From the discussion that you referred to, I would recommend the use of thick
copper braid to bond the grounds of your equipment together in order to
reduce grounding problems. This is far better than using a copper bar or a
single point ground in a star pattern.
Now just what problem are you
I am pleased to relate that I seem to have finally nailed this problem, and
I think many of those who gave me helpful advice and the Elecraft design
team will be interested in learning what the final diagnosis and cure turned
out to be. A quick recap: About 2 months ago, operating at about 75W
Good news Ray, I swear by Ian's choke design. It has worked miracles
here. As I mentioned in an earlier post I went straight to the 3 section
GM3SEK choke, in fact two of them, one at each end of the coax section.
Works a treat. I can't speak highly enough of the KPA500/KAT500
combination.
73
Buck K4IA casts aspersions on the OCF Dipole by saying that it Is
inherently unbalanced; but although the antenna is geometrically
asymmetric, it is not inherently unbalanced as far as the feeding is
concerned. See W8JI paper on the subject which shows that the standing wave
pattern across the
Depending on the location of the feedpoint, the currents may be balanced
even if the antenna is asymmetrical. Consider the end-fed Zepp antenna
in which there is a tiny or non-existent horizontal section on one side
and a multiple of half-waves on the other.
Of course, if one side of the
As the original poster under this heading I figured you might be interested
to know what I have achieved so far, even though I am not yet ready to send
the white smoke up the chimney. Briefly, my problem was that my KAT500
would go into uncommanded tunes during a QSO, usually on digital modes.The
Ray,
Very interesting stuff, thanks. As the user of an off-center fed doublet
myself, I was initially very nervous of running more than my usual 100W.
As it happened, I need not have worried, as I have never experienced the
problems you describe with the arrival of the KPA/KAT500. The reason
I don't believe it is an antenna or stray RF problem.
I have memorized tuner settings for the entire 75 meter band at 20 kc
steps. The K-Line is set up per instructions (although the manual
supplied by Elecraft is a little thin).
When I QSY, the KAT500 will click to a memory when I transmit
If I may, I would like to weigh jn here wjth what I have been using.
I put up an OCF of 137ft approximately (memory issue) with the feed point
up about 37ft. I am set at 80/20 offset and I am using the dual core balun
from Balun Designs (usual denials...yada yada yada) and I have very few
issues
An OCF is an unbalanced antenna and it must have a choke to keep RF off
the feed line into the shack. I use about ten turns of coax on a 4 inch
PVC pipe right outside the wall where the feed comes into the house. It
might be more or less, I am not at home to look. You can research it.
Other
I have used OCF antennas in the past and currently have on up that is
fed with 600 ohm line and a balun for the coax transition to come in the
house. It is a fine all band - 160-10 - antenna causing no RF problems
in my shack. Although I rarely use this antenna, I hooked it up today
and find
If you are working the bands 30m and below and have the room you can
use inverted V antennas that all have the same feed point. The power
will be distributed to the the antenna that is resonent at the
transmit frequency.
Until I was able to get room and funds for rotable antennas and
longer wire
I haven’t had this problem. However, in addition to Igor’s thoughts on a high
reflected signal, here is another thought. A strong signal (like you can have
in contest environment and/or multi-transmitter/multi-antenna set-up) could be
counted by the KAT500 frequency counter resulting in the
As the original poster of this problem topic I have been transfixed by the
subsequent correspondence on the matter. I am still assuming guilt for the
original trigger, but I guess there may be a factor in the KAT 500 algorithms
that may have aided and abetted my gremlin! My next move will be to
Was on 75 this morning and carefully monitoring what is going on with
the tuner. I am running 100 Watts through the KAT500 - the amp is on
standby until this gets fixed. No smoke wanted here hihihi.
Results: Several times during QSO the tuner would click and make noises
- this while on
...@mailman.qth.net
[mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Ray Coles
Sent: Tuesday, December 31, 2013 5:29 AM
To: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: [Elecraft] K3/KPA500/KAT500 SWR problem
As the original poster of this problem topic I have been transfixed by the
subsequent
What concerns me about all this talk of Reflected Power, local High
Power Stations, etc., is that none of the other users of Automatic
Antenna Tuners (non-Elecraft) have reported similar problems.
I hope the issue can be corrected via firmware. We will be awaiting
the results of their studies.
Hi,
Are you in AUTO mode when this is happening? I found it wise to switch to
manual mode when finishing the quick tune after a QSY. Before I got into
that habit this was happening a number of times. I am running barefoot with
no internal tuner in the K3 so those are not a factor. The MFJ tuner I
Just a thought, how about posting what firmware revision you have in the
KAT500 and or KPA500 when you post about this problem.
