Hi Don, You (and Matt) might have a point with the power connection. I connect to the battery poles (which have the shape of blades) with copper clips, which are of rather thin copper sheet, so the contact surface is perhaps too small and too "loose". I will build a better connection next.
My 259 connectors are well tight, so I don't expect any improvement there using pliers. However, should the battery connection improvement not yield the desired result, I will look at the 259s (of which I have four in the feedlines/balun string, plus two female-to-male adapters). Contingency tests have not shown any issues, though. But that was just an Ohm meter with 3V running through. 73, Arno K7RNO -----Original Message----- From: Don Wilhelm [mailto:w3...@embarqmail.com] Sent: Friday, August 30, 2013 12:17 To: Arno Dienhart Cc: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] KX3 power reverts from 10W back to 5W Arno, Even though the battery voltage measures (as an average) at 11.7 volts during transmit, my suspicion is that it may be "glitching" for brief periods below 11 volts and the detection circuit trips forcing the KX3 to low power. Check all the connections to your power source and make certain they are "wrench tight" for a starting effort. The other thing to check are the connections in the antenna system. Again, a loose connection can cause a 'glitch' to a higher SWR. PL-259 connections that are simply 'finger tightened' are possible suspects, snug them up a bit with pliers. Unlike BNC, N, TNC, etc, PL-259s depend on being tight to make the shield connection. 73, Don W3FPR On 8/30/2013 1:50 PM, Arno Dienhart wrote: > I would like to come back to this topic with an update after still > experiencing the same issue. > > I now use my ZS6BKW with a 1:1 current balun between the twin line and > the coax. I have tried a 70' and a 30' length of coax to the rig. If > you think it will solve the problem, I might even try a 5' length and > smolder in the sun! > > My battery shows 11.4 V during transmit on the KX3's PS meter. > > SWRs are never higher than 1.3:1 after tuning. > > PA temperatures are never very high (sitting in the shade). > > I have tried lower W settings, like 8W, which, on some bands, hold for > a while. On other bands, they too revert back to 5W. > > So, if this is all normal, I don't understand why the KX3 is rated at 10W. > Or asking in a different way: what needs to be present to keep the > transmitter from reverting down from 10W, and how can I achieve that > state with my setup? > > Please keep in mind that I don't have any antenna analyzing > instruments other than what the KX3 provides. > > Thank you and 73, > > Arno K7RNO > > ______________________________________________________________ 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
