KPA500 Band Tracking
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I must have done something I didn’t mean to do.
Just put up a 30 meter antenna today. It works fine. Until today I had the K3 band map set to include only 80-40-20-15-10. The KPA500 tracked it automatically perfectly. I then went into the config menu for band map and set 30 meters to IN. The K3 works perfectly – band switching gives me, in MHz, 3.5 – 7.0 – 10.1 – 14.0 – 21.0 – 28.0 and then cycles back to 3.5 That is also exactly what I expected. But the KPA doesn’t track the K3’s band choice correctly. For 80 I get 80. For 40 on the K3 I get 80 on the KPA500. For 30 on the K3 I get 5.3MHz on the KPA500. For 20 I get 20. For 15 I get 15. And for 10 on the K3 I get 24.9 MHz on the KPA500. Interestingly, the “Band” buttons on the KPA500 have the same errors. In MHz, pressing 1.8 yields 5.3. 3.5 is OK. Pressing 7.0 produces 3.5. 14 and 21 are OK. And pressing 28 produces 24.9. The frequency sampling, however, works perfectly. A single dit on any band switches the KPA500 to the correct band, as defined by the K3. The cables are all Elecraft issue. They are all connected correctly – witness that everything worked perfectly, on every band, until I added 30M into the K3’s band map. Because both the K3 auto tracking feature and the Band buttons on the KPA500 yield the same errors, I think I must have messed up something in the amp. I have, by the way, already RdTFM. Any ideas about what I might have done? Equally useful would be, how do I undo it? Many thanks for whatever anyone can suggest . . . Ted, KN1CBR ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] |
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"But the KPA doesn’t track the K3’s band choice correctly."
...it's by design. In the US the maximum power on 30m is 200W PEP. http://www.arrl.org/frequency-allocations 73, Cliff K3LL/6 -----Original Message----- From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Dauer, Edward Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2016 2:50 PM To: [hidden email] Subject: [Elecraft] KPA500 Band Tracking I must have done something I didn’t mean to do. Just put up a 30 meter antenna today. It works fine. Until today I had the K3 band map set to include only 80-40-20-15-10. The KPA500 tracked it automatically perfectly. I then went into the config menu for band map and set 30 meters to IN. The K3 works perfectly – band switching gives me, in MHz, 3.5 – 7.0 – 10.1 – 14.0 – 21.0 – 28.0 and then cycles back to 3.5 That is also exactly what I expected. But the KPA doesn’t track the K3’s band choice correctly. For 80 I get 80. For 40 on the K3 I get 80 on the KPA500. For 30 on the K3 I get 5.3MHz on the KPA500. For 20 I get 20. For 15 I get 15. And for 10 on the K3 I get 24.9 MHz on the KPA500. Interestingly, the “Band” buttons on the KPA500 have the same errors. In MHz, pressing 1.8 yields 5.3. 3.5 is OK. Pressing 7.0 produces 3.5. 14 and 21 are OK. And pressing 28 produces 24.9. The frequency sampling, however, works perfectly. A single dit on any band switches the KPA500 to the correct band, as defined by the K3. The cables are all Elecraft issue. They are all connected correctly – witness that everything worked perfectly, on every band, until I added 30M into the K3’s band map. Because both the K3 auto tracking feature and the Band buttons on the KPA500 yield the same errors, I think I must have messed up something in the amp. I have, by the way, already RdTFM. Any ideas about what I might have done? Equally useful would be, how do I undo it? Many thanks for whatever anyone can suggest . . . Ted, KN1CBR ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] |
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Thanks, Cliff. I am aware of the 30M 200W power limitation, but I don’t see why adding 30M to the K3’s Band Map would cause 40 meters and 10 meters to be in error. When the K3 is at 7.0 MHz the KPA500 switches to 3.5. When the K3 is at 28.0 MHz the KPA500 switches to 24.9. That never happened before today. Moreover the amp correctly senses 30M on the first dit and switches correctly, and seems very happy producing 200W or more on 30M.