Steve WB5OMP
--
If you forward or copy this message, please delete any reference to my
email address. Thanks
I've experienced the same issues others are reporting with the KAT500. The
problem is somewhat intermittent. However, it seemed to happen more frequently
after going to the 1.41 firmware. After reading one of Dick's posts, I checked
the Fault Table just to see what it had in it. I'm seeing the
-Original Message-
From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net
[mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of n...@comcast.net
Sent: Tuesday, December 31, 2013 10:34 AM
To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3/KPA500/KAT500 SWR Problem
I've experienced the same issues others
I reported this problem to support back in February, and though my question
was responded to, it was never really answered -- I've been living with the
problem since.., I'm sure support can look at the case, it was around
February 7 of this year.
Before I switched to KPA500/KAT500, I was running
Same boat here. I gave up my PalStar tuner and a single 3-500 amp that
worked flawlessly for the KAT500 and KPA500. Getting older, I wanted
seamless operation from the PTT to the antenna. I still am wanting that
- so we will see what the coming changes bring us. Meantime, I am
running 100
Sad part is that no one noticed the lack of power.
What's so sad about that? 8-)
The amp should only be used when absolutely needed...
73 es HNY,
Bruce, N1RX
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Message-
From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net
[mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Richard Solomon
Sent: Tuesday, December 31, 2013 9:05 AM
To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3/KPA500/KAT500 SWR problem
What concerns me about all this talk of Reflected
On 12/31/2013 1:50 PM, Bill W2BLC wrote:
Same boat here. I gave up my PalStar tuner and a single 3-500 amp that
worked flawlessly for the KAT500 and KPA500. Getting older, I wanted
seamless operation from the PTT to the antenna. I still am wanting that
- so we will see what the coming changes
: Sunday, December 29, 2013 2:46 PM
To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: [Elecraft] K3/KPA500/KAT500 SWR problem
I do hope someone out there can give me a hand in solving a 2 month old
problem with my Elecraft station, even though the problem may not be due to
my Elecraft rig at all. I had been
This is exactly why I want to see this complete discussion in full view.
It is a problem here also - occurring often and without any obvious
cause. Putting the tuner in AUTO or in MANUAL does not stop it from
happening. The tuner does not seem to understand the term MANUAL.
My experience is
, 2013 5:36 AM
To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3/KPA500/KAT500 SWR problem
All:
This issue sounds familiar. I'll be operating along in the middle of an SSB QSO
and suddenly the KAT500 goes wild. The SWR displayed on the meter is HIGHER
than the antenna WITHOUT a tuner
I experience this as well, only on 80 meters with the KPA500 in
operate. Always thought that it was RF getting into the KAT500 sensing
as I can usually back off to 300 Watts, force a KAT500 re-tune and continue.
Glenn - KD0Q
On 12/30/2013 07:59, Bill W2BLC wrote:
This is exactly why I want
I, too, have seen this spurious KAT500 retune problem.
I'm running a similar setup:
K3-KPA500-LP-100A-KAT500-coax-balun-ladder line-hf doublet
I'lll be happily working 75M and all of a sudden the KAT500 starts
re-tuning, and with the LP-100 alarm going off and the relays chattering in
the
-Original Message-
From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net
[mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of KD0Q-Glenn
Sent: Monday, December 30, 2013 9:24 AM
To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3/KPA500/KAT500 SWR problem
I experience this as well, only on 80 meters
: Re: [Elecraft] K3/KPA500/KAT500 SWR problem
I experience this as well, only on 80 meters with the KPA500 in
operate. Always thought that it was RF getting into the KAT500 sensing
as I can usually back off to 300 Watts, force a KAT500 re-tune and continue.
Glenn - KD0Q
On 12/30/2013 07:59, Bill
-
From: Jeffrey Otterson otterson_nos...@nhrc.net
To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Sent: Monday, December 30, 2013 8:58 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3/KPA500/KAT500 SWR problem
I, too, have seen this spurious KAT500 retune problem.
I'm running a similar setup:
K3-KPA500-LP-100A-KAT500-coax-balun
-
From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net
[mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of KD0Q-Glenn
Sent: Monday, December 30, 2013 9:24 AM
To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3/KPA500/KAT500 SWR problem
I experience this as well, only on 80 meters
Forgot to mention that I hauled my MFJ wattmeter/dummy load out to the bush and
pushed up 100 watts into it down the feeder with 1:1 SWR, which convinced me
that at least my UR8 feeder is OK. Also didn't mention I hooked up my FG01
antenna analyser up at the shack and all seemed normal, but of
I have also experienced the FAULT LED coming on with indication of high SWR
during a SSB transmission on 75 meters. It corrects itself if I continue
talking, but it is annoying. I have firmware 1.42 loaded in the KAT500.
