[Elecraft] K3 + LP100A + Dummy Load

Tommy Alderman aldermant at windstream.net
Thu Dec 22 15:59:26 EST 2011


BUT just because you bought it direct from Palstar does not mean it is a
good dummy load! The ONLY way you KNOW it is a good dummy load is for YOU to
measure it with known good test equipment and an ohm-meter is not how it is
done!

73 and Merry Christmas,

Tom - W4BQF


-----Original Message-----
From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Phil Hystad
Sent: Thursday, December 22, 2011 3:40 PM
To: n5ge at n5ge.com
Cc: Elecraft List
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 + LP100A + Dummy Load

The dummy load is the Palstar DL2K, full legal limit handling and I bought
it new from Palstar several years ago.  None of my operating equipment was
purchased at hamfests -- I prefer to be the original owner and pass over any
potential difficulties.

peh


On Dec 22, 2011, at 12:20 PM, n5ge at n5ge.com wrote:

> 
> Phil,
> 
> You don't say what type of dummy load you are using, but all of the
cantenna
> type have about the same SWR curve you witnessed.  You will need a
precision DL
> to get a flat response across a large range.  I have two DECIBEL DB4304B
100
> watt loads here that are flat up through 2m.  I don't think they are made
any
> more and if they were they would be very expensive.  The two I have were
bought
> at a ham hamfest for $50 each.  They are bout 6" x 4" x 4" Most of which
is
> cooling fins.
> 
> Be careful when you buy dummy loads like this at a Hamfest. Take a good
> ohm-meter with you.  I bought a couple of really well made heavy duty DL's
that
> were rated at 300w for $100 once and when I measured them at home they
were 75
> ohm loads, so watch out!
> 
> Happy holidays,
> 
> 73,
> Tom
> Amateur Radio Operator N5GE
> ARRL Lifetime Member
> QCWA Lifetime Member
> 
> "If somebody has a bad heart, they can plug this jack in at 
> night as they go to bed and it will monitor their heart 
> throughout the night. And the next morning, when they wake up 
> dead, there'll be a record."
> 
> --Mark S. Fowler, FCC Chairman,
>  1981 - 1987
> 
> 
> On Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:37:37 -0800, Phil Hystad <phystad at mac.com> wrote:
> 
>> Is this normal or can someone explain?  I was looking at the R+iX values
reported by the LP100A with my K3 feeding a dummy load.  The SWR reported
was always small but never super close to 1:1.  Most of the SWR in this
setup was 1.1:1 up to 1.5:1.  The R values ranged from 34 ohms to up to 59
ohms and X was ranging over a number of smallish values < 20 for all the
bands.
>> 
>> Is this what most of you would call normal?
>> 
>> Does the K3 output R+iX vary from band to band (I assume so) and is that
what I am seeing?
>> 
>> I had thought my dummy load was mostly frequency independent so I am not
sure if I am seeing mostly the K3 here or maybe the K3 plus the 6 feet of
coax (RG8X) + dummy load.
>> 
>> 73, phil, K7PEH
>> 
> 
> 
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