OK. My reason for mentioning these amps was to answer some of the
negative points being made in regard to a fictitious KPA1500. These
days one does not have to combine a lot of lower power FETs to reach
QRO. I gave you a link to the device which is made by
Freescale. There are comparable
Magic! I have just read your advice to Stewart GM4AFF and recognised a
phenomenon I have been getting with my XV144 for years. I had assumed
that the flashing LEDs were due to my fault in overdriving.
I have just added a 0.1 across E C of Q7 and that has cured the
problem. I must now do the
And to confirm that replacing U4 78L06 got the KAF2 working again. A
mystery why it failed though...
73 Dave G3YMC
On 8 Dec 2014 at 10:56, Dave Sergeant wrote:
Further investigation shows the output of U4 78L06 regulator to be down
to 1V. So it appears the 78L06 has failed and once I have
Here is my somewhat off-topic question for today:
I have an R8 vertical, which does its bandswitching with a combination
of stubs and traps. The other day I was transmitting CW on 40M with
about 1200 watts and a normal SWR of less than 1.5:1. Suddenly the SWR
went sky-high. Now the antenna
Not in my XV50 built a couple of months ago Note that there is
already a 0.01uF across the source of the CO line, C71 on the RF board
(the signal is confusingly called OD on that board).
I did see the flashing lights once while I was aligning it but have not
used the transverter in
KD7YZ tapped out:
I see my email-er somehow sent and resent the reply. no idea why,
however, I apologize for the hassle.
--
73
KD7YZ Bob
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I have one of those STC amplifiers and it works very well. I have never looked
at harmonics distortion or other factors in it but it regularly used to give me
about 12 GB signal increase with my ICOM 7000. I don't use it for the KP a 100
yet with my KX3, because I have had too much fun at the
Neither morse (loosely called CW), nor JT65, are pure sine waves, so
they will have IMD, although it may well be less than the key clicks (as
conventionally understood for morse, and because of the abrupt frequency
changes in JT65). True CW cannot convey any more information than its
David,
To answer your question, no it has not been incorporated on the XV series.
Some transverters are just fine without it, but some others show that
problem behavior.
I usually add it to any XV transverter that I service, and I would
encourage any owner to do the same. It simply filters
I see the same thing, but only on 10m. I just assumed (possibly erroneously)
the power indication was not accurate and used the indicated 100w. I don't
have an external wattmeter to validate. My antenna is tuned for 20m so tuning
it is not that hard on 10m.
Eric
wb7sde
On December 14, 2014
Hi all,
I only had an hour or so of contest time, but the band was in great shape and I
worked everyone I called in both SSB and CW mode (35 QSOs in 19 states).
Just to make it more challenging, I kept power set to 5.0 watts, and used my
6-meter antenna exclusively (not a typo--yes, this was
Getting board out this way I'm looking for an unbuilt K2?
Mike
VE3WDM
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This
Matt is entirely correct. The first thing to investigate in the event
of a Hi Current message is the voltage (as indicated by the K3) level
during transmit.
The way Elecraft transceivers control power, a low voltage means that
higher current must be obtained to maintain the requested power
Hi,
No matter what happens, you will probably end up taking the antenna
down... If nothing else to check to be sure it is fine...
Grab an analyzer and connect it as close to the antenna base as
possible, and see if it is resonant on all bands... Probably won't
anymore. If you are lucky, it is
Bruce,
I would expect a Hi REFL message rather than Hi Cur if SWR was the problem.
Check your power supply connections. If you have bolts and nuts on the
power supply output terminals, if the bolts turn (even slightly) when
you tighten the nuts, you will have to dig inside the power supply to
For Sale: Elecraft BL-1 150 Watt Balun. Wired as 4:1. Can be re-wired for 1:1.
Includes dual female BNC connector. Great to use with built-in tuners. No
longer using. Price $25.00 shipped CONUS. PayPaL OK. Contact off-list.
phil-z at comcast dot net
Phil N3ZP
Hi Wayne and all,
I also didn't have much time for the contest either,but here is what I did.
