Re: [Elecraft] XV144 for sale - reduced price SOLD!
XV144 has been sold ... SRI for the bandwidth Robert 2012/6/17 Robert Bajuk rba...@gmail.com Elecraft XV144 2m transverter - reduced price and some other items for sale http://scc.hamradio.si/s57aw_sale/ __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] International shipping costs
Here in the UK Parcel Force handle the customs clearance, not USPS. That is where the considerable delay comes in, a few months ago I had my KPA500 shipped by USPS for the significant saving in shipping cost, I could track the parcel all the way through, the tracking number changed when Parcel Force took control but I could then track it via their web site. It took approximately one week for the parcel to reach UK customs where it sat for another week... Then Parcel Force did their slow stuff, taking around 2 1/2 weeks end to end. Here we receive a letter from Parcel Force asking for payment before they will deliver. UPS on the other hand seem to have a bonus to the staff if they can beat some kind of record by getting the parcel to your door step in double quick time. My P3 and second RX for the K3 were at their UK depot (and out of customs) the morning after being picked up in California, unfortunately too late for that days delivery, but it came the next day. 2 days door to door including customs clearance isn't bad but the cost is pretty steep. 73 Dave, G4AON I wonder if USPS or their Belgian partner handles clearing the box through Belgian customs like UPS does __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Antenna Question
Neil, When you see an antenna element folded back on itself like that, think linear loading (look it up in the ARRL Handbook or similar). There is no magic, but it is one way of shortening an antenna. It is not as efficient as a full length antenna, but is more efficient than using loading coils. Everything is relative. If you have the space to put up full size half wave dipole antennas, that is the way to go. If you need shortened antennas for the lower bands, linear loading is one way to achieve resonance with shortened length. 73, Don W3FPR On 6/17/2012 11:26 PM, Niel Skousen wrote: I'm pretty sure I've seen this antenna on the net, but don't recall the name nor have I been able to find a link to a description / design data. The county ERC has a 'shortened fan dipole' with three parallel elements, spaced about 18-24 apart on each side. the longest element folds back around the mid-length element toward the shortest element. The antenna end insulator / guy rope is attached to the long element, where it folds back. There appears (from the ground) to be a 6~8 insulator / gap between the end of the shortest element, and the longest element where its been folded back. no traps, loading coils, or loading resistors that I can see. I'm assuming three or four band coverage (80, 40, 20, and 15 ??) with a 75m dipole, a 40m dipole (with 15m as a freebie), and a 20 m dipole. but would be interested in more technical details if anyone can decipher my text description above… Thanks Niel __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] k1 static charge
Don, Yes, you should be concerned for the health of your K1. If you have the KAT1 installed, the wattmeter diodes can be zapped by a charge like that. Use a resistor between the antenna and the counterpoise and if you can find a way to ground the K1 case, that would be good too. It does not need to be a wonderful ground, but even a 1 foot rod into the earth will help bleed off the static charge. The charge is most likely coming from wind static - there does not have to be much breeze to create it. 73, Don W3FPR On 6/17/2012 11:49 PM, Don Baucom wrote: Im operating portable from Taos, NM. I am using a K1 on the front porch. the antenna is a long wire about 80ft drapped over the roof connecred to binding post on the bact of the k1. The negavtive post has a 6 foot wire connected to it. The K1 will tune it to 1.5 swr. The issue is almost everytime I touch the case, I get a static spark. This seems worrisome. Should I be worried?. If so, what should I do? Taos is at 7000 feet with virtually no humidty. 73 Don K4YND -- View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/k1-static-charge-tp7557763.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ 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] KPA 500
Everyone, I have had my KPA500 linear for some time now and have been really happy with it. I use it with my K3 and they communicate with each other via the DB15 AUX cable that I built ( the one furnished by Elecraft was too short). The only issue I have encountered is the finals in the linear seem to heat up rather quickly causing the fan to kick in in a rather short period of time. it doesn't matter if I use the dummy load or a good match antenna. I also noticed the finals seem to cool rather quickly after the transmittion is terminated and the fan turns on after about 30 seconds to one minute after starting a ssb transmittion then goes to a higher speed after about 30 seconds more. If my transmittion time is greater then 2 to 3 minutes the fans go to high and the final temperature is around 70 degrees C. I have never had the linear go in to a fault because of heat. The fix. I removed the top, front, and right side panels of the KPA500. When I first built the linear I realized the mounting screws that mount the Z panel to the amplifier module were too long so I used the shorter ones that would normally go to mount the top panel. On inspecting these screws they were tight. Looking at the right panel I noticed there are 4 screws that mount the panel directly to the amplifier's heat sink. They were not as tight as I would have liked. I wanted to get the most efficient heat transfer from the module so I carefully applied some heat sink compound to the side of the heat sink of the amplifier module before carefully mounting the right sied panel back on the amplifier. I carefully made sure the 4 screws that mount from the panel to the heatsink ( which are normally covered by the handle) were solidly and carefully tightened. After inspecting the transformer connections and the rest of the inside of the linear I reassembled it and tested it out. Findings. Now when I am running ssb typically the fan doesn't come on until well in to the qso and never has the fan reach high mode. If I brick the key at 500 watts into a dummy load the fan goes high after about 2 minutes. I also noted the finals heat up slower and cool slower and the left panel temperature follows the final temperature.. Now the amp seems very happy and I am not bugged by the constant fan noise during a qso. I thought I would pass this on to everyone. Thanks and 73 Dave KD1NA __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Antenna Question
A note on folded back antennae. I have a 3 element SteppIR with the 30/40 kit. The antenna is mounted at about 67 feet above the ground. I have compared the folded antenna at 67 feet to a full sized inverted V at 40 feet and find it noticeably stronger. Even though it is only a dipole which is a little more than half length it is noticeably bi-directive with deep nulls off the element ends. It is quite effective as a DX antenna and I believe the SteppIR claim that it is only one or two dB down from a full sized rotatable dipole. Of course, its improved performance over the inverted V is mostly because of the elevation difference, but I would not hesitate to fold the ends of a dipole if restricted by lot size or other physical restraints. Willis 'Cookie' Cooke K5EWJ Trustee N5BPS, USS Cavalla, USS Stewart - Original Message - From: Don Wilhelm w3...@embarqmail.com To: Niel Skousen nskou...@talisman-intl.com Cc: Elecraft Reflector elecraft@mailman.qth.net; qr...@mailman.qth.net Sent: Monday, June 18, 2012 6:18 AM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Antenna Question Neil, When you see an antenna element folded back on itself like that, think linear loading (look it up in the ARRL Handbook or similar). There is no magic, but it is one way of shortening an antenna. It is not as efficient as a full length antenna, but is more efficient than using loading coils. Everything is relative. If you have the space to put up full size half wave dipole antennas, that is the way to go. If you need shortened antennas for the lower bands, linear loading is one way to achieve resonance with shortened length. 