K2 KPA100 and battery

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K2 KPA100 and battery

lstavenhagen
Hi all,

Well I'm reconsidering and thinking again of adding the KPA100 to my K2 (the contest this weekend has changed my mind a bit hi hi).

My question is, do I need a regulated 13.8V PSU to do the tests and alignment or can a 12V battery be used? I have a huge deep-cycle 12V that I use with my rigs (enough to power them for a long time) but of course being a battery it's not regulated and exhibits some voltage drop when a load is put on it.
Looking at the build manual it sounds like they kind of want you to use a regulated PSU (i.e. for the bias adjustment, etc).

I'd like to avoid having to spend the extra to get a PSU that I don't really need. But then again if I do need one...

Tnx es 73,
LS
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Re: K2 KPA100 and battery

Don Wilhelm-4
LS,

The battery will do fine if it has sufficient capacity.  In fact, you
can connect a small power supply to the battery to keep it charged and
operate that way forever if you want.  A fully charged lead acid battery
should normally produce 13.8 volts with the charger connected.
FUSE THE WIRES NEAR THE BATTERY FOR SAFETY - batteries have a lot of
energy, and can produce flying bits of molten metal if a short occurs.

I would highly recommend a fully sealed battery (SLA or AGM) if it is
physically in the shack, most deep cycle or automotive batteries do not
qualify for the sealed requirement, and they will outgas hydrogen which
can explode and must be housed in a well ventilated area.

73,
Don W3FPR

lstavenhagen wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> Well I'm reconsidering and thinking again of adding the KPA100 to my K2 (the
> contest this weekend has changed my mind a bit hi hi).
>
> My question is, do I need a regulated 13.8V PSU to do the tests and
> alignment or can a 12V battery be used? I have a huge deep-cycle 12V that I
> use with my rigs (enough to power them for a long time) but of course being
> a battery it's not regulated and exhibits some voltage drop when a load is
> put on it.
> Looking at the build manual it sounds like they kind of want you to use a
> regulated PSU (i.e. for the bias adjustment, etc).
>
> I'd like to avoid having to spend the extra to get a PSU that I don't really
> need. But then again if I do need one...
>
>  
>
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Re: K2 KPA100 and battery

lstavenhagen
Ok, thanks Don... It's an Optima yellow-top deep cycle battery (I believe it's an AGM type). I've used my 706MKIIG on it at full power and it just laughs..... It'll run a 100W rig for hours and hours.

Didn't think about putting the small PSU on it, tho, thanks for the tip!

73,
LS
W5QD