[Elecraft] KPA500 not responding to K3

Ben Collins-Sussman sussman at red-bean.com
Fri May 2 08:23:42 EDT 2014


Many thanks for all the replies so far!  I'm grateful for this reflector.

And a good test result.  If I connect the K3 and KPA500 directly together,
they works perfectly:  the amp follow's the radio's band switches, and the
radio notices when I set the amp from STBY to OPER.  So this tells me that
the radio, amp, and 15-pin ACC cable are all good hardware.

Somehow when the tuner gets between the radio and amp, the radio and amp
stop seeing each other.

I've placed the tuner back between the radio and amp again, and connected
the KAT500 Utility as Dick suggested.  When I make band changes on the K3,
the KAT500 definitely notices.  It makes a 'clunk' sound and the KAT500
Utility's "Operate" tab shows the band changes just fine.  But the KPA500
just sits there, blissfully unaware of the K3.

Is it possible that the cable between tuner and amp is defective (#E850463)?

As I said in my original post, I've been using the tuner and amp together
for 9 months, but with an explicit PA-key line from my KX3.  The external
PA-keying -- along with the amp's automatic bandswitching -- may have
allowed me *not* to notice a total lack of communication between tuner and
amp.  Is there a way to test that cable?  From the documentation, it
appears to have identical wiring to the other 15-pin KPA500-K3 cable which
I know is working.  Maybe I can swap them around and experiment?


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