Roy Morris W4WFB
I just experienced that problem today. I was on 12 meters phone and after a
couple of words the HI SWR light came on and the KPA shut down. I put it on
Standby and put my K3 in CW mode. When I hit the key the SWR on my K3 had
only one bar. Then I went to tune position on the KAT and tapped
UHF connectors are rated for 500V. Maybe you need N connectors, which can
handle 1500V.
wunder
K6WRU
On Dec 30, 2013, at 11:13 AM, Ray Coles raycole...@gmail.com wrote:
Forgot to mention that I hauled my MFJ wattmeter/dummy load out to the bush
and pushed up 100 watts into it down the
: [Elecraft] K3/KPA500/KAT500 SWR problem
Forgot to mention that I hauled my MFJ wattmeter/dummy load out to the bush
and pushed up 100 watts into it down the feeder with 1:1 SWR, which
convinced me that at least my UR8 feeder is OK. Also didn't mention I hooked
up my FG01 antenna analyser up
They are on all of MY various HF antennas: doublet, Inverted L's, and a ground
mounted vertical.
On Monday, Dec 30, 2013, at Monday, 11:54 AM, Jim Miller wrote:
Do you have coomon mode chokes on you feed lines?
Jim ab3cv
On Dec 30, 2013, at 1:29 PM, Bill W2BLC w2...@nycap.rr.com
That’s actually not a valid test. Try it at 500 watts and see what happens. We
get away with many things at low power that show up as real problems when the
power is increased. Bad connections, coax and components that are not rated for
higher power (baluns tend to be a big one here), and
We now have a senior project engineer assigned to overall K3/KPA500/KAT500
operational issues. Improvements to firmware and documentation will result,
including a new manual specifically covering setup of the full K-Line.
Those of you who have reported problems will be contacted to make sure
Ray,
Is that 500 volts RMS or 500 volts peak? Coax, connectors, baluns,
insulators, etc. are usually rated for the peak voltage they will
tolerate without breakdown.
If you calculated that voltage derived from the power and Ohm's Law, you
would have Volts RMS and you may have something
already tuned there.
Tom
Original message
From: Roy Morris w4...@carolina.rr.com
Date: 30/12/2013 14:18 (GMT-05:00)
To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: [Elecraft] K3/KPA500/KAT500 SWR Problem
I have also experienced the FAULT LED coming on with indication of high SWR
: Monday, December 30, 2013 1:28 PM
To: Jeffrey Otterson; elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3/KPA500/KAT500 SWR problem
It may be not relevant to this particular case but another reason for weird
KAT500 behavior can be strong interfering signal of a neighbor or nearby
broadcasting
I had a similar issue. Drove me crazy. Then one day I put my hand on
the PL259 on my antenna switch and noticed it was warm. Swapped out the
90 degree connector on the coax and problem solved. The high power from
the amp must have been causing a fault in the connector.
Lesson 1. Check
:17 PM
To: Elecraft Reflector
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3/KPA500/KAT500 SWR Problem
We now have a senior project engineer assigned to overall K3/KPA500/KAT500
operational issues. Improvements to firmware and documentation will result,
including a new manual specifically covering setup of the full K
On 12/30/2013 12:17 PM, Wayne Burdick wrote:
We now have a senior project engineer assigned to overall
K3/KPA500/KAT500 operational issues. Improvements to firmware and
documentation will result, including a new manual specifically
covering setup of the full K-Line.
WAYNE: FWIW: I'm running
On 12/30/2013 12:48 PM, Buck - k4ia wrote:
I had a similar issue. Drove me crazy. Then one day I put my hand on
the PL259 on my antenna switch and noticed it was warm. Swapped out the
90 degree connector on the coax and problem solved. The high power from
the amp must have been causing a
FWIW, Although I don't have the KAT500, I have found my KPA500 to be
very, very sensitive to rf on the feedline, especially on 80 and 40
meters. I have checked, rechecked everything (connectors, feedline,
switches, etc.) and tried adding various common mode filters, changing
feedline length,
Hi Fred et al,
I think CW operators have not had the same level of problems as SSB operators,
unless they are using high speed CW. The tuner seems to get all the
information it needs in about a dits worth of RF. But I think it has to be
pretty constant RF and the varying SSB waveform may be
We believe this situation can be remediated in firmware. We're gathering
information and digging into it.
73,
Wayne
N6kR
On Dec 30, 2013, at 1:42 PM, Robert Redmon k5sm@gmail.com wrote:
FWIW, Although I don't have the KAT500, I have found my KPA500 to be very,
very sensitive to rf on
Things like that will show up at medium to higher power levels even
though all looks well at lower power.
