Elecraft

K3 Current Drain When Off

Classic

List

Threaded

38 messages Options

Jim Brown-10

K3 Current Drain When Off

I recently set up four solar panels and a pair of 6V golf cart batteries
to run my station. When I first set it up 6-8 weeks ago I was getting 35
Ah per day. Now with the sun lower in the sky and the panels shaded by
my tall trees, it's more like 25 Ah/day.

The batteries didn't seem to be holding a charge, and I thought they
might be defective. Then someone noted that K3s pull some current when
they're switched off, so I just measured mine. Sure enough, when
switched off, my oldest one is pulling 420 mA and the next oldest one is
pulling 350 mA. The combined load is 18.7 Ah/day! That load, combined
with a a few hundred mA for antenna switching relays is what's draining
my batteries.

Is there a fix for my K3s short of an external switch to disconnect them
from the battery?

73, Jim K9YC
______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

Alan Bloom

Re: K3 Current Drain When Off

I just measured my fully-loaded K3/P3. They draw 1.94A on and 4.3 mA off.

Alan N1AL

On 10/16/2013 10:07 AM, Jim Brown wrote:

> I recently set up four solar panels and a pair of 6V golf cart batteries
> to run my station. When I first set it up 6-8 weeks ago I was getting 35
> Ah per day. Now with the sun lower in the sky and the panels shaded by
> my tall trees, it's more like 25 Ah/day.
>
> The batteries didn't seem to be holding a charge, and I thought they
> might be defective. Then someone noted that K3s pull some current when
> they're switched off, so I just measured mine. Sure enough, when
> switched off, my oldest one is pulling 420 mA and the next oldest one is
> pulling 350 mA. The combined load is 18.7 Ah/day! That load, combined
> with a a few hundred mA for antenna switching relays is what's draining
> my batteries.
>
> Is there a fix for my K3s short of an external switch to disconnect them
> from the battery?
>
> 73, Jim K9YC
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
>

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

N7US

Re: K3 Current Drain When Off

I turn my Astron P/S off after turning off my K3 for the night. Should I be
leaving the P/S on?

73, Jim N7US

-----Original Message-----

I just measured my fully-loaded K3/P3. They draw 1.94A on and 4.3 mA off.

Alan N1AL

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

Jim Brown-10

Re: K3 Current Drain When Off

On 10/16/2013 10:50 AM, Jim N7US wrote:
> I turn my Astron P/S off after turning off my K3 for the night. Should I be
> leaving the P/S on?

That depends on how rich you feel. :) Differential cost of power (that
is, at the highest rate I'm paying here in CA) is $.35/kWh. At that
rate, leaving an Astron linear supply on 24/7 would cost me more than
$20/month. Depending on where you live, you may not be getting screwed
by your power company as badly as we are. Thank you, Enron.

73, Jim K9YC
______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

Eric Swartz - WA6HHQ

Re: K3 Current Drain When Off

Administrator

In reply to this post by Alan Bloom

Hi Jim - you must be misreading the meter by several decimal points :-)

We just measured several K3s in the lab and they both draw less than 5 mA when off.

Eric
elecraft.com

On 10/16/2013 10:37 AM, Alan Bloom wrote:

> I just measured my fully-loaded K3/P3. They draw 1.94A on and 4.3 mA off.
>
> Alan N1AL
>
>
> On 10/16/2013 10:07 AM, Jim Brown wrote:
>> I recently set up four solar panels and a pair of 6V golf cart batteries
>> to run my station. When I first set it up 6-8 weeks ago I was getting 35
>> Ah per day. Now with the sun lower in the sky and the panels shaded by
>> my tall trees, it's more like 25 Ah/day.
>>
>> The batteries didn't seem to be holding a charge, and I thought they
>> might be defective. Then someone noted that K3s pull some current when
>> they're switched off, so I just measured mine. Sure enough, when
>> switched off, my oldest one is pulling 420 mA and the next oldest one is
>> pulling 350 mA. The combined load is 18.7 Ah/day! That load, combined
>> with a a few hundred mA for antenna switching relays is what's draining
>> my batteries.
>>
>> Is there a fix for my K3s short of an external switch to disconnect them
>> from the battery?
>>
>> 73, Jim K9YC
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> Elecraft mailing list
>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>>
>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>>
>>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

