To be honest, Neal, I haven't had it off the dummy load yet. I have everything in the shack pulled apart, the installation of the KPA500 having induced me to attack the cable spaghetti. Tomorrow morning I'll put everything back together and we'll see what's what. My first impression is very positive.
I got the kit and it took a good bit longer to ship than they told me it would. It arrived very well packaged: about six boxes inside the shipping carton, plus a number of ziploc bags. Each bag and box is labeled, "Transformer Assy," "PCB Set Assy," etc. In general, all the parts and pieces needed to complete each sub-assembly are in one place, but not 100%. I did some muttering and cursing about not being supplied with enough fasteners, only to discover that the fasteners for *this* assembly were actually packaged in the box with *that *assembly. The supplied construction manual is crystal clear with detailed instructions and many photos. There were a couple of small deviations from the manual. The coax connectors, for example, were not as illustrated--but easy enough to sort out. One big ribbon cable is lavishly illustrated in the images but never referred to at all in text, except for an admonition to fold up the excess behind the front panel and not between the side panel and the toroidal transformer. This is a no-solder kit. The power supply, rectifier board, front panel display and switches, and the PA/filter stack arrive fully assembled and tested. You are cautioned repeatedly about not touching the pots or moving the inductors. The clear, if unwritten, message is, "OK, dude, you may * think* you can touch up the alignment better than we can, but you can't, so leave it alone." Essentially, you mount the various electronic sub-assemblies, make the necessary connections, and the rest is sheet metal work. There is a veritable plethora of tiny pan-head screws, flat head screws, split lock washers, interior tooth lock washers, nuts with captive washers, nuts without captive washers, nylon shoulder washers, 2D fasteners, standoffs...all in about 6 different sizes and 6 different lengths--sometimes only 1/16" different. Most are easily accessible but some require a bit of dexterity to work in tight spaces. You're going to want egg cartons or parts trays and a long pair of angled-tip forceps if you build this one. There are several strong cautions about using the correct lengths of screws in the correct places and I followed these precisely. I noticed, though, that there were only a very few places where an overlong screw would have impinged on something or an overshort screw wouldn't have worked. I ended up thinking that Elecraft could have made the assembler's job a lot easier and faster had they specified particular lengths only when it really mattered rather than making you fear that life-as-we-know-it would end if you used a 4-40 3/16" screw instead of a 4-40 1/4" screw. The fit and finish is quite good though perhaps not quite up to Flex standards as the case is flat sheet metal and the finished assembly has a very plain, utilitarian appearance. The finished box is solid as a rock. All the parts are of high quality and the boards look top notch. There are 19 pushbuttons on the front and all provide a crisp tactile feedback. No mushy, "did I push it enough or didn't I" experiences. The small LCD panel defaults to band info (1.8, 3.5, 7, 14, etc..) but can also display high voltage, current, power output, SWL, or temperature. There's also an extended menu system for all the usual tweaks and jiggles. Assembly took about four hours including a longish lunch break and a couple of play-with-the-dogs breaks. Fired up and ran perfectly. Ten watts in got me 200 out on the first try. The waveform looks extremely clean. The fan, which ostensibly has six speeds, is very quiet though I haven't pushed it hard enough to get it up to the faster revs yet. In short, I'm impressed though I haven't really put it through its paces so far. The frequency sensing auto bandswitching, very clear displays (LCD and *many* LEDs), and extensive error protection beat the hell out of cranking plate and load knobs and turning down the AC to offset heat of the orange light bulbs. Any of you gentlemen who know the KPA500, chime in with your perspectives. Bill On Sat, Oct 1, 2011 at 9:25 PM, Neal Campbell <[email protected]> wrote: > Bill > > What are your first impressions using the 5000 with the KPA? I am sure many > of us would consider such a setup. > > 73 > > On Sat, Oct 1, 2011 at 7:19 PM, William H. Fite <[email protected]> wrote: > >> I just built an Elecraft KPA500 to drive with my Flex 5000. However, >> I now have a serious problem. >> >> I put the amp on the same shelf as the radio but every time I walk out of >> the shack the 5000 tries to push the KPA500 off on the floor. I've >> installed sea rails but I need a better long term solution. >> >> Who's our expert on malignant device competition??? >> >> Bill >> _______________________________________________ >> Flexedge mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexedge_flex-radio.biz >> This is the FlexRadio Systems e-mail Reflector called FlexEdge. It is >> used for posting topics related to SDR software development and >> experimentalist who are using beta versions of the software. >> > > > > -- > Neal Campbell > Owner > Abroham Neal LLC > Work: +1 540 645 5394 > Mobile: +1 540 645 8171 > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ Flexedge mailing list [email protected] http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexedge_flex-radio.biz This is the FlexRadio Systems e-mail Reflector called FlexEdge. It is used for posting topics related to SDR software development and experimentalist who are using beta versions of the software.
