[Elecraft] How Accurate of 50-Ohm Dummy Load for 50 Watt TX Gain Calibration?

[Phil Hystad]

I have two dummy loads that might be useful for the 50-watt TX-gain calibration but neither of them are dead on with a 1:1 SWR and 50 ohms resistive load.  Actually, my smaller 150 watt dummy load is closest with a range of 42 ohms on the load to about 55 ohms on the high end as I step through the frequency ranges of my Antenna analyzer.  My 1500-watt dummy load is worse as the resistance goes up to 87 ohms Z (resistive plus reactive) with 54 MHz test signal (using MFJ 259 analyzer).

My little Elecraft DL-1 20-watt dummy load (mini-module kit) is best as it is flat 50-ohms resistive across the entire HF spectrum.  I am thinking of using and following the advice of Wayne to let it cool down between bands.  But…

If I want to let the dummy load cool down between bands then can this be done using the automated procedure with the K3 utility or do I have to run the manual procedure.  In other words, does the automated procedure allow me to automate the process on a band by band basis.  I have not tried it yet because I didn’t want to start something until I was ready to finish it (and I have not installed the latest firmware yet).

Question:  How accurate should the dummy load be — is an SWR of 1.2:1 and under good enough?

Question:  Does the K3 Utility allow me to perform the TX gain calibration on a band by band basis?

Thanks.

73, phil, K7PEH