KPA500 (another view)

[Don Wilhelm-4]

On 1/17/2012 9:57 PM, Wayne Burdick wrote:qbd sd6r4 sww99i8t]

> Call me a contrarian, but my biggest thrills have always come from
> working Europe with 3 watts to an attic dipole and other under-the-
> radar efforts. I'd probably get stage fright if you put me in front of
> a KW :)
>
> But that's where Eric comes in. A little ying, a little yang.
>
> 73,
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
>
>
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[Gary Gregory]

*Mike,

Where and when have we even heard of such a beast in the offing?

I have not heard/read anything about the development or redesign of the
prototype KPA-1500 or for the KPA-800 with auto-tuner inbuilt for that
matter.

All postings have been met so far with a deafening silence from the "Secret
Squirrel Complex"....:-)

Gary
*
On 18 January 2012 10:45, Mike K2MK <[hidden email]> wrote:

> I'm hoping they skip the middle man and go right for the KPA-1500. Folks
> considering a KW might have been persuaded by the fine reviews and
> excellent
> integration to jump into the KPA-500. Those desiring the legal limit are
> probably taking a wait and see approach.
>
> 73,
> Mike K2MK
>
>
> alsopb wrote
> >
> > It's been stated here that the difference between 1500W and 500W is
> > mostly unimportant.  Most views are going from about 100 w to 500 W.
> >
> > Here is another view based up the past 15 days of operation with a
> > KPA-500.  The previously 1500 watts was used with identical antennas.
> >
> > I chase DX and specifically the DX Marathon award where you try to work
> > as many countries as possible each year.  Yes I can still work stations
> > but the net effect is:
> >
> > 1) You won't work everything you used to
> > 2) It takes longer to work them
> > 3) SSB pileup cracking is more difficult
> > 4) RTTY pileups are more difficult still.
> >
> > Frustration.
> >
> > It hasn't been a complete wash.  I've managed 174 countries/40 zones
> > with the KPA-500 BUT GETTING THERE WAS A LOT MORE DIFFICULT than Jan.
> > 2011.
> >
> > The above isn't unexpected.
> >
> > Bring on a KPA-1000.
> >
> > 73 de Brian/K3KO
> >
>
>
> --
> View this message in context:
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> Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
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--
Gary
VK4FD - Motorhome Mobile
Elecraft Equipment
K3 #679, KPA-500 #018
Living the dream!!!
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[Arie Kleingeld PA3A-2]

There's no need to argue about 1500W or 500W. The 1500W will bring more
signal across to the other receiver.
And whether you are succesfull with  500W or 1500W depends on how you
use it.

The question is: why did Elecraft decide to bring a 500W PA and not the
1500W version that was on display years ago. I donot know how they go
about this, but what I can see is that a lot of discussion on the
internet about this subject helps them to understand the needs of a
group of customers. This is a good thing. And there is ofcourse the
worldwide market with lots of competition of other manufacturers which
have products on this market influences this. Mixed with sales
potential, all this boils down to a set of design specifications (see
some comments of Eric on this subject in the list). They probably
decided that it should be 500W and the size of a K3 as important specs.

For myself:
Why do I have a K3? A nice rig for HF-contesting, better RX than other
rigs on the market at the time that I bought it, and flexible like a
FT1000 for example.
Why a KPA500? I want to be able to take it on a DXpedition and at home
it will be a step up from 100W (but I will need a KAT500 for that).

Elecraft will continue to bring new products on the market for lots of
reasons (one of them being the limited sales potential of a product; you
have to come up with new ones to keep up your business).  I wonder what
will be the next.

73,
Arie PA3A
K3 #1255
K2 #35xx
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[KD3RF]

Hi All:

Alan's reply makes the most sense of all.

For the casual DXer / casual contester, speed and frequency agility can make as big of a difference as having brute force behind your signal.

Consider the example of being able to quickly change bands to follow a multiplier or rare DX station and make the QSO before the rest of the mob starts calling.  

That's the true advantage that a KPA500 / KAT 500 gives you versus full legal limit.  

No tuning, fast QSY, affordable cost.

Sometimes being a 500 watt "rabbit" versus a 1500 watt tortoise gets you to the finish line faster and with a lot less effort and a lot less expense.

And I also agree with one of Wayne's comments to this thread.

Even though I own a KPA 500, some of the most exciting contacts I have made have been at 500 milliwatts into Europe when I dial-down my K3 to milliwatt levels.

In fact, I have even made successful SAB QSOs into Europe at 100 milliwatts from the East Coast of the US by first calling on "high power" (5 watts) and then asking the station on the other end if they could continue to hear me as I reduced power to milliwatt power levels.

I'm not a QRP fanatic but as Wayne says, give it a try.  

It will be really interesting to hear all the low power QSOs when the KX3s get on the air!.

-- Andy, KD3RF / VE2DXY

[Keith Heimbold]

Working stations with the minimal power required is the end game at least that is what i remember from the tests I took last year. Hihi.

Personally, I really enjoy working stations low power (with 20W or less). It gives me tremendous satisfaction when I work a DX station with QRP. Like wow I really think I finally got my station / antenna system(s) working properly.

Btw, it looks like I will be down in Aruba on a babymoon with my wife in late March around Easter.  I plan to bring my KX3 and be QRP on HF and a little more on 6m (with the help of a small 6m TE systems amp). Hope we get some early 6m openings when the time comes. Can't wait to play with the KX3!!

73,

Keith
AG6AZ
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