George Danner

Re: K3 Current Drain When Off

In reply to this post by Jim Brown-10

Jim,
I turn off all the power to the Ham equipment when it is not going to be
used in the next several hours.
I have a single switch for power feeding the equipment.
I lived in South Florida so protecting electronic equipment is built-in!
73
George
AI4VZ

-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Brown

On 10/16/2013 10:50 AM, Jim N7US wrote:
> I turn my Astron P/S off after turning off my K3 for the night. Should I
> be
> leaving the P/S on?

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

Chester Alderman

Re: K3 Current Drain When Off

Another case of YMMV..!! My 75amp, supplying 12 vdc to everything on my
desk, has been turned on for the past 9 1/2 years, with the few exceptions
of when I was attaching leads to my distribution panel. And I live in south
Georgia, just an alligator spit from the Florida line.

Tom - W4BQF

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email]
[mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of George Danner
Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 2013 2:26 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 Current Drain When Off

Jim,
I turn off all the power to the Ham equipment when it is not going to be
used in the next several hours.
I have a single switch for power feeding the equipment.
I lived in South Florida so protecting electronic equipment is built-in!
73
George
AI4VZ

-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Brown

On 10/16/2013 10:50 AM, Jim N7US wrote:
> I turn my Astron P/S off after turning off my K3 for the night. Should I
> be
> leaving the P/S on?

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

Jim Brown-10

Re: K3 Current Drain When Off

In reply to this post by Eric Swartz - WA6HHQ

Nope. I measured both units several times, and just now repeated the
measurements.

73, Jim

On 10/16/2013 11:23 AM, Eric Swartz - WA6HHQ, Elecraft wrote:

> Hi Jim - you must be misreading the meter by several decimal points :-)
>
> We just measured several K3s in the lab and they both draw less than 5
> mA when off.
>
> Eric
> elecraft.com
>
> On 10/16/2013 10:37 AM, Alan Bloom wrote:
>> I just measured my fully-loaded K3/P3. They draw 1.94A on and 4.3 mA
>> off.
>>
>> Alan N1AL
>>
>>
>> On 10/16/2013 10:07 AM, Jim Brown wrote:
>>> I recently set up four solar panels and a pair of 6V golf cart
>>> batteries
>>> to run my station. When I first set it up 6-8 weeks ago I was
>>> getting 35
>>> Ah per day. Now with the sun lower in the sky and the panels shaded by
>>> my tall trees, it's more like 25 Ah/day.
>>>
>>> The batteries didn't seem to be holding a charge, and I thought they
>>> might be defective. Then someone noted that K3s pull some current when
>>> they're switched off, so I just measured mine. Sure enough, when
>>> switched off, my oldest one is pulling 420 mA and the next oldest
>>> one is
>>> pulling 350 mA. The combined load is 18.7 Ah/day! That load, combined
>>> with a a few hundred mA for antenna switching relays is what's draining
>>> my batteries.
>>>
>>> Is there a fix for my K3s short of an external switch to disconnect
>>> them
>>> from the battery?
>>>
>>> 73, Jim K9YC
>>> ______________________________________________________________
>>> Elecraft mailing list
>>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>>> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>>>
>>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>>>
>>>
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> Elecraft mailing list
>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>>
>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>

k6dgw

Re: K3 Current Drain When Off

K3 #642 measures just over 4mA when off. FT-847 reads 12mA. However,
with both those loads on the FP-1030A power supply, it appears to be
consuming about 3wH [72 watt-days/26.28 kw-years], apparently just to
light the little LED on the panel. In fact, it's very close to 3wH with
all the loads disconnected. Our highest marginal PG&E rate is $0.34/kWh
which works out to $8.94/yr max.

Maybe a "leak" outside the K3(s)?

It does raise the question, just how many electrons are being wasted in
the TV, DirecTV receiver/DVR, microwave, and the myriad of phone/Kindle
chargers plugged in all over the house, not to mention this computer
which is on nearly all the time? I suspect it's a lot more than 9 bucks
a year.