73, Don W3FPR On 6/17/2012 11:26 PM, Niel Skousen wrote: I'm pretty sure I've seen this antenna on the net, but don't recall the name nor have I been able to find a link to a description / design data. The county ERC has a 'shortened fan dipole' with three parallel elements, spaced about 18-24 apart on each side. the longest element folds back around the mid-length element toward the shortest element. The antenna end insulator / guy rope is attached to the long element, where it folds back. There appears (from the ground) to be a 6~8 insulator / gap between the end of the shortest element, and the longest element where its been folded back. no traps, loading coils, or loading resistors that I can see. I'm assuming three or four band coverage (80, 40, 20, and 15 ??) with a 75m dipole, a 40m dipole (with 15m as a freebie), and a 20 m dipole. but would be interested in more technical details if anyone can decipher my text description above… Thanks Niel __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] [QRP-L] Antenna Question
Please treat this reply to the below thread where an emphasis on linear loading being mo betta than a loading coil as a dialectic discussion. Something about that posit - linear loading is more efficient than a loading coil - didn't ring true with me so I did a little digging. Now, keep in mind that what I paste below may not follow, exactly, the thrust of the discussion, based on the types of antennas being considered...see what these two fellas had to say as the choice of one over the other, sorta depends (see the last quoted writeup by W8JI): This from a fella at M2: extensive modeling with AOP (antenna optimizer, professional) shows that linear loading designs using decent diameter loading component work very well and arevery efficient. Coil loading using wire size and fabrication techniques that maintain a Q of at least 300 works very well and are very efficient. The results of the multipleyears of simultaneous, on the air testing shows no detectable difference in forward gain or front to back performance using linear loading on one antenna and coilswith a Q of 500 on the other antenna. Modeling of each antenna showed virtually identical results meaning gains within .2 dB and F/B of 24 dB plus/ minus 2 dB. So it comes down to personal choice based on your local weather and esthetics Go here for the full story (about the third write up down the page) And this from that W8JI fella: Linear Loading is really nothing other than a poor form-factor inductor. The radiation from the linear loading does NOT change the radiation resistance of the antenna except as the effective position of the load might change from the direction of fold. In all cases, a proper form-factor inductor would have less loss, and provide the same radiation resistance. And another posit by that W8JI fella: Remember one thing, linear loading is like replacing a loading coil with a very low Q coil. The claim it is low loss or worse yet lossless stems from advertising by antenna manufacturers that have brainwashed the public. A typical well-constructed open wire line with large gauge copper wire configured as a stub with 450 ohms inductive reactance has a Q of about 300-400 or just over 1 ohm loss resistance at 7MHz. This isn't exceptionally good, it is just OK. (Coil Q will typically range from 200-800.) If you move down to #18 copper wire, Q is 50-150, pretty poor. Factually, the same wire size wound into a conventional coil has LESS loss and higher Q. It also isn't necessarily true the stub is more stable with weather. It is more stable if you do nothing at all to weatherproof a coil, but a coil is much easier to weatherproof and so is much more stable than a stub that is exposed to weather. A #18 AWG air-wound coil of reasonable form factor generally has a Q of 250 or more, compared to a stub of the same guage having a Q of maybe 75 to 100. So the coil has 1/3 the loss for the same reactance. If you research 75 meter Yagi's, you will see people are paying big bucks to convert them from linear loading back to coils!! If the required inductance is small, it makes no difference what you use. If the required inductance is high, better use a coil or the losses will eat you up. 72, Jim Rodenkirch, K9JWV Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2012 07:18:54 -0400 From: w3...@embarqmail.com To: nskou...@talisman-intl.com CC: elecraft@mailman.qth.net; qr...@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [QRP-L] [Elecraft] Antenna Question Neil, When you see an antenna element folded back on itself like that, think linear loading (look it up in the ARRL Handbook or similar). There is no magic, but it is one way of shortening an antenna. It is not as efficient as a full length antenna, but is more efficient than using loading coils. Everything is relative. If you have the space to put up full size half wave dipole antennas, that is the way to go. If you need shortened antennas for the lower bands, linear loading is one way to achieve resonance with shortened length. 73, Don W3FPR On 6/17/2012 11:26 PM, Niel Skousen wrote: I'm pretty sure I've seen this antenna on the net, but don't recall the name nor have I been able to find a link to a description / design data. The county ERC has a 'shortened fan dipole' with three parallel elements, spaced about 18-24 apart on each side. the longest element folds back around the mid-length element toward the shortest element. The antenna end insulator / guy rope is attached to the long element, where it folds back. There appears (from the ground) to be a 6~8 insulator / gap between the end of the shortest element, and the longest element where its been folded back. no traps, loading coils, or loading resistors that I can see. I'm assuming three or four band coverage (80, 40, 20, and 15 ??) with a 75m dipole, a 40m dipole (with 15m as a freebie), and a 20 m
Re: [Elecraft] [QRP-L] Antenna Question
Linear loading versus loading coils, top hats, etc. is a very complex subject that cannot be summed well in an email. Affordable programs that run on home computers, such as EZNEC are great tools and I use them. Professional programs that run on bigger computers are no doubt better, but I do not have access to them. But, the proof is in the pudding and to really know how well something works requires building the antenna and erecting it in the position it is to be used with the trees, buildings, soil type, etc. that will be present. Wire size is important, as is Q and the problem is very different for QRP versus medium power versus full QRO, particularly when wound coils are considered. The computer programs are great for deciding which antenna you want to try first. Trying an infinite number of variations might be better, but that would require infinite money and time. Some designs, such as the SteppIR are better with linear loading because of mechanical considerations. As previously mentioned, the design of antennas for commercial or emergency use certainly considers different things than getting the last dB for busting a pileup. The mountain topper that plans to take his station to the top of a peak certainly has different antenna criteria than the avid contester who is building his antenna farm. I have been playing with antennas for 56 years now and I am a long way from knowing all there is to know, even way short of knowing all I want to know! I don't think I will live long enough to get there, Marconi certainly didn't. Isn't ham radio great? There is so much to do and learn that you never run out of something interesting. Willis 'Cookie' Cooke K5EWJ Trustee N5BPS, USS Cavalla, USS Stewart - Original Message - From: James Rodenkirch rodenkirch_...@msn.com To: d...@w3fpr.com; nskou...@talisman-intl.com Cc: elecraft@mailman.qth.net; QRP-L qr...@mailman.qth.net Sent: Monday, June 18, 2012 7:48 AM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] [QRP-L] Antenna Question Please treat this reply to the below thread where an emphasis on linear loading being mo betta than a loading coil as a dialectic discussion. Something about that posit - linear loading is more efficient than a loading coil - didn't ring true with me so I did a little digging. Now, keep in mind that what I __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] International shipping costs
