K2: KPA100 fan

[wrmoore]

Today I worked the Ala. QSO party, and was able, most of the time, to
hold a frequency and call CQ.  I started out running 90w (measured on my
Elecraft W1 wattmeter).  Then after just a few minutes the fan started
running.  I was sending at 24 wpm with 4 seconds between CQs, plus
whatever the actual QSOs took.  I backed my power down to as low as 60w
and the fan kept running even there!  Is that normal?  The ambient temp
was 78F, and I had checked the tPA calibration earlier in the day just
after turning on the rig.

Also, I noticed that with my power control set to 60w, the actual output
(on the W1) varied up to as much as 80w.  Is that normal too?

This is a KPA100 that's fairly new to me.  Its built into an EC2
enclosure with a KAT100.

73,
Randy, KS4L
K2 #337 (with all current mods)
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[Jim Brown-10]

On Sat, 06 Jun 2009 21:26:03 -0500, Randy Moore wrote:

>I backed my power down to as low as 60w and the fan kept running
>even there!

The fan is there to keep the rig cool when you're running power.
It's quite normal for it to run when you transmit for a while. It
does NOT indicate a problem, it indicates completely normal
operation. I'm a member of a very large contest club with probably
close to 100 K3s in the club. I've never heard of a problem with a
K3 overheating in any destructive way.

73,

Jim K9YC



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[Don Wilhelm-4]

Randy,

The KPA100 fan running or not depends on the temperature of the heat sink.
That is related to power and duty cycle and transmit time - all of which
relate indirectly to temperature.
How much it runs will depend on your operating habits.  So, yes, that is
normal.

There has been recent discussion about adding an external muffin fan.  
That will keep the heat sink cool and is likely to keep the internal fan
from coming on.

73,
Don W3FPR

Randy Moore wrote:

> Today I worked the Ala. QSO party, and was able, most of the time, to
> hold a frequency and call CQ.  I started out running 90w (measured on my
> Elecraft W1 wattmeter).  Then after just a few minutes the fan started
> running.  I was sending at 24 wpm with 4 seconds between CQs, plus
> whatever the actual QSOs took.  I backed my power down to as low as 60w
> and the fan kept running even there!  Is that normal?  The ambient temp
> was 78F, and I had checked the tPA calibration earlier in the day just
> after turning on the rig.
>
> Also, I noticed that with my power control set to 60w, the actual output
> (on the W1) varied up to as much as 80w.  Is that normal too?
>
> This is a KPA100 that's fairly new to me.  Its built into an EC2
> enclosure with a KAT100.
>
> 73,
> Randy, KS4L
> K2 #337 (with all current mods)
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
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>
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