[Elecraft] K3/KPA500 question

[Bob Wilson, N6TV]

OTOH, if you change Radio type from K3 to BCD, and have set the K3
menu *CONFIG:PWR-SET
*to *PER-BAND*, the K3 will no longer be able to recognize when a KPA500 or
KPA1500 is switched from STBY to OPER, so there will effectively be just
one fixed drive power setting stored per band, instead of two power
settings (one for amp in OPER and a second for amp in STBY).

73,
Bob, N6TV


On Tue, Apr 27, 2021 at 8:19 PM Bob Wilson, N6TV <n6tv at arrl.net> wrote:

> It's not clear why this feature of the KPA500 is a "PITA," since the
> majority of users want the rig and the amp. to always be locked to the same
> band.  However, I suppose it could be a problem in a station where antenna
> switching is all manual rather than automatic.
>
> In that case, one can change the KPA500 "RADIO" menu from "K3" to "BCD",
> and now the band buttons will not change the band of the K3 anymore, but
> the amp. will still follow band changes made by the K3.
>
> Hope that helps.
>
> 73,
> Bob, N6TV
>
> On Sun, Apr 25, 2021 at 1:11 PM Andy Durbin <a.durbin at msn.com> wrote:
>
>> "FYI, you can still tap the BAND buttons on the KPA500 to change bands on
>> the K3, because that uses the AUXBUS line (ACC Pin 2), not the BAND DATA
>> lines.  Many folks may have never discovered this cool feature of the
>> KPA500 and KPA1500."
>>
>> I had to write code to put the KPA500 back on the correct band if one of
>> these band buttons was accidentally pressed.  I wish there was a way to
>> disable them completely.  One person's cool feature is another's PITA.
>>
>> Andy, k3wyc
>>
>