Acom
| Acom | |
|---|---|
| Type | Private company (ACOM Ltd.) |
| In business since | 1988 |
| Headquarters | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Manufacturing | In-house, including many major components |
| Amateur radio | |
| Known for | HF and 6-meter linear amplifiers, tube and solid-state |
| Amplifiers | 1000, 1010, 1500, 2000A, 2100; 500S, 700S, 1200S, 1400S, 2020S |
| Other products | Automatic antenna tuners and switches, antenna rotator, CW paddle, remote control and lightning protection accessories |
| Status | Active |
| Website | acom-bg.com |
Acom (styled ACOM) is a Bulgarian manufacturer of amateur radio equipment, based in Sofia and known mainly for its linear amplifiers. A linear amplifier raises the output of a transceiver, typically about 100 watts, to a much higher power while keeping the shape of the signal intact, so that single-sideband and digital signals are not distorted. Acom makes both vacuum-tube and solid-state amplifiers for the HF bands and the 6-meter band, along with automatic antenna tuners, antenna switches and other station accessories. The company, formally ACOM Ltd., says it has been developing electronic and mechanical products since 1988, and it sells its equipment worldwide.
History
In 1998 Acom introduced the ACOM 2000A, which it describes as a new generation of HF amplifiers. It is an automatic amplifier that tunes its output circuit itself, rather than requiring the operator to adjust tuning controls by hand. Acom also built the Alpha 91b amplifier for ETO, the American company that then made Alpha amplifiers.
In 2000 Acom began production of the ACOM 1000, a manually tuned 1-kilowatt amplifier covering 160 through 6 meters, built around a single 4CX800A tube (known in Russian numbering as the GU74B). Other tube models include the 1010 for HF only and the 1500 and 2100 for HF and 6 meters.
The company later added solid-state amplifiers, which use transistors instead of a tube, need no warm-up and require no tuning by the operator. Earlier models in this line included the 600S, 700S and 1200S. The compact 500S followed in 2023, and the 1400S and 2020S in 2024, the latter offered with the matching 20AT automatic tuner. Acom has also introduced station accessories, including the eBox for controlling its equipment over a network in 2021, the 06AT desktop tuner and antenna switch in 2022, and the L-PROT 2000 lightning protector in 2024.
Acom makes much of its equipment in house. It machines its own metal parts and builds most of its main components, including transformers, ceramic band switches, capacitors, tube sockets, coil forms and RF chokes. The company states that it holds ISO 9001 quality-management certification.
Amateur radio products
- Tube amplifiers. The ACOM 1000, 1010, 1500 and 2100 are tuned by the operator with front-panel controls, while the 2000A tunes automatically. Like other tube amplifiers, they need a short warm-up period before transmitting.
- Solid-state amplifiers. The 700S, 1200S, 1400S and 2020S cover 1.8 to 54 MHz, from the 160-meter through 6-meter bands. The smaller 500S also covers 4 meters, a band near 70 MHz that is available in some European countries but not in the United States.
- Tuners and switches. Acom makes several automatic antenna tuners, some combined with antenna switches, including the 03AT, 04AT, 06AT and 20AT, and the 2000S automatic antenna selector and 2000SW remote antenna switch.
- Accessories. The line includes the 570AR antenna rotator, the 560 CW paddle, which uses load-cell sensors that respond to finger pressure (see Morse keys and paddles), the RX3.5 receiver for radio direction-finding competitions (see Fox hunting), the L-PROT 2000 lightning protector (see Grounding and lightning protection), and the eBox for remote operation over Ethernet.
In the hobby today
Acom amplifiers are used by DXers and contesters. The company's website has a section devoted to DXpeditions, and in 2026 it announced a DXpedition to the Solomon Islands powered by Acom equipment. The amplifiers are sold through dealers in many countries, and used ones appear on the secondhand market.