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

[K1dj]

Thanks very much for all of the helpful and knowledgeable advice!  I will do more reading in my Elecraft manuals and Cady books and adjust accordingly.  This is a wonderful reflector!
The one additional complicating factor for me is that there are so many interfering objects close to my SteppIR beam and low (40 foot) tower that the antenna impedance changes pretty significantly as I rotate the beam.  So a perfect solution (probably beyond my meager abilities) would require me to train my KAT-500 to recognize and adjust for various frequencies AND antenna headings.  
Thanks again -
Rich, K1DJ

Sent from my iPad

> On Nov 19, 2018, at 5:28 AM, K1dj <k1dj at aol.com> 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