Brian, K3KO, suggested disconnecting the cable from the amp to see what the band buttons on the amp do. They work correctly with the cable disconnected, and they work correctly with the cable connected and the K3’s power off. 7.0 switches to 7.0, 28 switches to 28, and so forth. So what does that mean – that the fault lies in the K3? But before adding 30M to the Band map in the K3 changing bands worked for all of 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 – that is, changing the K3 band changed the KPA500 band correctly. Now it doesn’t work for 40 and 10, and 30; but it does for 80, 20 and 15. Since the only change that occurred was adding 30M to the band map, does that mean something is fouled up in the configuration? I did recycle the power to both the K3 and the KPA500 after making the configuration change. One other fact – pressing the 10MHz band button on the KPA500 correctly switches the K3 to 10MHz – but places the amp on 5.3 MHz. The amp then switches to 10 MHz with the first transmitted dit. But pressing the 10MHz band button on the amp when the K3 power is off changes the amp to 10 MHz. Appreciative and still perplexed, Ted, KN1CBR Edward A. Dauer, LL.B. M.P.H. Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Law University of Denver On 8/7/16, 4:19 PM, "Cliff Frescura" <[hidden email]> wrote: "But the KPA doesn’t track the K3’s band choice correctly." ...it's by design. In the US the maximum power on 30m is 200W PEP. http://www.arrl.org/frequency-allocations 73, Cliff K3LL/6 -----Original Message----- From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Dauer, Edward Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2016 2:50 PM To: [hidden email] Subject: [Elecraft] KPA500 Band Tracking I must have done something I didn’t mean to do. Just put up a 30 meter antenna today. It works fine. Until today I had the K3 band map set to include only 80-40-20-15-10. The KPA500 tracked it automatically perfectly. I then went into the config menu for band map and set 30 meters to IN. The K3 works perfectly – band switching gives me, in MHz, 3.5 – 7.0 – 10.1 – 14.0 – 21.0 – 28.0 and then cycles back to 3.5 That is also exactly what I expected. But the KPA doesn’t track the K3’s band choice correctly. For 80 I get 80. For 40 on the K3 I get 80 on the KPA500. For 30 on the K3 I get 5.3MHz on the KPA500. For 20 I get 20. For 15 I get 15. And for 10 on the K3 I get 24.9 MHz on the KPA500. Interestingly, the “Band” buttons on the KPA500 have the same errors. In MHz, pressing 1.8 yields 5.3. 3.5 is OK. Pressing 7.0 produces 3.5. 14 and 21 are OK. And pressing 28 produces 24.9. The frequency sampling, however, works perfectly. A single dit on any band switches the KPA500 to the correct band, as defined by the K3. The cables are all Elecraft issue. They are all connected correctly – witness that everything worked perfectly, on every band, until I added 30M into the K3’s band map. Because both the K3 auto tracking feature and the Band buttons on the KPA500 yield the same errors, I think I must have messed up something in the amp. I have, by the way, already RdTFM. Any ideas about what I might have done? Equally useful would be, how do I undo it? Many thanks for whatever anyone can suggest . . . Ted, KN1CBR ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] |
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In reply to this post by Cliff Frescura
My K3S and KPA500 track correctly on 30 meters. If I select 30 meters from the KPA500 front panel both go to 30 meters. When I select 30 meters on the K3S the KPA500 goes to 30. I routinely use the KPA500 to run 200 Watts on 30. This was also true for the K3 I had before the K3S.
Check your cables again connecting the K3 aux port to the KPA500. Remove them and reset them and see if that changes anything. I had a similar issue and that solved the problem. I don't know why that solved the problem, but the issue has not reoccurred. Also, after you added 30 to the band map, did you turn the K3 off then back on as suggested in the manual when making changes in the menu? Mark Musick, WB9CIF -----Original Message----- From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Cliff Frescura Sent: Sunday, August 7, 2016 10:20 PM To: 'Dauer, Edward' <[hidden email]>; [hidden email] Subject: Re: [Elecraft] KPA500 Band Tracking "But the KPA doesn’t track the K3’s band choice correctly." ...it's by design. In the US the maximum power on 30m is 200W PEP. http://www.arrl.org/frequency-allocations 73, Cliff K3LL/6 -----Original Message----- From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Dauer, Edward Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2016 2:50 PM To: [hidden email] Subject: [Elecraft] KPA500 Band Tracking I must have done something I didn’t mean to do. Just put up a 30 meter antenna today. It works fine. Until today I had the K3 band map set to include only 80-40-20-15-10. The KPA500 tracked it automatically perfectly. I then went into the config menu for band map and set 30 meters to IN. The K3 works perfectly – band switching gives me, in MHz, 3.5 – 7.0 – 10.1 – 14.0 – 21.0 – 28.0 and then cycles back to 3.5 That is also exactly what I expected. But the KPA doesn’t track the K3’s band choice correctly. For 80 I get 80. For 40 on the K3 I get 80 on the KPA500. For 30 on the K3 I get 5.3MHz on the KPA500. For 20 I get 20. For 15 I get 15. And for 10 on the K3 I get 24.9 MHz on the KPA500. Interestingly, the “Band” buttons on the KPA500 have the same errors. In MHz, pressing 1.8 yields 5.3. 