On 12-06-18 04:12 AM, Dave Johnson wrote: UPS on the other hand seem to have a bonus to the staff if they can beat some kind of record by getting the parcel to your door step [snip] including customs clearance isn't bad but the cost is pretty steep. UPS does seem to handle customs clearance and they make you pay for it if you don't have your own clearance broker. Last time (several years ago) I had something sent from US to Canada via UPS they wanted to hit me up for $45 in fees. I refused the item and had it reshipped via USPS. UPS may be a faster way to get something than if it was shipped via the local post office but if the parcel crosses a border you have to be aware you may be in for an additional fee from UPS related to customs clearance. -- Cheers! Kevin. http://www.ve3syb.ca/ |Nerds make the shiny things that distract Owner of Elecraft K2 #2172 | the mouth-breathers, and that's why we're | powerful! #include disclaimer/favourite | --Chris Hardwick __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] International shipping costs
For domestic shipment (us) the ups does a better job in tracking, and delivery. But costs are higher then USPS Outside the us, might as well hang over your wallet if shipping ups. Once I got promotional material for a trip I was organizing for a social club (read free). Usp charged me 50$ for custom clearance handling etc. Guess who I will never use? I don't like to throw money out the window. Internationally USPS better option Sent from my iPad On 2012-06-18, at 17:09, Kevin Cozens ke...@ve3syb.ca wrote: On 12-06-18 04:12 AM, Dave Johnson wrote: UPS on the other hand seem to have a bonus to the staff if they can beat some kind of record by getting the parcel to your door step [snip] including customs clearance isn't bad but the cost is pretty steep. UPS does seem to handle customs clearance and they make you pay for it if you don't have your own clearance broker. Last time (several years ago) I had something sent from US to Canada via UPS they wanted to hit me up for $45 in fees. I refused the item and had it reshipped via USPS. UPS may be a faster way to get something than if it was shipped via the local post office but if the parcel crosses a border you have to be aware you may be in for an additional fee from UPS related to customs clearance. -- Cheers! Kevin. http://www.ve3syb.ca/ |Nerds make the shiny things that distract Owner of Elecraft K2 #2172 | the mouth-breathers, and that's why we're | powerful! #include disclaimer/favourite | --Chris Hardwick __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Antenna Question
I agree that folding the low-current parts of an antenna is a good way to make it smaller. But there are several things at work in the comparison between the Steppir element and the V. Of course the height is one of them. But if you model an inverted V (90 degree angle between wires) and a dipole at the same height you will see that the dipole has significantly more gain. Many inverted V's are constructed with even smaller angles, which are worse. The V pattern also has smaller nulls on the ends. Finally, the Steppir undoubtedly has some kind of balun, and its feedline runs perpendicular to the antenna for 1/2 wavelength. All of these things improve the nulls. They also reduce noise pickup on the feedline. On 6/18/2012 5:26 AM, WILLIS COOKE wrote: A note on folded back antennae. I have a 3 element SteppIR with the 30/40 kit. The antenna is mounted at about 67 feet above the ground. I have compared the folded antenna at 67 feet to a full sized inverted V at 40 feet and find it noticeably stronger. Even though it is only a dipole which is a little more than half length it is noticeably bi-directive with deep nulls off the element ends. It is quite effective as a DX antenna and I believe the SteppIR claim that it is only one or two dB down from a full sized rotatable dipole. Of course, its improved performance over the inverted V is mostly because of the elevation difference, but I would not hesitate to fold the ends of a dipole if restricted by lot size or other physical restraints. Willis 'Cookie' Cooke K5EWJ Trustee N5BPS, USS Cavalla, USS Stewart - Original Message - From: Don Wilhelmw3...@embarqmail.com To: Niel Skousennskou...@talisman-intl.com Cc: Elecraft Reflectorelecraft@mailman.qth.net; qr...@mailman.qth.net Sent: Monday, June 18, 2012 6:18 AM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Antenna Question Neil, When you see an antenna element folded back on itself like that, think linear loading (look it up in the ARRL Handbook or similar). There is no magic, but it is one way of shortening an antenna. It is not as efficient as a full length antenna, but is more efficient than using loading coils. Everything is relative. If you have the space to put up full size half wave dipole antennas, that is the way to go. If you need shortened antennas for the lower bands, linear loading is one way to achieve resonance with shortened length. 73, Don W3FPR On 6/17/2012 11:26 PM, Niel Skousen wrote: I'm pretty sure I've seen this antenna on the net, but don't recall the name nor have I been able to find a link to a description / design data. The county ERC has a 'shortened fan dipole' with three parallel elements, spaced about 18-24 apart on each side. the longest element folds back around the mid-length element toward the shortest element. The antenna end insulator / guy rope is attached to the long element, where it folds back. There appears (from the ground) to be a 6~8 insulator / gap between the end of the shortest element, and the longest element where its been folded back. no traps, loading coils, or loading resistors that I can see. I'm assuming three or four band coverage (80, 40, 20, and 15 ??) with a 75m dipole, a 40m dipole (with 15m as a freebie), and a 20 m dipole. but would be interested in more technical details if anyone can decipher my text description above… Thanks Niel -- Vic, K2VCO Fresno CA http://www.qsl.net/k2vco/ __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] KAT500 usage model?
Thanks for all the good ideas and food for thought. I'm currently in a HOA situation on a 1 acre lot the back 1/4 of which is wooded. I got my license a couple of years after I bought the house. Those woods provide the stealth for my dipole and hexbeam. Not a lot of room for exotic setups but I'll work something out. Thanks again! jim ab3cv __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] k1 static charge
Thanks! It does not happen on the back deck with the end fed ParZ 20 meter ant. It only happens on the front with the random long wire, I think your right about the wind. Very windy. I will abandon the front op and stick to the safe antenna. I would hate fry my K1. I here for 5 more days. I think I wil put a 40 meter inv Vee up in the back. Thanks for the help 73 Don -- View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/k1-static-charge-tp7557763p755.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] KX3 and Data Mode Interface
Hi guys!I think I will use the interface I built for ft817 by modifying cabling. It comes from G4ILO (thanks a lot Julian) and I added a couple of insulation transformers 600/600 Ohm.It works fine and it's really cheap as for Usb soundcard I payed 5 $. This way I have a Vox actuated PTT and I leave the notebook (a MacBook in my case) internal soundcard to its job. In addition by pressing buttons on the card I can regulate volume without opening any window. No problem for driver as system uses it immediately without any answer even in OSx or in Win7 virtualized there. You can find this interface here :http://www.g4ilo.com/usblink.html 73 de Giorgio IK1BXN -- View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/KX3-and-Data-Mode-Interface-tp7382234p7557779.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] KAT500 usage model?
