[Elecraft] KPA1500 Using Multiple Antennas With the Tuner

[Jim Brown]

On 10/16/2020 12:26 PM, Jim McCook wrote:
> Dave, yes, one coax from the amp to a manual switch.  Your question is 
> the same as mine.  Somehow the KPA1500 should know by sensing a rise in 
> SWR and shutting down most of the drive power or output somehow so the 
> tuner can go through its motions without excessive output or a fault.

I'm doing the same thing you are, Jim -- a dozen or so antennas, often 2 
or 3 for the same band. I've been lazy about training the KPA1500, but 
it is smart enough to switch between saved tunings within a reasonable 
range.

I suspect that, to have the system automatically change power in the 
manner that Pete needs, Elecraft would need to write software to 
remember and change drive levels from the transceiver on command from 
the KPA1500.

My solution is an LP100A with sensors inline with the amp outputs from 
both stations in my SO2R setup, and I manually adjust drive levels as 
needed. The LO100A is positioned right in front of me, so I can't miss 
it, and I have it set for peak hold, which gives me a worst case number 
for power out. My K3s do a bit of power hunting when I adjust power, 
starting high on the first dits and dropping back to the intended 
setting, so I often need to do multiple tweaks of drive level to get up 
to legal limit.

73, Jim K9YC