3.5 is OK. Pressing 7.0 produces 3.5. 14 and 21 are OK. And pressing 28 produces 24.9. The frequency sampling, however, works perfectly. A single dit on any band switches the KPA500 to the correct band, as defined by the K3. The cables are all Elecraft issue. They are all connected correctly – witness that everything worked perfectly, on every band, until I added 30M into the K3’s band map. Because both the K3 auto tracking feature and the Band buttons on the KPA500 yield the same errors, I think I must have messed up something in the amp. I have, by the way, already RdTFM. Any ideas about what I might have done? Equally useful would be, how do I undo it? Many thanks for whatever anyone can suggest . . . Ted, KN1CBR ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] |
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In reply to this post by Edward A. Dauer
Ted,
Our e-mails crossed. You've cycled both units. I would still try disconnecting the aux cable and resetting it at both ends. Mark, WB9CIF -----Original Message----- From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Dauer, Edward Sent: Sunday, August 7, 2016 10:42 PM To: Cliff Frescura <[hidden email]>; [hidden email]; brian <[hidden email]> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] KPA500 Band Tracking Thanks, Cliff. I am aware of the 30M 200W power limitation, but I don’t see why adding 30M to the K3’s Band Map would cause 40 meters and 10 meters to be in error. When the K3 is at 7.0 MHz the KPA500 switches to 3.5. When the K3 is at 28.0 MHz the KPA500 switches to 24.9. That never happened before today. Moreover the amp correctly senses 30M on the first dit and switches correctly, and seems very happy producing 200W or more on 30M. Brian, K3KO, suggested disconnecting the cable from the amp to see what the band buttons on the amp do. They work correctly with the cable disconnected, and they work correctly with the cable connected and the K3’s power off. 7.0 switches to 7.0, 28 switches to 28, and so forth. So what does that mean – that the fault lies in the K3? But before adding 30M to the Band map in the K3 changing bands worked for all of 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 – that is, changing the K3 band changed the KPA500 band correctly. Now it doesn’t work for 40 and 10, and 30; but it does for 80, 20 and 15. Since the only change that occurred was adding 30M to the band map, does that mean something is fouled up in the configuration? I did recycle the power to both the K3 and the KPA500 after making the configuration change. One other fact – pressing the 10MHz band button on the KPA500 correctly switches the K3 to 10MHz – but places the amp on 5.3 MHz. The amp then switches to 10 MHz with the first transmitted dit. But pressing the 10MHz band button on the amp when the K3 power is off changes the amp to 10 MHz. Appreciative and still perplexed, Ted, KN1CBR Edward A. Dauer, LL.B. M.P.H. Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Law University of Denver On 8/7/16, 4:19 PM, "Cliff Frescura" <[hidden email]> wrote: "But the KPA doesn’t track the K3’s band choice correctly." ...it's by design. In the US the maximum power on 30m is 200W PEP. http://www.arrl.org/frequency-allocations 73, Cliff K3LL/6 -----Original Message----- From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Dauer, Edward Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2016 2:50 PM To: [hidden email] Subject: [Elecraft] KPA500 Band Tracking I must have done something I didn’t mean to do. Just put up a 30 meter antenna today. It works fine. Until today I had the K3 band map set to include only 80-40-20-15-10. The KPA500 tracked it automatically perfectly. I then went into the config menu for band map and set 30 meters to IN. The K3 works perfectly – band switching gives me, in MHz, 3.5 – 7.0 – 10.1 – 14.0 – 21.0 – 28.0 and then cycles back to 3.5 That is also exactly what I expected. But the KPA doesn’t track the K3’s band choice correctly. For 80 I get 80. For 40 on the K3 I get 80 on the KPA500. For 30 on the K3 I get 5.3MHz on the KPA500. For 20 I get 20. For 15 I get 15. And for 10 on the K3 I get 24.9 MHz on the KPA500. Interestingly, the “Band” buttons on the KPA500 have the same errors. In MHz, pressing 1.8 yields 5.3. 3.5 is OK. Pressing 7.0 produces 3.5. 14 and 21 are OK. And pressing 28 produces 24.9. The frequency sampling, however, works perfectly. A single dit on any band switches the KPA500 to the correct band, as defined by the K3. The cables are all Elecraft issue. They are all connected correctly – witness that everything worked perfectly, on every band, until I added 30M into the K3’s band map. Because both the K3 auto tracking feature and the Band buttons on the KPA500 yield the same errors, I think I must have messed up something in the amp. I have, by the way, already RdTFM. Any ideas about what I might have done? Equally useful would be, how do I undo it? Many thanks for whatever anyone can suggest . . . Ted, KN1CBR ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] |