I have an old mobile hustler set up mounted on an old truck brake rotor that
I use with my KX3 in the house. Didn't have a 10 meter coil, so took the
hustler off and screwed a 102 inch whip on the
In my case, the K3’s internal volt meter is indicating 12.1v, well above the
minimum specs. I am pretty sure this only happens on 20m, never on other
bands. I wouldn’t think supply voltage would be band selective. I’m using
the power cable that came with the K3.
Ken WA8JXM
On Dec 15,
Hey Wayne, George and all too,
Did about the same. Ordered the K3 five weeks ago, got it in about ten
days, built and aligned in ten hours, got on the 10-meter CW contest
and made 60 contacts with 25% DX, using my K3 and a SteppIR vertical
with the antenna set at 3/4-wavelength for
The good news is that I called MFJ, got a technician immediately, he
agreed that the 30M trap is the problem, and said he would send me a new
one under warranty. Elecraft-style service (so far).
The bad news is that despite the statement in the manual that it is
rated at 1500W CW, he told me
MFJ has a technician? Pretty amazing, Vic :-)
Phil W7OX
On 12/15/14 9:28 AM, Vic Rosenthal 4X6GP/K2VCO wrote:
The good news is that I called MFJ, got a
technician immediately, he agreed that the 30M
trap is the problem, and said he would send me a
new one under warranty. Elecraft-style
Kind of a similar situation here in Folsom. Christmas activities and other
family “stuff” kept me away from the contest for all but a few hours. My goal,
using the K3 @ 5 watts along with my P3, was to search pounce for as many
different states as possible - I’m trying to get WAS QRP. A total
On Mon,12/15/2014 2:17 AM, Vic Rosenthal 4X6GP/K2VCO wrote:
I have heard of this happening with the R8, although it is rated at
1500W CW according to the manual. But I always thought the people it
happened to were operating at high SWRs. Maybe these are 1500 MFJ
watts, which, as everyone
Guess what? I need assistance!
I am attempting to connect my KX3 to my new KXPA100, and am stumped with the
Key Line Cable shown on page 8.
This is a doubled ended RCA plug type cable. It references fig 5 on pg 18 for
the basic installation, (no KXPACBL).
Paragraph 6, pg 19, seems to say that
maybe the brilliant designer thought he could build the 30 meter trap
to the power level allowed on 30 meters ;) ?
ps
At 01:49 PM 12/15/2014, Jim Brown wrote:
On Mon,12/15/2014 2:17 AM, Vic Rosenthal 4X6GP/K2VCO wrote:
I have heard of this happening with the R8,
So how painful will it be to lower the antenna and
repair it, Vic? And what is the ETA for the trap
to arrive at your QTH?
Phil W7OX
On 12/15/14 9:28 AM, Vic Rosenthal 4X6GP/K2VCO wrote:
The good news is that I called MFJ, got a
technician immediately, he agreed that the 30M
trap is the
Is that 12.1V reading during receive or transmit (the voltage will tend to sag
when pulling higher currents during transmit)? I don't have a K3, but I do have
a KXPA100, and I find that it will not develop a full 100W if I only feed it
only 12V -- it works much better with a supply of 14V.
The
Hi Vic,
That is not surprising to me for reasons later discussed here... When
something is rated at 1500 Watts, CW, that really means, 300 watts to
500 watts DC, or 100% duty cycle... I wish manufactures would rate
things at 100% duty cycle. I am pretty sure Elecraft does.
CW is taken to be
I received my PX3 a week or so ago and it was impressive to see how the
contest looked on it:
200kHz of SSB: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH9JX5fyLnc
100kHz of CW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8S-7MYpTcI
scott
sasimp...@gmail.com
On Mon, Dec 15, 2014 at 12:34 PM, James Bennett
Mike,
It’s not “voltage starved.” I just went through and documented everything.
Voltage measured by the K3 never gets below 13.1 volts. The problem is ONLY on
20m where “high current” displays at 65 watts. And indeed it is comparatively
high current, 23.5 amps. On the other bands I can
I used my KX3 and KXPA100 for the 14 hours I was on. I recently had gone
through the rx sideband nulling procedure and really enjoyed single-signal
reception. The amp got pretty hot...it definitely needs external cooling of
some sort. I didn't take any PA temp readings, but the heatsink was
The manual on the MFJ website now specifies that the antenna can handle
1500 watts SSB without compression, 750 watts CW, and 500 watts RTTY.
