[Elecraft] KPA 1500 - SO2R

[Bob]

Hi Bill,

        No XYL requests involved but in a similar manner I have reduced the feed 
lines into the shack.  I have a remote antenna switch system consisting of an 
Array Solutions Rat Pack with the Ten Tec interface box.  This is under control 
of an Elecraft KRC2 unit.  It saves many feet of coax and reduces the in shack 
cable clutter.

        Station is K3, KPA500 and KAT500 and more Elecraft with K2 and KX3. My 
issue is I'm not getting full value from the KAT500.  It is capable of switching 
3 antennas.  But with a single feed line on position one all else is lost.  So 
my request would be to be able select alternative programmed values by using the 
KAT 500 antenna switch. Any manually selected antenna would apply tuner values 
to the antenna position but ANT 1 would remain selected.   As it is now it works 
but requires retuning when manually changing between selected, say, 80 meter 
antennas and prior values are lost. In hardware I could do it now but don't want 
to butcher the KAT500.

        Well beyond my pay grade as I do not know how much reprogramming would 
be required in the firmware and utility to select this as an option.

         This option could possibly be done in the KPA1500 too. Certainly be a 
plus in consideration of the KPA1500  which seems to have less in that there are 
only 2 antenna selections available.

73,
Bob
K2TK  ex KN2TKR (1956) and K2TKR



On 4/25/2017 4:14 PM, Bill Frantz wrote:
> My most wonderful and understanding wife has requested that the number of
> "wires" coming into the house be minimized. To accommodate her wishes, I have an
> external antenna switch. It would be very nice if all the Elecraft tuners could
> take an externally provided antenna ID to use to recall the antenna tuning
> parameters. A 4 bit "band ID" would be ideal, but a command over the RS-232
> interface would also work.
>
> 73 Bill AE6JV
>
> On 4/25/17 at 7:50 AM, n6kr at elecraft.com (Wayne Burdick) wrote:
>
>> KPA1500 firmware will be updated to fully support such products as we identify
>> them. We oversized the microcontroller memory by a factor of about 8 to allow
>> for such expansion. In addition to SO2R, there may be other gear such as
>> antenna switches that we can directly control from the amp’s antenna and ATU
>> switches, and status can be shown on the 32-character LCD.
>
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