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In reply to this post by Edward A. Dauer
Ted,
Do you have any other device (non-Elecraft) set up to read the K3 Band Data lines? If so, that may be part of the problem - you may have to add diodes to the band data lines on that device. There is another subtle point about when the KPA500 changes bands. Even though it monitors the band data lines, it does not act on them immediately, it waits for a transmission before changing bands. The details are a bit fuzzy to me right now, but Jack Brindle explained it several years ago and it make sense. 73, Don w3FPR On 8/7/2016 5:50 PM, Dauer, Edward wrote: > I must have done something I didn’t mean to do. > > Just put up a 30 meter antenna today. It works fine. Until today I had the K3 band map set to include only 80-40-20-15-10. The KPA500 tracked it automatically perfectly. I then went into the config menu for band map and set 30 meters to IN. The K3 works perfectly – band switching gives me, in MHz, 3.5 – 7.0 – 10.1 – 14.0 – 21.0 – 28.0 and then cycles back to 3.5 That is also exactly what I expected. > > But the KPA doesn’t track the K3’s band choice correctly. For 80 I get 80. For 40 on the K3 I get 80 on the KPA500. For 30 on the K3 I get 5.3MHz on the KPA500. For 20 I get 20. For 15 I get 15. And for 10 on the K3 I get 24.9 MHz on the KPA500. > > Interestingly, the “Band” buttons on the KPA500 have the same errors. In MHz, pressing 1.8 yields 5.3. 3.5 is OK. Pressing 7.0 produces 3.5. 14 and 21 are OK. And pressing 28 produces 24.9. > > The frequency sampling, however, works perfectly. A single dit on any band switches the KPA500 to the correct band, as defined by the K3. > > ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] |
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In reply to this post by markmusick
5.3mhz is the indication at 60m has been selected. Usually means something is wrong other than the cable since all lines must be high or low. I forget which.
Jim ab3cv On Aug 7, 2016, at 6:52 PM, Mark E. Musick <[hidden email]> wrote: My K3S and KPA500 track correctly on 30 meters. If I select 30 meters from the KPA500 front panel both go to 30 meters. When I select 30 meters on the K3S the KPA500 goes to 30. I routinely use the KPA500 to run 200 Watts on 30. This was also true for the K3 I had before the K3S. Check your cables again connecting the K3 aux port to the KPA500. Remove them and reset them and see if that changes anything. I had a similar issue and that solved the problem. I don't know why that solved the problem, but the issue has not reoccurred. Also, after you added 30 to the band map, did you turn the K3 off then back on as suggested in the manual when making changes in the menu? Mark Musick, WB9CIF -----Original Message----- From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Cliff Frescura Sent: Sunday, August 7, 2016 10:20 PM To: 'Dauer, Edward' <[hidden email]>; [hidden email] Subject: Re: [Elecraft] KPA500 Band Tracking "But the KPA doesn’t track the K3’s band choice correctly." ...it's by design. In the US the maximum power on 30m is 200W PEP. http://www.arrl.org/frequency-allocations 73, Cliff K3LL/6 -----Original Message----- From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Dauer, Edward Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2016 2:50 PM To: [hidden email] Subject: [Elecraft] KPA500 Band Tracking I must have done something I didn’t mean to do. Just put up a 30 meter antenna today. It works fine. Until today I had the K3 band map set to include only 80-40-20-15-10. The KPA500 tracked it automatically perfectly. I then went into the config menu for band map and set 30 meters to IN. The K3 works perfectly – band switching gives me, in MHz, 3.5 – 7.0 – 10.1 – 14.0 – 21.0 – 28.0 and then cycles back to 3.5 That is also exactly what I expected. But the KPA doesn’t track the K3’s band choice correctly. For 80 I get 80. For 40 on the K3 I get 80 on the KPA500. For 30 on the K3 I get 5.3MHz on the KPA500. For 20 I get 20. For 15 I get 15. And for 10 on the K3 I get 24.9 MHz on the KPA500. Interestingly, the “Band” buttons on the KPA500 have the same errors. In MHz, pressing 1.8 yields 5.3. 3.5 is OK. Pressing 7.0 produces 3.5. 14 and 21 are OK. And pressing 28 produces 24.9. The frequency sampling, however, works perfectly. A single dit on any band switches the KPA500 to the correct band, as defined by the K3. The cables are all Elecraft issue. They are all connected correctly – witness that everything worked perfectly, on every band, until I added 30M into the K3’s band map. Because both the K3 auto tracking feature and the Band buttons on the KPA500 yield the same errors, I think I must have messed up something in the amp. I have, by the way, already RdTFM. Any ideas about what I might have done? Equally useful would be, how do I undo it? Many thanks for whatever anyone can suggest . . . Ted, KN1CBR ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] |
