Re: [Elecraft] Enhancements for SO2R (was KPA 1500 - SO2R)

[Wayne Burdick]

Randy,

I'm pretty sure we could support per-antenna ATU settings for multiple external 
antennas in both KAT500 and KPA1500 firmware. We'd need to get the data from 
the external switch box, or from a computer application.

I'll run this by the QRO product software team. 

73,
Wayne
N6KR


http://www.elecraft.com

> On Apr 27, 2017, at 12:45 PM, Randy Farmer  wrote:
> 
> I'm changing the topic to more accurately reflect the ongoing discussion.
> 
> I'm also using a KAT500 on each of my two K-lines in my SO2R station, and I 
> too would appreciate a bit more "intelligence" in the KAT500. My fully 
> automated antenna switching arrangement uses a microHAM Double Ten switch, 
> with the control for the two radio ports coming from a Station Master on each 
> radio, so there are only two feedlines that enter the radio room.The antenna 
> switching hardware is concealed in the attic on the other side of the wall 
> from the station. Like everyone else who has attempted to set up a SO2R 
> station using multiband antennas, I've grappled with the problem that the 
> design of all the currently available switching and control hardware 
> explicitly assumes you have separate antennas for each band. For many of us, 
> this just isn't true.
> 
> I mainly use the KAT500 as a line flattener for my 160, 80 and 40 meter 
> antennas; no problem there. But.. I also have a 20-15-10 dipole that I use 
> for the second radio on the high bands. The dipole is pretty low and isn't 
> particularly well matched, especially on 15 and 10. I now have the KAT500 on 
> the secondary radio set up to match the dipole on 20 through 10. However, if 
> I'm running SO2R with the primary radio on 40 and the secondary radio on 20 
> then I'll normally switch my SteppIR to the secondary radio, meaning I have 
> to remember to put the KAT500 in bypass, and then to change it back later. 
> Sometimes I don't. (Mother Nature and Father Time, you know.)
> 
> Even in SO1R mode, I sometimes want to quickly switch to the dipole on the 
> high bands if someone calls me well out of the beam's main lobe. The Station 
> Master makes the actual switching very easy via a keypad on the desk, but in 
> this case I end up with the radio looking into a fairly high VSWR antenna if 
> I don't also manually put the KAT500 in bypass mode. This isn't so good, 
> especially if I'm running the KPA500.
> 
> What would be REALLY NICE would be if there were some way for the KAT500 to 
> know which ANTENNA has been selected, and switch in the appropriate matching 
> solution for that antenna on that band. I don't see any way to do this, given 
> the present architecture. If there were some additional communication channel 
> between the station control hardware and the KAT500 (and other Elecraft 
> products) such as an extended command over the RS232 link in the case of the 
> KAT500 or over the USB link for the KPA1500, conveying both band information 
> and antenna ID could potentially be done. A simple 4 bit band code wouldn't 
> be sufficient, but perhaps an 8 bit word with 4 bits of band information and 
> 4 bits of antenna number would work. Of course, there then remains the 
> not-so-small matter of formatting and transmitting this information packet 
> from a wide variety of station control architectures using hardware from a 
> number of vendors. Perhaps if Elecraft were to pave the way by implementing 
> this capability the makers of the various commercial controllers would be 
> willing to code in support for the feature. Just thinking out loud, and 
> wishing...
> 
> 73...
> Randy, W8FN
> 
> 
>> On 4/25/2017 10:11 PM, Bob wrote:
>> Hi Bill,
>> 
>>   No XYL requests involved but in a similar manner I have reduced the 
>> feed lines into the shack.  I have a remote antenna switch system consisting 
>> of an Array Solutions Rat Pack with the Ten Tec interface box.  This is 
>> under control of an Elecraft KRC2 unit.  It saves many feet of coax and 
>> reduces the in shack cable clutter.
>> 
>>   Station is K3, KPA500 and KAT500 and more Elecraft with K2 and KX3. My 
>> issue is I'm not getting full value from the KAT500. It is capable of 
>> switching 3 antennas.  But with a single feed line on position one all else 
>> is lost.  So my request would be to be able select alternative programmed 
>> values by using the KAT 500 antenna switch. Any manually selected antenna 
>> would apply tuner values to the antenna position but ANT 1 would remain 
>> selected. As it is now it works but requires retuning when manually changing 
>> between selected, say, 80 meter antennas and prior values are lost. In 
>> hardware I could do it now but don't want to butcher the KAT500.
>> 
>>   Well beyond my pay grade as I do not know how much reprogramming would 
>> be required in the firmware and utility to select this as an option.
>> 
>>This option could possibly be done in the KPA1500 too. Certainly be a 
>> plus in consideration of the 

[Elecraft] Enhancements for SO2R (was KPA 1500 - SO2R)

[Randy Farmer]

I'm changing the topic to more accurately reflect the ongoing discussion.

