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Running the KX3 and KXPA100 Off Battery

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Phil Hystad-3

Running the KX3 and KXPA100 Off Battery

I don’t have a KXPA100 yet to go with my KX3 but when I get one (soon) it will be used almost entirely in portable operation off batteries — in particular: A123 Lithium battery packs. Currently have two 2.5 Amp-Hour packs and will be buying at least one 7.5 Amp-Hour pack (maybe two).

Although many times I will be able to recharge my battery packs in the field (maybe not always conveniently) I would like to know about how much time (in real operating practice) I would expect from, let’s say 5 amp-hours of available charge.

I could do computations and estimate duty cycle but I would also like to have real-world experience if someone has done something similar.

My operating configuration would be: CW only and operating with enough power out to make good contacts (maybe only 50 watts or so). Currently, I have been limited to QRP to 10 watts on my KX3 and a number of times I had wanted more power — thus my motivation for using this amplifier and battery power.

Thanks for any help you can provide — actual field experience preferred.

73, phil, K7PEH
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Jim Brown-10

Re: Running the KX3 and KXPA100 Off Battery

On Tue,5/26/2015 10:13 AM, Phil Hystad wrote:
> Thanks for any help you can provide — actual field experience preferred.

You might want to reconsider your battery choices. Of what's available,
LiFePO4 batteries seem to be in the "sweet spot" for operation of our
gear. Their advantages include terminal voltage that matches our gear
designed to work on 12-14V, a nice flat discharge curve, a much better
safety profile than Li Ion, and less demanding charging requirements.

I bought a BLF-1220W 20Ah pack from these folks, and loaned it and my
KX3, KXPA100, and PX3 to a couple of guys who were activating a rare 6M
grid. It's a demanding hike up a mountain to the site, so weight was a
major factor. The low current drain of this rig on RX allowed them to
work all day on that battery, and the terminal voltage was 13V when they
went QRT. They also carried a second 20Ah pack loaned by W6GJB, but
didn't need it. As luck would have it, the band never opened while they
were there, so they made only 17 QSOs. They easily might have used up
both batteries if the band had opened.

http://www.bioennopower.com/pages/comm-equipment-ham-radio

Note the weight of the battery I chose, and compare it to the other 20Ah
batteries listed.

Here's another excellent battery vendor. W6GJB bought his from them.
Both companies provide intelligent applications advice by email and land
line.

http://www.batteryspace.com/

73, Jim K9YC

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Phil Hystad-3

Re: Running the KX3 and KXPA100 Off Battery

Thanks Jim,

I took a look and they appear to be cheaper than the A123 packs (the brief scan I did) — I may buy one or two. But, with my two 4S1P A123 battery packs have performed very well with the KX3 so far. Although, this is a KX3 running QRP to 10 watts.

73, phil

> On May 26, 2015, at 10:55 AM, Jim Brown <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> On Tue,5/26/2015 10:13 AM, Phil Hystad wrote:
>> Thanks for any help you can provide — actual field experience preferred.
>
> You might want to reconsider your battery choices. Of what's available, LiFePO4 batteries seem to be in the "sweet spot" for operation of our gear. Their advantages include terminal voltage that matches our gear designed to work on 12-14V, a nice flat discharge curve, a much better safety profile than Li Ion, and less demanding charging requirements.
>
> I bought a BLF-1220W 20Ah pack from these folks, and loaned it and my KX3, KXPA100, and PX3 to a couple of guys who were activating a rare 6M grid. It's a demanding hike up a mountain to the site, so weight was a major factor. The low current drain of this rig on RX allowed them to work all day on that battery, and the terminal voltage was 13V when they went QRT. They also carried a second 20Ah pack loaned by W6GJB, but didn't need it. As luck would have it, the band never opened while they were there, so they made only 17 QSOs. They easily might have used up both batteries if the band had opened.
>
> http://www.bioennopower.com/pages/comm-equipment-ham-radio
>
> Note the weight of the battery I chose, and compare it to the other 20Ah batteries listed.
>
> Here's another excellent battery vendor. W6GJB bought his from them. Both companies provide intelligent applications advice by email and land line.
>
> http://www.batteryspace.com/
>
> 73, Jim K9YC
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
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>
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NC3Z-2