Re: KPA500 Band Tracking
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In reply to this post by Edward A. Dauer
Seems like an issue with the "BCD" data from the K3 to the KPA500, but
the symptoms don't seem to point to a single broken wire. It may be an obscure firmware bug. What happens if you take 30m back out of the band-map? Is the K3 firmware up-to-date? 73, ~iain / N6ML On Sun, Aug 7, 2016 at 3:42 PM, Dauer, Edward <[hidden email]> wrote: > Thanks, Cliff. I am aware of the 30M 200W power limitation, but I don’t see why adding 30M to the K3’s Band Map would cause 40 meters and 10 meters to be in error. When the K3 is at 7.0 MHz the KPA500 switches to 3.5. When the K3 is at 28.0 MHz the KPA500 switches to 24.9. That never happened before today. Moreover the amp correctly senses 30M on the first dit and switches correctly, and seems very happy producing 200W or more on 30M. > > Brian, K3KO, suggested disconnecting the cable from the amp to see what the band buttons on the amp do. They work correctly with the cable disconnected, and they work correctly with the cable connected and the K3’s power off. 7.0 switches to 7.0, 28 switches to 28, and so forth. So what does that mean – that the fault lies in the K3? But before adding 30M to the Band map in the K3 changing bands worked for all of 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 – that is, changing the K3 band changed the KPA500 band correctly. Now it doesn’t work for 40 and 10, and 30; but it does for 80, 20 and 15. Since the only change that occurred was adding 30M to the band map, does that mean something is fouled up in the configuration? I did recycle the power to both the K3 and the KPA500 after making the configuration change. > > One other fact – pressing the 10MHz band button on the KPA500 correctly switches the K3 to 10MHz – but places the amp on 5.3 MHz. The amp then switches to 10 MHz with the first transmitted dit. But pressing the 10MHz band button on the amp when the K3 power is off changes the amp to 10 MHz. > > Appreciative and still perplexed, Ted, KN1CBR > > > Edward A. Dauer, LL.B. M.P.H. > Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Law > University of Denver > > > On 8/7/16, 4:19 PM, "Cliff Frescura" <[hidden email]> wrote: > > "But the KPA doesn’t track the K3’s band choice correctly." > > ...it's by design. > > In the US the maximum power on 30m is 200W PEP. > > http://www.arrl.org/frequency-allocations > > 73, > > Cliff K3LL/6 > > -----Original Message----- > From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Dauer, Edward > Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2016 2:50 PM > To: [hidden email] > Subject: [Elecraft] KPA500 Band Tracking > > I must have done something I didn’t mean to do. > > Just put up a 30 meter antenna today. It works fine. Until today I had the K3 band map set to include only 80-40-20-15-10. The KPA500 tracked it automatically perfectly. I then went into the config menu for band map and set 30 meters to IN. The K3 works perfectly – band switching gives me, in MHz, 3.5 – 7.0 – 10.1 – 14.0 – 21.0 – 28.0 and then cycles back to 3.5 That is also exactly what I expected. > > But the KPA doesn’t track the K3’s band choice correctly. For 80 I get 80. For 40 on the K3 I get 80 on the KPA500. For 30 on the K3 I get 5.3MHz on the KPA500. For 20 I get 20. For 15 I get 15. And for 10 on the K3 I get 24.9 MHz on the KPA500. > > Interestingly, the “Band” buttons on the KPA500 have the same errors. In MHz, pressing 1.8 yields 5.3. 3.5 is OK. Pressing 7.0 produces 3.5. 14 and 21 are OK. And pressing 28 produces 24.9. > > The frequency sampling, however, works perfectly. A single dit on any band switches the KPA500 to the correct band, as defined by the K3. > > The cables are all Elecraft issue. They are all connected correctly – witness that everything worked perfectly, on every band, until I added 30M into the K3’s band map. Because both the K3 auto tracking feature and the Band buttons on the KPA500 yield the same errors, I think I must have messed up something in the amp. > > I have, by the way, already RdTFM. > > Any ideas about what I might have done? Equally useful would be, how do I undo it? > > Many thanks for whatever anyone can suggest . . . > > Ted, KN1CBR > > ______________________________________________________________ > 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] > > > > > > ______________________________________________________________ > 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 > Message delivered to [hidden email] 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] |
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In reply to this post by markmusick
Success!!