I'm also using a KAT500 on each of my two K-lines in my SO2R station, 
and I too would appreciate a bit more "intelligence" in the KAT500. My 
fully automated antenna switching arrangement uses a microHAM Double Ten 
switch, with the control for the two radio ports coming from a Station 
Master on each radio, so there are only two feedlines that enter the 
radio room.The antenna switching hardware is concealed in the attic on 
the other side of the wall from the station. Like everyone else who has 
attempted to set up a SO2R station using multiband antennas, I've 
grappled with the problem that the design of all the currently available 
switching and control hardware explicitly assumes you have separate 
antennas for each band. For many of us, this just isn't true.


I mainly use the KAT500 as a line flattener for my 160, 80 and 40 meter 
antennas; no problem there. But.. I also have a 20-15-10 dipole that I 
use for the second radio on the high bands. The dipole is pretty low and 
isn't particularly well matched, especially on 15 and 10. I now have the 
KAT500 on the secondary radio set up to match the dipole on 20 through 
10. However, if I'm running SO2R with the primary radio on 40 and the 
secondary radio on 20 then I'll normally switch my SteppIR to the 
secondary radio, meaning I have to remember to put the KAT500 in bypass, 
and then to change it back later. Sometimes I don't. (Mother Nature and 
Father Time, you know.)


Even in SO1R mode, I sometimes want to quickly switch to the dipole on 
the high bands if someone calls me well out of the beam's main lobe. The 
Station Master makes the actual switching very easy via a keypad on the 
desk, but in this case I end up with the radio looking into a fairly 
high VSWR antenna if I don't also manually put the KAT500 in bypass 
mode. This isn't so good, especially if I'm running the KPA500.


What would be REALLY NICE would be if there were some way for the KAT500 
to know which ANTENNA has been selected, and switch in the appropriate 
matching solution for that antenna on that band. I don't see any way to 
do this, given the present architecture. If there were some additional 
communication channel between the station control hardware and the 
KAT500 (and other Elecraft products) such as an extended command over 
the RS232 link in the case of the KAT500 or over the USB link for the 
KPA1500, conveying both band information and antenna ID could 
potentially be done. A simple 4 bit band code wouldn't be sufficient, 
but perhaps an 8 bit word with 4 bits of band information and 4 bits of 
antenna number would work. Of course, there then remains the 
not-so-small matter of formatting and transmitting this information 
packet from a wide variety of station control architectures using 
hardware from a number of vendors. Perhaps if Elecraft were to pave the 
way by implementing this capability the makers of the various commercial 
controllers would be willing to code in support for the feature. Just 
thinking out loud, and wishing...


73...
Randy, W8FN


On 4/25/2017 10:11 PM, Bob wrote:

Hi Bill,

   No XYL requests involved but in a similar manner I have reduced 
the feed lines into the shack.  I have a remote antenna switch system 
consisting of an Array Solutions Rat Pack with the Ten Tec interface 
box.  This is under control of an Elecraft KRC2 unit.  It saves many 
feet of coax and reduces the in shack cable clutter.


   Station is K3, KPA500 and KAT500 and more Elecraft with K2 and 
KX3. My issue is I'm not getting full value from the KAT500. It is 
capable of switching 3 antennas.  But with a single feed line on 
position one all else is lost.  So my request would be to be able 
select alternative programmed values by using the KAT 500 antenna 
switch. Any manually selected antenna would apply tuner values to the 
antenna position but ANT 1 would remain selected. As it is now it 
works but requires retuning when manually changing between selected, 
say, 80 meter antennas and prior values are lost. In hardware I could 
do it now but don't want to butcher the KAT500.


   Well beyond my pay grade as I do not know how much 
reprogramming would be required in the firmware and utility to select 
this as an option.


This option could possibly be done in the KPA1500 too. 
Certainly be a plus in consideration of the KPA1500  which seems to 
have less in that there are only 2 antenna selections available.


73,
Bob
K2TK  ex KN2TKR (1956) and K2TKR



On 4/25/2017 4:14 PM, Bill Frantz wrote:
My most wonderful and understanding wife has requested that the 
number of
"wires" coming into the house be minimized. To accommodate her 
wishes, I have an
external antenna switch. It would be very nice if all the Elecraft 
tuners could
take an externally provided antenna ID to use to recall the antenna 
tuning
parameters. A 4 bit "band ID" would be ideal, but a command