[Elecraft] Field Day experience with K3

[dmoes at nexicom.net]

K3 voltage specs are 11-15V    and the Eagle spec is 13.8V +- 15%    
that's  about 11.7V- 15.9V.       even though the Eagle would not shut 
down you were definitely running below spec voltage and probably 
causing some IMD  if not excessive heat.

My  other concern would be how low was the battery voltage getting.   
AGM  or any wet battery for that matter should not be used when the 
voltage right at the battery posts drops to low.   if it is you are 
damaging the battery. and 10V is definitely too low.   At my summer 
cottage its solar charged battery only.    when the cell voltage is 
near 11.4V  I still get  11V at the rig at 100W keydown as I use heavy 
cable mostly 10AWG from the battery only 5ft away and a short 12 AWG 
from the distribution to the rig.   The battery also runs lighting 
etc.   Ive never had the K3 shutdown due to voltage faults. and my 
rule is if it goes below 11.3V at the terminals it time to go QRT and 
bed.

The K3 shutting down is just a safety measure to prevent damage and 
dirty transmissions.   Not a problem in my opinion, more a good 
feature.    I hope that the other rig wasn't splattering to much at  
those lower voltages.


David Moes
VE3DVY


>
> --- Original message ---
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Field Day experience with K3
> From: Peter Wollan <peter.wollan at gmail.com>
> To: John Kountz <john at t6ee.com>
> Cc: <elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
> Date: Thursday, 28/06/2012  2:07 PM
>
> The problem here isn't the battery AH capacity, but the voltage
> supply.  It could be dropping below 10 vdc because both radios are on
> the same supply, or because the power supply wires are too fine gauge,
> or because the battery is defective.
>
> The K3 is less robust to supply voltage than the other Elecraft
> radios.  The K2 is rated for 10-15 volts;  the K1, KX1, and KX3 go
> down a lot lower, I think 8 volts.  I looked at the K3 documents to
> see what minimum voltage it requires, and I couldn't find it -- I
> think it's something like 11, but it may be 11.5 or even 12.
>
> You'd probably do fine just by using a separate battery for each
> radio, and not letting it run down too far.  A voltage booster isn't
> needed, as lots of operators all over the world have demonstrated.
>
>            Peter W0LLN
>
>
> On Thu, Jun 28, 2012 at 12:19 PM, John Kountz <john at t6ee.com> wrote:
>>
>> ...  In tandom
>> operation, the Eagle was not affected by momentary voltage dips (below 
>> 10
>> VDC) whereas the K3 would shut down.
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