Thanks Wayne. I bought the heat sink for the KX3 and found it wasn't needed for the way I operate. Seems the same for the KX2. Normal conditions don't require additional heatsinking. Extreme conditions might.
73, Kev K4VD On Sun, May 14, 2017 at 12:55 PM, Wayne Burdick <n...@elecraft.com> wrote: > Hi Kevin, > > We have shipped many thousands of KX2s, and in all that time I have seen > only a few comments asking about additional heat sinking. > > The KX2’s thick right side panel is thermally integrated with both the top > and bottom cover. This results in heat sinking that is entirely adequate > in all modes at full power, even from a 14 volt external supply. When > running from internal battery (11 V), heat dissipation is further reduced > for a given power level. > > To put a rough number on this: I just ran my KX2 at 10 watts key-down in > CW mode, into a dummy load, while watching the PA temperature (using the > DISP switch function). It took well over 7 minutes for the temperature to > reach the limit (63 C), at which point power was reduced automatically to 5 > watts. If you persisted in operating key-down, the radio would eventually > exit transmit mode. Starting temperature was 25 C (shack ambient). > > Additional heat sinking might be desirable if you’re going well beyond > “typical” operation: e.g., trying to run full power key-down for many > minutes at a time, repeatedly, in a hot car or in direct sunlight. In that > case, you have other options besides using supplemental heat sinking: > reduce power, run from a lower supply voltage (like the internal battery), > move into the shade, roll down the car windows, etc. > > But for the overwhelming majority of our customers, the KX2’s thermal > design is completely up to the task. Note that the heat sinking is > intentionally designed to heat up the right end of the enclosure, so that > when using the rig like an HT (holding the non-antenna end), you’ll barely > feel any increase in warmth. > > 73, > Wayne > N6KR > > > > > Kevin - K4VD wrote: > > > > From a recent post: > > > > "We have been told by people running the rig in digital modes at 10W the > > unit will thermal down after a few transmit cycles" > > > > I understand the KX3 also had an early issue with heatsinks that was > > corrected in time by the company making the aftermarket heatsink > > unnecessary I think? I wonder if Elecraft has acknowledged the issue and > is > > correcting it for the KX2 also? > > > > > > ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
