TOKYO HY-POWER A BRIEF HISTORY:
The Tokyo Hy-Power Company or THP was created by Nobuki Wakabayashi (JA1DJW) in 1975 as an outlet for his tremendous skills and passion for RF engineering. Nobuki San is not only a brilliant engineer but he is also a perfectionist when it comes to the quality of his designs the choice of components and the look and feel of the finished product.
THP was not only founded on making solid reliable products but also on excellent customer service. There are many stories of Nobuki San personally getting in touch with customers in the USA even on Sundays. As THP got larger they opened up a direct dealership and support office in the USA. They enlisted Tom Rum (W5RUM) as the distributor and support person. Tom immediately hit the floor running and got the USA website Online and then negotiated distribution with Array solutions and HRO. Tom also helped THP get a better understanding of how to grow the company in the USA and was instrumental in setting up spots at Dayton and other events. Tom was a wonderful representative for THP and was one of the big reasons that the amplifiers became so popular on this side of the world.
Meanwhile THP Engineers along with Nobuki San were coming up with improved designs and each model was built on the platform and lessons learned from the previous model. The team was very good at understanding what Ham operators wanted in an amplifier.
Keep in mind that the late 1990's and early 2000's were a tough time for solid state amps. Many hams would relate stories of solid state amps burning up when just a small mistakes was made and so it was very hard to convince almost any Ham to buy a solid state amp when tube amplifiers were so much more reliable. This was the problem that THP engineers faced and they went in knowing that reliability always had to be priority number one. In the end they succeeded and every model that they produced has had an excellent track record for reliability.
As the years passed they always tried to make a new Amp that was as compact as possible without compromising on it's reliability. Even though all of the designs were very reliable and sold well they never stopped striving for a Solid State Amplifier that was better than the last. THP would introduce a new model almost every two years while other companies would milk a successful model for a decade or more.
While new enhancements were key to each THP model they never deviated or compromised with quality and performance. They always used state-of-the-art designs and added new functionality. They always strived to make the next great Amplifier, one that was better than the last and they always pushed the boundaries further than anyone else while still keeping the ergonomics simple and the amplifier reliable.
There is a saying that you often hear owners of THP Amplifiers use when describing their amplifier "They say you get what you pay for but with THP you get more than what you paid for." I think that pretty much sums up the philosophy of THP and how it feels when you own one of these great amplifiers.
While most Amateur Radio Operators think of THP for their contributions to Ham Radio Equipment the truth is that THP's main operation was the design and production of RF Equipment for use in the Medical Industry at major hospitals and Labs. This new division was started in 1984 and was a perfect match for THP because Its an area of RF engineering that requires high precision and reliability so it was a perfect fit for what THP did best.
TOKYO HY-POWER JAPAN AND ITS CLOSURE:
On December 24th 2013 the Ham Radio community got the shocking news that THP had suddenly closed it's doors! The news was even more surprising because just two months earlier they had released the much anticipated crowning Jewel of their SS HF Amplifier line, the HL-2500fx which was designed to replace the time tested and very popular HL-2.5Kfx. The HL-2500FX was now the new Legal limit SS HF model and the more expensive to build 2.5kfx was soon to be retired.
What was revealed in the weeks that followed the closure was that THP had been in financial trouble for some time. The financial problems were not due to the Amplifier division but instead the Medical RF devision which had seen a massive down turn in sales since the 2008 global financial crash and was worsened by the Japanese Tsunami of 2010 and the overall financial problems that it created in Japan.
In the end the company closed it's doors on the 24th with no notice and went into the Japanese equivalent of American chapter 7 bankruptcy.
THE LEGACY LIVES ON:
When a product is made with care and dedication it will never be forgotten. Just like Collins and many other companies that have graced the Amateur Radio Community with products that have moved the whole hobby forward and moved the bar higher by making them a joy to own and operate. THP has done this in the Solid State Amplifier Arena. Even today their is no main stream company that makes a SS Amp that can match the quality and reliability of a THP Solid State Amp. So in honor of THP and all its brilliant employees that put their blood sweat and tears into these fantastic Amplifiers, we will keep the light going.
If you own any model THP Amplifiers and have information that is not on this website please contact us via the link below.
We are really in need of higher resolution pictures of older model amplifiers. So if you have one of these models and are willing to take a few pictures it would really improve the website..
Also Please look around and report any bugs you find on the website. The website and forum are still in the Beta stage and it's only with help from the THP users that we can improve them.
As we receive better photos or documentation it will be added to the website ASAP.
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SEE THE NEWS SECTION FOR BREAKING NEWS For April 2024 (More Updaes)
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New for Jan 2019 (Firmware Files added)
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Owners of Tokyo Hy-Power Equipment Now Have A Website Again Along With A Forum.
It's been two Years but now a bit of THP is alive and well on the web.
To Answer your first question, Yes we tried to keep the website looking as close to the original as possible.
Secondly we revamped and added a ton of new material. The original website was dedicated only to products in production at that point in time. This website will eventually represent all the products that THP ever produced.
Active registered forum members will be given access to additional information via the forum. I would like to thank Icy Colors for helping me at the start of this project.
This is a work in progress, I had originally wanted to put the website up on the anniversary of THP's closure but the project got sidelined for several months.
Over the coming weeks I hope all of you will sign up for the forum and contribute whatever knowledge and information you may have, so that the THP name goes on for decades to come.
More information will be added as it comes in.
Understanding
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