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I need help making the cable that connects the Yaesu FT DX-10 to the Palstar LA-1K Amplifier

 

Dirk, AJ6XW,

Sorry to hear your Palstar LA-1K isn't in fully serviceable condition... Did Mark advise you of the possible root causes of the failure?

73,
Ray
KJ5MI
 

On Tue, Mar 28, 2023 at 07:42 PM, <ddffbb22@...> wrote:
Hi Jim!

Kidding about what?? If you are referring to the Palstar LA-1K not working...nope, not kidding.? After performing multiple tests with Palstar using over the phone testing, they now tell me the amplifier is not working.

I just got back from Fed Ex.? We shiped it back to Palstar.
Hi Dirk, AJ6XW,

I acquired a brand new LA-1K directly from Palstar, and took possession of the amplifier (Serial Number: 38935) on January 21, 2023.? The power on/off switch on my brand new LA-1K failed within 30 calendar days of use.? So, now this really concerns me having read that your brand new LA-1K also has infant mortality issue!

Could this possibly be a trend Palstar having poor quality components (i.e. manufactured in communist China) installed in the LA-1K?

It has been a little over a week since you shipped your defective LA-1K back to Palstar, have you been notified by Palstar of their findings, fixes, etc. on your LA-1K, yet?

73,
Ray
KJ5MI
 

Ray,
I picked up my LA-1K directly from the Palstar facility on December 19 of this past year. No 'infant mortality' here. I have had great success with it. It performs as advertised. The LA-1K pairs great with my HF-Auto and makes running power and changing bands and?frequencies a real joy. As to the issue of foreign-made electronic parts, because of our global economy much electronic gear is made these days using parts sourced from all over the world, including Mexico, Taiwan, Korea, China, and others. I believe Palstar, like other manufacturers, likely does its?best to meet quality standards to ensure customer satisfaction. An occasional malfunctioning switch or part does not necessarily mean they have lowered these standards. The Palstar 2-year warranty, indicates to me they stand by the quality of their products.
Best 73,
Joe WW8X

On Sun, Apr 9, 2023 at 9:24?AM tuneupmagic (null) via <tuneupmagic=[email protected]> wrote:
On Tue, Mar 28, 2023 at 07:42 PM, <ddffbb22@...> wrote:
Hi Jim!

Kidding about what?? If you are referring to the Palstar LA-1K not working...nope, not kidding.? After performing multiple tests with Palstar using over the phone testing, they now tell me the amplifier is not working.

I just got back from Fed Ex.? We shiped it back to Palstar.
Hi Dirk, AJ6XW,

I acquired a brand new LA-1K directly from Palstar, and took possession of the amplifier (Serial Number: 38935) on January 21, 2023.? The power on/off switch on my brand new LA-1K failed within 30 calendar days of use.? So, now this really concerns me having read that your brand new LA-1K also has infant mortality issue!

Could this possibly be a trend Palstar having poor quality components (i.e. manufactured in communist China) installed in the LA-1K?

It has been a little over a week since you shipped your defective LA-1K back to Palstar, have you been notified by Palstar of their findings, fixes, etc. on your LA-1K, yet?

73,
Ray
KJ5MI

 

On Mon, Apr 10, 2023 at 11:00 AM, Joe Loverti WW8X wrote:
The Palstar 2-year warranty, indicates to me they stand by the quality of their products.
Joe,

When I asked about their 2-year (i.e. 24-month) warranty on the LA-1K, as published on Palstar.com (same as of this writing on April 10, 2023), Ms. Eva Hrivnak advised me Palstar has only 1-year (i.e. 12-month) warranty on their LA-1K amplifier at the time I ordered my LA-1K with her over the phone earlier this year.

73,
Ray
KJ5MI
 

Ray,
That's odd since their product brochure downloaded from their website plainly states a two-year warranty:?
And on their?website product page:

It appears they need?to update a few things.
Joe WW8X

On Mon, Apr 10, 2023 at 11:56?AM tuneupmagic (null) via <tuneupmagic=[email protected]> wrote:
On Mon, Apr 10, 2023 at 11:00 AM, Joe Loverti WW8X wrote:
The Palstar 2-year warranty, indicates to me they stand by the quality of their products.
Joe,

When I asked about their 2-year (i.e. 24-month) warranty on the LA-1K, as published on Palstar.com (same as of this writing on April 10, 2023), Ms. Eva Hrivnak advised me Palstar has only 1-year (i.e. 12-month) warranty on their LA-1K amplifier at the time I ordered my LA-1K with her over the phone earlier this year.

