[Elecraft] KPA500 Band Tracking

[Dauer, Edward]

I must have done something I didn’t mean to do.

Just put up a 30 meter antenna today.  It works fine.  Until today I had the K3 band map set to include only 80-40-20-15-10.  The KPA500 tracked it automatically perfectly.  I then went into the config menu for band map and set 30 meters to IN.   The K3 works perfectly – band switching gives me, in MHz, 3.5 – 7.0 – 10.1 – 14.0 – 21.0 – 28.0 and then cycles back to 3.5  That is also exactly what I expected.

But the KPA doesn’t track the K3’s band choice correctly.  For 80 I get 80.  For 40 on the K3 I get 80 on the KPA500. For 30 on the K3 I get 5.3MHz on the KPA500.  For 20 I get 20.  For 15 I get 15.  And for 10 on the K3 I get 24.9 MHz on the KPA500. 

Interestingly, the “Band” buttons on the KPA500 have the same errors.  In MHz, pressing 1.8 yields 5.3.  3.5 is OK.  Pressing 7.0 produces 3.5.  14 and 21 are OK.  And pressing 28 produces 24.9.

The frequency sampling, however, works perfectly.  A single dit on any band switches the KPA500 to the correct band, as defined by the K3.

The cables are all Elecraft issue.  They are all connected correctly – witness that everything worked perfectly, on every band, until I added 30M into the K3’s band map.  Because both the K3 auto tracking feature and the Band buttons on the KPA500 yield the same errors, I think I must have messed up something in the amp.

I have, by the way, already RdTFM.

Any ideas about what I might have done?  Equally useful would be, how do I undo it?

Many thanks for whatever anyone can suggest . . . 

Ted, KN1CBR