[Elecraft] KPA1500 Power Supply Fan Noise

[K9MA]

I suspect the reason the power supply fans run at constant speed is that 
they are part of the Meanwell power supply, and beyond Elecraft's 
control due to warranty issues, etc. I certainly can't fault Elecraft 
for using that power supply, as it's cost effective and probably helped 
get the KPA1500 on the market more quickly. We can hope that perhaps 
some day Meanwell will switch to a temperature controlled fan.

I don't find mine particularly loud, as the RF deck fans drown them out 
even at their lower speeds. Even the K3 fans will drown it out when I'm 
running in a CW contest. I use some very good passive headphones, 
however. I don't think it's realistic to expect to be able to operate 
with an amplifier in the shack without headphones. However, the KPA1500 
is fully capable of remote operation, so you could put it in the next room.

73,
Scott K9MA

On 6/10/2019 18:57, eric norris via Elecraft wrote:
> More broadly, has there been any progress on reducing the piercing power supply fan noise on the KPA1500 when only using it as a tuner or an antenna switch?  I complained about this a year ago, and I find it completely unacceptable.  No set of noise-reducing headphones that I have tried works well enough to make the noise tolerable.  I've tried moving the PS deck around with minimal improvement.  This just doesn't seem to fit Elecraft's philosophy of a quiet operating environment.  Why do these fans have to operate at full throttle when there is minimal current draw from the rf deck?  Why do these fans create such a piercing high-pitched note?
> If there is no response from Elecraft, what have other ops done--short of moving the PS into an adjoining room--to mitigate the scream?
> Thanks,
> 73 Eric WD6DBM
>
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-- 
Scott  K9MA

k9ma at sdellington.us