73,
Ray
KJ5MI

 

On Mon, Apr 10, 2023 at 12:27 PM, Joe Loverti WW8X wrote:
That's odd since their product brochure downloaded from their website plainly states a two-year warranty:?
And on their?website product page:
It appears they need?to update a few things.

Joe,

I have just looked at the pics I took of everything that came with the amp during my LA-1K unboxing.? Palstar included a Warranty Card, but no Warranty Agreement of any kind.

I can see the PDF file name of their product brochure is LA-1K_Feb_2018.pdf by looking at the web link you provided.? Looking at the product brochure in question, I know with absolute certainty the "Vacuum RELAY T/R Switching" and "Internal Medical grade" [power supply] claims for their current production LA-1K units are misleading at best.

Mark Ward (Palstar technician) advised me to ignore Page 15 ("POWER SUPPLY PERFORMANCE) of the LA-1K Technical Manual in its entirety.? Mr. Ward told me Palstar replaced the medical grade power supply named in the technical manual (hard copy) found in the stuff shipped with my LA-1K.

Oh well, maybe one can't really expect too much from merchandises intended for hobby use only!

73,
Ray
KJ5MI
 

On Mon, Apr 10, 2023 at 12:27 PM, Joe Loverti WW8X wrote:
That's odd since their product brochure downloaded from their website plainly states a two-year warranty:?
And on their?website product page:

Joe,

I emailed Mark Ward of Palstar this afternoon, asking "What is the length of the LA-1K warranty period?"? In reply, Mr. Ward confirmed "The warranty period of the LA-1K is one year from date of manufacture."

I immediately followed up with another email, asking "how to decode the S/N to get the date of manufacture?"? In reply, Mr. Ward advised that "There is no decoding, the serial numbers are sequential but we simply pull 10 sequential numbers at a time for each product...so all products are in little groups of 10 with big jumps each time."

Mark advised me, my LA-1K was made on 1-19-2023 according to their records.

73,
Ray
KJ5MI
 

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I can also verify warranty is 1 year only. Was stated this to me when I sent my amp in for repair. Eva advised me at the time.

?

Barry

VE6UM

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of tuneupmagic (null) via groups.io
Sent: April 10, 2023 3:03 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [la1k] I need help making the cable that connects the Yaesu FT DX-10 to the Palstar LA-1K Amplifier

?

On Mon, Apr 10, 2023 at 12:27 PM, Joe Loverti WW8X wrote:

That's odd since their product brochure downloaded from their website plainly states a two-year warranty:?

And on their?website product page:


Joe,

I emailed Mark Ward of Palstar this afternoon, asking "What is the length of the LA-1K warranty period?"? In reply, Mr. Ward confirmed "The warranty period of the LA-1K is one year from date of manufacture."

I immediately followed up with another email, asking "how to decode the S/N to get the date of manufacture?"? In reply, Mr. Ward advised that "There is no decoding, the serial numbers are sequential but we simply pull 10 sequential numbers at a time for each product...so all products are in little groups of 10 with big jumps each time."

Mark advised me, my LA-1K was made on 1-19-2023 according to their records.

73,
Ray
KJ5MI

 

I guess they changed it from 2 year to 1 year at some?point.? It definitely used to be 2 years.? Mine was repaired?under warranty in the 2nd year and, as pointed out above, documentation still exists stating 2 years.

73
Fred
K3FRK

On Mon, Apr 10, 2023 at 4:25?PM Barry <barplo@...> wrote:

I can also verify warranty is 1 year only. Was stated this to me when I sent my amp in for repair. Eva advised me at the time.

?

Barry

VE6UM

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of tuneupmagic (null) via
Sent: April 10, 2023 3:03 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [la1k] I need help making the cable that connects the Yaesu FT DX-10 to the Palstar LA-1K Amplifier

?

On Mon, Apr 10, 2023 at 12:27 PM, Joe Loverti WW8X wrote:

That's odd since their product brochure downloaded from their website plainly states a two-year warranty:?

And on their?website product page:


Joe,

I emailed Mark Ward of Palstar this afternoon, asking "What is the length of the LA-1K warranty period?"? In reply, Mr. Ward confirmed "The warranty period of the LA-1K is one year from date of manufacture."

