[Elecraft] KAT500 Tracking of K3 VFO

[Dick Dievendorff]

1) It doesn't matter which order you hold the K3 tune button or tap KAT500
tune.  I prefer to start KAT500 TUNE  first, because it reduces on-air
signal time, and this interrupts the amp key line immediately, before RF.
The KAT500 continues tuning when RF arrives.

2) I don't use Mode AUTO mode. To "train" the tuner (initial setting), I put
the tuner in mode MAN, then perform step 1) above in several places on each
band. On bands where my antennas are "sharp" (160 and 80), I do this on
every 10 kHz (for 160 meters) and every 20 kHz (80 meters). On 40 I tune in
about five spots, on 20 meters I tune at the bottom, middle, and top of the
CW and phone segments.  The tuner finds the nearest memory to your current
frequency. If I didn't tune in enough spaces, I sometimes perform step 1)
later when I find a spot that I should have trained in the initial step.
It's important to clear memories on a band where you make significant
antenna changes, because all the old settings can be used if you don't
retune in every memory segment.

In mode MAN, my KAT500 never enters full search tune unless I tap the TUNE
button. 

If I make an antenna selection mistake (I have switches beyond the KAT500),
I'd prefer for the KAT500 to not search, just  disconnect the amp key line
and show a fault LED.  When I fix the antenna switch and tap the key, the
KAT500 measures  "good" SWR  at exciter power and clears the SWR fault,
reconnecting the amplifier.

Mode AUTO is useful when you have multiple antennas switched after the
KAT500 (and more than one on a given band), or can't reach the KAT500 TUNE
button. You should expect to send a TUNE-level signal long enough for the
ATU tuner to react on each significant QSY or antenna change.

73 de Dick, K6KR

-----Original Message-----
From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Roy Morris
Sent: Saturday, March 01, 2014 8:27 AM
To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [Elecraft] KAT500 Tracking of K3 VFO

I had to boil down a portion of the instructions for my understanding.  I
hope this is correct:

 

When setting the VFO tracking frequencies, hold K3 tune button FIRST then
tap KAT500 tune IN THAT ORDER.  (The frequencies can be set in reverse
order.)

 

Use KAT500 AUTO button to set INITIAL tracking of K3 VFO on each band.  Also
use the KAT500 AUTO button to reset new VFO tracking frequencies if you've
ERASED previous tracking settings on a given band.  Once you're pretuned
switch KAT500 button to MAN mode.

 

  

 

 

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