73,

Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the 2014 Cal QSO Party 4-5 Oct 2014
- www.cqp.org

On 10/16/2013 12:15 PM, Jim Brown wrote:

> Nope. I measured both units several times, and just now repeated the
> measurements.
>
> 73, Jim
>
> On 10/16/2013 11:23 AM, Eric Swartz - WA6HHQ, Elecraft wrote:
>> Hi Jim - you must be misreading the meter by several decimal points :-)
>>
>> We just measured several K3s in the lab and they both draw less than 5
>> mA when off.
>>
>> Eric
>> elecraft.com

Buck - k4ia

Re: K3 Current Drain When Off

Be careful. The power is on to the finals even when the K3 is turned
off. Therefore, if the finals short, they can overheat leading to all
sorts of issues. Trust me, I found out the hard way. Mine was drawing
2 amps with the K3 turned off.

I make it a habit now to turn off the power supply when I am not around.

Buck
k4ia

On 10/16/2013 3:59 PM, Fred Jensen wrote:

> K3 #642 measures just over 4mA when off. FT-847 reads 12mA. However,
> with both those loads on the FP-1030A power supply, it appears to be
> consuming about 3wH [72 watt-days/26.28 kw-years], apparently just to
> light the little LED on the panel. In fact, it's very close to 3wH
> with all the loads disconnected. Our highest marginal PG&E rate is
> $0.34/kWh which works out to $8.94/yr max.
>
> Maybe a "leak" outside the K3(s)?
>
> It does raise the question, just how many electrons are being wasted
> in the TV, DirecTV receiver/DVR, microwave, and the myriad of
> phone/Kindle chargers plugged in all over the house, not to mention
> this computer which is on nearly all the time? I suspect it's a lot
> more than 9 bucks a year.
>
> 73,
>
> Fred K6DGW
> - Northern California Contest Club
> - CU in the 2014 Cal QSO Party 4-5 Oct 2014
> - www.cqp.org
>
> On 10/16/2013 12:15 PM, Jim Brown wrote:
>> Nope. I measured both units several times, and just now repeated the
>> measurements.
>>
>> 73, Jim
>>
>> On 10/16/2013 11:23 AM, Eric Swartz - WA6HHQ, Elecraft wrote:
>>> Hi Jim - you must be misreading the meter by several decimal points :-)
>>>
>>> We just measured several K3s in the lab and they both draw less than 5
>>> mA when off.
>>>
>>> Eric
>>> elecraft.com
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

WB4SON

Re: K3 Current Drain When Off

In reply to this post by k6dgw

My K3 (about 2 years old) is pulling under 5 mA when powered off. I
usually turn off the power supply that feeds it to avoid wasted power.

You would be shocked to find out how much power things can pull. It adds
up (after all there are 8760 hours in a year) . My original cable box
consumed 68 watts an hour no matter what mode it was in (ON or OFF). At my
electrical rate that was over $100 a year. Now my FIOS box is much better,
and OFF is only a couple of watts, or about $3 a year.

I was also real proud of myself when I took a bunch of surplus PC parts and
built a file and printer server that was powered on 24/7. However power
measurements indicated it was pulling almost 400 watts an hour, or more
than $600 worth of electricity a year. Once I knew that I replaced it with
a high efficiency commercially built server that consumed less than a tenth
of that. It paid for itself years ago. That's also why I tend to use
laptops rather than desktops now -- far more power efficient.

I even mentioned to the group a year ago that my KPA500 pulls a tad bit of
phantom power even when the switch is off. As I recall it added up to
about $20 a year. But to be as green as possible I unplug it if I'm not
going to be using the radio for a bit.

73, Bob, WB4SON
______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

73, Bob, WB4SON

N7US

Re: K3 Current Drain When Off

In reply to this post by k6dgw

My electric bill from ComEd in Chicago charges the same rate per kWh
regardless of usage. Adding in all costs, the cost per kWh is 9.3 cents.
Other costs of living here are high, but I guess I can afford to keep the K3
powered up if I wanted to.