Common mode RF voltage getting into the shack will also cause similar
behavior.
Ninety percent of those type problems are solved in the antenna field -
tight good quality connections, good
My K-line is all connected via the Elecraft 15-pin Network. If I
remember correctly, it's:
computer--P3--K3--KAT500--KPA500
or something like that. I was under the impression that the KAT500
already knows what frequency I'm about to transmit on and is ready for
me, even before it senses
-
From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net
[mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Don Wilhelm
Sent: Monday, December 30, 2013 4:26 PM
To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3/KPA500/KAT500 SWR problem
Things like that will show up at medium to higher power levels even
: [Elecraft] K3/KPA500/KAT500 SWR Problem
My K-line is all connected via the Elecraft 15-pin Network. If I remember
correctly, it's:
computer--P3--K3--KAT500--KPA500
or something like that. I was under the impression that the KAT500 already
knows what frequency I'm about to transmit
let us not forget that dissimilar metal is making a thermal couple junction
point and inducing a voltage on the line also.
73, Michael - N8NOC
K1-4 #3046
K3/10 #6596
KX3#1573
On Dec 30, 2013, at 3:29 PM, Don Wilhelm w3...@embarqmail.com wrote:
Hmmm, An aluminum bar tied to a copper
30, 2013 3:58 PM
To: Elecraft Reflector
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3/KPA500/KAT500 SWR Problem
My K-line is all connected via the Elecraft 15-pin Network. If I remember
correctly, it's:
computer--P3--K3--KAT500--KPA500
or something like that. I was under the impression that the KAT500
There is a lot of mention regarding common mode chokes, RF grounding,
copper to aluminum connections, etc. Speaking only of my station, I
experienced no similar automatic tuner problems with equipment other
than the KAT500. I suspect other ops have similar experiences.
My typical experience
This is correctable in firmware (we're looking into how best to achieve that).
It is extremely unlikely any damage would occur. Both the KAT500 and KPA500
monitor a half-dozen parameters and go into bypass immediately if operation is
unsafe.
Wayne
N6KR
On Dec 30, 2013, at 4:38 PM, Bill
Okey dokey, not the first time my impressioner has had the wrong
impression. I guess that kind of makes sense actually, the only way the
KAT500 could know the exact frequency would be if the K3 sent it in the
form of a command, and I don't know if the KAT500 accepts commands on
that port, I
Message-
From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net
[mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Fred Jensen
Sent: Monday, December 30, 2013 3:58 PM
To: Elecraft Reflector
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3/KPA500/KAT500 SWR Problem
My K-line is all connected via the Elecraft 15-pin Network
] On Behalf Of Wayne Burdick
Sent: Monday, December 30, 2013 8:42 PM
To: Bill W2BLC
Cc: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3/KPA500/KAT500 SWR problem
This is correctable in firmware (we're looking into how best to achieve
that).
It is extremely unlikely any damage would occur. Both
That points to a common connector as the problem Check your common connector
- something before the antennas.
Craig Buck
On Dec 30, 2013, at 3:14 PM, Jim Bennett w6...@mac.com wrote:
They are on all of MY various HF antennas: doublet, Inverted L's, and a
ground mounted vertical.
: Monday, December 30, 2013 8:42 PM
To: Bill W2BLC
Cc: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3/KPA500/KAT500 SWR problem
This is correctable in firmware (we're looking into how best to achieve
that).
It is extremely unlikely any damage would occur. Both the KAT500 and KPA500
I do hope someone out there can give me a hand in solving a 2 month old
problem with my Elecraft station, even though the problem may not be due to
my Elecraft rig at all. I had been happily operating my K3/KPA500/KAT500 rig
for about 10 months with my simple wire doublet antenna, about 25 metres
.
Good hunting (DX and bugs ;-)
73, Ron AC7AC
-Original Message-
From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net
[mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Ray Coles
Sent: Sunday, December 29, 2013 2:46 PM
To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: [Elecraft] K3/KPA500/KAT500 SWR problem
On 29 Dec 2013, at 5:46 PM, Ray Coles raycole...@gmail.com wrote:
I also note
that when I start transmitting, power is always less than I have selected
and it climbs steadily to the demanded value over time. I have set up ALC as
documented. If I set power greater than 40W (this varies a
An interesting topic and - hopefully - will be fully discussed here and
not via direct emails. We cannot learn from what we do not see.
Thanks,
Bill W2BLC K-Line
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Absolutely!
Ron AC7AC
-Original Message-
From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net
[mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Bill W2BLC
Sent: Sunday, December 29, 2013 4:52 PM
To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3/KPA500/KAT500 SWR problem
An interesting
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