Re: Running the KX3 and KXPA100 Off Battery

In reply to this post by Phil Hystad-3

Phil,

I had posted this to the KX3 list a few months back. I have a Bioenno
LiFePO4 12V/12A (BLF-1212W) battery pack for my KX3 station. The battery
is powering the KX3, my KXPA100 at full power and a pair of West
Mountain Radio amplified speakers (the new PX3 was not in the mix). I
have been testing on 160M with the group I hang around with and I have
been doing a lot more transmission cycles than normal (usually on 3 or
4 hams in the group) so I am transmitting frequently. I terminated the
test when I reached 11V as indicated on the KX3 and this is the amount
of operating I was able to get on a single charge.

Day 1 3 hours
Day 2 2 hours
Day 3 2 hours
Day 4 2 hours
Day 5 1/2 hour plus 3 additional hours on receive.

Even at the end no untoward issues with the signal was reported. Pretty
pleased so far for such a small battery.

Gary Mitchelson
NC3Z/4 Pamlico County, NC FM15
www.mitchelson.org

On 5/26/2015 13:13, Phil Hystad wrote:

> I don’t have a KXPA100 yet to go with my KX3 but when I get one (soon) it will be used almost entirely in portable operation off batteries — in particular: A123 Lithium battery packs. Currently have two 2.5 Amp-Hour packs and will be buying at least one 7.5 Amp-Hour pack (maybe two).
>
> Although many times I will be able to recharge my battery packs in the field (maybe not always conveniently) I would like to know about how much time (in real operating practice) I would expect from, let’s say 5 amp-hours of available charge.
>
> I could do computations and estimate duty cycle but I would also like to have real-world experience if someone has done something similar.
>
> My operating configuration would be: CW only and operating with enough power out to make good contacts (maybe only 50 watts or so). Currently, I have been limited to QRP to 10 watts on my KX3 and a number of times I had wanted more power — thus my motivation for using this amplifier and battery power.
>
> Thanks for any help you can provide — actual field experience preferred.
>
> 73, phil, K7PEH
>

James Bennett

Re: Running the KX3 and KXPA100 Off Battery

In reply to this post by Jim Brown-10

I second Jim’s recommendation. I’ve been using a 12 aH AGM lead acid battery for about two years. It weighs a tad over 10 pounds. I purchased a 12 aH LiFePO battery from Bioennopower a couple weeks ago. Wow - what a difference! This one weighs about three pounds, and seems to last forever. I’ve been using it with my KX3 at 10 watts nearly every evening on the back patio and it’s still at the same voltage level as when I first charged it up. We’re planning a trip to the Philippines next year and I’m glad I got this lightweight unit to take along. Got their 117/220 charger for a couple dollars more, so I can charge it up here or there and not worry about the supply voltage. Also have a 28 watt solar panel that’s going along, in case there is one of the all-too-often “brown out” situations.

73, Jim / W6JHB

> On Tuesday, May 26, 2015, at Tuesday, 10:55 AM, Jim Brown <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> On Tue,5/26/2015 10:13 AM, Phil Hystad wrote:
>> Thanks for any help you can provide — actual field experience preferred.
>
> You might want to reconsider your battery choices. Of what's available, LiFePO4 batteries seem to be in the "sweet spot" for operation of our gear. Their advantages include terminal voltage that matches our gear designed to work on 12-14V, a nice flat discharge curve, a much better safety profile than Li Ion, and less demanding charging requirements.
>
> I bought a BLF-1220W 20Ah pack from these folks, and loaned it and my KX3, KXPA100, and PX3 to a couple of guys who were activating a rare 6M grid. It's a demanding hike up a mountain to the site, so weight was a major factor. The low current drain of this rig on RX allowed them to work all day on that battery, and the terminal voltage was 13V when they went QRT. They also carried a second 20Ah pack loaned by W6GJB, but didn't need it. As luck would have it, the band never opened while they were there, so they made only 17 QSOs. They easily might have used up both batteries if the band had opened.
>
> http://www.bioennopower.com/pages/comm-equipment-ham-radio
>
> Note the weight of the battery I chose, and compare it to the other 20Ah batteries listed.
>
> Here's another excellent battery vendor. W6GJB bought his from them. Both companies provide intelligent applications advice by email and land line.
>
> http://www.batteryspace.com/
>
> 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
> Message delivered to [hidden email]

