Re: [Elecraft] Elecraft Service
Tim N9PUZ has an excellent point. Manufacturers of any long-lived electronic equipment have a neverending battle with component obsolescence. Say an FPGA goes end-of-life and there is no pin-compatible part. This is a problem that I have had professional experience with -- and which AFAIK has no good solution without taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in engineering costs. In another instance, a jellybean processor was declared end-of-life and the entire product line (dozens of products) had to be redesigned to keep it manufacturable. I doubt that Elecraft (or Flex, for that matter) has the funds for a lot of that sort of workaround. It's possible to take some engineering measures against component obsolescence, e.g. to design with multiple-source components. __ 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
[Elecraft] KPA1500 gain jumping on 160
Has anyone else seen the kind of gain jumping on 160 shown here? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjfksHwLz9w The exciter is a K3, and I generated the drive signal by putting it into TUNE mode. The KPA1500 is feeding directly into a dummy load, so the antenna, etc. is not the cause. I believe I heard about a "160 gain reduction mod" to correct this problem, but I can't recall where I saw it. 73, -Steve WX2S __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] KPA1500 wattmeter adjustment
If you dig into the QST reviews, you'll find out that the LP100 did not quite meet its spec of 5% accuracy on all bands at all power levels and modes. But then, neither did the LP500 nor the W2. The old Array Solutions Powermaster II came closer than any of those three. it was within 5% everywhere except at 5 watts CW at 50 MHz. http://www.telepostinc.com/Telepost.pdf http://www.telepostinc.com/LP-500_QST_review.pdf The W2 was reviewed in the July 2010 QST. The Array Solutions Powermaster (not the II) was reviewed in the January 2006 QST. 73, -Steve WX2S __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] New wattmeter plans?
Chuck, I'm glad you're happy with it. But the fact that KV5J is selling a separate box to update the W2 kind of argues for my point that the W2 needs a design refresh. Read the reviews on eHam and you'll see what I mean. https://www.eham.net/reviews/view-product?id=14820 For reference, here's KV5J's site: https://kv5j.com/store/product/digital-display-unit-for-elecraft-w2-watt-meter My guess is that Elecraft will update the W2 when they can't get components to manufacture it any longer, and if they still want to sell wattmeters at that time. Same as any electronics manufacturer does. 73, -Steve WX2S Chuck GuentherSat, 15 Jan 2022 10:01:28 -0800In terms of modernizing the Elecraft W2, I'm surprised no one so far has mentioned the excellent digital display unit offered by KV5J. The combo works great.73, Chuck NI0C __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] New wattmeter plans?
Bob, I own a Bird 43 and a few slugs. Problems for station use: It's not autoranging, doesn't directly measure SWR, and it's a bit cumbersome to leave on a shelf top. I tried yesterday and I didn't have a good place for it where it wouldn't be in the way of something. 73, -Steve WX2S __ 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
[Elecraft] New wattmeter plans?
I bought a W2 today, because my Meterbuilder MB-1 wattmeter's directional coupler died and the product seems to be an orphan. But I wonder if Elecraft has any plans to bring out an updated wattmeter. The W2's design is ten years old, and the LED bargraph displays are getting a bit long in the tooth. Any rumors, or more than rumors? 73, -Steve WX2S __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] KPA1500 reflected power faults
Problem found. It was an intermittent fault on a bidirectional coupler for a wattmeter. It finally failed hard. When I took the coupler out of circuit, the amp behaved itself. 73, -Steve WX2S On Tuesday, January 11, 2022, 11:33:44 AM EST, Steve Masticola wrote: Hi, all, My KPA1500 is throwing a lot of reflected power faults at power levels above 500 watts. The symptom is that the output power (as indicated by the power LEDs) zooms up and then the amp faults. An external MB-1 power meter indicates 2000 watts or more peak output when this happens. I know the usual culprits (poor ground, RF in the shack, surge suppressors), but I wonder if other owners are still having these problems, despite attempts to fix. 73, -Steve WX2S __ 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
[Elecraft] KPA1500 reflected power faults
Hi, all, My KPA1500 is throwing a lot of reflected power faults at power levels above 500 watts. The symptom is that the output power (as indicated by the power LEDs) zooms up and then the amp faults. An external MB-1 power meter indicates 2000 watts or more peak output when this happens. I know the usual culprits (poor ground, RF in the shack, surge suppressors), but I wonder if other owners are still having these problems, despite attempts to fix. 73, -Steve WX2S __ 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
