[Elecraft] KPA500 problem

[Lyn Norstad]

Bill -

There's something about having all your gear lined up nicely in the shack,
and then having to unexpectedly get to a rear panel connector.  I hate when
that happens.  So I finally have everything on a 3-high shelving unit that
can be pivoted to allow me access to all the rear panels and cables (neatly
bundled and labeled).  The KPA500 holds down the lower right shelf, which
serves nicely as the pivot point.

The other end of that shelf is an IC-7300, so don't feel bad.  You've given
it great reports on 160 meters.

73
Lyn, W0LEN


-----Original Message-----
From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of William Carpenter
Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2020 2:38 PM
To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] KPA500 problem

Welp, operator error big time.  Got an email from Elecraft tech support and
the first thing he told me to do was to unplug the RCA keyline and see what
happens.

AHA!

Last Friday I decided to use my IC-7300 instead of my K3 in the SKSS WES
contest. Yes, blaspheme I know. The 7300 only has one key jack so I had to
unplug the line going to my CW paddles and plug in a straight key.  Which
means fumbling around in the back of the rig blindly.  I
accidentally unplugged the RCA plug for the keyline to the KPA500 first.
Then with out thinking plugged it into the ALC phono jack which is right
next to the Key jack.  Which caused the amp to do what it was doing.

So I cleaned up the amp - needed some dust blown out - put it back
together, hooked it back up and guess what?

It works fine.

73, Bill NZ0T


On Tue, Apr 14, 2020 at 9:27 AM William Carpenter <nz0tham at gmail.com> wrote:

> For the second time i about two years my KPA500 is suffering from the low
> RX sensitivity in OPR.  Transmit is fine with full output ona ll bands.
> The last time this happened the culprit was R7 on the PA unit which had
> cracked and burned slightly.   Elecraft sent me a new R7 very quickly and
> for free - the usual great customer service.  I installed it and the amp
> was fine again.
>
> It happened again last night so I took the PA unit out this morning.  R7
> looks fine and tests fine as do all the associated components.   So, I'm
at
> a loss.  The only thing I can think of is that my ugly SMT solder job has
> gone bad - is OK with the meter but breaks down under normal voltage and
> current.  Is that ever an issue with SMT?  I don't know mush about SMT
> stuff.
>
> I have an email sent to Elecraft service so hope to hear from them
> sometime.  Not sure how responsive they can be in lockdown.
>
> I should mention this amp was purchased as a new kit in 2016.
> Any input is appreciated!  Especially as to what may be causing this to
> happen
>
> 73, Bill NZ0T
>
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