Mike,
I've encountered this on my K3 and K3s in the past, and one thing is
that the output power will recover after several seconds of
transmission. I complained about this, and someone on the list pointed
out that temporarily doing 'something' (sorry I don't remember what now,
since I haven't touched my K3s since I upgraded to a K4D) would
immediately clear the issue.
Seems I remember that rebooting the K3 would do it, but that's a rather
drastic measure to take in the middle of a contest, especially because
some logging programs will complain quickly if the radio port is missing
for even a couple of seconds.
Not sure what search terms to use to find that conversation. Sorry I
can't be more helpful. I feel your pain. I have archives of this
maillist going back to 2009 on another computer, here. If I can
remember, I'll see if I can find the conversation.
73,
-- Dave, N8SBE, Hamshack Hotline 550-0971, HamsOverIP 101018,
AmateurWire 1348
On 2025-03-03 09:10, Michael Carter via Elecraft wrote:
For the first time that I can recall, I experienced my K3/100 reducing
its TX output power abruptly (from 95 watts down to maybe 5 watts) on
first transmission on a new frequency close to the one where the
internal KAT3 ATU was tuned. This occurred on multiple bands in this
past weekend's ARRL DX SSB contest. Since I rarely operate on SSB, and
have never experienced this behavior on CW in years of contesting, I
was perplexed.
This morning, I explored the archive on both the original Elecraft
reflector and the elecraft...@groups.io forum, and I found several
mentions of the power foldback behavior. VE3KI in one old post pointed
out that the SWR change due to tuning away from the ATU tuning
frequency may be modest, but the change in PA current or voltage may
trigger the output power foldback. I understand the basis for that
protection.
My question: how does one reset the TX power to full output after such
a foldback event? I tried an ATU retune on the same frequency on which
the foldback had just occurred, but that didn't seem to restore full
power. I tried rotating the POWER control knob up and down around the
desired output level, and that did seem to reset the TX output power to
its original setpoint. I was just tinkering during the contest and
feeling like I didn't fully understand a methodical way to restore full
power output. Guidance from those who have dealt with this issue long
ago is most welcome!
Thanks, and 73,
Mike, K8CN
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