KPA500 Shipped

[w7aqk]

Shipping notice received.  Should be here Thursday.  Ordered on 4/06/11.

Dave W7AQK






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[Mark Stennett]

I signed for UPS delivery at 1830 this evening. I built it over the next
3.5 hours, including two unrelated interruptions from XYL N5BW. All
parts were on hand plus a couple of extra washers and screws. My only
issue was that the input RF connection to the amplifier brick was not
completely seated. The symptom was that the KPA power meter did not
respond at all, bypass or engaged. My K3 driver obviously had a load
issue. I pulled the rear panel and reseated it, then it worked as
advertised.

I worked everything I could hear on 20M CW late this evening at 500
watts with ease.

Elecraft, you folks continue to implement impeccable mechanical and
electrical design skills. Thank you once again for another fantastic
product.

I was recently talking about my Elecraft experiences with a fellow
broadcast radio engineer and referred to you folks as the "Nautel of
Amateur Radio"


73 de na6m


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[Ron Hahn (EI2JP)-2]

Colleagues,

I've just completed building KX1 2468 and I'm a bit perplexed about the
20 and 40 metre transmit test.  With a 13.8v supply here's what I see:

20m    3.0w    630mA
40m    2.5w    430mA

This is barely spec for 20m and out of spec for 40m.

I referred to the troubleshooting guide, and checked the following:

R4 fully clockwise
Nylon screw inserted through the tab of Q6
ATU not installed and jumper present
Power output measured on my WM-2 with 50 ohm known load
Relays seem to click when changing from 20m to 4om and vice versa
Continuity check of T1, L3, L1, and L2 for poorly stripped/soldered leads

I have not (yet) checked for a short or incorrect value in the BPF or LPF

Is it safe to operate the transmitter for short periods of time with the
PA heatsink disconnected (i.e. removed from case)?

Thanks for the helping hands,

Ron EI2JP

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[Don Wilhelm-4]

  Ron,

It is NOT safe to operate the KX1 (or any other transmitter) without the
heat sink - the PA transistor will become "like toast" in a matter of
seconds.

If you need to operate the KX1 outside the enclosure, make yourself a
temporary heat sink.  I use one of aluminum material about 2mm thick and
about 5 cm square.  There is a hole near the corner with a countersink
where I insert the nylon screw.  That heatsink can be positioned so it
does not interfere with making measurements - Caution, it will be
"alive" with the full power supply voltage, be careful that it does not
touch anything.

As to your low power output problem, look carefully at the LPF toroids.  
Be certain they are wound with the correct number ot turns.  Builders
often put one extra turn on toroids - remember that a straight wire
through the center of a toroid core is one turn - a complete wrap around
the core is 2 turns.

If you find an extra turn on L1 and L2, then check the turns of T1 for a
similar condition.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 7/6/2011 7:01 AM, Ron Hahn (EI2JP) wrote:

> Colleagues,
>
> I've just completed building KX1 2468 and I'm a bit perplexed about the
> 20 and 40 metre transmit test.  With a 13.8v supply here's what I see:
>
> 20m    3.0w    630mA
> 40m    2.5w    430mA
>
> This is barely spec for 20m and out of spec for 40m.
>
> I referred to the troubleshooting guide, and checked the following:
>
> R4 fully clockwise
> Nylon screw inserted through the tab of Q6
> ATU not installed and jumper present
> Power output measured on my WM-2 with 50 ohm known load
> Relays seem to click when changing from 20m to 4om and vice versa
> Continuity check of T1, L3, L1, and L2 for poorly stripped/soldered leads
>
> I have not (yet) checked for a short or incorrect value in the BPF or LPF
>
> Is it safe to operate the transmitter for short periods of time with the
> PA heatsink disconnected (i.e. removed from case)?
>
> Thanks for the helping hands,
>
> Ron EI2JP
>
>

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[Tony Estep]

On Wed, Jul 6, 2011 at 12:25 AM, Mark Stennett <[hidden email]> wrote:

> ...built it over the next 3.5 hours, including two unrelated interruptions
> from XYL....

==========
I had those too, even though the construction manual said nothing about
them. Perhaps the next edition should mention this.

Tony KT0NY
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