ELECRAFT KPA1500 Owner's Manual
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ELECRAFT KPA1500 Owner's Manual

1500-watt amplifier
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E
KPA1500
LECRAFT
1500-W
A
ATT
MPLIFIER
'
O
M
WNER
S
ANUAL
Revision A7, February 12, 2018
E740301
Copyright © 2018, Elecraft, Inc.
All Rights Reserved

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Summary of Contents for ELECRAFT KPA1500

  • Page 1  KPA1500 LECRAFT 1500-W MPLIFIER ’ WNER ANUAL Revision A7, February 12, 2018 E740301 Copyright © 2018, Elecraft, Inc. All Rights Reserved...

  • Page 2: Introduction

    T/R is completely noise-free thanks to the use of PIN-diode switching. The KPA1500 comes with a built-in Automatic Antenna Tuner (ATU) that can handle a load SWR up to 3:1 at the full 1500 watt output in any mode.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    FCC-Mandated Part 15 Notice for the Computer Interface Ports: ............5 In the Box ..............................5 Installation ..............................6 Positioning the KPA1500 RF Deck and Power Supply ..................7 Cabling – Power Supply ............................8 Cabling – RF Deck .............................. 8 Operation ..............................

  • Page 4: Power Supply

    Before opening the KPA1500 RF Deck or Power Supply enclosures: 1. Turn off the KPA1500 by tapping the front panel ON switch and wait until the fan stops. (The fan drains the power supply to a safe voltage.) 2.

  • Page 5: Fcc-Mandated Part 15 Notice For The Computer Interface Ports

    Connect the equipment to an outlet on a different circuit from that to which the receiver is connected. • Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help. Regarding the computer interface: changes or modifications not expressly approved by Elecraft could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment. Elecraft Inc.

  • Page 6: Installation

    Negative-going voltage for transceivers that require ALC. (Elecraft transceivers do not require this connection. Key Line: enables the KPA1500 by a short to ground. When grounded the source must sink 5 mA. 5 Vdc open circuit inhibits the KPA1500. For interconnecting cable to fully integrate the KPA1500 with an Elecraft K3 or K3 for enhanced mode operation.

  • Page 7: Positioning The Kpa1500 Rf Deck And Power Supply

    Power Supply can be operated remotely and so need not be positioned within reach of the operator. The fans operate whenever the KPA1500 is on, so you can place the power supply under the operating desk or elsewhere to minimize the sound of the fans.

  • Page 8: Cabling - Power Supply

    The optional KPAK3AUX cable provides closer integration with a K3 or K3S by sharing band information between the KPA1500 and the transceiver. (see Figure 4, page 11). The KPAK3AUX cable provides all the operational features described under Operation (page 13), including coordinated band-switching (page 14). Note that the KPAK3AUX cable also incorporates the line.
  • Page 9 50 ohm coaxial RF INPUT cable with a PL-259 male connector on the KPA1500 end. to a suitable load with an SWR of less than 1.5:1. A 50Ω Attach the...
  • Page 10 Figure 3. Basic Cabling Diagram for Any Transceiver.
  • Page 11 Figure 4. K3 Enhanced Cabling Using KPAK3AUX Cable.
  • Page 12 Figure 5. K3 Enhanced Cabling Using KPAK3AUX Cable and Separate Key Line.

  • Page 13: Operation

    M E N U E D I T Band select switches: Tap to manually select a new band at the KPA1500 (see page 14) Menu/Edit switch: Tap to display the KPA1500 menu. Hold to edit a menu parameter. Status switch: Tap to display Status pages showing amplifier operating parameters (see page 19).

  • Page 14: Power On

    Power Supply. Keeping the control circuitry energized allows the KPA1500 to be turned on and off remotely as well as from the front-panel switch.. If you do not need to control the KPA1500 remotely and would prefer to save the small amount of power required to power the control circuitry, either switch the Power Supply completely off or provide an external mains power switch capable of handling 20A.

  • Page 15: Antenna Selection

    ANTENNA switch. You can choose which antenna output is used for each band. By default, the KPA1500 will return to that choice when returning to that band. Also you can disable one of the antenna outputs for selected bands. See ANTENNA entries under Menu on pg 21.

  • Page 16: Using Alc

    K3 or K3 : one to drive the KPA1500 when it is in operate mode and another for pass-through transmitting when the KPA1500 is in standby. The K3 or K3 will automatically furnish your preset power levels as you switch the KPA1500 between operate and standby.

  • Page 17: Automatic Antenna Tuner (Atu)

    Automatic Antenna Tuner (ATU) The internal ATU may be used with the KPA1500 in either operate mode or standby. When the KPA1500 is in standby mode, power from the driving transceiver is passed directly to the ATU. Press to select...

  • Page 18: Monitoring

    KPA1500 will memorize the L and C settings and antenna selected in advance. The KPA1500 ATU will not need to do a full search tune operation again unless you change your antenna. Normally you won’t need to do a tune operation in every segment shown under Memories above depending upon how “flat”...

  • Page 19: Remote Operation

    The KPA1500 can be controlled remotely using a personal computer connected to the RJ45 Ethernet port or to the USB port. A basic remote operating capability is built into the KPA1500 Utility program (see page 26). For those who may wish to develop their own software, a Command Reference Manual is available on the Elecraft web site.

