Elecraft

T1 as remote tuner for KX2/KX3?

Classic

List

Threaded

3 messages Options

Steve Sergeant

T1 as remote tuner for KX2/KX3?

I am developing plans a hut-to-hut skit tour in Canada for next winter.
On this trip, I will want to operate my KX2 inside of metal-roofed
A-frame huts with a 60' feedline (RG-174, RG-58, or 300Ω twinlead?) to
some kind of wire antenna outside. I plan to operate SSB on 40 & 20
meters at a minimum, and 15 & 10m if possible; likely in adverse weather
conditions.

I read the FAQ for the T1 on using it as a remote tuner, which says:

> The T1 is intended for use near the operating position. But with a little effort it could be remoted, and its extremely small size would be beneficial for this purpose. First, the tuner must be placed in a weatherproof container if used outdoors. Second, controlling the tuner remotely requires a shielded control cable back to the operating position; this cable must supply, at minimum, a simple switch closure to wake up the tuner. It’s also possible to create your own band-data interface from the rig to the ATU, as explained in the T1 Owner’s Manual. Finally, you’ll need an SWR bridge at the operating position since you won’t be able to see the LEDs on the T1.

I can see that the KX2 manual and the T1 manual give a lot of
information about control signals and such. But before I take the time
to try to engineer something or hack something, I'll ask the obvious
question:

Has anybody out there done this?

Follow-up questions to anybody who has:

Can you describe your set-up?

Have any of you found a way to use the KXIO2 and either the PFn or some
other feature to control the T1 from the KX2 through a separate
3-conductor cable?

Thanks and 73s. DE KC6ZKT
______________________________________________________________
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]

wayne burdick

Re: T1 as remote tuner for KX2/KX3?

Administrator

Steve,

This should work. A couple of notes:

1. Yes, you could use one of the general-purpose I/O signals from the KXIO2 module to activate a T1 ATU. The associated menu entry could be assigned to one of the four programmable function buttons. There’s no way to do full T1 control from the KX2, however, as that requires generation of a serial data stream.

2. If you were to use good quality twin lead or ladder line, you could obtain equally good results just using the KX2’s internal ATU option (KXAT2). This is exactly how I operate at my own station. I use an Elecraft BL2 balun between the radio and the feedline. (Coax from the radio to the BL2 should be very short.) In my case the feedline is connected directly to an off-center-fed dipole about 90’ long. I can match this antenna on 80-6 meters with the ATUs in any of our transceivers.

73,
Wayne
N6KR

> On Sep 15, 2017, at 10:57 AM, Steve Sergeant <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> I am developing plans a hut-to-hut skit tour in Canada for next winter.
> On this trip, I will want to operate my KX2 inside of metal-roofed
> A-frame huts with a 60' feedline (RG-174, RG-58, or 300Ω twinlead?) to
> some kind of wire antenna outside. I plan to operate SSB on 40 & 20
> meters at a minimum, and 15 & 10m if possible; likely in adverse weather
> conditions.
>
> I read the FAQ for the T1 on using it as a remote tuner, which says:
>
>> The T1 is intended for use near the operating position. But with a little effort it could be remoted, and its extremely small size would be beneficial for this purpose. First, the tuner must be placed in a weatherproof container if used outdoors. Second, controlling the tuner remotely requires a shielded control cable back to the operating position; this cable must supply, at minimum, a simple switch closure to wake up the tuner. It’s also possible to create your own band-data interface from the rig to the ATU, as explained in the T1 Owner’s Manual. Finally, you’ll need an SWR bridge at the operating position since you won’t be able to see the LEDs on the T1.
>
> I can see that the KX2 manual and the T1 manual give a lot of
> information about control signals and such. But before I take the time
> to try to engineer something or hack something, I'll ask the obvious
> question:
>
> Has anybody out there done this?
>
> Follow-up questions to anybody who has:
>
> Can you describe your set-up?
>
> Have any of you found a way to use the KXIO2 and either the PFn or some
> other feature to control the T1 from the KX2 through a separate
> 3-conductor cable?
>
> Thanks and 73s. DE KC6ZKT
> ______________________________________________________________
> 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]

Glen Torr-2

Re: T1 as remote tuner for KX2/KX3?

Hi Wayne,

Sounds good, could you tell us the approximate offset of the feed point
from the centre, I would like to try this from home.

Many Thanks,

Glen VK1FB

On Saturday, September 16, 2017, Wayne Burdick <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Steve,
>
> This should work. A couple of notes:
>
> 1. Yes, you could use one of the general-purpose I/O signals from the
> KXIO2 module to activate a T1 ATU. The associated menu entry could be
> assigned to one of the four programmable function buttons. There’s no way
> to do full T1 control from the KX2, however, as that requires generation of
> a serial data stream.
>
> 2. If you were to use good quality twin lead or ladder line, you could
> obtain equally good results just using the KX2’s internal ATU option
> (KXAT2). This is exactly how I operate at my own station. I use an Elecraft
> BL2 balun between the radio and the feedline. (Coax from the radio to the
> BL2 should be very short.) In my case the feedline is connected directly to
> an off-center-fed dipole about 90’ long. I can match this antenna on 80-6
> meters with the ATUs in any of our transceivers.
>
> 73,
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
>
> > On Sep 15, 2017, at 10:57 AM, Steve Sergeant <[hidden email]
> <javascript:;>> wrote:
> >
> > I am developing plans a hut-to-hut skit tour in Canada for next winter.
> > On this trip, I will want to operate my KX2 inside of metal-roofed
> > A-frame huts with a 60' feedline (RG-174, RG-58, or 300Ω twinlead?) to
> > some kind of wire antenna outside. I plan to operate SSB on 40 & 20
> > meters at a minimum, and 15 & 10m if possible; likely in adverse weather
> > conditions.
> >
> > I read the FAQ for the T1 on using it as a remote tuner, which says:
> >
> >> The T1 is intended for use near the operating position. But with a
> little effort it could be remoted, and its extremely small size would be
> beneficial for this purpose. First, the tuner must be placed in a
> weatherproof container if used outdoors. Second, controlling the tuner
> remotely requires a shielded control cable back to the operating position;
> this cable must supply, at minimum, a simple switch closure to wake up the
> tuner. It’s also possible to create your own band-data interface from the
> rig to the ATU, as explained in the T1 Owner’s Manual. Finally, you’ll need
> an SWR bridge at the operating position since you won’t be able to see the
> LEDs on the T1.
> >
> > I can see that the KX2 manual and the T1 manual give a lot of
> > information about control signals and such. But before I take the time
> > to try to engineer something or hack something, I'll ask the obvious
> > question:
> >
> > Has anybody out there done this?
> >
> > Follow-up questions to anybody who has:
> >
> > Can you describe your set-up?
> >
> > Have any of you found a way to use the KXIO2 and either the PFn or some
> > other feature to control the T1 from the KX2 through a separate
> > 3-conductor cable?
> >
> > Thanks and 73s. DE KC6ZKT
> > ______________________________________________________________
> > Elecraft mailing list
> > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> > Post: mailto:[hidden email] <javascript:;>
> >
> > 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] <javascript:;>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email] <javascript:;>
>
> 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] <javascript:;>