On 6/18/2012 8:47 AM, Jim Miller wrote: Those woods provide the stealth for my dipole and hexbeam. Great. Some of my antennas are in the woods. Dark colored wire and relatively small wire can be pretty stealthy. The black rope sold by Ham Radio Outlet is pretty strong and also quite stealthy. Be careful with this rope strung over tree limbs though -- it can fray as the trees move in the wind, and will eventually break. My towers in the woods are painted a dull brown color, and I've wound black tape around the boom of my SteppIR. If you want to bury coax, go to Davis Buryflex. It's also OK to drape coax over to a tree and bring it down next to the trunk, or to use a short length of smaller coax to get down to the ground and then transition to larger coax for the rest of the run to minimize loss. 73, Jim K9YC __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Antenna Question
Indeed! The purpose of the inverted V was for local NVIS coverage and was mentioned anecdotally to illustrate that folded back elements can be very effective if needed. They reduce the mechanical problems of erecting and turning a rotating dipole with minimal degradation. I can see a significant advantage where a shorter antenna is needed. We are fortunate to have a wide range of designs for our wide range of antenna problems. Sent from my iPhone On Jun 18, 2012, at 10:27, Vic K2VCO k2vco@gmail.com wrote: I agree that folding the low-current parts of an antenna is a good way to make it smaller. But there are several things at work in the comparison between the Steppir element and the V. Of course the height is one of them. But if you model an inverted V (90 degree angle between wires) and a dipole at the same height you will see that the dipole has significantly more gain. Many inverted V's are constructed with even smaller angles, which are worse. The V pattern also has smaller nulls on the ends. Finally, the Steppir undoubtedly has some kind of balun, and its feedline runs perpendicular to the antenna for 1/2 wavelength. All of these things improve the nulls. They also reduce noise pickup on the feedline. On 6/18/2012 5:26 AM, WILLIS COOKE wrote: A note on folded back antennae. I have a 3 element SteppIR with the 30/40 kit. The antenna is mounted at about 67 feet above the ground. I have compared the folded antenna at 67 feet to a full sized inverted V at 40 feet and find it noticeably stronger. Even though it is only a dipole which is a little more than half length it is noticeably bi-directive with deep nulls off the element ends. It is quite effective as a DX antenna and I believe the SteppIR claim that it is only one or two dB down from a full sized rotatable dipole. Of course, its improved performance over the inverted V is mostly because of the elevation difference, but I would not hesitate to fold the ends of a dipole if restricted by lot size or other physical restraints. Willis 'Cookie' Cooke K5EWJ Trustee N5BPS, USS Cavalla, USS Stewart - Original Message - From: Don Wilhelmw3...@embarqmail.com To: Niel Skousennskou...@talisman-intl.com Cc: Elecraft Reflectorelecraft@mailman.qth.net; qr...@mailman.qth.net Sent: Monday, June 18, 2012 6:18 AM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Antenna Question Neil, When you see an antenna element folded back on itself like that, think linear loading (look it up in the ARRL Handbook or similar). There is no magic, but it is one way of shortening an antenna. It is not as efficient as a full length antenna, but is more efficient than using loading coils. Everything is relative. If you have the space to put up full size half wave dipole antennas, that is the way to go. If you need shortened antennas for the lower bands, linear loading is one way to achieve resonance with shortened length. 73, Don W3FPR On 6/17/2012 11:26 PM, Niel Skousen wrote: I'm pretty sure I've seen this antenna on the net, but don't recall the name nor have I been able to find a link to a description / design data. The county ERC has a 'shortened fan dipole' with three parallel elements, spaced about 18-24 apart on each side. the longest element folds back around the mid-length element toward the shortest element. The antenna end insulator / guy rope is attached to the long element, where it folds back. There appears (from the ground) to be a 6~8 insulator / gap between the end of the shortest element, and the longest element where its been folded back. no traps, loading coils, or loading resistors that I can see. I'm assuming three or four band coverage (80, 40, 20, and 15 ??) with a 75m dipole, a 40m dipole (with 15m as a freebie), and a 20 m dipole. but would be interested in more technical details if anyone can decipher my text description above… Thanks Niel -- Vic, K2VCO Fresno CA http://www.qsl.net/k2vco/ __ 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] Elecraft SSB Net results (6/17/12)
I was going to check in but 20m appeared dead before net and even 15-MHz WWV was barely copied. I did hear Phil so knew the net was going but his signals were down enough that I decided not to make the attempt. Did not hear any other station on the net. 73, Ed - KL7UW, WD2XSH/45 == BP40IQ 500 KHz - 10-GHz www.kl7uw.com EME: 50-1.1kw?, 144-1.4kw, 432-QRT, 1296-?, 3400-? DUBUS Magazine USA Rep dubus...@gmail.com Kits made by KL7UW http://www.kl7uw.com/kits.htm == __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] KPA 500
My question is whether you actually increased the no-fan heat dissipation of the heat sink complex that significantly, or whether what you did is faking out the heat sensor and causing the fan to NOT come on when it actually should. It bothers me also that the increased dissipation is non-symetrical, and will cause one side of the heat sink to be at a different temperature than the other. This is a bad situation that theoretically can damage transistors by putting unequal mechanical stress on the mounting in high heat situations. It also could cause one transistor to be a lot hotter than the other. Or it COULD be that what you did equalized heat distribution. The problem is that YOU DON'T KNOW WHICH ONE. Fan speed, when it comes on, size of heat sink, etc and the transistors used are a very carefully engineered COMBO. I really would not screw around with it UNTIL you have discussed it with the Elecraft engineer and have his concurrence. There is a lot more here than meets the eye. Be very careful what you recommend to other owners. Elecraft please weigh in before this gets around as an ill-advised urban myth, if indeed it is ill-advised. Beyond that, why is everyone so aroused by fan speed? Fans keep things cool. Fans are good. My roaring 100 CFM monster fan on my contest 3-1000Z amp, my Loudenboomer, keeps me from melting it when I qsy all over the band and don't remember to retune it. I get pretty stupid late into a contest. Roaring fan makes 3-1000Z last long time. 3-1000Z getting expensive and hard to find. Roaring fan is my friend. Need to use headset anyway for best diversity on 160. Use noise cancelling headset, can't hear the roar. Fans are your friend. 73, Guy. On Mon, Jun 18, 2012 at 7:42 AM, David Robertson kd1na...