Mark, WB9CIF, and Hank, K7HP, both suggested a combination of things including resetting the F/W files, swapping cables around to bypass the KAT, unplugging and reseating all of the aux plugs . . . Hard to say what the winner was, but after doing all the cable things and then reloading the F/W in both the K3 and KPA500, it all works! Now back to the day’s principal objective – getting the K3 on 30 meters. I have no idea why just adding one band to the band map caused those mysterious faults. And, to quote Mark Musick commenting on his once resetting his aux cables, “I don’t know why that solved the problem . . . “ But then, understanding how sacred rituals effect happy outcomes has defied greater minds than mine. Last point, which I have said before and will say again: This reflector is an outstanding community of first-class ops. Many thanks to all who helped me this time. Ted, KN1CBR Edward A. Dauer, LL.B. M.P.H. Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Law University of Denver On 8/7/16, 4:52 PM, "Mark E. Musick" <[hidden email]> wrote: My K3S and KPA500 track correctly on 30 meters. If I select 30 meters from the KPA500 front panel both go to 30 meters. When I select 30 meters on the K3S the KPA500 goes to 30. I routinely use the KPA500 to run 200 Watts on 30. This was also true for the K3 I had before the K3S. Check your cables again connecting the K3 aux port to the KPA500. Remove them and reset them and see if that changes anything. I had a similar issue and that solved the problem. I don't know why that solved the problem, but the issue has not reoccurred. Also, after you added 30 to the band map, did you turn the K3 off then back on as suggested in the manual when making changes in the menu? Mark Musick, WB9CIF -----Original Message----- From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Cliff Frescura Sent: Sunday, August 7, 2016 10:20 PM To: 'Dauer, Edward' <[hidden email]>; [hidden email] Subject: Re: [Elecraft] KPA500 Band Tracking "But the KPA doesn’t track the K3’s band choice correctly." ...it's by design. In the US the maximum power on 30m is 200W PEP. http://www.arrl.org/frequency-allocations 73, Cliff K3LL/6 -----Original Message----- From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Dauer, Edward Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2016 2:50 PM To: [hidden email] Subject: [Elecraft] KPA500 Band Tracking I must have done something I didn’t mean to do. Just put up a 30 meter antenna today. It works fine. Until today I had the K3 band map set to include only 80-40-20-15-10. The KPA500 tracked it automatically perfectly. I then went into the config menu for band map and set 30 meters to IN. The K3 works perfectly – band switching gives me, in MHz, 3.5 – 7.0 – 10.1 – 14.0 – 21.0 – 28.0 and then cycles back to 3.5 That is also exactly what I expected. But the KPA doesn’t track the K3’s band choice correctly. For 80 I get 80. For 40 on the K3 I get 80 on the KPA500. For 30 on the K3 I get 5.3MHz on the KPA500. For 20 I get 20. For 15 I get 15. And for 10 on the K3 I get 24.9 MHz on the KPA500. Interestingly, the “Band” buttons on the KPA500 have the same errors. In MHz, pressing 1.8 yields 5.3. 3.5 is OK. Pressing 7.0 produces 3.5. 14 and 21 are OK. And pressing 28 produces 24.9. The frequency sampling, however, works perfectly. A single dit on any band switches the KPA500 to the correct band, as defined by the K3. The cables are all Elecraft issue. They are all connected correctly – witness that everything worked perfectly, on every band, until I added 30M into the K3’s band map. Because both the K3 auto tracking feature and the Band buttons on the KPA500 yield the same errors, I think I must have messed up something in the amp. I have, by the way, already RdTFM. Any ideas about what I might have done? Equally useful would be, how do I undo it? Many thanks for whatever anyone can suggest . . . Ted, KN1CBR ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] |
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In reply to this post by Edward A. Dauer
Ted,
One other observation, it would appear that you are missing the BAND0 signal at the KPA500. Make sure the ACC connector on the K3 is tight as well as other end at the KPA500 (AUX cable). If you moved things around on the operating desk, it is possible that you incurred some cable damage - you should be able to do a continuity check on the BAND0 signal line in the cable. 73, Don W3FPR On 8/7/2016 5:50 PM, Dauer, Edward wrote: > I must have done something I didn’t mean to do. > > Just put up a 30 meter antenna today. It works fine. Until today I had the K3 band map set to include only 80-40-20-15-10. The KPA500 tracked it automatically perfectly. I then went into the config menu for band map and set 30 meters to IN. The K3 works perfectly – band switching gives me, in MHz, 3.5 – 7.0 – 10.1 – 14.0 – 21.0 – 28.0 and then cycles back to 3.5 That is also exactly what I expected. > > But the KPA doesn’t track the K3’s band choice correctly. For 80 I get 80. For 40 on the K3 I get 80 on the KPA500. For 30 on the K3 I get 5.3MHz on the KPA500. For 20 I get 20. For 15 I get 15. And for 10 on the K3 I get 24.9 MHz on the KPA500. > > Interestingly, the “Band” buttons on the KPA500 have the same errors. In MHz, pressing 1.8 yields 5.3. 3.5 is OK. Pressing 7.0 produces 3.5. 14 and 21 are OK. And pressing 28 produces 24.9. > > ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] |
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In reply to this post by Edward A. Dauer
I think I jumped the gun and was wrong.