The manual that came with my antenna (purchased this March) simply said
1500 watts CW. It also had the pre-MFJ address for Cushcraft. When I was
Rick,
The manual does *not* state that an RCA plug will be used on both ends
of the Keyline cable.
Yes, the KXPA100 end is an RCA plug and that is clearly shown, but the
other end must match the transceiver and since several types of
connectors are used on transceivers for KEYOUT, the KXPA100
While you're doing that, can you design a base for the KX3 Key? :)
scott
sasimp...@gmail.com
On Sun, Dec 14, 2014 at 6:14 PM, Michael Walker va...@portcredit.net
wrote:
Before I sit down and design on, has anyone already designed a 3D printed
stand yet that they wouldn't mind sharing so I
The balun has been sold.
Thanks,
Phil N3ZP
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Ken,
Now that I see some numbers and know that you are running into a dummy
load, it would appear that you have a low pass filter problem on 20 meters.
I suggest you contact K3support. A common cause of HiCurrent is a
problem in one of the Low Pass Filters. Support may be able to lead you
Thanks Don,
I did read the instructions wrong. I was distracted by the idea that the
KXPA100 would be plug and play with the companion KX3 transceiver. Since it
is unlikely that I will be able to find a cable with an RCA plug on one end,
and a 2.5 mm stereo plg on the other, without tip
On Mon,12/15/2014 11:32 AM, Vic Rosenthal 4X6GP/K2VCO wrote:
The manual on the MFJ website now specifies that the antenna can
handle 1500 watts SSB without compression, 750 watts CW, and 500 watts
RTTY.
One might suspect that MFJ did some cost engineering on the original
Cushcraft design.
Rick,
The cable kit makes it 'plug-n-play'. Well worth the $39.95 IMHO, but
may vary on how you value your time and frustration level.
73,
Don W3FPR
On 12/15/2014 7:01 PM, Rick Dettinger wrote:
Thanks Don,
I did read the instructions wrong. I was distracted by the idea that the KXPA100
cost engineering
Jim you are a gentlemen...
--
Thanks and 73's,
For equipment, and software setups and reviews see:
www.nk7z.net
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for MM-SSTV
NAQCC Milliwatt Sprint Wednesday night!
The December MilliWatt sprint is this coming Wednesday evening local time
(December 17th,
EST - 8:30-10:30PM, CST - 7:30-9:30PM, MST - 6:30-8:30PM, PST - 5:30-7:30PM),
which translates as Thursday, December 18th, 0130 to 0330Z in all cases.
For all the
After reading Burt N4CW comment ... I have a 3 muffin fan laying on top of my
KXPA100. I use a series resistor in the 12v source and the fan runs at reduced
speed all the time. Receiver noise masks the fan noise and I can run RTTY ,
PSK etc non stop with a cool to touch heat sink. I have been
I did a random selection of 3 of their alleged distributors and found
nothing on
their sites.
Too bad, they look like they could be useful. Guess I'll ping them
directly and see
what I get.
73 es HH, Dick, W1KSZ
On 12/14/2014 4:32 PM, David Cutter wrote:
I'm a little surprised that folks
I had a similar problem with a Cushcraft antenna. They also promised me
an immediate replacement. I waited, sent email, waited, sent email,
called - left message, finally after about 2 months I received the
replacement parts.
So, hold off judgement on their service until you have parts in
Hey Wayne et al,
I used the K3 and K3/0 mini combo along with the RRC boxes to operate the
ARRL 10m contest remote from K2LE's contest station in Vermont.
Wayne, I was interested in your QSK comments. I was using QSK on the
remote, and it was working pretty well.
I notice, however, two strange
On Mon,12/15/2014 5:41 PM, Doug Person via Elecraft wrote:
MFJ is always a good news/bad news company.
IMO the only good news about the MFJ companies is the same as the most
common bad news -- CHEAP. Cheap construction, poor or non-existent
quality control, poor support. I consider them a
I see nothing wrong with MFJ. They serve the market reasonably well,
if they did not they would soon be out of business. If MFJ was
actually as bad as some of the posts you read, they would be out of
business rather soon. But they keep humming along.
