10/25/22, 11:46 PM Ameritron AL-811 ALC Question

rec.radio.amateur.misc

Ameritron AL-811 ALC Question (too old to reply)

r***@telus.net 17 years ago

I have a question for anyone who owns an Ameritron AL-811 amplifier.

I have connected the Relay and ALC connections to my rig and the

amplifer works great except for the ALC protection. I have confirmed

for 100% certain the radio is connected correctly.

When attempting to adjust the ALC limit on the rear of the amplifier as

suggested in the manual I am not noticing any effect on the rig. I

have driven the amplifier up to to 85W, and still do not notice and

reduction of power on the radio as indicated in the manual.

Perhaps I am missing something, but my understanding was when the power

into the Amp was over 70W and the rear ALC control was adjusted the

voltage from the Amp should kick in and power down the radio to avoid

distortion.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Even if someone knows

which is MAX and MIN on the back panel ALC adj., that would be helpful

(i.e. clockwise or counter clockwise).

Thank-you...

Lloyd

radio-***@telus.net

Rick Frazier 17 years ago

I think you may be a bit confused about ALC, or I don't understand your

terminology.

In my world, "power down the radio" means it would be turned off.

ALC, when properly adjusted, is a control voltage that should limit the

power output of the transceiver to prevent overdriving and damaging the

amplifier. For Amplifiers that have relatively low drive needs for full

output, it can be helpful in extending the life of the tubes, as compared

to the reduced life effect of driving them beyond their dissipation rating.

I used to have an ameritron 811H (four tube version) and no longer have the

manual, but if I remember correctly, the setting method was to transmit a

known signal level into the amplifier and adjust the ALC control on the amp
until the power output of the amplifier dropped (just barely), thus setting

the level for protection. After it was properly set, cranking up the power

output on the transceiver had little effect when the amplifier was not in

standby mode.

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10/25/22, 11:46 PM Ameritron AL-811 ALC Question

A caveat though: Even though implementing ALC is a relatively good idea,

it is generally better to have really good operating habits and watch the

levels, rather than relying on the Amp to protect itself. I know there is

always the possibility of making a bonehead move (I'm sure we've all made

one now and then) but good operating habits first are the best defense

against overdriving an amplifier.

Thanks

--Rick AH7H

...

r***@telus.net 17 years ago

Hello Rick,

Your assessment matches the manual, however if you have any specifics

on the adjustment that would be helpful. (When I said power down the

radio I did mean decrease the output power on the radio).

Do you need to drive the amplifer with 70W+ or will the ALC control

work with 30W drive from the radio?

I followed that same process, however did not notice the "drop" in

power on the amp or tranceiver when adjusting the ALC adjustment on the

back of the AL-811.

Thank-you

Lloyd

Amos Keag 17 years ago

What transceiver are you using? Is the polarity of the ALC voltage

compatible with your transceiver?

I use an AL-80B. It has an ALC range of 0 to -10 vdc. My ICOM has a max

ALC of -4 vdc. I set the AL-80B for -4 vdc at max setting. Then I

adjusted the ALC SET on the front panel to activate at approximately 70

watts of drive.

The point I'm making is that two adjustments were required. First set

MAX ALC voltage, followed by setting ALC SET threshold.

Post by r***@telus.net

Hello Rick,

Your assessment matches the manual, however if you have any specifics

on the adjustment that would be helpful. (When I said power down the

radio I did mean decrease the output power on the radio).

Do you need to drive the amplifer with 70W+ or will the ALC control

work with 30W drive from the radio?

I followed that same process, however did not notice the "drop" in

power on the amp or tranceiver when adjusting the ALC adjustment on the

back of the AL-811.

Thank-you

Lloyd

r***@telus.net 17 years ago

Thank-you Amos,

I was able to confirm the polarity and connection are correct and the

voltage ranges are compatable between the rig and amp (AL-811).

The manual for the AL-811 is very unclear as to exactly what the

process is to set the ALC control on the back of the Amp:

- What mode should be used on the rig?

- What power level is required on the rig to slightly overdrive the Amp

enough and obtain a neg voltage on the ALC output on the Amp.

- When looking at the back of the AL-811 and the ALC control knob,

which is MIN and which is MAX sensitivity?

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10/25/22, 11:46 PM Ameritron AL-811 ALC Question

My appologies for all the questions. My hopes are to find someone with

an 811 who can describe the process they used.

Lloyd

...

Fred McKenzie 17 years ago

Post by r***@telus.net

I have connected the Relay and ALC connections to my rig and the

amplifer works great except for the ALC protection. I have confirmed

for 100% certain the radio is connected correctly.

When attempting to adjust the ALC limit on the rear of the amplifier as

suggested in the manual I am not noticing any effect on the rig. I

have driven the amplifier up to to 85W, and still do not notice and

reduction of power on the radio as indicated in the manual.

Lloyd-

You would do well to contact Ameritron.

You say you have driven the amplifier up to 85W. Obviously that should be

85 watts drive to the amplifier's input.

Have you measured the ALC voltage? You should easily be able to figure

out the control's min and max, and see if the voltage increases as you

increase drive to the amplifier.

If the voltage increases and is adjustable to the maximum voltage for your

transceiver, the transceiver's output should reach a limit that can be

adjusted with the ALC control. If the transceiver doesn't react to ALC

voltage, then it has a problem, not the amplifier.

How is your transceiver set to drive the amplifier? Using CW? I would

expect that to work, but some transceivers may depend on your setting of a

power level control rather than using ALC. Injecting a tone into the

microphone circuit (or whistling?) on SSB, may be necessary for ALC power

limiting to occur.

73, Fred, K4DII

Dick, AA5VU 17 years ago

Post by r***@telus.net

When attempting to adjust the ALC limit on the rear of the amplifier as

suggested in the manual I am not noticing any effect on the rig. I

have driven the amplifier up to to 85W, and still do not notice and

reduction of power on the radio as indicated in the manual.

I have an external power meter between my rig and the Ameritron Amplifer

and have noticed the power output of the rig is less with the amp on.

If I follow the normal tune up procedure using about five watts of drive

then increase in increments, I can get the max output at about 45 to 50

watts. I cannot get the rig output more than 55 to 60 watts with the

amp ON. Is this normal?

Dick AA5VU

Amos Keag 17 years ago

...

Either your ALC is working or the VSWR is too high! If VSWR is too high

someone may have 'fiddled' with the input tuning to the amplifier.

Charlie 17 years ago

Try it on several bands. It may be the ALC is set a tad too high and it is

limiting the transceivers output just as it should. In which case readjust

the ALC. It may also be bad tuned input tanks and/or a bad tube(s).

My AL-80B had high vswr on 15/17M tuned input b ut the problem was a soft

3-500Z. Fortunately it was covered under warranty. I made a night light out

of the old tube. See here...

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10/25/22, 11:46 PM Ameritron AL-811 ALC Question

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--

Charlie-AD5TH

www.ad5th.com

...

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