[Elecraft] KX2 / KPA500

[Nr4c]

First thing I’d try is to connect the KX2 directly to the amp and see what happens. 

Then work out your switches. 

Also, if you have tuned the KAT500 with the K3, it’s not necessary to retune with the KX2.   Just By-Pass it’s tuner and go. Same antenna, right - same amp. 

Sent from my iPhone
...nr4c. bill


> On Apr 28, 2020, at 3:03 PM, James Bennett via Elecraft <elecraft at mailman.qth.net> wrote:
> 
> I’ve run into an interesting situation that has me puzzled. Probably some dumb pilot error, but after an hour or so looking through the manuals and thinking about it - I gotta call in the experts.
> 
> I’ve had a K3 for ten years and the KPA500/KAT500 for maybe four or five years. They work great. I also have a KX2 and thought “why not hook it to the KPA500 and give it some punch when I need it?”. Since my antenna connects through a coax switch between the K3 and the KX2, the output of the KX2 has been flowing through the KPA500/KAT500 since day one, although never being amplified. I set the KX2 ATU to bypass and do a “tune” on the KAT500 - finds a nice 1:1 match. Keying the KX2 with the amp in standby gives me 10w out on the KX2. 
> 
> Now, with a station tuned in that is say, S8 on the KX2, when I put the amp into operate mode, the received signal strength drops about six S-units. Going back to standby on the amp restores full receive strength. I have pressed the proper band switch on the amp. When I have the amp in operate mode and transmit, I get about 190 watts out, with an SWR of 1:1.
> 
> By the way - the K3 IS connected to the amp as it normally is, but powered off.
> 
> So, it seems like the amp is not sensing the RF frequency coming out of the KX2 - but why?
> 
> Jim / W6JHB
> 
> 
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