Posted by
Cookie on
Jul 12, 2011; 3:01pm
URL: http://elecraft.85.s1.nabble.com/KPA500-and-KAT500-Ports-tp6574422p6575412.html
You know that Ameritron, Array Solutions and some others have remote antenna
switches available at reasonable prices. Since these things take space, it is
nice that they can be remote mounted, even outside in some cases. It seems a
better solution to me than to add a kilobuck to the KPA500 price and make it the
size of a small refrigerator when the requirements vary from person to person
and the chance of pleasing more than a small portion of the users is small. I
prefer the small box that is possible to take on a DXpedition or to Field Day
and just endure the horrible pain of changing the coax when you change bands.
The main thing that discourages me from buying an eight pack from Array is that
I don't have enough antennas to keep it from being lonesome.
Willis 'Cookie' Cooke
K5EWJ & Trustee N5BPS, USS Cavalla, USS Stewart
________________________________
From: Eric <
[hidden email]>
To:
[hidden email]
Sent: Tue, July 12, 2011 4:57:10 AM
Subject: [Elecraft] KPA500 and KAT500 Ports
Elecrafters, Hear My Plea:
The K3 has two tx antenna ports available. It seems logical to me that the
KPA500 would have two (output) as well. But it doesn't. I would like to see the
KAT500 have two antenna ports (unbalanced) to make up for this. Running the 6m
output to another coax makes sense--most (all?) band decoders and relay boxes
don't handle 6m, and the lack of a second output port on the KPA500 makes it
difficult to manage the 6m capability of the K3 cleanly. The KRC2 will handle
the band data, but does not have a compatible relay box, manual operation, or
lights to tell you what it is doing.
Right now my K3 sends HF to ANT1, that goes to an HF amp and to a TopTen band
decoder and relay box. Six meters goes to ANT2 and a separate 6m amp and 6m
antenna.
This gives me fully auto bandswitching on HF and 6m, save for 60m where the
TopTen decoder does not recognize 0000 as a valid address.
With my already ordered KPA500
(selling both tube amps), I will have to manually switch 6m. I don't like this
not because I am lazy, but the older I get the more stoopid I get and its just a
matter of time before I tx into a near-infinite SWR. Knowing me, I'll do it
repeatedly until something blows. Maybe multiple somethings.
I'll have to rely on the KPA500 and K3 saving themselves. Not good.
In my squandered pre-K3 life, i put key lockout relays and a sequencer for 2m
EME in my system to make it failsafe and STILL blowed up the masthead preamp
more times than I can count.
In my opinion, the KAT500 needs two unbalanced outputs, bandmapped, for nice
tight integration with the K3, to keep things as elegant as possible. I have no
opinion on balanced output(s).
No flames please. This is just my opinion--I could be wrong.
73 Eric WD6DBM
K1, KX1, K2, K3, P3, XG3, all mini modules, Elecraft Kool-Aid I-V push STAT!
KPA500 still a mere glimmer at Elecraft
Sent from my &$@!? iPhone
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