ohio 44102 6 2167081-1740 THIS AMPLIFIER HAS AN OPTIONAL MULTI-VOLTAGE TRANSFORMER. FOR OPERATION ON VOLTAGES OTHER THAN THE DESIGN CENTER THE BUCK- BOOST WINDING CAN BE USED 70 IMPROVE PERFORMANCE. DO NOT EXCEED 3200 VOLTS HIGH VOLTAGE! B, vourace, C, vource [10 /230 Freguencr_@O Hz /504z all] "Band esKAXL's “#- BAMA This manual is provided FREE OF CHARGE from the “BoatAnchor Manual Archive” as a service to the Boatanchor community. It was uploaded by someone who wanted to help you repair and maintain your equipment. 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