73, Cliff K3LL/6 -----Original Message----- From: Dauer, Edward [mailto:[hidden email]] Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2016 3:42 PM To: Cliff Frescura; [hidden email]; brian Subject: Re: [Elecraft] KPA500 Band Tracking Thanks, Cliff. I am aware of the 30M 200W power limitation, but I don’t see why adding 30M to the K3’s Band Map would cause 40 meters and 10 meters to be in error. When the K3 is at 7.0 MHz the KPA500 switches to 3.5. When the K3 is at 28.0 MHz the KPA500 switches to 24.9. That never happened before today. Moreover the amp correctly senses 30M on the first dit and switches correctly, and seems very happy producing 200W or more on 30M. Brian, K3KO, suggested disconnecting the cable from the amp to see what the band buttons on the amp do. They work correctly with the cable disconnected, and they work correctly with the cable connected and the K3’s power off. 7.0 switches to 7.0, 28 switches to 28, and so forth. So what does that mean – that the fault lies in the K3? But before adding 30M to the Band map in the K3 changing bands worked for all of 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 – that is, changing the K3 band changed the KPA500 band correctly. Now it doesn’t work for 40 and 10, and 30; but it does for 80, 20 and 15. Since the only change that occurred was adding 30M to the band map, does that mean something is fouled up in the configuration? I did recycle the power to both the K3 and the KPA500 after making the configuration change. One other fact – pressing the 10MHz band button on the KPA500 correctly switches the K3 to 10MHz – but places the amp on 5.3 MHz. The amp then switches to 10 MHz with the first transmitted dit. But pressing the 10MHz band button on the amp when the K3 power is off changes the amp to 10 MHz. Appreciative and still perplexed, Ted, KN1CBR Edward A. Dauer, LL.B. M.P.H. Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Law University of Denver On 8/7/16, 4:19 PM, "Cliff Frescura" <[hidden email]> wrote: "But the KPA doesn’t track the K3’s band choice correctly." ...it's by design. In the US the maximum power on 30m is 200W PEP. http://www.arrl.org/frequency-allocations 73, Cliff K3LL/6 -----Original Message----- From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Dauer, Edward Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2016 2:50 PM To: [hidden email] Subject: [Elecraft] KPA500 Band Tracking I must have done something I didn’t mean to do. Just put up a 30 meter antenna today. It works fine. Until today I had the K3 band map set to include only 80-40-20-15-10. The KPA500 tracked it automatically perfectly. I then went into the config menu for band map and set 30 meters to IN. The K3 works perfectly – band switching gives me, in MHz, 3.5 – 7.0 – 10.1 – 14.0 – 21.0 – 28.0 and then cycles back to 3.5 That is also exactly what I expected. But the KPA doesn’t track the K3’s band choice correctly. For 80 I get 80. For 40 on the K3 I get 80 on the KPA500. For 30 on the K3 I get 5.3MHz on the KPA500. For 20 I get 20. For 15 I get 15. And for 10 on the K3 I get 24.9 MHz on the KPA500. Interestingly, the “Band” buttons on the KPA500 have the same errors. In MHz, pressing 1.8 yields 5.3. 3.5 is OK. Pressing 7.0 produces 3.5. 14 and 21 are OK. And pressing 28 produces 24.9. The frequency sampling, however, works perfectly. A single dit on any band switches the KPA500 to the correct band, as defined by the K3. The cables are all Elecraft issue. They are all connected correctly – witness that everything worked perfectly, on every band, until I added 30M into the K3’s band map. Because both the K3 auto tracking feature and the Band buttons on the KPA500 yield the same errors, I think I must have messed up something in the amp. I have, by the way, already RdTFM. Any ideas about what I might have done? Equally useful would be, how do I undo it? Many thanks for whatever anyone can suggest . . . Ted, KN1CBR ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] |
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In reply to this post by Don Wilhelm
Thanks, Don; that may have been the key. Even with all of the connectors tight there could be an intermittent fault in any one of them. There are four connectors and two cables linking the K3 with the amp through the KAT500 tuner, as well as the internal connections in the tuner. It could be that a random movement triggered the intermittency and that reseating them all moved the equivalent of the cat’s whisker back onto the sweet spot of the galena. I may just replace them all – or wait until the problem reappears and then do the Band0 line check to see where the fault lies. Thanks again for your thoughtful help . . .