Lets face it, hams are cheap. They like
Don, et. al.
Thanks for the replies. I can repeat this problem (a good thing) at 20m CW
around 14.115 Mhz.
Power supply (Astron VS-35M, front panel meters) showing proper voltage,
and current knob set toward max.
At 14.050, SWR reads 1.0 on the K3. Power set at 100w. Voltage reads 13.8v,
then with
Gerry responded to me off-list (below). I think your Siri translation
meant reseating all plugs on the K3 and and maybe Colex was coax. In
response, yes I think I'm ok on those two points but will keep my eyes
open. Interesting that a couple other guys are seeing this. So far I think
it's only
Bruce,
It would appear to me that something has happened in your 20 meter Low
Pass Filter.
The K3 should develop 100 watts with about 17 amps of current. As I
indicated previously, the most common problem would be with the LPF.
Contact K3support for additional assistance and steps to
Here's a 144MHz 1.5Kw water-cooled LDMOS amplifier putting out full power
in a June VHF contest, with me operating at W2SZ/1.
It was a cloudy day, and the amp was so cool, in fact, we were worried
about condensation. Look at the size! The power supply is a 50v/50a
surplus PC supply off of ebay.
Got busy tonight…
KSB2 board installed, first contact old friends VE3CPK (ex-KC9X) and N9LAZ…
Havent talked to either of these guys in a long time.. Got great report on the
new KSB2 board.
Then took out the Hakko again…
Installed the KPA100, aligned it and tested it out - now have 100 watts
Water intrusion?
73,
Rick wa6nhc
Tiny iPhone 5 keypad, typos are inevitable
On Dec 15, 2014, at 9:28 AM, Vic Rosenthal 4X6GP/K2VCO k2vco@gmail.com
wrote:
The good news is that I called MFJ, got a technician immediately, he agreed
that the 30M trap is the problem, and said he would
Irecently built a Elecraft KX1 for a local ham in VR2 who cannot DIY himself
dueto some reasons. This KX1 comes with theKXB3080 30/80 module and KXAT1 ATU
module. I would like to share with you some of my experience and views
duringthe construction process. Theconstruction of the basic KX1
Re-sent in a better text format:
I recently built a Elecraft KX1 for a local ham in VR2 who cannot DIY himself
dueto some reasons. This KX1 comes with the KXB3080 30/80 module and KXAT1 ATU
module. I would like to share with you some of my experience and views during
the construction process.
Very good, Frank. But now what will you do for
building fun? :-)
73, Phil W7OX
On 12/15/14 7:35 PM, Frank Krozel wrote:
Got busy tonight…
KSB2 board installed, first contact old friends VE3CPK (ex-KC9X) and N9LAZ…
Havent talked to either of these guys in a long time.. Got great report on the
A real world data point:
I recently ordered two MFJ 17 ft telescoping masts, which arrived today. Not
exactly high tech. One of them was defective - a section that was jammed and
would not come apart, along with an adjacent joint that felt way too loose.
HRO had me ship it back to them, and
Here is the net report for the Elecraft SSB net from November 30, 2014. We had
36 participants.
Station NameQTH Rig S/N
KF5IMA Bruce MS K2 3575
K7EMF GaryWA K3
I think his K2 needs a panadapter :-)
73, Matt VK2RQ
On 16 Dec 2014, at 3:18 pm, Phil Wheeler w...@socal.rr.com wrote:
Very good, Frank. But now what will you do for building fun? :-)
73, Phil W7OX
On 12/15/14 7:35 PM, Frank Krozel wrote:
Got busy tonight…
KSB2 board installed,
The P3 FixMode menu provides a great set of optional algorithms for what
happens when you tune the radio beyond the current SPAN. I usually use Half
Span which is great until it eventually moves a display edge below or above the
current ham band. Although that would be fine for SWLing outside
Just learning how to use fldigi with my K3. Got everything working,
almost. I'm using fldigi with the bridge to DXLab.
As long as I have the K3 in USB mode, the frequency readout in fldigi
is correct, both the dial freq and the dial+audio freq. But when I
change the K3 to data-a mode, the
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