[Elecraft] K2 qrp battery drain estimation

[Don Wilhelm]

Actually, the K2 has a built-in alarm that can be used to indicate a low 
battery voltage.
It is the CAL CUR menu setting.  Its use for that purpose is a little 
bit 'convoluted' because it depends on the way the K2 power control 
operates to keep the requested power level no matter what the voltage 
may be.
To set it before your battery operation, connect the K2 to an 11 volt 
power source (assuming you want the alarm to trigger when the battery is 
11 volts or less), then tap the DISPLAY button and transmit with the 
power set to your desired level -- observe the current.
Now set CAL CUR to that value.  When you begin to see HiCur messages, it 
is time to change the battery.

After your portable battery powered event, restore the CAL CUR menu 
setting to the normal 3.50 setting.
Yes, I know the normal base K2 manual says 2.50 for CAL CUR, but with 
the KDSP2 installed and some other options, HiCur messages can be 
produced with the power control set fully to the max.  I do not 
recommend that power be set higher than 10 watts, but some operators 
insist on squeezing every bit out of it, then object to the HiCur 
messages.  Do not go higher than 3.50 on the CAL CUR menu setting.

73,
Don W3FPR
   .
On 6/14/2013 7:21 PM, Ariel Jacala wrote:
> Bruce is right.  QST had an article last month for a programmable LED to monitor battery voltage.  It is easy to make.  You should monitor the resting voltage to provide some margin from over discharging
>
> Ariel NY4G
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jun 14, 2013, at 7:17 PM, "Bruce Beford" <bruce.beford at myfairpoint.net> wrote:
>
>>> Is this more or less accurate, or have I missed something? Thanks.
>> You missed the fact that you really can't/shouldn't try to discharge the
>> full capacity of the battery. The life span of SLA batteries for instance,
>> are greatly reduced if you routinely go to greater than 50% depth of
>> discharge.
>> 73
>> bruce
>> N1RX
>>
>>
>>
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