[Elecraft] KPA800/KPA1500 Status Update

[David Wilburn]

Great stuff.  Thanks for the update.  Any other interesting products 
coming down pipe?

David Wilburn
dave.wilburn at verizon.net
K4DGW
K2 #5982


Eric Swartz - WA6HHQ Elecraft wrote:
> Here's what I'm planning to send to the list
> -----
> 
> Hi Folks - Here is the straight story on our KPA 800/1500 amplifier 
> release status.
> 
> First of all I'd like to apologize for the lack of official status 
> updates on the KPA amplifier projects. To be honest we've been extremely 
> busy working on all of our product development, including the KPA's, and 
> we have not been able to take a breather often enough to update everyone 
> on our progress. I've had working models of both the KPA800 and 1500 in 
> my lab for some time (all of the units we've shown people were 
> operational :-) . I did get a little ahead of myself though by showing 
> them last year as 'coming attractions'.
> 
> We have decided to delay official introduction (including order taking) 
> of the amps until at least May.  We've been very careful not to take 
> orders or deposits until we were confident we could ship within a 
> reasonable time frame. This delay is due to the following factors:
> 
> 1. FCC Approval
> FCC Amplifier Certification Rule changes made late last year (removal of 
> 12/10 M block etc.) required hardware and major firmware changes and 
> retesting in our lab. While these changes are seemingly minor, the 
> amount of hardware and especially firmware changes were significant when 
> you add in the time to both make the changes and to retest the amps for 
> reliability and meeting FCC specs in the lab. (See below for details on 
> FCC requirements.) We wanted to make absolutely sure that the amps are 
> rock solid and that their controlling firmware is well tested.
> 
> 2. RoHS lead free initiative.
> This European requirement (soon to be required in parts of Asia, 
> California etc.) has had a -huge- impact on U.S. electronics 
> manufacturers. Basically we have had to re-source all of our parts to 
> remove lead as a component on tinned leads, PCB board pads etc. 
> (Fortunately standard lead based  solder works well with parts tinned 
> with lead free solder and regular leaded solder is -not- being 
> restricted in Europe or anywhere else for personal use.) Imagine the 
> amount of man-hours required to change over almost 2000 different part 
> numbers in our inventory to new versions, retest them in -every- product 
> we make, and to manage our inventory as we phased everything over. We 
> started this over 18 months ago and are now in good shape. But the 
> impact on resources and engineering development schedules was major. 
> Many U.S. ham radio manufacturers are just now waking up to the impact 
> this will have on their operations. (RoHS also restricts other 
> substances used in hardware, plastics and many other components - Lots 
> of fun!)  We also have to deal with making sure no problems show up 
> manufacturing lead free PCB board assemblies and we have been very 
> careful testing all of our manufactured boards.
> 
> Note: The European RoHS rules appear to -exempt- individuals in Europe 
> who are purchasing (importing) parts, or kits of parts, for their own 
> use. But since the customs officials in -each- country can interpret 
> these rules as they see fit, we did not feel it was safe for us to 
> ignore them - even for kits. Those of you in Eu know first hand how 
> fickle customs officials can be ;-)  Also, built products like our T1-A 
> and the KPA's are not covered by that exemption. (Even the kit versions 
> of the KPA's will include some pre-stuffed PC boards.)
> 
> 3. Growth Pains
> This is good news. :-) Elecraft has grown quite a bit over the last 
> couple of years and we have just doubled our manufacturing and 
> administrative space here in Aptos. We've also added to our engineering 
> staff and manufacturing resources. Coordinating this - moving parts, 
> people and resources into the new space, has taken a lot of time and 
> effort. The good news is that we are healthy, profitable and in good 
> shape to continue to grow and supply you with great new products!
> 
> These areas, combined with the competition for engineering and operating 
> resources on all of our products (current and future) have delayed the 
> release of the amps. We basically had to make the hard business decision 
> on what was to be delayed the most. We also want to maintain our 
> emphasis on quality and reliability in our products, which requires 
> careful engineering development, extensive testing and attention to 
> detail on every product we release.
> 
> We want to do this right - As they say,  "We will release no wine, until 
> its time..." :-)
> 
> I'll try to keep you up to date here as we get closer to release.
> 
> 73, Eric   WA6HHQ
> --------
> 
> Notes on FCC Amplifier Rules and Testing:
> 
> The FCC changed its certification requirements for external amateur 
> amplifiers late last year to remove the requirement for us to block 
> transmission between 25 and 30 MHz. (12/10M in particular). They 
> recognized the fact that newer technology amplifiers, like our KPA's, 
> can directly measure transmit frequency and use that information to 
> block transmission outside the amateur bands in the region of the 27 MHz 
> Citizens Band in the U.S.  The new rule only requires us to block  the 
> range from about 26.001 MHz to 27.999 MHz, which allows us to include 12 
> and 10 M out of the box.
> 
> The FCC also removed the requirement that any external amplifier must 
> take 50W or more of drive to reach its rated output. They kept the 
> maximum gain limit of 15 dB though. This means that for a 1500W amp the 
> min drive is still just below 50W, but it does allow us to take lower 
> drive, in the 25-30W range, for the 800W amp.
> 
> These rules changes required a rewrite of our amplifier control firmware 
> to remove the prior frequency restriction and to remove the code that 
> allowed licensed amateurs to modify their amplifiers to bypass this 
> restriction by entering a unique code. It also required us to retest the 
> amps in the lab to certify that they meet the new rules. (They do.)  On 
> top of that -nothing- could be submitted to the FCC until after the new 
> rules went into effect in mid December. Any company who has a certified 
> amplifier currently on the market (under the old rules) will have to 
> resubmit to the FCC if they modify their design to meet the new rules.
> 
> As a side note - FCC certification does not require any hardware to be 
> sent to the FCC. All testing can be done by the submitter, and for 
> amateur amps we are required to test and document the following:
> 
> 1. Max gain of 15 dB on all bands. No easily removed input pads etc. 
> that would increase gain. (F/W in the KPA checks overall gain.)
> 2. Harmonic suppression that meets FCC standards on all bands.
> 3. No amplification takes place if the signal is between 26 and 28 MHz. 
> (CB blocking.) Technical description of how this is done.
> 4. Full theory of operation submitted with schematics.
> 5. Operating manual submitted.
> 6. Internal and Internal Pictures submitted.
> 7. Description and block diagram of lab test set up.
> 
> We've tested the KPA's and they easily meet all the FCC requirements. If 
> the FCC bumps anything back to us on the application, it usually is a 
> request for clarification on submitted data and docs and is easily 
> resolved.
> 
> http://www.elecraft.com
> 
> 
> 
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