The AM Forum

Got a Commander. Dont know how to change the line cord jumpers.  Can someone send me the manual to my email please?   Clark at Clarkturnertuning dot com

Thanks in advance!

Clark

Palstar has the Commander 2500 manual at the following link:

http://www.palstar.com/Manuals/manual_Commander_hf2500.pdf

After they acquired the Commander line, they altered the outside cabinet. I don't know if they made design changes to the amplifier internal circuitry, so proceed carefully!

Thats not the amplifier I own.  This is the palstar amp. It looks 100% different.   I need the manual for the Commander HF-2500.  I would like to verify the key line voltage, The starting points on the tune and load for each band and the wiring of the plug before I play with this thing. Its brand new in the box... But no manual. 

I guess I can meter out the key jack and check its current also.  I can guess on the starting tune and load, But I would really rather not. Those tubes are pricey.

Clark

http://cgi.ebay.com/Commander-HF-2500-Linear-Amplifier-Owners-Manual-Amp-/390144324609#ht_500wt_928

you got to pay to play.

LOL.. Thats not it either Derb. 

Its the Two tuber.  Has two 3cpx800 eimacs in it.  Two meters.

C

yeah I know the the one now.....too many commanders goin on.

the 4KW PEP Elenco Commander, what I had thought.. Is there any other? Looking at the 2500's manual, very nice RF deck there.

Hmm.. Seems there is no manual in existance.

C

Watch the chimneys. They melt at 350 watts AM and buzzarding.

I am going to sell it off.  ITs brand new. The guy never used it and became ill.  Some SSBer will love it.

C

as with almost every ssb amp if not all of them it probably needs about 2 or 2.5 times the stock CFM for AM.   Then maybe other mods like reworking the cabinet to allow for better air exhaust movement.  You are probably better off selling it stock as you mention Clark

I have a Friend that has the same amp. He is a teletype contester. He runs his at 1000 watts Full duty contesting for 2 days at a time. He has done so for years now. I really dont think this thing will care if you put a 500 watt carrier on it.  You could probably leave it that way for a week.   ITs rated at 1500 watts keydown, No time limit.  I have heard of the chinmeys melting. If thats of concern, I found that you can replace them with the alpha type. They are made of a better material and dont melt :)

I am not going to use the amp.  Its up for sale.

I wanted to test the amp and use it for a few days so I could give it a clean bill of health and I wanted to pass the manual on to the new owner. I have searched long and hard for that manual online and making phone calls. I cant turn one up. Even for sale. This amp is as new condition and I cant see that it was ever used.

If anyone runs across the manual, I would be thankfull!   Its a wonderfull amplifier and I am sure someone will really enjoy it.

Clark, I'd think twice about getting rid of the amp. Those Commander's where no-nonsense amplifier and fit a nice niche between the Alphas and Ameritrons. There were 2 hams that co-owned the company. One thought that using the tetrodes out of Russia would be the way to go, the other decided on the tried and true triodes. With a toss of a coin, QRO Technologies was born. I didn't know Command Tech was sold to Palstar. But I still think up until that time they were a very hardy amplifier. YMMV.

Clark, sorry I did not mention this earlier--I would give Pat Stein a call or email.  Pat was one of the partners who continued with the triodes.  He is in Edon Ohio.  His call sign is N8BRA.  He founded and owned the company and built Command Amps out of a shop next to his house.   If anyone has a manual for your amp it will be him.   There was a time when I wanted one and talked to Pat a couple of times on the phone about ordering one.  He is a good guy and I planed to drive over to Edon to get mine (there was a four month wait because they were back ordered) but it never happened because I couldn't come up with the $3K for one.  Now, Palstar wants at least $1000 more.  He used top quality components--they were basic no frills amps that could put out a lot of suds but in the end I stuck with my 3-500zg and the 20 w. grid dissipation.  That's an excellent idea about swapping out the chimneys.

Rob

p.s. the 3cx800 in my opinion are much better than the tetrodes--the two tone test christmas tree in the QST review shows the lowest 3rd order IMD I have ever seen in an amp review but you have to watch the grid current i think the grid dissipates 5 w. max.  I imagine the other guy wanted to use the 4cx800 because they were about 1/4 the cost of the eimac 3cx800.

rob

Ditto on the HF-2500 if it is one of the ones pictured, even the older style. - No doubt someone will enjoy it! There seem to be more than one amp with this part number though. I think the "pulse rated" 3CXP800A7's is  marketing trick. A regular one ought to do as well. Maybe I'm wrong but I smirk at that when the aforementioned tube is for RF amplifier service at normal voltages and relatively low frequencies.

I was at boxboro one year ranking on all the crap linears for sale by vendors. When I came to commander I shut up, not half bad looking stuff. amertron is trash.

gawd do I hate cross needle meters.

YUP The Commander 2500 was always a nice expensive amp. I don't think there were many complaints about it. I guess it uses the same tubes as the Ten Tec Titan? 3CX800? Nice expensive tubes that do not like to be overloaded on the grids.

Ten Tec mentions that every time the Overdrive Grid light comes on the life of the tubes is shortened.
Mine is starting to get a little aged.

I do not like the compact crap design of the Titan. Very Very hard to work in the final tank circuit............and when the bandswitch goes..........$700 to replace. If a Ten Tec Tech does it.

Fred

The pics came from various sites, there were mostly high praise for all of them but not much on the export model. I got to say it's a bit insulting they won't sell it here. I do not believe there is a law against it, just they like many companies have decided what is good enough for, and what is too good for, their customers.

