Push the ATU TUNE button once to get a quick but somewhat rough SWR match. If you push ATU TUNE a second within 5 seconds of the first pass completing, the ATU will take more time and come up with a better SWR match.
Your antenna may have some wind on it, and this can affect SWR consistency. Rain on ladder line does the same thing. None of this is a problem, as long as your SWR matches 2.0:1 or less. The K3's PA and protection circuitry work very well into imperfect loads. The PA is *very* robust and well-tested for odd loads. We had a balky 65 foot dipole during Field Day this year, where the ATU TUNE SWR showed 1.5:1. When we put full power into the load, during long term CW ops it showed 2.5:1. With 95W showing on the external LP100 meter, we just kept on truckin' - for seven more hours until the sun showed its face around 5:10 AM or so. My K3 survived all that. I've seen it take on considerably worse SWR and handle the situation just fine. 73, matt W6NIA == On Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:12:16 -0700, you wrote: >I am often on the same frequency daily - 3.575 MHz, but the ATU does not >give me exactly the same answer every night. On my wire antenna it always >starts at 5.8:1 to 6.1:1 and ends up at 1.8:1 or 1.7:1. But sometimes, it >gives me 1.0:1. The power shown on the display when transmitting always >seems to be more or less what I set it for. What is causing this >inconsistency & is it a problem? > >Thanks, >73 Kate K6HTN >______________________________________________________________ >Elecraft mailing list >Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft >Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm >Post: mailto:[email protected] > >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:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
