160m – 15m

Bands

1 kW

Output

Frequency	160-15 m incl. WARC as shipped; 10/12 m enabled by a documented user modification (the FCC-import-rule legacy)
Bands	160m, 80m, 40m, 30m, 20m, 17m, 15m, 10m/12m via the license-gated mod
TX power	1000 W (1000 W PEP SSB / 800 W CW / 500 W RTTY-class continuous - one 3-500Z doing honest work)
Modes	all
Weight	21.8 kg (48.1 lb)
Connector	SO-239

Connectors

rf in	SO-239
rf out	SO-239
amp keying	RCA phono, relay to ground (solid-state safe)
dc in	120/240V AC (ships wired for 120V; rewirable for 240V)
power req	120VAC standard (multi-voltage: 90-140 VAC / 205-250 VAC selectable), NOT 240V only

The classic 'kilowatt from a wall outlet': a single 3-500Z in grounded-grid AB2 making 1000 W PEP from ordinary 120 VAC - the step-up amplifier that fits both the desk and the house wiring The 26-POUND transformer is the spec sheet's soul: high-silicon steel core, computer-grade capacitors, ten 3 A/1 kV rectifiers, holding 2700 V under full load - Ameritron's value formula was always'spend it on iron' The 3-500Z is amplifier folklore's favorite tube: visibly glowing, famously rugged, cheap to replace, and tolerant of the operating sins beginners commit 160 through 15 including WARC out of the box; 10 and 12 meters restore with a documented mod on proof of license - the FCC import-rule paperwork ritual of its era 8.5 x 15.5 x 14.5 inches and 48 pounds total (26 of them the transformer) - genuinely desktop; the famous 2-year warranty (tube excluded) led its class Ameritron production ended with MFJ's May 2024 shutdown (the ITU deal took Hy-Gain/Cushcraft, not Ameritron) - the used market is deep and the parts culture mature

Strengths

The best-understood kilowatt in amateur radio: one affordable legendary tube, a transformer that embarrasses costlier rivals, 120-volt convenience, and three decades of documentation, mods, and repair lore for every failure it could ever have. As a first amplifier or a forever spare, the value arithmetic never lost.

Weaknesses

Manual tune and band-switch with real learning curve (real plate voltage behind the panel), 500 W is the honest ceiling for key-down digital duty, the fan is present, and the brand's 2024 end means warranty is history and support is community. The 10/12 m mod is trivial but on you.

Verdict

The default first tube kilowatt for thirty years and still the used-market answer: honest watts, legendary tube, iron where it counts. Buy a clean one, learn to tune it, and it will outlive several transceivers.

The AL-80B was Ameritron's value thesis in its purest form: put the money in the iron. A single 3-500Z - amplifier folklore's favorite glowing bottle - runs grounded-grid class AB2 behind a 26-pound high-silicon transformer, computer-grade filter capacitors, and a ten-rectifier bridge that holds 2,700 volts under full load, producing 1,000 watts PEP on SSB, 800 on CW, and an honest 500 on continuous-carrier modes - all from a 120-volt wall outlet, in a 48-pound cabinet that actually fits a desk. For three decades that combination - kilowatt, house wiring, desktop, tube-you-can-afford-to-replace - made it the default first amplifier in American ham radio.

The band list carries its era's paperwork fossil: 160 through 15 meters including WARC as shipped, with 10 and 12 restored by a documented modification on proof of amateur license - the FCC import-rule ritual every amplifier of the period performed. The operating contract is the manual-tube classic: learn the tune-up dance, respect the plate supply, accept the fan, and in exchange get a machine whose every failure mode, fix, and improvement is documented across thirty years of community literature - much of it from designer Tom Rauch, whose technical pages remain the genre's reference reading.

Production ended with MFJ's May 2024 shutdown (Ameritron was not part of the ITU asset sale that revived Hy-Gain and Cushcraft), which converts the AL-80B from catalog default to used-market staple - a role it was built for, given the parts commonality and the 3-500Z's continued availability. Its in-house sibling the AL-811H undercuts it with four smaller tubes and lighter iron; the Bulgarian refinement tier doubles the price for tuning aids and polish; and the vintage kit classics it descends from now cost more to restore than a clean AL-80B costs to buy. The value thesis holds even posthumously.

Ameritron AL-80B