I immediately followed up with another email, asking "how to decode the S/N to get the date of manufacture?"? In reply, Mr. Ward advised that "There is no decoding, the serial numbers are sequential but we simply pull 10 sequential numbers at a time for each product...so all products are in little groups of 10 with big jumps each time."

Mark advised me, my LA-1K was made on 1-19-2023 according to their records.

73,
Ray
KJ5MI

 

Ray,

Thank you for sharing.? So sorry to hear about the switch failure.? I was notified by Palstar that both?HF LDMOS? were damaged or destroyed in my new Palstar LA-1K.? They told me it occurred by my miswiring the plug.? I found that hard to believe....both LDMOS destroyed from super low voltage?? I shared my concerns and that I did not agree with their explanation.? They asked me to pay at least some of the costs.? I reluctantly agreed.? It is on its way back to me now.

Can anyone tell me here if low voltage miswiring of the band data cable could have destroyed both LDMOS?

Thank you,

Dirk
 

On Tue, Apr 11, 2023 at 07:10 PM, <ddffbb22@...> wrote:
I was notified by Palstar that both?HF LDMOS? were damaged or destroyed in my new Palstar LA-1K.? They told me it occurred by my miswiring the plug.?

Hi Dirk,

I also find that hard to believe... Palstar will need to explain in sufficient details the failure mode of the pair of NXP MRFE6VP5600H LDMOS transistors relative to the plug miswiring in question.

73,
Ray
KJ5MI
?
 

Hey Dirk,

In case you haven't already done so, please check out my postings in the 120/240V switch? 55? thread; several of which touched on the availability status of the NXP MRFE6VP5600H LDMOS transistors, as well as issues relating to counterfeit semiconductor devices.

73,
Ray
KJ5MI
Bob NN5D
 

Dirk,
I had a very similar situation with Palstar and a LA1K.? My brand new LA1K would not output over 200 watts from the very start. I contacted Palstar, and the owner told me I had abused the amplifier by over driving it, which was untrue.? He did give me an RA, and I sent it back, at my expense, of course.? A week later, he called me, and said the LDMOS were damaged and needed replacement.? He told me he'd do it for a fee. I reminded him of the warranty service they offer, and he got angry.? Two more days passed, and he called again, and said it was repaired, but I'd have to pay for the return shipping.? I argued that return shipping was also part of the warranty service, but he refused to return the unit until I gave him my credit card number to pay for the return shipping. I felt I had no choice,? and I did want my amplifier back, so I gave him the card number.? Since receiving the amplifier back, it's worked flawlessly.

I still have the LA1K, but since then, I've also acquired a Flex PGXL and an Elecraft KPA1500, both of which use LDMOS and both work great. I've considered selling the LA1K, but haven't yet.

The point of my story is, it parallels your experience with Palstar.? So, beware.
73 Bob


On Tue, Apr 11, 2023 at 5:10?PM ddffbb22 via <ddffbb22=[email protected]> wrote:

Ray,

Thank you for sharing.? So sorry to hear about the switch failure.? I was notified by Palstar that both?HF LDMOS? were damaged or destroyed in my new Palstar LA-1K.? They told me it occurred by my miswiring the plug.? I found that hard to believe....both LDMOS destroyed from super low voltage?? I shared my concerns and that I did not agree with their explanation.? They asked me to pay at least some of the costs.? I reluctantly agreed.? It is on its way back to me now.

Can anyone tell me here if low voltage miswiring of the band data cable could have destroyed both LDMOS?

Thank you,

Dirk
 

Your Palstar experience differs greatly from mine. Last summer I
ordered a LA-1K from Palstar. Earlier this year the amp developed a
problem. Speaking with Mark Ward he asked me to run some tests to make
certain the band registers were working properly. A few weeks later I
called back and reported the results of the suggested tests. I was
told to send the amp back with a note describing the issue. There was
no need for an RA (return authorization).

About a week after the amp was in Palstar's hands Mark emailed me to
say the issue had been resolved. Sure enough the next day I received a
FedEx shipping notice and two days later the amp was at my doorstep.
The following day I received a call from Eva about the shipping bill.

In short the differences are #1 no RA was needed and #2 the amp was
shipped and delivered before return shipping charges were covered.