@gmail.com wrote: Everyone, I have had my KPA500 linear for some time now and have been really happy with it. I use it with my K3 and they communicate with each other via the DB15 AUX cable that I built ( the one furnished by Elecraft was too short). The only issue I have encountered is the finals in the linear seem to heat up rather quickly causing the fan to kick in in a rather short period of time. it doesn't matter if I use the dummy load or a good match antenna. I also noticed the finals seem to cool rather quickly after the transmittion is terminated and the fan turns on after about 30 seconds to one minute after starting a ssb transmittion then goes to a higher speed after about 30 seconds more. If my transmittion time is greater then 2 to 3 minutes the fans go to high and the final temperature is around 70 degrees C. I have never had the linear go in to a fault because of heat. The fix. I removed the top, front, and right side panels of the KPA500. When I first built the linear I realized the mounting screws that mount the Z panel to the amplifier module were too long so I used the shorter ones that would normally go to mount the top panel. On inspecting these screws they were tight. Looking at the right panel I noticed there are 4 screws that mount the panel directly to the amplifier's heat sink. They were not as tight as I would have liked. I wanted to get the most efficient heat transfer from the module so I carefully applied some heat sink compound to the side of the heat sink of the amplifier module before carefully mounting the right sied panel back on the amplifier. I carefully made sure the 4 screws that mount from the panel to the heatsink ( which are normally covered by the handle) were solidly and carefully tightened. After inspecting the transformer connections and the rest of the inside of the linear I reassembled it and tested it out. Findings. Now when I am running ssb typically the fan doesn't come on until well in to the qso and never has the fan reach high mode. If I brick the key at 500 watts into a dummy load the fan goes high after about 2 minutes. I also noted the finals heat up slower and cool slower and the left panel temperature follows the final temperature.. Now the amp seems very happy and I am not bugged by the constant fan noise during a qso. I thought I would pass this on to everyone. Thanks and 73 Dave KD1NA __ 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] KPA500 and Yaesu FT-950
Questions about using the Yaesu FT-950 with the KPA500. - Not sure if I should connect the ALC from Yaesu FT-950 to the KPA500? voltages specs are not exactly the same. - If I get the cable to go between them will the FT-950 do auto band switching with the KPA500 if the proper cable is used, if so, does anyone know a source for the cable? Making a cable using the 10 pin mini din for the FT-950 is not easy. Thanks 73 Emory WM3M __ 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] KPA 500 Fan Noise and cooling performance
On 6/18/2012 4:42 AM, David Robertson wrote: ( ... a long message I won't include here where he improved amplifier cooling by tightening heatsink/right panel screws and used heatsink compound.) I operate my KPA500 with the fan speed set to #1 continuously which delays the increase in the increase in fan speed once the amplifier starts putting out power. My amplifier did not exceed 58 deg C after 10 minutes at 500 watts carrier output into a dummy load and it stabilized at about 60 degrees in a 25 degree C room. My right panel to heatsink screws (the ones under the handle) were all tight and that explains why my experience was better than was Dave's originally before he tightened his heatsink screws and added heatsink compound. I then added heatsink compound to the mating surface between my heatsink and the right side panel. There was no difference in cooling performance at all. I just wanted to know .. and now I do .. and so do you. The KPA500 fan is as quiet as any muffin fan ought to be but it was still annoying to me. That is not an amplifier fault .. it is just that I have good hearing and I prefer a *very quiet shack. For those who may be like me in that regard here is how I reduced the normal fan noise of my amplifier. In my amplifier much of the fan noise was actually coming from the sheet metal of the amplifier structure which was being excited by the vibration of the fan which is rigidly attached to the amplifier structure so that fan vibration was communicated to the structure which then resonated and amplified the fan noise. When I removed the fan and held it loosely in my hand while it was running I could feel the light high frequency 'buzz' produced by the rotating magnetic field of the fan and also, crucially, the lower frequency throb caused by a slight weight imbalance in the rotor. I used a small piece of sticky pad (normally used to mount components to a chassis, etc) and placed this very small weight at various points on the rotor blades until, by trial and error, found the 'sweet' spot which resulted in greatly reduced throb. That reduced fan noise considerably. Then, to reduce transmission of fan vibration to the amplifier structure even further, I mounted the fan loosely to the back of the amplifier using soft quarter-inch cushions between the fan and the amplifier. I used light wire to do the actual attachment instead of the long screws that are standard. The overall effect is considerably less fan noise and I am very happy about that. The fan mounting is fragile and not to be recommended if the amplifier is to be moved very much but in my installation it is just fine. By the way, I carefully compared cooling performance before and after the fan mounting modification and found no difference at all. I also noticed during my testing that the direction of airflow makes no difference. Don K7FJ __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] KPA 500
The fan rarely ever kicks in for me. My QSO's are pretty short. DX, contests. The only time I have really seen the fans go on is with RTTY. To it sounds like the OP has or had a problem with the initial build. If the screws were loose that secured the heat sink panel I could see that being problematic. When in J6 we upped the fan speed on the outset to about 3 because it was always 80 degrees plus and very humid so I wanted to keep the air moving. We ran the CQ WW CW and never had one issue with heat or anything for that matter. Mike W0MU W0MU-1 CC Cluster w0mu.net:23 or w0mu-1.dnsdynamic.com Http://www.w0mu.com On 6/18/2012 11:51 AM, Guy Olinger K2AV wrote: My question is whether you actually increased the no-fan heat dissipation of the heat sink complex that significantly, or whether what you did is faking out the heat sensor and causing the fan to NOT come on when it actually should. It bothers me also that the increased dissipation is non-symetrical, and will cause one side of the heat sink to be at a different temperature than the other. This is a bad situation that theoretically can damage transistors by putting unequal mechanical stress on the mounting in high heat situations. It also could cause one transistor to be a lot hotter than the other. Or it COULD be that what you did equalized heat distribution. The problem is that YOU DON'T KNOW WHICH ONE. Fan speed, when it comes on, size of heat sink, etc and the transistors used are a very carefully engineered COMBO. I really would not screw around with it UNTIL you have discussed it with the Elecraft engineer and have his concurrence. There is a lot more here than meets the eye. Be very careful what you recommend to other owners. Elecraft please weigh in before this gets around as an ill-advised urban myth, if indeed it is ill-advised. Beyond that, why is everyone so aroused by fan speed? Fans keep things cool. Fans are good. My roaring 100 CFM monster fan on my contest 3-1000Z amp, my Loudenboomer, keeps me from melting it when I qsy all over the band and don't remember to retune it. I get pretty stupid late into a contest. Roaring fan makes 3-1000Z last long time. 3-1000Z getting expensive and hard to find. Roaring fan is my friend. Need to use headset anyway for best diversity on 160. Use noise cancelling headset, can't hear the roar. Fans are your friend. 73, Guy. On Mon, Jun 18, 2012 at 7:42 AM, David Robertsonkd1na...