[Elecraft] KAT-500 auto-tuning issue with SSB vs. CW

[Don Wilhelm]

Rich,

Are you operating with the KAT500 in AUTO mode?
You should train the antenna (using TUNE) on all bands and all antennas 
at 25kHz intervals for each band.
Then change the KAT500 to MAN.

The KAT500 will follow your frequency and change to the pre-set L/C 
values for that band and antenna automatically.
If you have the latest firmware, it will even follow the K3/K3S in receive.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 11/19/2018 5:28 AM, K1dj via Elecraft wrote:
> I am primarily a CW operator, but participated in the SSB Sweepstakes over this past weekend, running low power (100W) from my K3S, which runs through my KPA-500 and KAT-500 to a SteppIR 3-element beam with the 30/40 meter loop), a 40 meter wire dipole, and an 80 meter wire inverted V.  During the contest, I repeatedly noticed that the KAT-500 was not re-tuning automatically to adjust to frequency changes based only on my SSB transmissions.  But I found that if if I switched to CW for a couple of brief transmissions, the KAT-500 quickly re-tuned and reduced my SWR to near 1:1, so I could then switch back to SSB and complete the contact.
> 
> [I retune the SteppIR manually as I change frequency, but the beam is only 40 feet up, and interacts with lots of trees, power lines, and other problematic structures close to my tiny 100 by 100 foot property, so the antenna itself is not always perfectly matched.]
> 
> Has anybody experienced this problem or solved it?
> 
> 73 -
> Rich, K1DJ
> 
> Sent from my iPad
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