[Elecraft] Question about 120 volts vs. 240 volts house supply to KPA 500

Thu Sep 19 17:33:09 EDT 2024

Downsizing about 8 years ago, I gave up our 5 acres, tower and trees, 
distant neighbors, and no HOA [see below] for pretty much the opposite 
in each respect.  My antenna is an end fed wire on the wooden fence all 
of 6 m high and approved by the HOA.  Not wanting to nuke our neighbor's 
dog whose run is along part of that fence, I sold my KPA500/KAT500 and 
re-ran the RF exposure calcs for 100 W, finding it to be canine-safe.  I 
was prepared for on-air disappointments.

Findings:  If my goal had been to be first-in-log or in-log-on-all-bands 
for the many ATNO's I need, disappointments would have loomed large.  
However, I found that, given some time, paying attention to propagation 
forecasts and the ATNO's published schedule, and judicious choice of 
transmit frequency, I got my call into many of their the logs.  I also 
found that I could have a lot of fun on the radio calling and answering 
CQ's in the middle of the day on an otherwise dead band, finding the 
"more intrepid than me" Summits and Parks folks hungry for a QSO, and 
chasing the many special event stations.

I have no idea how many dB I lost going from 500 to 100 W and fairly 
good antennas to a WOOF [wire on organic fence] but the loss in fun has 
been minimal to non-existent once I adapted.  To paraphrase Tom 
Schiller, N6BT, "Everything can work and be fun."

73,

Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW - CWops #142
Sparks NV DM09dn
Washoe County

[below] Not only did we not have an HOA, it took nearly an act of 
Congress to get the County to renew the chip seal on our road occasionally.
>
> Rick Bates, nk7i <mailto:rick.nk7i at gmail.com>
> Thursday, September 19, 2024 12:17 PM
> Owning and having used both KPA500 and KPA1500; there are absolutely 
> times that 'only 3 dB' is the difference as shown in a logbook.  😉
>
> The KPA1500 is online, the KPA500 is stored for portable (RV) use); 
> for that very reason.
>
> You must overcome the noise (and other signals) at the other station 
> to make the contact; sometimes that simply means raw power out.
>
> 73,
> Rick nk7i
>
>
>
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> Ted Edwards W3TB <mailto:w3tb.ted at gmail.com>
> Thursday, September 19, 2024 12:05 PM
> I also run a KPS-500 on a basic household circuit. The literature about
> the amp shows a draw of only 8 amps, so I can run my whole Elecraft 
> station
> without the higher voltage circuit — really handy and only 3-4 dB down 
> from
> a legal limit amp.
>
> 73 de Ted Edwards, W3TB and GØPWW
>
> and thinking about operating CW:
> "Do today what others won't,
> so you can do tomorrow what others can't."
>
>
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> Jim Brown <mailto:jim at audiosystemsgroup.com>
> Thursday, September 19, 2024 10:56 AM
>
>
> No need to do that -- we can read DC voltage inside the amp on the 
> built-in panel meter, and that's what matters. Yes, the Kill-A-Watt is 
> a great tool.
>
> 73, Jim K9YC
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> Mike Maloney <mailto:ac5p at sbcglobal.net>
> Thursday, September 19, 2024 10:43 AM
> Have you tried measuring the AC input voltage drop, no load versus key 
> down max?  A Kil A Watt meter is a handy instrument to have for this.  
>  My drop with 120V input is less than a volt with the KPA-500.I would 
> say if drop is 2V or less, it is not worth the expense to have an 
> electrician run a 240 volt line.  My AC line voltage runs an average 
> of 122V on my 24/7 monitor.
> Mike  AC5P
>
>
>
> On Thursday, September 19, 2024 at 11:35:20 AM CDT, Bernie and Cheryl 
> <hamdan at ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>
> Dear Folks:
>
> I have operated my KPA 500 off of a normal wall out let (120 volts) for
> years now and have gotten good service.  However, I've often wondered if
> there would be a definite advantage to getting 240 volt service into the
> shack, so that I could operate the amp off of that supply, as opposed to
> a normal wall outlet.  I recognize that there would be less current
> draw. My question would be whether it would lessen the wear and tear on
> the amp if I switched to 240 volts?
>
> Thanks and 73 de Bernie, KF0QS
>
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