k6dgw

Re: Running the KX3 and KXPA100 Off Battery

In reply to this post by Phil Hystad-3

Phil,

It appears that there are three types of batteries with lithium in their
names ... Li-ion, Li-poly, and LiFePO4. Li-ion, in one or another of
the variants, usually power laptops, cell phones, and Tesla's. They're
pretty stable, you can take them on aircraft although there are some
limits on total weight and packing.

Li-poly are very small and light with a high energy density and are used
mainly by RC hobbyists. I have a 750 mAh one for my KX1, it's a little
smaller than a small matchbox and weighs an ounce or so. They're
somewhat unstable, I wouldn't recommend internal mounting. I had one
catch fire while I was operating, it was on a pigtail which I pulled
loose and tossed it over the deck rail onto our gravel driveway. I
always charge my current one outside.

LiFePO4 seem to be very stable. I have a 4S1P A123 2.5 Ah pack for my
K2. At full charge, it is almost 14 V which drops quickly to around
13.5 where it pretty much stays until almost depleted. With my K2 on CW
in QRP field contests [flight of the bumbles], it has powered 3-4 hours
of steady operation. So far, I get tired and hungry faster than I can
run it down. It does require a cell-balancing charger, mine is a
CellPro-Multi4 which will charge a variety of chemistries. Considering
all, LiFePO4 seems to be the best choice ham use.

Use great care with Li batteries of any flavor. They have an incredibly
high energy density for their size and weight, and incredibly low
internal resistance, so fuse the leads and don't ever short it. My 2.5
Ah pack will easily deliver 10 to 15 times that [25 - 40 A] into a
short. You can spot weld with them and some of the larger ones would
probably start my truck.

73,

Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the 50th Running of the Cal QSO Party 3-4 Oct 2015
- www.cqp.org

On 5/26/2015 11:42 AM, Phil Hystad wrote:
> Thanks Jim,
>
> I took a look and they appear to be cheaper than the A123 packs (the
> brief scan I did) — I may buy one or two. But, with my two 4S1P A123
> battery packs have performed very well with the KX3 so far.
> Although, this is a KX3 running QRP to 10 watts.
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Jim Brown-10

Re: Running the KX3 and KXPA100 Off Battery

On Tue,5/26/2015 12:33 PM, Fred Jensen wrote:
> Li-ion, in one or another of the variants, usually power laptops, cell
> phones, and Tesla's. They're pretty stable, you can take them on
> aircraft although there are some limits on total weight and packing.

Not quite, Fred. A sample of a Li-ion pack must be tested in a certified
lab before it can go on aircraft. See the right sidebar here.
http://www.batteryspace.com/ Some of their products are UN 38.3
certified, but many are not.

73, Jim K9YC

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k6dgw

Re: Running the KX3 and KXPA100 Off Battery

Yep, which is one of a nearly countable infinity of reasons for not
buying Li batteries from that big country a few thousand miles west of
us. I seem to remember there is a limit on the amount of lithium you
can take on. My pack says "Approved by TSA for carry-on baggage.
Contains less than 8 grams of lithium equivalent per pack."

My little Li-poly has no statement like that on the label.

73,

Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the 50th Running of the Cal QSO Party 3-4 Oct 2015
- www.cqp.org

On 5/26/2015 1:27 PM, Jim Brown wrote:

> Not quite, Fred. A sample of a Li-ion pack must be tested in a certified
> lab before it can go on aircraft. See the right sidebar here.
> http://www.batteryspace.com/ Some of their products are UN 38.3
> certified, but many are not.

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