Palstar LA-1K Review - 1 kW Solid-State LDMOS HF amplifier (6 to 160M) 

Just took delivery on this amp. Brought in 240V wiring for it and the amp runs very quiet. I am very impressed with the reports I am getting with it too.

Thanks Pascal for that accurate review, as usual very interesting, keep up the good work...!

I'm glad to hear what you have said. I was going to buy a Yaesu V-1000 but they cancelled my order after a month when Yeasu stopped making them. Then the store offered me an Ameritron AL-80B, I thought not. Then i found Palstar. I will say their customer service is first rate. Cannot wait to get the amp and matching tuner up on the air.

My LA-1K was shipped to me in supposed fully working condition. However when it arrived, the power supply was D.O.A. So, living in Ohio, me, my wife and our good friend Brian took a trip to Palstar just down the road off Hwy 75. When we got there, I told Paul about this and he said " did you bring the Amp?". I told him that I did and he told me to bring it in. Without a word to me he asked Mark to open the amp and take a look, to see what the issue was. Mark took it apart super quick speed and determined that the power supply was indeed dead. So, Paul asked Mark to install a new power supply on the spot. Mark answered all of my many questions and Paul did as well. In less than a hours time, Mark had not only installed the new power supply and tested for operation, but he re-calibrated all bands and he installed a copy of the latest firmware, not on the site yet. My amp is NOT under warranty, yet Paul and Mark did this for me for less than $160.00. I have to say that not only is Palstar equipment the best I have ever used but, Paul, Eve, Mark and the gang treat you like family. Palstar forever!!!!

Great review Very in depth and informitive Thanks

I'm new to the hobby but in all my reading Palstar seems to be really well constructed pays attention to detail. Even the cosmetics.

Awesome video! Thanks for the review.

Absolutely love this amp. Great video. I know a few folks who own one. Their a pleasure to operate. I use an acom 1000 which is also an awesome amp. I also have the HF auto tuner. So at some point I will purchase the Palstar amp to match that. It will work awesome with my flex system. 73s AA1US. .

Nice to see more amplifiers moving to LDMOS technology. These are going to be very robust amplifiers, and perfect for remote operation. Nice review!

I agree with you. The LA-1K is a very good amplifier. I have the LA-1K and the HF-Auto in my shack.

I enjoyed your video very much. I have reviewed it a number of times. I since have purchased the LA-1K , and Auto Tuner as well as the DL2K. I also want to let you know that you use the word VERY 26 times in your video.....

Thank you for the review.

Thanks for the video Pascal - on the back of your TS-890S what are you connecting to to access PTT to run line to amp?

Very nice video and thanks for sharing. I have a question concerning the HF coverage of this amp. Is it a continuous coverage amplifier even outside of the Ham bands? I operate on MARS frequencies when are outside of the Ham bands and need an amplifier such as this for my MARS operations. Any information would greatly be appreciated. Thanks.

Love the amp. That might be what I need, being I don't own a amp yet. Great video, thank you for sharing this.

Love your shack!

I am W2UH, Hiram. Nice video. I do have some questions since you have had this amp for some time. I disregard the reviews left 1 week after receiving the unit. To me those don't count. 3 questions: Do you still have the amp? If so is it still performing the same way as in this video? If you do not have this amp any longer then why not? Have you ever had to have it repaired? Thanks for your time de W2UH, Hiram

I listened to your review and just bought the LA-1K amp. Very nice amp. How do you set your ALC base value, I have read the manual but not sure if I am operating it correctly.

Thanks Pascal for your video. I just picked up an LA-1K. Curious when you performed the test what was your RF Level and Mic Gain Level. 73's de N9AOU

I bought the LA-1K and HF-Auto. They are very well made, and work very well. I would like to see Palstar modify the firmware on the LA-1K so that the Output Power sampling rate is increased, and it displays the peak value on the display, and places a purple vertical bar in the bargraph at that peak value. The frequency data can be moved to the right.. There is a German ham that has built his own ldmos amplifier, and he is sampling his output power at 10,000 times a second, so he captures true peak values and updates the display more frequently. The Output Power display isn't fast enough for the SSB mode. What do you think?

Do you use the hf auto also?

Can antenna ports be mapped to bands for automatic antenna selection?

Hi there my friend , can you use this amp on warc bands too

Nice video - could you say something about tuning with a Linear Amp active? 73 de HB9GNK

I know this was from a year ago, but I'm looking at one of these amps. Great video. How come you didn't get the matching hf-auto tuner too?

Great job! Too bad it is very difficult to find these amps.

DID YOU HAVE AN AUTO TUNER CONNECTED?

And what is the power output like on 6m ?

What are u using for a tuner? The HF-Auto? Mine keeps telling me it won't tune but I've been operating fine w/ my LDG for some time. I think I'll have to call Palstar.

You still must connect Transceiver RF output to the LA-1K via a coax. And, still connect a PTT cable from the transceiver to the LA-1K... so why are you saying you don't need a cable? Very confusing and misleading. Correct me if I misheard.

WHat mode are you using for this test? RTTY or CW?

Mine broke couple times already, is in Ohio getting the power supply replace right now

I'm assuming that it does WARC bands too? Like 17m?

Would like to have seen the connections you made on the back.

Hi Friend. For me to have a full TX at 2.420Kilohertz with 2Kw, could you help me?

Can you explain what you mean when you say the amp is RF sensing but not PTT sensing.

What tuner are you using?

How much is the power reduced on 120v?

@5:06... Blacklight is for dancing with white pants on Saturday night fever !

For sure, Palstar's are a very good products but, the Acom's solide state amplifiers are at another level in terms of engineering and construction.

No 17m on this amp? Thank U

Question... where can a person go to learn how to operate a ham radio?

I hope you like it. Ill rather buy a om power. Or a old heathkit amp.

Good amp but the fan is loud..

KM3KM amp is only $2500. It is a Kit but only requires a wiring connecting some cables and solder 4 RF connectors, it is actually the similar product with better pricing.Just FYI.