73, Jim N7US

-----Original Message-----
K3 #642 measures just over 4mA when off. FT-847 reads 12mA. However, with
both those loads on the FP-1030A power supply, it appears to be consuming
about 3wH [72 watt-days/26.28 kw-years], apparently just to light the little
LED on the panel. In fact, it's very close to 3wH with all the loads
disconnected. Our highest marginal PG&E rate is $0.34/kWh which works out
to $8.94/yr max.

73,

Fred K6DGW

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

wayne burdick

Re: K3 Current Drain When Off

Administrator

In reply to this post by Jim Brown-10

Jim,

Here's one possible explanation:

The external power supply must drop all the way to zero V, as must any all K3 I/O signals. This may have implications for attached equipment.

If there's any residual voltage on the supply or I/O lines, even 1 V, the K3 may not turn off all the way. It turns out that the brown-out detection circuitry on microcontrollers can be confused at some power levels that are low enough to look like a brownout but not high enough to properly power the detection circuitry. Under such conditions the MCU may continue to run on power-down via the on/off switch, resulting in the radio drawing an unpredictable amount of current.

If residual supply or I/O leakage isn't the cause, then I suspect a problem with your K3's on/off circuitry or possibly even the PA module. (You could test the latter theory by unplugging the KPA3.) Every K3 we've tested drops to a very small number of milliamps of current drain when off.

73,
Wayne
N6KR

Jim Brown <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Nope. I measured both units several times, and just now repeated the measurements.
>
> 73, Jim
>
> On 10/16/2013 11:23 AM, Eric Swartz - WA6HHQ, Elecraft wrote:
>> Hi Jim - you must be misreading the meter by several decimal points :-)
>>
>> We just measured several K3s in the lab and they both draw less than 5 mA when off.
>>
>> Eric
>> elecraft.com

Ken Wagner K3IU

Re: K3 Current Drain When Off

Same here but only about 31ma on a Triplett 2202 DMM on K3
s/n 202.
73, Ken K3IU
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On 10/16/2013 5:01 PM, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:

> I disconnected everything from my K3 except the power cable and the drain
> when off remains at 38mA.
>
> I don't have the time right now to pull the PA module, but that sounds like
> the next best possible culprit.
>
> I had never noticed the parasitic drain because my station power supply is
> switched off when I leave the shack.
>
> 73, Ron AC7AC
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [hidden email]
> [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Wayne Burdick
> Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 2013 1:34 PM
> To: [hidden email]
> Cc: Reflector Elecraft
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 Current Drain When Off
>
> Jim,
>
> Here's one possible explanation:
>
> The external power supply must drop all the way to zero V, as must any all
> K3 I/O signals. This may have implications for attached equipment.
>
> If there's any residual voltage on the supply or I/O lines, even 1 V, the K3
> may not turn off all the way. It turns out that the brown-out detection
> circuitry on microcontrollers can be confused at some power levels that are
> low enough to look like a brownout but not high enough to properly power the
> detection circuitry. Under such conditions the MCU may continue to run on
> power-down via the on/off switch, resulting in the radio drawing an
> unpredictable amount of current.
>
> If residual supply or I/O leakage isn't the cause, then I suspect a problem
> with your K3's on/off circuitry or possibly even the PA module. (You could
> test the latter theory by unplugging the KPA3.) Every K3 we've tested drops
> to a very small number of milliamps of current drain when off.
>
> 73,
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
>
> Jim Brown <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
>> Nope. I measured both units several times, and just now repeated the
> measurements.
>> 73, Jim
>>
>> On 10/16/2013 11:23 AM, Eric Swartz - WA6HHQ, Elecraft wrote:
>>> Hi Jim - you must be misreading the meter by several decimal points :-)
>>>
>>> We just measured several K3s in the lab and they both draw less than 5 mA
> when off.
>>> Eric
>>> elecraft.com
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>

Stephen G4SJP

Re: K3 Current Drain When Off

Not wishing to take this thread too much offf course, but the dollar
equivalent cost of 1 kWh in the UK is about 24 cents US and soon about to
rise and we don't have the most expensive elecrical energy in Europe by a
long way. So I turn off whatever I can!