Ted, KN1CBR On 8/7/16, 6:07 PM, "Don Wilhelm" <[hidden email]> wrote: Ted, One other observation, it would appear that you are missing the BAND0 signal at the KPA500. Make sure the ACC connector on the K3 is tight as well as other end at the KPA500 (AUX cable). If you moved things around on the operating desk, it is possible that you incurred some cable damage - you should be able to do a continuity check on the BAND0 signal line in the cable. 73, Don W3FPR ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] |
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In reply to this post by Cliff Frescura
I appreciate your having written, Cliff; and it is the case that 30 meters is an oddball. Just as the K3 is booby-trapped to prevent transmitting out of band, it could very well have been that adding 30 meters to the working bands would have required some special consideration to keep the amp from violating the power limitations.
Thanks again, Ted, KN1CBR On 8/7/16, 6:10 PM, "Cliff Frescura" <[hidden email]> wrote: I think I jumped the gun and was wrong. 73, Cliff K3LL/6 ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] |
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You have found the problem by now, but let me comment on some other areas. The only place in the KPA500 that is restricted is the US FCC-mandated CB frequencies of 26 to 28 MHz. If you really want to output 600 watts on 30 meters (as is allowed in some areas) go right ahead. It won’t operate below 1.6 MHz because of limitations in the frequency counter code (making sure the counter is functioning properly), and above 54 MHz it probably won’t do all that much as the 6m bandpass filter does its work.
The KPA listens to the BAND0-3 inputs for band determination. It will change bands pretty much immediately on seeing those input signals change. It also counts the input frequency and will switch bands if the count shows a different band - and will ignore the band inputs to use that band until they change again. So even though it detected something other than the combination for 40 meters, it would have gone there on TX and stayed until you later changed bands. Lastly, what Don was referring to - pressing a band button on the KPA500, when the RADIO is set to K3, will send a request to the K3/K3S to go to that band. When the K3 responds by changing bands, it will output the proper combination on its BAND outputs, which will then cause the KPA to itself change bands. In other RADIO settings the KPA will immediately change bands, but not so with the K3 setting. Hope this helps. Those AUX cables can be pesky at times - make sure none of the pins are bent, and that everything is connecting properly. And, as we have said many times, do not use a VGA cable unless you are absolutely sure it is full 15-pin straight through, since most VGA cables connect several pins together as grounds. Me? I fabricated my own cables for my station, but then I have the facilities to do so… 73! Jack Brindle, W6FB > On Aug 7, 2016, at 5:21 PM, Dauer, Edward <[hidden email]> wrote: > > I appreciate your having written, Cliff; and it is the case that 30 meters is an oddball. Just as the K3 is booby-trapped to prevent transmitting out of band, it could very well have been that adding 30 meters to the working bands would have required some special consideration to keep the amp from violating the power limitations. > > Thanks again, > > Ted, KN1CBR > > > On 8/7/16, 6:10 PM, "Cliff Frescura" <[hidden email]> wrote: > > I think I jumped the gun and was wrong. > > 73, > > Cliff K3LL/6 > > > > > > > > > > > ______________________________________________________________ > 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 > Message delivered to [hidden email] ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] |
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In reply to this post by Edward A. Dauer
Hi Edward
I am buying into this thread somewhat late. However, I did not see a particular suggestion which has previously caused me similar problems. Have you, inadvertently or otherwise, changed the "radio" setting in the KPA500 menu? It should be set as K3. If it isn't, you will get some strange effects. I also had a problem when the K3 to KPA500 suffered a broken conductor. So it could be either. The new leads from Elecraft are much better and more flexible than the ones originally available when the KPA500 first came out. 73 Barry VK2BJ On 8 August 2016 at 10:21, Dauer, Edward <[hidden email]> wrote: > I appreciate your having written, Cliff; and it is the case that 30 meters > is an oddball. Just as the K3 is booby-trapped to prevent transmitting out > of band, it could very well have been that adding 30 meters to the working > bands would have required some special consideration to keep the amp from > violating the power limitations. > > Thanks again, > > Ted, KN1CBR > > > On 8/7/16, 6:10 PM, "Cliff Frescura" <[hidden email]> wrote: > > I think I jumped the gun and was wrong. > > 73, > > Cliff K3LL/6 > > > > > > > > > > > ______________________________________________________________ > 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 > Message delivered to [hidden email] > 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] |
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