Not sure what you mean by “set drive power” this is something I generally do 
manually, but would love the ability to do it automatically based on band 
segment. 40m SSB is a problem child for me where a short Yagi means I have to 
cut back drive power above 7175 or so due to SWR. I do not want to do RF 
sensing; that’s right out after having used an HF AUTO tuner for a couple of 
years. 

I really want the exact same functionality that I have with the amp here in the 
shack, connected via the old Y-Box. The issue here is the noise of the fans is 
too much for my XYL, who works 12 hours a day just a few feet away from both me 
and the amp. While running 6m FT8 it’s on fan speed three sometimes for an hour 
or more and I’ve been told in no uncertain terms that that isn’t going to 
happen this season.

I will do an accurate measurement, but I’m pretty sure it’s somewhere between 
15 and 20 feet between the Y-box and the proposed location of the amp.



There are only 3 bands that I regularly need the tuner: 160 above 1850 (which I 
might use a couple of contests a year at most), 80m above 3825 or below 3650, 
and 40m SSB. Everything from 30m to 6m is resonant, and the CW/digital portions 
of the low bands are also resonant and don’t need the tuner. Note that I am 
using a K3s, not a K4, and have no plans to upgrade. 





 - pjd

 

From: Bob Wilson, N6TV <[email protected]> 
Sent: Thursday, June 2, 2022 8:31 PM
To: Peter W2IRT <[email protected]>; Elecraft Reflector <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Relocating my KPA-1500 - need cable

 

I would try the 25' to 30' AUX cable.  It will probably work fine.  AUXBUS is 
only used for automatically setting drive power ("KPA1500 OPER" messages) and 
recognizing band buttons being pressed on the amp, which you will not be doing, 
plus rig frequency setting the KPA1500 tuner to the right segment, though 
RF-sensing can work for that too.  If you don't use the tuner much, or If 
AUXBUS gives trouble, change radio type from K4 to BCD, and use the same long 
AUX cable.  If that doesn't work, a long RS-232 to 3.5mm TRS cable can be used 
to track K4 frequency.

 

A long ethernet or a WiFi to Ethernet extender will provide KPA1500 Remote 
software connection capability, though you may want to set up your Router to 
assign a fixed IP address to the KPA1500.  KPA1500 Firmware updates still 
require a local USB cable, but you can temporarily use a WiFi-enabled laptop 
for that.




73,

Bob, N6TV

 

 

On Thu, Jun 2, 2022 at 5:04 PM <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > 
wrote:

I'm not familiar with CAN-bus. How can I easily implement this in my setup? End 
result is I want two way CAT control -- amp gets band/frequency data from the 
radio, KPA-1500 remote app gets SWR and power from the amp to display on the PC 
and control the power switch and standby/operate from the remote app.

 - pjd

-----Original Message-----
From: jerry <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > 
Sent: Thursday, June 2, 2022 3:20 PM
To: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> 
Cc: 'Jack Brindle' <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >; 'Elecraft 
Reflector Reflector' <[email protected] 
<mailto:[email protected]> >
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Relocating my KPA-1500 - need cable

On 2022-06-02 11:23, [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>  wrote:
> I hadn't considered that! Is there a preferred way of doing this over 
> longer distances? I'm sure I'm not the only person who's needed to 
> remote the amp.
> 
>  - pjd

As a homebrew project, if you want "robust" and "just works", it's hard to beat 
CAN-bus.  A quick Google confirms that for a baud rate of 250K, it will work up 
to
820 feet.

              - Jerry KF6VB




> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [email protected] 
> <mailto:[email protected]>  
> <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > 
> On Behalf Of Jack Brindle via 
> Elecraft
> Sent: Thursday, June 2, 2022 12:30 PM
> To: Elecraft Reflector Reflector <[email protected] 
> <mailto:[email protected]> >
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Relocating my KPA-1500 - need cable
> 
> Using a network connection would be a very good idea. Auxbus is not 
> meant to go 20 feet, and indeed will probably fail at that distance.
> Thus using an alternate method to get frequency info to the amplifier 
> would be a good idea.
> 
> 73,
> Jack, W6FB
> 
> 
>> On Jun 2, 2022, at 10:34 AM, David Decoons <[email protected] 
>> <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote:
>> 
>> Hi Peter,
>> 
>> Contact Bob, N6TV. He can make good quality DB 15 cables that are 
>> shielded.
>> 
>> Let me know when you are ready and I can help. Also you can do it as 
>> we discussed on the phone via the network, running a CAT 6 cable.
>> 
>> Call me if you have questions.
>> 
>> 73
>> Dave wo2x
>> 
>> Sent from my iPad
>> 
>>> On Jun 2, 2022, at 11:12 AM, [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>  
>>> <mailto:[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> I need to move my KPA-1500 into the basement, and I've got an 
>>> electrician coming to put in the new outlet next week. But the only 
>>> tricky issue now is finding the correct cable to run to the amp from 
>>> my Y-Box to provide frequency/band data, etc. I will need a cable 
>>> run of about 20 feet, which will need to run behind the wall, down 
>>> into a crawlspace, then through a concrete wall to the new rack.
>>> 
>>> With sub-optimal eyesight and shaky hands, I'm not sure I'd by much 
>>> good making one, but if they're not available easily in the 
>>> aftermarket I guess I can give it a shot. Does anybody know where to 
>>> find a pre-made ~20ish foot long cable, or if not, (a) what pinouts 
>>> do I need, (b) where to source the correct cable to do this 
>>> properly, and (c) what connectors-I'm guessing DB15M and DB15F?
>>> 
>>> 
>>> ----------------------------------------------------
>>> 
>>> Regards,
>>> Peter Dougherty, W2IRT
>>> 
>>> DXCC Card Checker/CQ-WAZ Checkpoint
>>> 
>>> www.facebook.com/W2IRT <http://www.facebook.com/W2IRT> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
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