[Elecraft] Put my new KAT500 thru the wringers today

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

Glad you had fun, Bob. 

You wrote: "There is a "Computer Interface Cable" which has a 3.5mm one-end
and USB the other. That's into the computer now but I have no idea who talks
to it. K3-Utility didn't anyway."

There's a separate Utility program for the KAT500 (just as there is for the
KX3, KPA500, etc.) You can download it from the Elecraft web site. In
addition to providing a way to update your firmware when they occur, it
provides a comprehensive interface to operate and view what your KAT500 is
doing in far more detail than the simple front-panel indicators. See
"Utility Program" in your KAT500 Owner's manual. 

73, Ron AC7AC

-----Original Message-----
From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of KD7YZ Bob
Sent: Monday, December 10, 2012 8:40 PM
To: K3 List
Subject: [Elecraft] Put my new KAT500 thru the wringers today

Howdy K3' people:

Got my factory-built KAT500 today. Despite the missing cable (paid for)
E850463, I figured out how to run it manually. They did send along a strange
3ft RCA RG59 cable though. right now the cat's playing with it.

Getting an automatic AT, for me, was kinda just a laughing point. I quizzed
Dave about it rather heavily. Me and Marconi weren't sure young Dave could
be right on all counts since he hasn't seen the wire here.

But I thought it would be fun to switch bands rapidly, and without my short
clip-board and penciled columns of the current  settings for the wonderful
Palstar AT2K tuner.

Well, I started at 160m and went thru 60m and finished at 10m. Didn't miss
anything.

There was the clattering expected; the metering reported wonderfully high
SWR's as she tried to figure out how to match the 110' section of
450 fed with a few loops of coax at the shack end.

I got to  raise my eyebrows in that All-Too-Certain of ones-self that we get
after operating on a few continents with wire and one of the combat tours I
had a 1500 foot V-beam ... That was before most of your respective times
though.

So I was about to say "Ah HAH!" when the noise stopped.

"Gave up, did ya??" .. The last number I saw on the K3 was something like
98:1  ... hahahahahahahahaha ...

But it was quiet and now the K3 said !.1:1 "One-point-one to one?" I asked
..

OK, I lost that one on 160 .. so on to make it fail somewhere else.

By 30 meters I was having fun because  the pragmatic side of me knew this
was going to be wayyyy tooo KEWL ... "IF" she made it to ten. Somewhere in
280 feet of wire at 80 feet, there must be a rotten mis-match that the slim
little beastie can't handle.

Guess I was wrong.

Kudos to Dave at Elecraft for steering me to the KAT500. K# is perched on a
thin mat of that rubber-cloth ya get at Wal-Mart sewing area. Who knows, if
I get a cable I think it will be automated.

There is a "Computer Interface Cable" which has a 3.5mm one-end and USB the
other. That's into the computer now but I have no idea who talks to it.
K3-Utility didn't anyway.

Nice piece of gear. In a week or two my 1200' wire goes up .. gotta have
something for the diversity setup. Wonder if I can bamboozle the KAT500 on
that one. Coax-balun to 600-ohm ladder to the wire .. heh heh heh heh

If you don't have one and wonder if it will load into your stealth
clothesline, there is a good chance it will. Afterall, I am loading some of
the 80 foot oak trees.

KAT500: Good for the shack!


--
73
KD7YZ Bob