Tokyo Hy Power HL-2.5 KFX Inspected and Tested

[Charlie Young]

Today I felt well enough to work in my shop.  We unboxed W8JA's original Tokyo Hy Power amplifier, the HL-2.5 KFA, which was built in 2007.  This is a 160-10 legal limit output amplifier. 

Cosmetically, I could find no marks or scratches on the front, sides and rear.  On the top, there are about 5 minor smudges which came from items sitting on the amp.  They are not real obvious; at first we missed them.  They certainly don't detract from the appearance, but if you look for them, they are there.  Overall the thing is new looking. 

Next, while this amp is staged for testing, I will hook up HC-1.5 KAT autotuner to verify performance for it.

The maximum drive allowed for this amp is 100 watts.  This gets 1.5 KW output on the various bands.  On 20M, I saw 1.8 KW output.  So, the finals are in excellent condition.  The amp is rated 1.2 KW on 10M, 1.5 KW elsewhere. 

The amp has two modes of operation, MANUAL and AUTO.   In Manual, you select the band with a front panel knob.  In Auto, the amp follows the band selected by the radio.  Band select cables are included for Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood and Elecraft.

Jimmy used this amp for several years and I am unaware of any issues.  The thing just sat on his desk and made power.   It has never been contested.  It has also never worked FT8.   Jimmy is a CW op and all he used it for was to pick off new ones.  I suspect this amp will continue to be trouble free for years to come.  For FT8, I would suggest backing off the drive to get 1KW to 1.2 KW out.  That is the way I would run it on FT8, although the amp is robust and you should not have to baby it  

 

73 Charlie N8RR 

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