73 Stephen G4SJP

On 16 October 2013 22:05, Ken K3IU <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Same here but only about 31ma on a Triplett 2202 DMM on K3 s/n 202.
> 73, Ken K3IU
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> On 10/16/2013 5:01 PM, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:
>
>> I disconnected everything from my K3 except the power cable and the drain
>> when off remains at 38mA.
>>
>> I don't have the time right now to pull the PA module, but that sounds
>> like
>> the next best possible culprit.
>>
>> I had never noticed the parasitic drain because my station power supply is
>> switched off when I leave the shack.
>>
>> 73, Ron AC7AC
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: [hidden email].**net<[hidden email]>
>> [mailto:elecraft-bounces@**mailman.qth.net<[hidden email]>]
>> On Behalf Of Wayne Burdick
>> Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 2013 1:34 PM
>> To: [hidden email]
>> Cc: Reflector Elecraft
>> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 Current Drain When Off
>>
>> Jim,
>>
>> Here's one possible explanation:
>>
>> The external power supply must drop all the way to zero V, as must any all
>> K3 I/O signals. This may have implications for attached equipment.
>>
>> If there's any residual voltage on the supply or I/O lines, even 1 V, the
>> K3
>> may not turn off all the way. It turns out that the brown-out detection
>> circuitry on microcontrollers can be confused at some power levels that
>> are
>> low enough to look like a brownout but not high enough to properly power
>> the
>> detection circuitry. Under such conditions the MCU may continue to run on
>> power-down via the on/off switch, resulting in the radio drawing an
>> unpredictable amount of current.
>>
>> If residual supply or I/O leakage isn't the cause, then I suspect a
>> problem
>> with your K3's on/off circuitry or possibly even the PA module. (You could
>> test the latter theory by unplugging the KPA3.) Every K3 we've tested
>> drops
>> to a very small number of milliamps of current drain when off.
>>
>> 73,
>> Wayne
>> N6KR
>>
>> Jim Brown <[hidden email]> wrote:
>>
>> Nope. I measured both units several times, and just now repeated the
>>>
>> measurements.
>>
>>> 73, Jim
>>>
>>> On 10/16/2013 11:23 AM, Eric Swartz - WA6HHQ, Elecraft wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi Jim - you must be misreading the meter by several decimal points :-)
>>>>
>>>> We just measured several K3s in the lab and they both draw less than 5
>>>> mA
>>>>
>>> when off.
>>
>>> Eric
>>>> elecraft.com
>>>>
>>>
>>
>> ______________________________**______________________________**__
>> Elecraft mailing list
>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/**mailman/listinfo/elecraft<http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft>
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.**htm<http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm>
>> Post: mailto:[hidden email].**net <[hidden email]>
>>
>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>>
>> ______________________________**______________________________**__
>> Elecraft mailing list
>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/**mailman/listinfo/elecraft<http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft>
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.**htm<http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm>
>> Post: mailto:[hidden email].**net <[hidden email]>
>>
>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>>
>>
> ______________________________**______________________________**__
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/**mailman/listinfo/elecraft<http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft>
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.**htm<http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm>
> Post: mailto:[hidden email].**net <[hidden email]>
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>

Charlie T, K3ICH

Re: K3 Current Drain When Off

In reply to this post by Eric Swartz - WA6HHQ

Ur right, probably an auto-ranging Ammeter (???)

