[Elecraft] [acom-list] Re: Elecraft K3 and ACOM 2000A

[Val]

Bill,

When K3 AUTOINF menu entry is set to NOR, then the frequency is 
reported only when polled.
Only the loger polls as the Y cable does not allow the ACOM to do it. 
That is why K3 does not report the frequency when the logger is not 
running.

The issue can be solved in two ways:

1. Set AUTOINF to AUTO 1. Then K3 will broadcast its frequency without 
polling. Hope that your loger will not mind it.

2. If the logging program does not like no polling reports, then you 
may add a SPDT switch to the Y cable. Than you may manually switchover 
the TXD wire either to the PC when the logger is running, or to the 
ACOM when no PC application polls.

73, Val LZ1VB


> My cable is store bought, and it is the kind in figure 7.2, i.e.
> without the TXD wire. I ohmed it to be sure. Actually, it is a cable
> with a separate Y adaptor, but the effective wiring is the same as
> figure 7.2.
>
> And here's the kicker:  This morning when I fired up everything to 
> do
> some more troubleshooting, everything worked just as it should.  It
> seems I have an intermittent connection somewhere, most likely in a
> cable, connector or the Y adaptor. It's been working fine all day.
>
> I think I will build a new cable and Y adaptor to eliminate that as 
> a
> possible cause and see if the problem stays gone.
>
> I did notice one thing that seems odd. When I do not have a logging
> program running and I do a manual band change on the K3, the ACOM 
> does
> not follow the change. I thought it should. Does your's work that 
> way?
> As soon as I start a logging program, everything returns to normal.
>
> Don't you just love these intermittent gremlins?   :-)
>
> 73, Bill W6WRT
>
>
> ------------ ORIGINAL MESSAGE ------------(may be snipped)
>
> On Fri, 12 Sep 2014 18:47:48 -0400, Nick wrote:
>
>>Hi Bill
>>
>>Did you build your cable according to schematic on page 34 (figure 
>>7-6)
>>from Acom 2000 manual?   This wiring diagram is for K3 CAT with ACOM 
>>2000A
>>only.   I believe this diagram assumes there is no computer 
>>connected in.
>>It only describes the case in which there is a connection between 
>>the K3
>>and Acom 2000A.
>>
>>If you look at the page 32 (Fig 7-2) which describes the "generic" 
>>wiring
>>between RS232 PC port and Transceiver with ACOM connected via "Y" 
>>cable,
>>you will notice that they only use the RXD wiring and the ground. 
>>TXD
>>line has been omitted.
>>
>>RCU DB15 Pin 1 <------->   RS-232 Pin 2
>>RCU DB15 Pin 5 <------->   RS-232 Pin 5 (Ground)
>>
>>I initially built the CAT cable using all 3 wires (RXD, TXD + 
>>Ground) and
>>as soon as ACOM would come online,   K3 would not work properly with 
>>my
>>LP-PAN and LP Bridge.   I don't use P3.
>>
>>I snipped the TXD line after reading your email and now everything 
>>appears
>>to be working fine.  K3+ACOM2000A+PC are tracking frequency smoothly 
>>like
>>usual.
>>
>>If I now just type the frequency in Win-Test or change the band on 
>>my K3,
>>ACOM nicely parks itself on a whichever band segment it detects by 
>>sniffing
>>the comm traffic between K3 and the PC.
>>
>>73, Nick
>>ve3ey
>>
>>
>>On Fri, Sep 12, 2014 at 6:18 AM, Bill Turner <dezrat at outlook.com> 
>>wrote:
>>
>>> ------------ ORIGINAL MESSAGE ------------(may be snipped)
>>>
>>> On Fri, 12 Sep 2014 08:46:23 -0000, you wrote:
>>>
>>> >Bill,
>>> >     I too use the Acom 2000A and do not know why you bother with 
>>> > so many
>>> >control cables.    The Acom switches bands in a dit or syllable 
>>> >and tunes
>>> in
>>> >three seconds automatically.    I must be missing something but 
>>> >why do you
>>> >need to go to so much trouble with control cables for the 
>>> >amplifier.
>>>
>>> REPLY:
>>>
>>> The reason I bother is I do not like transmitting even a single 
>>> dit
>>> into an amplifier on the wrong band at full power. Yes, the ACOM 
>>> is a
>>> tough amplifier but I am pretty conservative about such things. 
>>> When I
>>> do send a dit to change bands, I reduce the drive power way down. 
>>> If I
>>> can get the automatic band change to work, I won't have to reduce
>>> power or send a dit. It will already be pre-tuned.
>>>
>>> 73, Bill W6WRT