@gmail.com wrote: Everyone, I have had my KPA500 linear for some time now and have been really happy with it. I use it with my K3 and they communicate with each other via the DB15 AUX cable that I built ( the one furnished by Elecraft was too short). The only issue I have encountered is the finals in the linear seem to heat up rather quickly causing the fan to kick in in a rather short period of time. it doesn't matter if I use the dummy load or a good match antenna. I also noticed the finals seem to cool rather quickly after the transmittion is terminated and the fan turns on after about 30 seconds to one minute after starting a ssb transmittion then goes to a higher speed after about 30 seconds more. If my transmittion time is greater then 2 to 3 minutes the fans go to high and the final temperature is around 70 degrees C. I have never had the linear go in to a fault because of heat. The fix. I removed the top, front, and right side panels of the KPA500. When I first built the linear I realized the mounting screws that mount the Z panel to the amplifier module were too long so I used the shorter ones that would normally go to mount the top panel. On inspecting these screws they were tight. Looking at the right panel I noticed there are 4 screws that mount the panel directly to the amplifier's heat sink. They were not as tight as I would have liked. I wanted to get the most efficient heat transfer from the module so I carefully applied some heat sink compound to the side of the heat sink of the amplifier module before carefully mounting the right sied panel back on the amplifier. I carefully made sure the 4 screws that mount from the panel to the heatsink ( which are normally covered by the handle) were solidly and carefully tightened. After inspecting the transformer connections and the rest of the inside of the linear I reassembled it and tested it out. Findings. Now when I am running ssb typically the fan doesn't come on until well in to the qso and never has the fan reach high mode. If I brick the key at 500 watts into a dummy load the fan goes high after about 2 minutes. I also noted the finals heat up slower and cool slower and the left panel temperature follows the final temperature.. Now the amp seems very happy and I am not bugged by the constant fan noise during a qso. I thought I would pass this on to everyone. Thanks and 73 Dave KD1NA
Re: [Elecraft] KPA 500
Guy: Without putting too fine an edge on it and if I understand David it seems he has increased the thermal conductivity and thereby decreased the temperature differential across the heatsink assembly. This reduces thermal stress and is a good thing and similar to what you strive to do with your monster fan. The difference is one of finesse and brute force. Because neither surface area nor air path is affected it is unlikely dissipation is changed. He is just making better use of the heatsink. Thermal conductivity, the reciprocal of thermal resistance, has changed. This resistance is part of a thermal time constant affecting how fast the fan turns on and off so we should not be surprised the fan turns on and off at a different rate. 73, Fred AE6QL -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Guy Olinger K2AV Sent: Monday, June 18, 2012 10:52 AM To: David Robertson Cc: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] KPA 500 My question is whether you actually increased the no-fan heat dissipation of the heat sink complex that significantly, or whether what you did is faking out the heat sensor and causing the fan to NOT come on when it actually should. It bothers me also that the increased dissipation is non-symetrical, and will cause one side of the heat sink to be at a different temperature than the other. This is a bad situation that theoretically can damage transistors by putting unequal mechanical stress on the mounting in high heat situations. It also could cause one transistor to be a lot hotter than the other. Or it COULD be that what you did equalized heat distribution. The problem is that YOU DON'T KNOW WHICH ONE. Fan speed, when it comes on, size of heat sink, etc and the transistors used are a very carefully engineered COMBO. I really would not screw around with it UNTIL you have discussed it with the Elecraft engineer and have his concurrence. There is a lot more here than meets the eye. Be very careful what you recommend to other owners. Elecraft please weigh in before this gets around as an ill-advised urban myth, if indeed it is ill-advised. Beyond that, why is everyone so aroused by fan speed? Fans keep things cool. Fans are good. My roaring 100 CFM monster fan on my contest 3-1000Z amp, my Loudenboomer, keeps me from melting it when I qsy all over the band and don't remember to retune it. I get pretty stupid late into a contest. Roaring fan makes 3-1000Z last long time. 3-1000Z getting expensive and hard to find. Roaring fan is my friend. Need to use headset anyway for best diversity on 160. Use noise cancelling headset, can't hear the roar. Fans are your friend. 73, Guy. On Mon, Jun 18, 2012 at 7:42 AM, David Robertson kd1na...@gmail.com wrote: Everyone, I have had my KPA500 linear for some time now and have been really happy with it. I use it with my K3 and they communicate with each other via the DB15 AUX cable that I built ( the one furnished by Elecraft was too short). The only issue I have encountered is the finals in the linear seem to heat up rather quickly causing the fan to kick in in a rather short period of time. it doesn't matter if I use the dummy load or a good match antenna. I also noticed the finals seem to cool rather quickly after the transmittion is terminated and the fan turns on after about 30 seconds to one minute after starting a ssb transmittion then goes to a higher speed after about 30 seconds more. If my transmittion time is greater then 2 to 3 minutes the fans go to high and the final temperature is around 70 degrees C. I have never had the linear go in to a fault because of heat. The fix. I removed the top, front, and right side panels of the KPA500. When I first built the linear I realized the mounting screws that mount the Z panel to the amplifier module were too long so I used the shorter ones that would normally go to mount the top panel. On inspecting these screws they were tight. Looking at the right panel I noticed there are 4 screws that mount the panel directly to the amplifier's heat sink. They were not as tight as I would have liked. I wanted to get the most efficient heat transfer from the module so I carefully applied some heat sink compound to the side of the heat sink of the amplifier module before carefully mounting the right sied panel back on the amplifier. I carefully made sure the 4 screws that mount from the panel to the heatsink ( which are normally covered by the handle) were solidly and carefully tightened. After inspecting the transformer connections and the rest of the inside of the linear I reassembled it and tested it out. Findings. Now when I am running ssb typically the fan doesn't come on until well in to the qso and never has the fan reach high mode. If I brick the key at 500 watts into a dummy load the fan goes high after about 2 minutes. I also noted
Re: [Elecraft] KPA 500
Actually, he has thermally attached the side panel to the existing heat sink assembly. I don't know what percentage of the radiating area, but considering the mass of the heat sink and the confined air flow, IMHO the change seems exaggerated for just adding a few percent thermal dissipation, unless it's close to the sink's temperature sensor. Again, this conversation needs to be with the engineer. It could be an improvement, and it could dangerous. Elecraft please weigh in. 73, Guy. On Mon, Jun 18, 2012 at 2:46 PM, Fred Townsend ftowns...@sbcglobal.netwrote: Guy: Without putting too fine an edge on it and if I understand David it seems he has increased the thermal conductivity and thereby decreased the temperature differential across the heatsink assembly. This reduces thermal stress and is a good thing and similar to what you strive to do with your monster fan. The difference is one of finesse and brute force. Because neither surface area nor air path is affected it is unlikely dissipation is changed. He is just making better use of the heatsink. Thermal conductivity, the reciprocal of thermal resistance, has changed. This resistance is part of a thermal time constant affecting how fast the fan turns on and off so we should not be surprised the fan turns on and off at a different rate. 73, Fred AE6QL -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Guy Olinger K2AV Sent: Monday, June 18, 2012 10:52 AM To: David Robertson Cc: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] KPA 500 My question is whether you actually increased the no-fan heat dissipation of the heat sink complex that significantly, or whether what you did is faking out the heat sensor and causing the fan to NOT come on when it actually should. It bothers me also that the increased dissipation is non-symetrical, and will cause one side of the heat sink to be at a different temperature than the other. This is a bad situation that theoretically can damage transistors by putting unequal mechanical stress on the mounting in high heat situations. It also could cause one transistor to be a lot hotter than the other. Or it COULD be that what you did equalized heat distribution. The problem is that YOU DON'T KNOW WHICH ONE. Fan speed, when it comes on, size of heat sink, etc and the transistors used are a very carefully engineered COMBO. I really would not screw around with it UNTIL you have discussed it with the Elecraft engineer and have his concurrence. There is a lot more here than meets the eye. Be very careful what you recommend to other owners. Elecraft please weigh in before this gets around as an ill-advised urban myth, if indeed it is ill-advised. Beyond that, why is everyone so aroused by fan speed? Fans keep things cool. Fans are good. My roaring 100 CFM monster fan on my contest 3-1000Z amp, my Loudenboomer, keeps me from melting it when I qsy all over the band and don't remember to retune it. I get pretty stupid late into a contest. Roaring fan makes 3-1000Z last long time. 3-1000Z getting expensive and hard to find. Roaring fan is my friend. Need to use headset anyway for best diversity on 160. Use noise cancelling headset, can't hear the roar. Fans are your friend. 