  • Page 20: Fault Conditions

    RF path that reduces the output to protect the KPA1500. When an attenuator fault occurs, the blinks and the cause is displayed on the LCD for about 1 second. The KPA1500 tests the condition at intervals and will return to normal operation automatically after the cause of the fault is removed. The interval between tests is set with the menu (page 21).
  • Page 21 B A N D item to view and change the configuration for each band. Optionally, you may use the KPA1500 Utility (page 26) may be used to modify several settings on all bands at once.
  • Page 22 This is intended for owners of an externally-tuned antenna that are matched separately from the KPA1500’s ATU. When an ATU search completes, the best setting the ATU can find may be too high for practical use (e.g., ATU attempting to match an open...
  • Page 23 SWR, the search is ended. If this is not low enough, a NO MATCH fault may occur (see ATU NO MATCH SWR menu item), and you should tap the KPA1500 front panel ATU TUNE switch to start a “full search” tune.
  • Page 24 K3 / K3S: Select when a K3 or K3S is connected through a 15-pin AUX cable to your KPA1500, which appears to a K3 as a combination of KPA500 and KAT500. The ACC cable provides band and frequency information (in steps of 8 kHz) via AUXBUS (one of the wires in the 15-pin AUX cable), with K3 KAT3 menu item “KAT500=Y”.
  • Page 25 The MODE LED will remain in OPER. User-adjustable Wattmeter calibration. Note that the KPA1500 Wattmeter WMTR ADJUST is factory-calibrated on all bands. WMTR ADJUST affects the displayed (Per Band: Appears in power (LCD & LED, KPA1500 Utility operate page), but not fault Tech Mode Only) thresholds.

  • Page 26: Kpa1500 Utility Program

    • Download the new file from the Elecraft web site manually and place it in a local folder, then in the Browse… KPA1500 Utility program click on to locate the folder on your computer. This is the way to access the latest Beta firmware available from Elecraft.

  • Page 27: Wattmeter Calibration Procedure

    The KPA1500 wattmeter is factory-calibrated. However, if you have a wattmeter that you feel is more accurate, you can adjust the KPA1500 wattmeter to match its readings as follows. The calibration is done per-band so you can make adjustments for individual bands without affecting the others.

  • Page 28: Specifications

    Specifications The following performance specifications are guaranteed only within the Amateur bands. Frequency Range All Amateur Bands from 1.8 to 29.7 MHz and 50 to 54 MHz Supply Voltage and 195 to 250 VAC, 50/60 Hz up to 20A. Current RF Deck Weight 22 lbs (10 kg) RF Deck Size...

  • Page 29: Customer Service And Support

    Elecraft products transferred by the purchaser to a third party, either by sale, gift, or other method, who is not disclosed to Elecraft at the time of original order, are not covered by this warranty. If the Elecraft product is being bought indirectly for a third party, the third party’s name and address must be provided at time of order to ensure...

  • Page 30: Theory Of Operation

    Figure 7. KPA1500 Block Diagram. When the KPA1500 is in operate mode, the transmit-receive (TR) switch routs RF from the driving transceiver to the power amplifier (PA) module where it is amplified by a pair of LDMOS transistors. The Low Pass Filter Bank contains low pass filters to suppress harmonic energy.
  • Page 31 The antenna connector used is associated with the band and may be the same as was used on that band previously (last used) or an antenna connector identified as preferred (the KPA1500 will switch to that antenna when returning to the band regardless of the antenna connector previously used on that band.) See antenna...

  • Page 32: Aux And Xcvr Serial Connector Interfaces

    Do not attach a common VGA cable to the AUX connector. The AUX connector provides an optional interface that more closely integrates the KPA1500 with a K3 or K3 transceiver. The XCVR Serial connector provides RS232 level data for other transceivers such as the Elecraft K2 and some Kenwood Yaesu and Icom transceivers.

  • Page 33: Elecraft Kpak3Aux Interface Cable

    Elecraft KPAK3AUX Interface Cable This is available direct from Elecraft (page 29): order KPAK3AUX for the complete set: • KPAK3AUX Cable, 59.5” (1.5 m) long. May be ordered separately. Order E850463. • 15 pin Y cable that allows access to the K3 or K3 Aux port for other devices.

  • Page 34: Xcvr Serial Cable

    1.8 MHz XCVR Serial Cable The XCVR Serial jack is a 3-terminal 3.5mm serial port. When the KPA1500 is configured in “ICOM” mode, it operates as a 2-terminal CI-V compatible port compatible with Icom and some TenTec  transceivers. Tip = data, ring = no connection, and shank = ground.

  • Page 35: Tune Cable

    Several Icom transceivers have an AUTO TUNE switch intended to control an Icom AH-4 Antenna Tuner. The same AUTO TUNE switch can be used to start a KPA1500 ATU TUNE operation. A 4-pin Molex to 3.5mm TRS plug is required. The Molex plug connects to the transceiver’s rear-panel “Tuner Control” socket and the other end plugs into the TUNE jack on the KPA1500 rear panel.

  • Page 36: Bcd Interface

    BCD Interface The following are the band codes used by the KPA1500: Band (Meters) BCD Code...

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