Specifications

ALS-500RC Remote Control Head
The ALS-500RC allows you to remotely mount your ALS-600, yet still have access to
the amplifier’s frequency switch and fault reset function (via the ALS-500RC POWER
switch). It also provides amplifier RF output power monitoring, and DC PWR, TX
(transmit) and O/L (fault/overload) LEDs. Anyone looking at your station will not
realize that you have a 600 watt amplifier available!
Compact ALS-500RC provides all 600 watts out & no amp in sight!
ALS-600 control and monitoring.
ARI-500 Automatic Band Switch
The ARI-500 automatically selects the correct frequency range for the ALS-600 amplifier
by reading band data from the transceiver. A pair of supplied 6-foot CAT-5 cables
provides amplifier interfacing, and a 6-foot CAT-5 cable terminated with an RJ45 on one
end is provided for making a transceiver interface cable. The manual provides detailed
information so you can connectorize this cable for popular Icom, Kenwood, and Yaesu
transceivers, the Elecraft K3 transceiver, and other equivalent transceivers. If you don’t
want to build your own cable, Ameritron has pre-built cables for many popular radios.
Besides controlling the amplifier’s frequency range, the ARI-500 has some additional
desirable features. A low current-drive amplifier keying interface does away with the
requirement for an external buffer for all transceivers. It even works with the low-drive
HSEND output from the IC-706MKIIG and IC-7000 radios. The ARI-500 can also be
strapped to automatically clear an amplifier bypass fault so you don’t have to manually
reset your ALS-600. I’ve found this convenient as I get frequent ALS-600 SWR faults
from birds landing on my high-Q MFJ-1775 rotatable dipole!
If desired, you can plug the ALS-500RC Remote Control Head into the ARI-500 to
remotely display ALS-600 RF output power and RX and O/L status. When plugged into
the ARI-500, the ALS-500RC automatically defeats the ARI-500 auto-reset feature since
the ALS-500RC provides manual STANDBY/OPERATE switching at your fingertips.
In my opinion, the ALS-500RC is very convenient when the ARI-500 is not used and the
ALS-600 is remotely located. However, I don’t really see the need for it when you have
an ARI-500, and the ARI-500 is strapped for automatic fault reset.