73, Guy. On Mon, Jun 18, 2012 at 7:42 AM, David Robertson kd1na...@gmail.com wrote: Everyone, I have had my KPA500 linear for some time now and have been really happy with it. I use it with my K3 and they communicate with each other via the DB15 AUX cable that I built ( the one furnished by Elecraft was too short). The only issue I have encountered is the finals in the linear seem to heat up rather quickly causing the fan to kick in in a rather short period of time. it doesn't matter if I use the dummy load or a good match antenna. I also noticed the finals seem to cool rather quickly after the transmittion is terminated and the fan turns on after about 30 seconds to one minute after starting a ssb transmittion then goes to a higher speed after about 30 seconds more. If my transmittion time is greater then 2 to 3 minutes the fans go to high and the final temperature is around 70 degrees C. I have never had the linear go in to a fault because of heat. The fix. I removed the top, front, and right side panels of the KPA500. When I first built the linear I realized the mounting screws that mount the Z panel to the amplifier module were too long so I used the shorter ones that would normally go to mount the top panel. On inspecting these screws they were tight. Looking at the right panel I noticed there are 4 screws that mount the panel directly to the amplifier's heat sink. They were not as tight as I would have liked. I wanted to get the most efficient heat transfer from the module so I carefully applied some heat sink compound to the side of the heat sink of
[Elecraft] KX3 - Elecraft ProSet-K2 for KX3
Hi, Together with my KX3 (#29) I also ordered “Proset-K2 Boom Headset For the KX3/K3/ K2 (Heil iC element)”. Now I need help to connect ProSet-K2 to KX3. Phone connection is OK but when I connect the microphone connector to MIC (mono connector) KX3 starts transmitting. Any help would be appreciated. 73, Ruchan TA2AH __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] KX3 - Elecraft ProSet-K2 for KX3
Go into the menu, and set MIC BTN to OFF. see page 37 of the manual for explanation of this setting. GL, Bruce, N1RX Hi, Together with my KX3 (#29) I also ordered Proset-K2 Boom Headset For the KX3/K3/ K2 (Heil iC element). Now I need help to connect ProSet-K2 to KX3. Phone connection is OK but when I connect the microphone connector to MIC (mono connector) KX3 starts transmitting. Any help would be appreciated. 73, Ruchan TA2AH __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] KPA 500
Hmmm ... Tight screws yes. Beyond that, I'd be somewhat wary of re-engineering the thermodynamics of the KPA500 ... OK, very wary. I have a KX1, K2, K3, P3, and KPA500. They all have one thing in common: Elecraft equipment is very carefully and meticulously engineered -- electrically, mechanically, and thermodynamically. My 500 on RTTY at 500W stabilizes at about 69 C. The fan seems to come on high [the only speed I can hear with the cans on] at 70 C, and it does occasionally but the temp drops immediately and it cycles down. I'd check with Elecraft Engineering before changing anything. 73, Fred K6DGW - Northern California Contest Club - CU in the 2012 Cal QSO Party 6-7 Oct 2012 - www.cqp.org On 6/18/2012 4:42 AM, David Robertson wrote: The fix. I removed the top, front, and right side panels of the KPA500. When I first built the linear I realized the mounting screws that mount the Z panel to the amplifier module were too long so I used the shorter ones that would normally go to mount the top panel. On inspecting these screws they were tight. Looking at the right panel I noticed there are 4 screws that mount the panel directly to the amplifier's heat sink. They were not as tight as I would have liked. I wanted to get the most efficient heat transfer from the module so I carefully applied some heat sink compound to the side of the heat sink of the amplifier module before carefully mounting the right sied panel back on the amplifier. I carefully made sure the 4 screws that mount from the panel to the heatsink ( which are normally covered by the handle) were solidly and carefully tightened. After inspecting the transformer connections and the rest of the inside of the linear I reassembled it and tested it out. __ 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] [K3] Lost output power...
Hi all, Before I contact service, I thought I might post my problem here in case it is something fairly simple. I returned from a 2.5 week vacation a couple of weeks ago and sat down to do the firmware upgrade to my K3. I had my K3 powered off and disconnected the antenna while away but it was still connected to a serial hub, paddles, P3 etc. It powered up just fine and I have never received any type of error message. After the firmware upgrade, I went to perform the TX Gain Calibration and noticed there is no power output. No matter what power level I set, I have no output either via the Tune function or keying. In fact, hitting the ATU Tune button only displays - - on the front panel. I can hear the relays go through their routine, but it never displays the SWR. I searched the archives and found a few who reported similar problems, but only a couple of solutions and a few without any resolution. I've ruled out all the settings things I could find i.e Test Mode, Tnx Inh is set to off etc. I did remove the KPA3 and I/O board and inserted the bypass connector and still the same result. I do have transverter output, so it is something past that - I'm presuming in the LPA area. I really don't know if I had power output before the firmware upgrade or not as I just didn't think to try it especially without receiving any kind of error message. And I'm pretty sure everything was working before I left for Dayton. Anyway, I just thought I'd ask here first before contacting service in case it is a known problem I just didn't find on Nabble. Thanks in advance 73, Dave W8FGU __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] K2 VFO Freq Display Stuck (again)
Don, I wasn't able to reproduce the intermittent small voltage drop in encoder pins 3 and 4 today, when they are disconnected from the board. Not sure why. I reconnected them and they both show nearly identical resting voltages (4.4-4.6V) and both vary in unison by a very small voltage (~0.05V) as I turn the encoder. So, I guess the encoder is toast along with U3. Unfortunately, the encoder is about 92 bux! BTW, I'm in Costa Rica, not VK-Land, but the shipping is lengthy in either case. I have to have parts shipped via a 3rd party because Elecraft's label on the outside will get them caught in Customs, which for me is a 6 hour RT drive and 2 hours standing in line! I'd rather wait the extra month it takes to get them here to avoid that (I don't mind paying duty, but that trip is really beyond the pale). 73, Casey - Cloud Warmer Ham Radio Blog -- View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/K2-VFO-Freq-Display-Stuck-again-tp7136782p7557794.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ 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] Got me - great marketing?
