Posted by
Brendan Minish on
Jul 13, 2011; 11:22pm
URL: http://elecraft.85.s1.nabble.com/KPA500-and-KAT500-Ports-tp6574422p6581233.html
I think that 2 Antenna ports on the KAT500 is a good fit, after all 2
ports is what the K3 (+ATU) has so many of us have configured our
stations to work with this configuration
I would suggest however that there be an (optional?) module (s) for the
KAT500 that provides for sink or source outputs, one per band (plus a
few more?) that can be further configured via software to to clever
things (like selecting 2 different antennas for 80/75m, or multiple
bands on one antenna )
It would be even nicer if this was duplicated for the second antenna
output either in the same module or as a second user installable module.
These would be driven by the auxbus data that will presumably be fed to
the KANT500 and decoded by it's CPU anyway.
An input (per antenna port) that can be used to indicate to the KAT500
that the requested antenna is not available might also be a good idea so
that the KRC500 can then select the second choice on the other port
(complete with recalling the last used tunings for the secondary ) would
also be nice.
Think of this as the functionality of (2x ?) KRC2's built in and it
would make for superb versatility since the KRC500 could then be
configured to automate pretty much any external automatic antenna
switching arrangement.
I don't know if this is practical to fit into the box but it sure would
be nice.
The KRC2 may already form the basis for much of the required
circuitry/firmware.
The Sink/source outputs could be selected sink/source by internal jumper
and the output could be on DB15 or DIN connectors to minimise rear panel
real estate. (perhaps with pre-made breakout cable supplied )
Another option might be to have the 'Glue' internal to the KPA500 and
the Sink/source drivers in a 'dongle' to conserve internal space and
provide for easier breakout.
73
Brendan EI6IZ
On Tue, 2011-07-12 at 15:34 -0700, Eric Swartz - WA6HHQ, Elecraft wrote:
> Hi Gary,
>
> Having 4-5 RG8 antenna cables, plus the input cable, hanging out the
> back of the desktop ATU is both likely to pull the ATU off the desk, and
> will easily not fit in the box size we are planning. It also adds a lot
> of complexity and cost to the basic ATU in order to accommodate more
> connections with the needed isolation etc. We certainly do not want to
> price the ATU out of the range of most hams, or make it too large.
>
> Many of us use manual or automatic switches external to the amp / tuner
> to provide these functions.
>
> A much better solution for those needing more than two auto-selected
> antennas is to use an external relay switch box, controlled by the
> radio. This has the advantage of getting the cables, clutter, and
> switching network off the desktop and either under the table or outside.
> There are certainly a number of external antenna switches out there that
> can do this, but if we offered something that was tightly integrated
> with the K3 (and KPA500/KAT500) as a product, what features would be
> desirable? (Number of antennas, rigs inputs, switching options etc.)
>
> 73, Eric WA6HHQ
>
> ---
> www.elecraft.com
>
>
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73
Brendan EI6IZ
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