KPA1500 low output problems on15, 17, & 20 meters.

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KPA1500 low output problems on15, 17, & 20 meters.

Bill Hassan
Just received SN 209 yesterday. Ordered late Oct 2017.

Removed the KPA500 and put the big boy into place, using the same KPA cable
to the K3.

The K3 controls the amp and the amp band switches the K3, like it should.

With between 30 and 40 watts drive I get full power out... except for the
following:

On 15 meters, I get less that 50w out. If I increase the drive pwr the 1500
goes into fault mode.
On 20m, I have to increase the drive to 50w to get 900w out, then the amp
goes into fault mode.
On 17m,  I have to increase the drive to 40w to get 150w from the amp, then
fault mode.

All other bands work fine,

The amp ATU is bypassed, and the results are similar into a dummy load or a
well matched antenna.

The ATU in the K3 in bypassed. I have not changed any K3 settings since I
pulled the KPA500 and plugged in the 1500.

Also, when I tried to reset the amp as per the manual, (Hold edit when
tapping the on button) nothing resets to factory defaults.
I tested this by lowering the display brightness and contrast, and after
the reset attempt, my dim settings did not change.

I also downloaded and reloaded the firmware ver 1.4 from Elecraft, and
reset it to factory defaults.

Any ideas? Is this another case of equipment superior to operator?

Bill Hassan, K1SM
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