It is interesting that Alpha threw in the towel on PIN diodes with the
upcoming 9500. Tech support told me the yield on a batch of diodes was
terrible, possibly as low as 30%. That is a shame, as my Alpha 89
(manual-tune version of the 87A) has PIN diode switching, and is a
wonderful QSK amp. I don't believe an amp with vacuum relay T/R
switching can be considered a full QSK amp. Yet Alpha advertises the
99 and the 9500 as full QSK. I run my 99 in semi-breakin only. How
long can a vacuum relay last in full QSK mode? There must be a maximum
keying rate and a typical cycle life for anything mechanical. Are they
banking on the fact that semi-breakin is usually adequate?
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