73, Chas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Eric Swartz - WA6HHQ, Elecraft" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 2013 2:23 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 Current Drain When Off

> Hi Jim - you must be misreading the meter by several decimal points :-)
>
> We just measured several K3s in the lab and they both draw less than 5 mA
> when off.
>
> Eric
> elecraft.com
>
> On 10/16/2013 10:37 AM, Alan Bloom wrote:
>> I just measured my fully-loaded K3/P3. They draw 1.94A on and 4.3 mA
>> off.
>>
>> Alan N1AL
>>
>>
>> On 10/16/2013 10:07 AM, Jim Brown wrote:
>>> I recently set up four solar panels and a pair of 6V golf cart batteries
>>> to run my station. When I first set it up 6-8 weeks ago I was getting 35
>>> Ah per day. Now with the sun lower in the sky and the panels shaded by
>>> my tall trees, it's more like 25 Ah/day.
>>>
>>> The batteries didn't seem to be holding a charge, and I thought they
>>> might be defective. Then someone noted that K3s pull some current when
>>> they're switched off, so I just measured mine. Sure enough, when
>>> switched off, my oldest one is pulling 420 mA and the next oldest one is
>>> pulling 350 mA. The combined load is 18.7 Ah/day! That load, combined
>>> with a a few hundred mA for antenna switching relays is what's draining
>>> my batteries.
>>>
>>> Is there a fix for my K3s short of an external switch to disconnect them
>>> from the battery?
>>>
>>> 73, Jim K9YC
>>> ______________________________________________________________
>>> Elecraft mailing list
>>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>>> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>>>
>>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>>>
>>>
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> Elecraft mailing list
>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>>
>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

Mike Harris-9

Re: K3 Current Drain When Off

In reply to this post by Ken Wagner K3IU

FWIW #345 draws 39mA. No change when pulling the plug on the PR6 and RS232.

Regards,

Mike VP8NO

On 16/10/2013 18:05, Ken K3IU wrote:

> Same here but only about 31ma on a Triplett 2202 DMM on K3 s/n 202.
> 73, Ken K3IU
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> On 10/16/2013 5:01 PM, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:
>> I disconnected everything from my K3 except the power cable and the drain
>> when off remains at 38mA.
>>
>> I don't have the time right now to pull the PA module, but that sounds
>> like
>> the next best possible culprit.
>>
>> I had never noticed the parasitic drain because my station power
>> supply is
>> switched off when I leave the shack.
>>
>> 73, Ron AC7AC

Jim Brown-10

Re: K3 Current Drain When Off

On 10/16/2013 2:46 PM, Mike Harris wrote:
> FWIW #345 draws 39mA.

The two radios I measured are s/n 935 and 1606. They've got a lot of
good miles on them. :)

I'm measuring with a cute little inline meter that looks at volts, amps,
Ah, etc. Called Watts Up. Several ham vendors, including Power Werx,
sell it, in the range of $65, with Power Poles on both ends. Bought a
second one at Pacificon for $59, tax included.

73, Jim K9YC
______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

k6dgw

Re: K3 Current Drain When Off

On 10/16/2013 5:42 PM, Jim Brown wrote:

> I'm measuring with a cute little inline meter that looks at volts, amps,
> Ah, etc. Called Watts Up.

That's what I have, really cool!

73,

Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the 2014 Cal QSO Party 4-5 Oct 2014
- www.cqp.org

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

Joe Subich, W4TV-4

Re: K3 Current Drain When Off

In reply to this post by Jim Brown-10

> I'm measuring with a cute little inline meter that looks at volts,
> amps, Ah, etc. Called Watts Up. Several ham vendors, including Power
> Werx, sell it, in the range of $65, with Power Poles on both ends.

I would suspect a display problem with the Watts Up ... like showing
the wrong range. I *measure* 4.4 mA and 4.2 mA respectively on my K3s
- s/n 622 and 1450 - with my trusty Fluke 85.

It's either a display problem in the Watts Up or your PAs have problems
- unplug one wire from the circuit breaker and measure again.

73,

... Joe, W4TV

On 10/16/2013 8:42 PM, Jim Brown wrote:

> On 10/16/2013 2:46 PM, Mike Harris wrote:
>> FWIW #345 draws 39mA.
>
> The two radios I measured are s/n 935 and 1606. They've got a lot of
> good miles on them. :)
>
> I'm measuring with a cute little inline meter that looks at volts, amps,
> Ah, etc. Called Watts Up. Several ham vendors, including Power Werx,
> sell it, in the range of $65, with Power Poles on both ends. Bought a
> second one at Pacificon for $59, tax included.
>
> 73, Jim K9YC
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>