[Elecraft] KPA500 troubles

[Fred Smith]

The KPA500 is a good small amp I use mine with an IC-9100 most of the time and have not had any real issues with it in 4 yrs. now. For the K3's and K2 I use Alpha amps an 87A and a newer 9500 for HF use. All I can say the brick on the key with forever in the ads they run does say a lot. But it's not till you open up a quality amp like Elecraft or Alpha go you see the real difference.

You can have problems with any product no matter who makes it but at times we bear part of the fault ourselves or like Jim said even lighting might have played a part.

73,
Fred/N0AZZ

Sent from my iPad

> On Nov 11, 2015, at 2:32 PM, Jim Brown <jim at audiosystemsgroup.com> wrote:
> 
>> On Wed,11/11/2015 12:10 PM, W4GRJ wrote:
>> Got the KPA500 back from Elecraft.
>> Problem found: L22 and other components in the 60M low pass filter circuit
>> burnt through the LPF PCB.
> 
> 60M LPF??? Last I looked, the US power limit on 60M is 100W relative to a half wave dipole.
> 
> 
> 
>> Repair $650 later: Replaced low pass filter module and installed QSK mod.
>> 
>> On the phone I asked what caused the failure, answer was no idea other than
>> component failure. I understand stuff fails but I thought I would get more than 2 years before a major expensive failure.
> 
> The LPF is on the output of the amplifier. One possible cause of failure could be lightning.
> 
>> Previously had a Ameritron ALS-600 for 5+ years never a problem, sold it to
>> purchase the KPA500.
>> 
>> Sometimes the grass is not greener.
> 
> My only experience with an ALS-600 was at a contest station in PJ4 several years ago. I found it to be a really inferior amp - most of the time, I was lucky to get 300W out if it. No comparison to a KPA500.
> 
> 73, Jim K9YC
> 
> 
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