K3 voltage specs are 11-15V and the Eagle spec is 13.8V +- 15% that's about 11.7V- 15.9V. even though the Eagle would not shut down you were definitely running below spec voltage and probably causing some IMD if not excessive heat.
My other concern would be how low was the battery voltage getting. AGM or any wet battery for that matter should not be used when the voltage right at the battery posts drops to low. if it is you are damaging the battery. and 10V is definitely too low. At my summer cottage its solar charged battery only. when the cell voltage is near 11.4V I still get 11V at the rig at 100W keydown as I use heavy cable mostly 10AWG from the battery only 5ft away and a short 12 AWG from the distribution to the rig. The battery also runs lighting etc. Ive never had the K3 shutdown due to voltage faults. and my rule is if it goes below 11.3V at the terminals it time to go QRT and bed. The K3 shutting down is just a safety measure to prevent damage and dirty transmissions. Not a problem in my opinion, more a good feature. I hope that the other rig wasn't splattering to much at those lower voltages. David Moes VE3DVY > > --- Original message --- > Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Field Day experience with K3 > From: Peter Wollan <peter.wol...@gmail.com> > To: John Kountz <j...@t6ee.com> > Cc: <elecraft@mailman.qth.net> > Date: Thursday, 28/06/2012 2:07 PM > > The problem here isn't the battery AH capacity, but the voltage > supply. It could be dropping below 10 vdc because both radios are on > the same supply, or because the power supply wires are too fine gauge, > or because the battery is defective. > > The K3 is less robust to supply voltage than the other Elecraft > radios. The K2 is rated for 10-15 volts; the K1, KX1, and KX3 go > down a lot lower, I think 8 volts. I looked at the K3 documents to > see what minimum voltage it requires, and I couldn't find it -- I > think it's something like 11, but it may be 11.5 or even 12. > > You'd probably do fine just by using a separate battery for each > radio, and not letting it run down too far. A voltage booster isn't > needed, as lots of operators all over the world have demonstrated. > > Peter W0LLN > > > On Thu, Jun 28, 2012 at 12:19 PM, John Kountz <j...@t6ee.com> wrote: >> >> ... In tandom >> operation, the Eagle was not affected by momentary voltage dips (below >> 10 >> VDC) whereas the K3 would shut down. > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