Hi Frank,  well,  not to be too argumentative,  but I've run an Ameritron AL-1200 for a decade,  have a couple of thousand hours on it (used to be a bit of a Contester until I saw the light),   and it has been a very solid,  straightforeward amp.  No frills,  just sits there and does the job.  The 3CX 1200 tube has become very expensive in the last couple of years,  tho.  Think that the larger three AL amps have been fine,  but hear that the tubes may now be Chineese (even the 3CX1200 ... dunno for sure on that). , and of course the real Dahl Plate XFMR is history,  and so  on.

72  Vic

Oh man.. I had this thing up for sale and someone emailed us to let us know its a THREE TUBER!  :) :) :) :)

It has Three 3cpx800s in it and the BIG dahl iron  :P :P :P    It even has the not for use in the US sticker :)

Oh and its the Style of the TOP picture of 2500. 

Patrick, I have switched from non pulse to pulse tubes in other amps before.  The ouput always jumps way up.  Somtimes you need more Drive. Other times, You really dont.  There is a HUGE difference in power from the 3cpx800 and the 3cx800.  The plate rating is actualy higher at 900 watts a tube.

Maybe this amp should be held on too?

C

I would. When are you ever gonna get another one? The picture at teh top was the one I was remembering.

if thats the 3 hole you'd be nuts to get rid of it. it dont eat no food, man. nice amp, pair it with something like a FT 1000 and you'll blow smoke and have ears to match.

dont do tradio just to do it. It's fun for a while but later on you start saying  '"man wish I had that; damn, why did I give that up"?

keep it. if one of the older stations goes down ( and sooner or later they always do) fire that bad boy up and keep rockin.

YUP sounds like you have stumbled onto a hot item!!! 3-holer and the better "not to be sold in the USA" model to boot.

Fred

the manufactured amps that have more than 2 kw plate dissipation are getting harder to find and when they do come up on the market they are expensive.   I've heard stories of guys getting a pal in Canada to order one, then they drive up there and get it and somehow bring it back down here through customs.  Post 9-11 that might be harder to do.  Heck they are all expensive compared to 10 or 20 years ago and there is usually at least one flaw, one or more things they cheaped out on.  It might be the plate tranny, or the bandswitch, or the cabinet size but there is almost always something that is a weak link.  Who makes a ham amp now that has a 200 lb transformer in it?  This is why homebrew is the ticket, cheaper too.  Even the "high powered" amps for sale now are barely adequate for AM--they all need some kind of mod but the older Henrys and Alphas are much better.    

There really is a FCC rule, that's why you don't see Alpha making the pair 8877 amp any more, you don't see Henry making the 3cx3000 amp and so on.  but without any real strapper amp out there on the market (and if anyone made one it would cost over $10K probably) the manufacturers can more easily market and sell these "legal-limit" amps that can handle 50% duty cycle and make them seem like the big kahuna.  Clark if that amp is the one I think it is, it probably weighs 150 lbs and should have handles on it hi hi.  I agree with Derb, keep it.

The Ameritron AL1500 and AL1200 are pretty healthy amps that could handle legal limit AM and the 1500 P.E.P. ok.
They have the more effecient Peter Dahl transformers. A transformer doesn't have to weigh 200 lbs any more to be good.
My Titan does well for A.M. PLENTY of undistorted PEP with the FLEX and that computerized audio processing.

Fred

hmmm interesting.  Question:  With the stock Ameritrons, and AL1500 say, on 1880, can you do a buzzarding 30 minute transmission at 350 - 400 w. with high modulation percent processing?  I am capable of inflicting the pain of a 30 minute geezer xmission on someone I'm working if I don't watch it.  the failure point is probably the plate choke and/or the power supply because if I am not mistaken the squirrel blower cools the tubes but the air blows by everything else letting them bake.  The B+ tranny needs to have probably 1 or 1.5 A CCS but I may be Mr. Overkill as my friend likes to tell me.



Rob

We are going to try it out tonight if we find time.  The trouble is that there are way to many amps here already.  There is a rack mount harris AM1000 in the other room. Its full auto tune and has a 1500 tube in it.  TFO is making me a cable for the PS to amp deck. The military cut it off flush. That amp, Might be a real smoker.  I read the manual and its rated for 1KW ALL the time in any weather.  Also. There are TWO,  three tube LK800s here. The Big PS verion with the HI/LO switch. They have three 3cpx800s in them also. Military issue.  Never sold to hams.  There is a video floating around of one of those doing 6KW on SSB.  A good sounding ranger into one of those is all a guy needs :)

They are all kind of pointless to me.  As I live in a neighborhood and dont run over the legal limit. In fact, If I ever talk SSB, Which is almost never, I run about 500 to 600 watts as I am talking to people that I can hear. Or I run the King 500 at 300 watts or so.  The T3 does right at legal limit.  

I think these amps will be best moved down the road to someone that can use them. A contester or someone with an some serious land and the guts to Run them full bore.

This Commander is nice though..  But I really like this L4B my brother picked up. Its OUT OF THE BOX new.. I always loved the look of those amps.  These things sure are fun to play around with though!

you gots to git you a Skulcracka Prime Minsta!!  ;D  ;D

but seriously, "good" amps are hard to find that will take the beating of high power AM service. You should probably hang onto it. The next best thing would be to homebrew one with enough headroom to be bullet resistant. (I like overkill reliability!!)

                                         The Slab Bacon