Leading up to the Bouvet Island 3Y0J and Crozet FT8WW DXpeditions, HF amplifiers topped many hams’ wish lists for station upgrades. With the 2023 DX Engineering Amateur Radio Products Catalog only a couple of months away, we’re excited to announce a new Acom amp you’ll find inside, as well as a new VHF amplifier from Toptek. For good measure, we’ve added a new Acom Automatic Tuner to the mix of fresh devices in today’s product spotlight.
Acom 2020S 1,500 Watt Automatic HF+6M Linear Amplifier
Combining ease of use and serious pileup-busting capabilities, this solid-state 160 through 6 meter amplifier delivers maximum legal power in all modes, plus operator-friendly functionality thanks to its remote control unit with high-resolution LCD screen. Compatible with all transceiver models, the 2020S is designed with isolated input and output ports, reducing intermodulation and improving reliability and resistance to self-excited oscillation. A broadband input circuit provides a perfect transceiver load with SWR below 1.2 without re-tuning throughout the entire frequency range, and built-in intelligence provides continuous monitoring of system health and protection circuits.
Operators benefit from intermodulation distortion better than 30 dB below rated PEP, and harmonic and parasitic emissions output suppression better than 60 dB (1.8-29.7 MHz) and 70 dB (50-54 MHz) below rated output. The Acom 2020S supports direct remote control via the Internet with an integrated web interface and built-in Ethernet RJ45 LAN port or Wi-Fi adapter.
06AT Automatic Antenna Tuner
Made to work exclusively with Acom 600S, 700S, 1200S, and 2020S solid-state amplifiers, the 06AT provides continuous coverage from 1.8-30 MHz and 50-54 MHz along with advanced amp/transceiver protection features, an easy-to-navigate LCD screen, and two operating modes: 100% automated Full Tuning or Fast Tuning that retrieves previous tuning results. The tuner employs a built-in four-port antenna switch that automatically matches the impedance of the operator-chosen antenna output by transforming it to 50 ohms with SWR below 1.5 at the tuner input (typically below 1.3), providing an optimum load impedance for the amplifier. Operators can select among several antenna profiles based on the bandwidth of the connected antenna (narrow, normal, broadband, etc.). Power and control functions come directly from a connected Acom amp. Fully automated operation requires a CAT, COM or CI-V frequency reading interface cable between the transceiver and amplifier.
350W VHF RF Power Amplifier
Toptek’s single-stage wideband PA-350V 135-165 MHz RF Power Amplifier delivers over 350W RF output typically from 8W of drive power, low-noise reception with bandpass filter to prevent blocking by HF signals, Automatic Level Control for output power regulation and high SWR protection, individual DC current sensing and limiting of each sub-amplifier, output power (FM) selectable between three user-programmable levels (20W to 360W), and two temperature-enabled fans. It also includes multiple protection features for high drive, high/low DC voltage, and high temperature, and an alphanumeric LCD for various measurements, user configuration, and error conditions. Enter “PA-350V” at DXEngineering.com to check on availability.
