ACOM 2000A This is the latest addition to my ham equipment. It takes a deep breath and some real commitment to make a purchase like this. It is not cheap. I have looked at this and the Alpha 87A for several years (since Dayton 2000). I have talked to owners of each piece of equipment and a few that have owned both. Although there were some early problems with the Acom everything seems to have been worked out. It is the newest technology and is fully automatic. I have only owned it a short time so I will save any huge assessment other than it is the best I have owned. The amplifier actually sit underneath the desk with the remote control unit (RCU) on the desk. The RCU can read out any two of many measurable items including PWR Out, RFL PWR, SWR, Plate, Grid, Mains etc. This truly is the best current amp available and only takes about 60W drive for 1500 easily.
I purchased this amplifier at Dayton Hamvention in 2001. It was cheap but needed some repair. After a trip to the local repair shop it has served me well and is still in service although moved to the #2 position after my Acom purchase. I originally purchased this because it has 160M capability which the Drake below didn't. It is a manual tune amp and is very forgiving. I have run relatively high SWR and it has performed very well.
This is the first amplifier I ever owned. It has served me loyally for many years. I almost killed myself on this amplifier before I ever got to use it. I thought I had made all the connections but failed to secure the high voltage lead to the back of the amp. When I reached behind the amp and saw the loose connection, my arm touched the metal case and a 4" arc came blasting out of the HV lead through my index finger, my arm (grounded to the case) and blew the 20AMP breaker in the basement directly below me. During this time I was on the telephone with a ham who was helping me diagnose the "problem". My yell into the telephone, followed by complete silence, left him wondering if I had killed myself. I'm not sure how much longer I will own this amp. It has served me well and still works great. It can run about 1,000 to 1,200W out from 10M-80M on (2) 3-500Z tubes and has a separate power supply.