Ian, As a bottom up reader, I see you have plenty of advice already. I would also like to point out in addition to what I posted below, I had an extra set of fuses and a Red-Dee connect 45 amp distributor in line with the battery backup/power supply and this alone added > 1.5v drop. With those two items out of line, I now see the ~ 12v to my radio and I get out the full 100 watts from the radio under load. Those two items added an additional 4 connections or 16 surfaces. If I wanted almost zero drop, I would take out the RigRunner and put power directly to the radio. This would drop it further.
73, Bill K9YEQ -----Original Message----- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Bill K9YEQ Sent: Monday, December 24, 2012 5:26 PM To: 'Ian Kahn - Ham' Cc: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] New Output Power Issue Ian, I would suggest before suspecting anything in between the power supply, check the voltage and the power supply terminals before tearing into anything. You already know the transceiver shows load voltage under load. If the voltage drops low at the supply then you have the culprit. If not, then go to the next connection and then measure it while transmitting. I had a voltage drop that I didn't like with the supplied power supply cable and replaced it with a 10 gauge high quality stranded cable. I took out my ASTRO Flight current/voltage wattage monitor which had lighter wiring, I ran my radio connection to my RigRunner and then measured. Voltage and output much improved. You could start from the rear of the radio, work toward the power supply, but you at least eliminate it. I do see a wiring/connector voltage drop at 20 amps draw from 13.5 volts through my PowerGate battery backup to the RigRunner which shows a voltage on the Astro Flight, which I use to monitor voltage coming off the rig runner itself, of ~12 v. I get CW output at the K3 of 100 watts out as monitored by the W2. It also wouldn't hurt to disconnect reconnect all the Andersons if that is what you are using. Corrosion potential exists for non-soldered connections especially in humid conditions. 73, Bill K9YEQ -----Original Message----- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Ian Kahn - Ham Sent: Monday, December 24, 2012 12:52 PM To: Lyle Johnson Cc: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] New Output Power Issue So, it looks like I tracked down my low output issue. The problem appears to be with my West Mountain RigRunner, not my K3. A big "thank you" to all who offered guidance on getting this thing tested and troubleshot. Thank you, 73, es Merry Christmas! --Ian Ian Kahn, KM4IK Roswell, GA EM74ua km4ik....@gmail.com K3 #281, P3 #688 HRD v5.x/6.0 Test Team On 12/24/2012 12:22 PM, Lyle Johnson wrote: > Might not be a 30W drop, but a matter of calibrations of both the > internal wattmeter (there is a menu item to adjust it) and the > external wattmeter. > > If the output power is set to 100W and the internal wattmeter is > reporting 100W, then the K3 is happy. If in fact the output power is > only 70 W (double check if the ATU is bypassed or in line, antenna > wiring and chassis connections are tight int he k3 etc), then the K3 > wattmeter may need to be calibrated. If that is the case, you need to > go to the menu and adjust it. But only do this if you are CERTAIN > your external wattmeter is in fact accurate. Once you are certain the > K3 wattmeter is reporting within spec, re-run the Tx calibration. > > BTW I think a 2V drop is still excessive. Might be long runs or light > gauge wire or ? But that is a separate issue from the wattmeter > accuracy. > > 73, > > Lyle KK7P > >> It is highly possible the culprit is my RigRunner, purchased in March >> of this year. When I took it out of line, the voltage drop went from >> over 4V on tx to under 2V (13.8V down to about 12V). Current draw is >> .78 to .82 amps on rx and 19.8 amps on tx. However, while the >> internal power meter shows 100W, an external meter into a dummy load >> only shows 70 watts out. The current and voltage readings look >> normal, according to Rev. D10 of the owner's manual. But I'm still >> concerned about a 30W drop at the output. Anyone have any other >> suggestions? > > ______________________________________________________________ > 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 ______________________________________________________________ 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
