[Elecraft] Running the KX3 and KXPA100 Off Battery

[NC3Z]

Phil,

I had posted this to the KX3 list a few months back. I have a Bioenno 
LiFePO4 12V/12A (BLF-1212W) battery pack for my KX3 station. The battery 
is powering the KX3, my KXPA100 at full power and a pair of West 
Mountain Radio amplified speakers (the new PX3 was not in the mix). I 
have been testing on 160M with the group I hang around with and I have 
been doing  a lot more transmission cycles than normal (usually on 3 or 
4 hams in the group) so I am transmitting frequently. I terminated the 
test when I reached 11V as indicated on the KX3 and this is the amount 
of operating I was able to get on a single charge.

Day 1    3 hours
Day 2    2 hours
Day 3    2 hours
Day 4    2 hours
Day 5    1/2 hour plus 3 additional  hours on receive.

Even at the end no untoward issues with the signal was reported. Pretty 
pleased so far for such a small battery.

Gary Mitchelson
NC3Z/4 Pamlico County, NC FM15
www.mitchelson.org

On 5/26/2015 13:13, Phil Hystad wrote:
> I don’t have a KXPA100 yet to go with my KX3 but when I get one (soon) it will be used almost entirely in portable operation off batteries — in particular: A123 Lithium battery packs.  Currently have two 2.5 Amp-Hour packs and will be buying at least one 7.5 Amp-Hour pack (maybe two).
>
> Although many times I will be able to recharge my battery packs in the field (maybe not always conveniently) I would like to know about how much time (in real operating practice) I would expect from, let’s say 5 amp-hours of available charge.
>
> I could do computations and estimate duty cycle but I would also like to have real-world experience if someone has done something similar.
>
> My operating configuration would be:  CW only and operating with enough power out to make good contacts (maybe only 50 watts or so).  Currently, I have been limited to QRP to 10 watts on my KX3 and a number of times I had wanted more power — thus my motivation for using this amplifier and battery power.
>
> Thanks for any help you can provide — actual field experience preferred.
>
> 73, phil, K7PEH
>