73 de n4jvp
Fritz

On Wed, 12 Apr 2023 14:39:42 -0600, Bob, NN5D wrote:

Dirk,
I had a very similar situation with Palstar and a LA1K. My brand new LA1K
would not output over 200 watts from the very start. I contacted Palstar,
and the owner told me I had abused the amplifier by over driving it, which
was untrue. He did give me an RA, and I sent it back, at my expense, of
course. A week later, he called me, and said the LDMOS were damaged and
needed replacement. He told me he'd do it for a fee. I reminded him of the
warranty service they offer, and he got angry. Two more days passed, and
he called again, and said it was repaired, but I'd have to pay for the
return shipping. I argued that return shipping was also part of the
warranty service, but he refused to return the unit until I gave him my
credit card number to pay for the return shipping. I felt I had no choice,
and I did want my amplifier back, so I gave him the card number. Since
receiving the amplifier back, it's worked flawlessly.

I still have the LA1K, but since then, I've also acquired a Flex PGXL and
an Elecraft KPA1500, both of which use LDMOS and both work great. I've
considered selling the LA1K, but haven't yet.

The point of my story is, it parallels your experience with Palstar. So,
beware.
73 Bob

On Tue, Apr 11, 2023 at 5:10?PM ddffbb22 via groups.io <ddffbb22=
[email protected]> wrote:

Ray,

Thank you for sharing. So sorry to hear about the switch failure. I was
notified by Palstar that both HF LDMOS were damaged or destroyed in my
new Palstar LA-1K. They told me it occurred by my miswiring the plug. I
found that hard to believe....both LDMOS destroyed from super low voltage?
I shared my concerns and that I did not agree with their explanation. They
asked me to pay at least some of the costs. I reluctantly agreed. It is
on its way back to me now.

Can anyone tell me here if low voltage miswiring of the band data cable
could have destroyed both LDMOS?

Thank you,

Dirk
 

On Wed, Apr 12, 2023 at 04:39 PM, Bob NN5D wrote:
I still have the LA1K, but since then, I've also acquired a Flex PGXL and an Elecraft KPA1500, both of which use LDMOS and both work great.

Hi Bob,

Sorry to hear about your LA-1K being DOA (dead on arrival) as opposed to having infant mortality issue with my LA-1K purchased directly from Palstar in January 2023.? I had shared my many experiences with Palstar in the 120/240V switch??thread here; one of which touched on the Elecraft KPA1500's value for the money.

Having read your entry here and that of your QRZ page, I have followed through on my take regarding the KPA1500 and ordered mine on about an hour ago.? Like you... I also have a Yaesu FTDX-101D, so I added to my Elecraft order the CBL-KENSER1500 cable to feed the KPA1500 in real time my FTDX-101D operating frequencies for more precise ATU performance.

Oh btw, Elecraft is likely to increase the KPA1500 pricing in the not so distance future.

73,
Ray
KJ5MI
[email protected]
 

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I have seen that and mine doesn’t have that switch

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of tuneupmagic (null) via groups.io
Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2023 2:41 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [la1k] I need help making the cable that connects the Yaesu FT DX-10 to the Palstar LA-1K Amplifier

?

Hey Dirk,

In case you haven't already done so, please check out my postings in the 120/240V switch? 55? thread; several of which touched on the availability status of the NXP MRFE6VP5600H LDMOS transistors, as well as issues relating to counterfeit semiconductor devices.

73,
Ray
KJ5MI
W2UH Hiram
 

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I appreciate the help but many postings aren’t addressing my issue so I have done some research on my own. ?I have found that the power supplies installed in the LA-1K seem to be faulty and that seems to be the reason I am not getting power out. I will be sending the amp to someone highly recommended. The vibes I got from the tech at Palstar made me feel as if he will charge me a fortune to make the repair. Thanks for the help.?

Get

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of W2UH Hiram <w2uh@...>
Sent: Sunday, April 23, 2023 2:30:10 PM
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [la1k] I need help making the cable that connects the Yaesu FT DX-10 to the Palstar LA-1K Amplifier
?

I have seen that and mine doesn’t have that switch

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of tuneupmagic (null) via groups.io
Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2023 2:41 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [la1k] I need help making the cable that connects the Yaesu FT DX-10 to the Palstar LA-1K Amplifier

?

Hey Dirk,

In case you haven't already done so, please check out my postings in the 120/240V switch? 55? thread; several of which touched on the availability status of the NXP MRFE6VP5600H LDMOS transistors, as well as issues relating to counterfeit semiconductor devices.

73,
Ray
KJ5MI

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