[Elecraft] K3 - Power cable voltage drop

[Jim Brown]

On 12/22/2019 9:44 AM, Bob McGraw wrote:
> Rid your station of the DC power strip.  It will cause problems. More 
> connections in the path will be more DC voltage drip.  The radios should 
> be connected direct to the power supply.

Yes and no. My station has direct short runs from a 100Ah Bioenne 
LiFePO4 battery to my two K3s. The radio very close to the battery is 
#10; the longer run (about five ft) to the radio on the other side of 
the desk is two #10s in parallel. This battery is used because it's 
operating voltage remains well about 13VDC throughout its discharge 
curve (as opposed to the SLA, which is closer to 11.5VDC under load). 
The difference results in lower IMD.

The other 12V gear (and LED strips for task lighting) runs from a 100Ah 
12V SLA battery through a DC power strip. All the gear is bonded 
together. Both batteries are float-charged by spare Thinkpad power 
supplies with Genasun charge regulators. The power strips are fine for 
low current drain devices, but, as Bob notes, not for the radios.

73, Jim K9YC