Hunter Bandit 2000 Series Amplifiers - Confusion Ensues

Hello Everyone,

I am in the market for an HF Amplifier and have found one on eBay I am considering.

The Faceplate on said Amp states it is a Hunter 2000A, but the seller calls out that the 2000A has 4 572B Tubes in it and this model only has 2, installed horizontally off the back of the chassis.

On investigation he appears to be correct. The 2000A does indeed have 4 tubes, according to all information I can locate.

So I am thinking, someone swapped the faceplate, or maybe it was even shipped originally with the wrong face on it. The 2000A and B look indentical. The C had a different meter & associated switch on the right hand side than the A & B (it appears).

I investigated further, referencing BAMA (Boat Anchor Manual Archive) and discovered the Chassis drawing for a 2000B amplifier. BINGO! TWO Tubes shown on the drawing and the entirety of the chassis drawing matches identically to the ebay listing! It's a 2000B! BUT.....

The SCHEMATIC in the same file for the 2000B shows FOUR TUBES. But tube 3 & 4 are NOT shown ANYWHERE ELSE in the file except for the schematic.

Ok.... weird. Let's poke further.

I open BAMAs copy of the full owners manual for the 2000B. There is the same chassis drawing. Two Tubes. Right below it is the same schematic, showing 4. And this one has a parts listing for V1-V4 as United Electronics UE572B Tubes.

Then I noticed that the same chassis drawing shows 4 tube sockets on the rear of the Chassis, directly stacked. So were V3 & V4 "underneath" V1 & V2 in the top view drawing? The tubes in the listing photos are slant stacked, so there's no way there are actually 4 sockets there or I could see them.

In looking at the photos on the listing this thing appears completely unmolested, with exception to the soft start module addition and soft key module, and some misc diode and capacitor replacements.

I am to the point that I don't even know that if I figure this out that I would want to buy it, but the curiosity alone is going to kill me I think. I really can't figure out what this thing actually is, and if it is truly in stock form or not.

If anyone that reads this has any information on the Hunter Series 2000 Amps and could shed some light on this for me I would greatly appreciate your knowledge. I may decide to buy it as it's a decent price for what it would put out and truly appears to be in great shape, but who knows.

Thanks for taking the time to read,
73,
WØNDF / AG

 

Back around Feb 17 there was another Hunter Bandit A with TWO 572B tubes for sale on Ebay. The auction was ended. I am not sure what happened to that amp, but I can probably find out as I know the seller. Not sure if this present one is the same or a different one. However if different, it too has TWO 572b tubes. The 2000A is said to supposed to have 4 572b tubes so there is an anomaly here. It also states that either the A or B model (not sure which) could have it's transformer wired so the plate voltage changes so you can run 811 tubes or 572b tubes. Then the Bandit 2000C came out that had a pair of 3-400 tubes. So I wonder if the Ebay auction that ended and this one is the same unit?

 

Warning! Generic comment follows: Personally, I would not buy an amp from an auction site or anyone that I did not know. Amps are probably the most abused piece of ham radio gear that you can buy. If you are not experienced in electronic repair, especially repairs involving high voltage tube power supplies you should be extremely cautious!
End of generic comment.

Having said that, I recently bought an Acom 1010 from my local club. But, I knew the ham that had owned it before and was able to check / test the amp before purchase. I consider this to be very, very important!

Let me say that again: Checking out the equipment physically, is important in any ham radio transaction, but especially so with amps.

Now back to the regularly scheduled thread, and the arguments that are sure to follow...

PS: Listen to @W1QJ: Lou knows this stuff forward and backwards!

 

WG7X has a good point.

There are hundreds of HF amps for sale in the U.S. on any given day, and thousands during any given year.

In the market for a used one, I'd find a local deal and go try it out before cash and hardware change hands.

Even if the seller is wonderful and more honest than Abe Lincoln, amps are heavy and often get damaged in shipment unless very well packed by someone who knows how to pack heavy, fragile equipment.

 

Yeah... I picked up a very nice Acom 1010 as a "backup" amp. It's a really neat amp tunes up literally in seconds and gives a solid 600-700 out as designed.

 

I'm not planning on buying it at this point I just can't help but wonder what it truly is....

 

They did not have a tuned input.

 

Maybe a Hunter Bastard 2000?

 

WB2WIK I think you're right! LOL

 

The seller of this amp actually just read this and emailed me. I want to make something clear, as when I reread my original post my intention didn't come through the way I intended it.

I was merely asking for help identifying what this amp was. Not questioning the seller or the fact that this is a Hunter Bandit 2000 series amp.

The seller was quite clear that this amp has two tubes and he is not sure what it is. He was very forthcoming about that. I am certainly not intending that the seller was mis-representing the amplifier. I felt he was very clear that he is unsure as well if it truly is what the faceplate states. I just wanted to clear that up.

It just made me so curious that I thought I'd seek the help of individuals that may actually have had one and could tell me what it is.