Well I just heard about the KX3 in March - placed an order 3/31 only to hear the dreaded 90 - 120 days - signed onto this group and such a friendly and enthusiastic group I was hooked - have always heard such great things about Elecraft but it took this to convince me to sell some stuff including my well loved 1000MP and some other stuff and today I had enough to order a K3-100 also! Now I have 2 kits to look forward to! Thanks to all - I've learned a lot already. Joe w9jc Sent from my iPhone __ 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] Possible power supply option for the KX3
In doing some research for a possible portable power supply for the KX3, I found this option at a local Fry's that I am near while working an out of state client - http://www.frys.com/product/5872563?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG $30 for a 5.8 Amp power supply. It comes with a Cigarette lighter plug receptacle for the DC side. While waiting for the delivery of my KX3, I am thinking about either building a power cord for the KX3 that terminates into a cigarette lighter plug or cut over the receptacle on the power supply and use Anderson powerpole connectors. In the mean time, wanted to let others know about this as a possible option. What I like about this particular one is that it is reasonably compact and the max load presented by the KX3 only uses about 50% of the power supply's rating. Hope this helps someone, Ron KA4KYI __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] KPA 500
On Mon, Jun 18, 2012 at 2:59 PM, Guy Olinger K2AV olin...@bellsouth.netwrote: Again, this conversation needs to be with the engineer. It could be an improvement, and it could dangerous. Elecraft please weigh in. Hi again, David, I have the following from Robert Friess, who is Elecraft's designer on this product: Hi Guy, Reducing the thermal resistance to the side panel will have a negligible effect on cooling the amplifier. There are several reasons for this. Most important is that the side panel is made of steel which has a much higher thermal resistance than aluminium. Next, the internal heat sink has forced air cooling and a much larger surface area which provides much better heat exchange than convection over the side panel. Finally, the side panel is some distance from the output devices resulting in a considerable thermal gradient between the transistors and the side panel. The temperature sensor is about 1 inch from the output devices on the aluminum heatsink and tracks the case temperature of the transistors very well. I can't offer any explanation for the observed result when the thermal compound was added. It shouldn't make any difference at all. 73, Bob, N6CM --- Perhaps your reassembly of various items fixed a current path somewhere, something mechanical? Your results did seem strange to me from the onset. Glad yours is working correctly now. 73, Guy. __ 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] When might MCU 4.51 / DSP 2.76 Become Alpha
__ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Possible power supply option for the KX3
http://www.amazon.com/Sunforce-AC-DC-Power-Converter/product-reviews/B000 FIY08U/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt/179-7517683-1590301?ie=UTF8showViewpoint s=1 On Mon, 18 Jun 2012 21:09:42 -0500 Ronald Nutter ron.nut...@networkref.com writes: In doing some research for a possible portable power supply for the KX3, I found this option at a local Fry's that I am near while working an out of state client - http://www.frys.com/product/5872563?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG $30 for a 5.8 Amp power supply. It comes with a Cigarette lighter plug receptacle for the DC side. While waiting for the delivery of my KX3, I am thinking about either building a power cord for the KX3 that terminates into a cigarette lighter plug or cut over the receptacle on the power supply and use Anderson powerpole connectors. In the mean time, wanted to let others know about this as a possible option. What I like about this particular one is that it is reasonably compact and the max load presented by the KX3 only uses about 50% of the power supply's rating. Hope this helps someone, Ron KA4KYI __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Got me - great marketing?
Hi Joe, You will not be disappointed. I am a newbie ham (17 months).and Elecraft owner (9 months). The K3 has not disappointed! I own a fully loaded K3 serial #1391 and just bought a used less loaded K3 #1526 which will arrive at the homestead on Thursday. I also bought a KX3 on Dec 31st and am excited and waiting on its arrival. Almost full transition from Yaesu has taken place. You can hear the value! Have fun! Keith AG6AZ Sent from my iPhone please excuse typos On Jun 18, 2012, at 6:06 PM, Joe Carter j...@case.edu wrote: Well I just heard about the KX3 in March - placed an order 3/31 only to hear the dreaded 90 - 120 days - signed onto this group and such a friendly and enthusiastic group I was hooked - have always heard such great things about Elecraft but it took this to convince me to sell some stuff including my well loved 1000MP and some other stuff and today I had enough to order a K3-100 also! Now I have 2 kits to look forward to! Thanks to all - I've learned a lot already. Joe w9jc Sent from my iPhone __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Possible power supply option for the KX3
Thanks. Hadnt looked at Amazon since I had to stop at a local Fry's. Ron KA4KYI On 6/18/12 9:34 PM, riese-k3...@juno.com wrote: http://www.amazon.com/Sunforce-AC-DC-Power-Converter/product-reviews/B000 FIY08U/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt/179-7517683-1590301?ie=UTF8showViewpoint s=1 __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Possible power supply option for the KX3
I would not use a supply that was not designed/marketed specifically for radio use. RFI could be awful. Vic, K2VCO On Jun 18, 2012, at 7:09 PM, Ronald Nutter ron.nut...@networkref.com wrote: In doing some research for a possible portable power supply for the KX3, I found this option at a local Fry's that I am near while working an out of state client - http://www.frys.com/product/5872563?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG $30 for a 5.8 Amp power supply. It comes with a Cigarette lighter plug receptacle for the DC side. While waiting for the delivery of my KX3, I am thinking about either building a power cord for the KX3 that terminates into a cigarette lighter plug or cut over the receptacle on the power supply and use Anderson powerpole connectors. In the mean time, wanted to let others know about this as a possible option. What I like about this particular one is that it is reasonably compact and the max load presented by the KX3 only uses about 50% of the power supply's rating. Hope this helps someone, Ron KA4KYI __ 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
