External 12V with the KX1 necessary?

[Michael Madden-3]

Hi group,

I've been having a lot of fun with my KX1 out near the
San Francisco Bay.  I have worked coast-to-coast in
the US and DX highlights include FO5 Tahiti and CM6
Cuba.  

A question on power output: what are your opinions on
the value of 12V from an external battery?  I.e., 4W
vs. 2W?  

I have had some intermittent ATU problems with the KX1
when on external 12V, so I often need to revert to
internal Li AA's.  I am wondering what your opinions
are on the need for 3dB gain on the KX1.  

I have tried to do some on-air A/B testing between
internal and external power.  The guys on the other
end usually say "FB on 2W."  But I have also gotten
some "are you still there."

Anyone else do such A/B testing on the air?  Any
conclusions?

Thanks,
Mike N9OHW

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[Ron D'Eau Claire-2]

Well, Mike, the difference between 2 watts and 4 watts is 3 dB or 1/2 of an
"S" unit on most receivers. Over the years I've run a lot of rigs running
from 50 milliwatts to 5 watts and worked a lot of stations. When I added
more power I made a lot more contacts and they were more consistent.

That's the way it is with power. More power = stronger signal <G>.

But many times, perhaps most of the time, a 3 dB or 1/2 S-unit increase, or
even an S-unit or two more, won't be noticed.

Now, I hate being sneaky with folks, but recognizing the foibles of us
Humans, I suggest that if you want to do some A/B testing, don't tell the
other station what you're doing. Just say you're making a little change and
you'd like to know if the other station can hear the difference. Don't say
what the change is, and most especially do NOT say you're reducing power.

I bet most of the time you'll hear the other station say you sound "about
the same" and don't be surprised if some stations tell you that your signal
improved.

It's probably a good idea to hedge about what you did if the other guy says
your signal increased when you reduced power! What happens, of course, is
that band QSB can totally mask what you're doing, helping or hindering you.

For most people out there, less power = weaker signal, obviously! So just
the statement that you are reducing power means the report must be lower,
right?

There are some exceptions to the rule: listen for other QRP operators,
especially those using homebrew or kit-built gear. They tend to be a little
less wrapped up in what they expect to hear, having been through all that
already, although I've met a few QRP operators who avoid giving an RST until
they learn what the other station is running because they don't want to give
someone running 100 watts a lower signal strength report than they got
running QRP!

Ron AC7AC

-----Original Message-----
Hi group,

I've been having a lot of fun with my KX1 out near the
San Francisco Bay.  I have worked coast-to-coast in
the US and DX highlights include FO5 Tahiti and CM6
Cuba.  

A question on power output: what are your opinions on
the value of 12V from an external battery?  I.e., 4W
vs. 2W?  

I have had some intermittent ATU problems with the KX1
when on external 12V, so I often need to revert to
internal Li AA's.  I am wondering what your opinions
are on the need for 3dB gain on the KX1.  

I have tried to do some on-air A/B testing between
internal and external power.  The guys on the other
end usually say "FB on 2W."  But I have also gotten
some "are you still there."

Anyone else do such A/B testing on the air?  Any
conclusions?

Thanks,
Mike N9OHW


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[Howard W. Ashcraft]

I travel with a KX1 and have had very intermittent success using
internal batteries.  At this power level one is at the will of the
propagation gods, and when I'm traveling my opportunities to use the
radio rarely line up with better conditions.  That said, I have had
periods when 2 watts seems to be OK and other periods where I can hear
stations clearly but NO one answers a call. It is very frustrating to
hear a station continually call CQ and never hear your response.  In
those instances I really wished for a little more power to make a few
QSOs in the limited time available.  My internal ATU seems quite happy
with an outside power source, btw.  I have gotten a Buddipole, which has
helped, and which works better for me than a random wire.  It also
doesn't have the logistic problems of carrying or finding something to
support a wire antenna, but is a little tricky to tune at 40m.

Howard Ashcraft, W1WF

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Madden [mailto:[hidden email]]
Sent: Sunday, August 20, 2006 1:15 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: [Elecraft] External 12V with the KX1 necessary?

Hi group,

I've been having a lot of fun with my KX1 out near the San Francisco
Bay.  I have worked coast-to-coast in the US and DX highlights include
FO5 Tahiti and CM6 Cuba.  

A question on power output: what are your opinions on the value of 12V
from an external battery?  I.e., 4W vs. 2W?  

I have had some intermittent ATU problems with the KX1 when on external
12V, so I often need to revert to internal Li AA's.  I am wondering what
your opinions are on the need for 3dB gain on the KX1.  

I have tried to do some on-air A/B testing between internal and external
power.  The guys on the other end usually say "FB on 2W."  But I have
also gotten some "are you still there."

Anyone else do such A/B testing on the air?  Any conclusions?

Thanks,
Mike N9OHW

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[Don Wilhelm-3]

Michael,

I reviewed your prior description of your problem, and since you can
reproduce the problem with a dummy load - I would tend to believe it is not
an antenna or RF Feedback problem at all.  The fact that you get the ATU
into CAL instead of Tune does not mean it is an ATU problem either - the
menu entries are maintained and controlled by the main firmware on the KX1
board.

Further, since this does not happen with the internal batteries, I would
strongly suspect the problem source is actually in the external supply, the
connecting cord or the power connector itself.  Be certain the power
connector is the correct type there are several sizes of coaxial power
connectors that differ only slightly in size, so they almost fit, but not
good enough.  I would recommend a 16 guage wire size, not only because it
can handle more current and has less voltage drop, but will take more
physical abuse before failing.  Also be certain you have good low resistance
connections to the battery or power supply itself.  Poor power supply
connections and leads can result in many 'strange happenings' that seem to
be unrelated, so as a matter of course, I now check th epower connections
and supplies first in case of ny strange behaviors.

Whether you need 4 watts as opposed to 2 watts is entirely a matter of
personal choice.  Yes is is only half an S unit, but then it is 3dB less
too.  The real answer may depend on the other stations 'ears' and his local
noise level.  If his noise level is a couple dB above your 2 watt signal,
you are not likely to be heard, but he might hear you at the 4 watt level.

73,
Don W3FPR

> -----Original Message-----
>
> A question on power output: what are your opinions on
> the value of 12V from an external battery?  I.e., 4W
> vs. 2W?
>
> I have had some intermittent ATU problems with the KX1
> when on external 12V, so I often need to revert to
> internal Li AA's.  I am wondering what your opinions
> are on the need for 3dB gain on the KX1.
>
>

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