Some of the responses here really make me shake my head.
Have fun. I learned long ago to not live in fear ________________________________ From: Don Wilhelm <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, June 3, 2014 5:20 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] KPA-500 fan noise Do you have the full design parameters for the KPA500 cooling, air flow required at specific temperatures to protect the MOSFETs, current and voltage capable of being delivered by the KPA500 circuits to the fan at each of 3 fan speeds? I certainly do not have those parameters. That information would be required to make any intelligent swap of the fan. I would not know what parameters would qualify a fan to be of higher quality than what is in there already- Greater air flow usually means more noise, and could mean more current draw. A lower fan speed would be less noisy, but would likely reduce the air flow and cause greater heating of the MOSFETs. I do not think changing the fan would be a task to be taken lightly, there are too many factors at play. Sending the KPA500 back to Elecraft because the 'new improved' fan needed more current than the KPA500 could supply, or sending it back to change the PA sandwich after installing a slower fan (or one with a lower blade pitch) that was more quiet, but failed to move enough air could become an expensive task. 73, Don W3FPR On 6/3/2014 10:19 AM, Harry Yingst via Elecraft wrote: > I would tend to believe that replacing the cheap fans with > higher quality fans would be a improvement in design. > > If the K3 cannot handle what little extra current draw the fans have > then I would certainly question the well engineered aspect of it. > > As in any product cost is a factor and I'm sure Elecraft > has to weigh the cost associated with various parts. > > For many the noise will not bother them for others it will so for the ones > who do find the additional noise bothersome they can simply swap out > the fans for a higher quality fan and enjoy the reduction in fan noise. > > To my ears (and I'm partially deaf from when I was in the Navy) the stock > fans in the K3 had a grating sound that added to the background noise. > Replacing the fans was a worthwhile improvement and made copy easier. > > I'm not afraid of improving a design where there is room for improvement. > > > > > > > > > ________________________________ > From: Jim Brown <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Monday, June 2, 2014 11:16 AM > Subject: Re: [Elecraft] KPA-500 fan noise > > > On 6/2/2014 7:56 AM, AG0N-3055 wrote: >>> You could always try replacing the fan with a quieter fan. >> I would consider that myself, but only with one recommended by the good >> people at Elecraft. > It is generally a bad idea to try to re-engineer a product, especially > one that is well designed. In this case, I would consider it a really > bad idea. > > 73, Jim K9YC > ______________________________________________________________ > 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 > Message delivered to [email protected] > ______________________________________________________________ > 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 > Message delivered to [email protected] > ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [email protected] ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [email protected]
