Jerry...yes there is a switch....
No switch... just switch the supplied 240VAC power cable, in place of the 120VAC one. Jerry KB1N
Hi
I am about to switch over to using 240V instead of 120V, however Palstar support advised that I ensure I toggle some switch on the amp to set it to 240v. I can’t for the life of me find this switch or any mention of needing to do that in the manual - anyone able to help??
Thanks
-Craig
Wi0R
|
Guess this is like the if you have an older HF Auto you will brick it if you try to update the firmware.?
Mine is less than 1 year old and it has a switch on the side thru a vent slot.
-- Eric D.Clanton DVM
1519 Pelham Rd
Jacksonville, AL 36265
256-435-8387
WN4WDE
"Life's tough......it's even tougher if you're stupid"?? -- John Wayne
|
Mine is less than 1 year old and it has a switch on the side thru a vent slot.
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The newer ones have a switch?
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
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Show quoted text
-------- Original message -------- From: Eric Clanton <drericclanton@...> Date: 3/20/23 1:55 PM (GMT-08:00) Subject: Re: [la1k] 120/240V switch?
I've used two different ones on both 120 and 240, neither of them have a switch.? Hi
I am about to switch over to using 240V instead of 120V, however Palstar support advised that I ensure I toggle some switch on the amp to set it to 240v. I can’t for the life of me find this switch or any mention of needing to do that in the manual - anyone able to help??
Thanks
-Craig
Wi0R
-- Eric D.Clanton DVM
1519 Pelham Rd
Jacksonville, AL 36265
256-435-8387
WN4WDE
"Life's tough......it's even tougher if you're stupid"?? -- John Wayne
|
I've used two different ones on both 120 and 240, neither of them have a switch.?
Hi
I am about to switch over to using 240V instead of 120V, however Palstar support advised that I ensure I toggle some switch on the amp to set it to 240v. I can’t for the life of me find this switch or any mention of needing to do that in the manual - anyone able to help??
Thanks
-Craig
Wi0R
-- Eric D.Clanton DVM
1519 Pelham Rd
Jacksonville, AL 36265
256-435-8387
WN4WDE
"Life's tough......it's even tougher if you're stupid"?? -- John Wayne
|
No switch... just switch the supplied 240VAC power cable, in place of the 120VAC one. Jerry KB1N
Hi
I am about to switch over to using 240V instead of 120V, however Palstar support advised that I ensure I toggle some switch on the amp to set it to 240v. I can’t for the life of me find this switch or any mention of needing to do that in the manual - anyone able to help??
Thanks
-Craig
Wi0R
|
It’s a little slide switch, in a hole on the left side of the cabinet. ? 73 ? Bob? WB8CAC ?
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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Craig S
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 4:43 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [la1k] 120/240V switch? ? Hi
I am about to switch over to using 240V instead of 120V, however Palstar support advised that I ensure I toggle some switch on the amp to set it to 240v. I can’t for the life of me find this switch or any mention of needing to do that in the manual - anyone able to help?? Thanks
-Craig
Wi0R
|
Hi
I am about to switch over to using 240V instead of 120V, however Palstar support advised that I ensure I toggle some switch on the amp to set it to 240v. I can’t for the life of me find this switch or any mention of needing to do that in the manual - anyone able to help??
Thanks
-Craig
Wi0R
|
Re: LA-1K overdrive warning
UPDATE:
This intermittent OVERLOAD issue was driving me crazy. However, I think I may have resolved the issue. Time will tell.
When it was on SSB I was getting RF clipping reports on my transmit audio. So, I decided to redo all my interconnecting cables between my IC7610, LA-IK, and HF-AUTO. I also changed all the cable lengths, some shorter and some longer. It's been 48 hours now and my LA-1K has not tripped into OVERLOAD once. Keeping my fingers crossed, maybe this resolved the issue.
Thomas NE7X...
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Re: LA-1K overdrive warning
Hello Thomas, not an expert here but i use to have those 3 devices together in my shack.
What i can say is (some already told)
Those icom rigs are well known for alc overshoot.
So, use a good quality alc cable and calibrate alc level on the linear as stated in the manual. Most modern systems dont need it, but as told by the technician, use it.
When transmitting set the audio chain in the 7610, including comp and mic gain, eq, try Hand mic first, so never reach near the end of alc scale (red line), be conservative.
Super important: There is a semi hidden menu in the radio that is a tx gain compensation (i guess). Access via quick menu, ?Never touch that for nothing. My level was 47. How to unorthodoxy know its wrong or not: record a voice message, play it back transmitting and monitor with headphones. If there is a slight distortion, go back a notch. Record again, test.
Reflected power is a devil sometimes. If using a balanced antena fed with coax, put an adequate choke at the feed point. If using ladder line, choke the transition to coax outside the shack.
Use good ground strips, bus and conductor to rods.
Maybe you already know all of this info but those are my 5 cents :)
PS: If able try to put a PEP meter in line like a smorf or a lp100a, or a dc powered bird 43.
While in RTTY set your pep till reach 1000 watts then go SSB. Dont try to get 1kw using ssb and a wattmeter. Thats ?a SS amp killer combo.
Let us know how it went please.
73,
Philip
CE4PS
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Re: LA-1K overdrive warning
I have driven my LA-1K with my IC-7300, my IC-7610, and my Kenwood TS-830S
– all without a band change cable.? I let the amplifier sense the band and
frequency.? Never any problems, not one.? Until recently I had two
LA-1K amps in parallel with the Palstar splitter/combiner handling those
chores.? I drove that configuration with both my 7300 and my 7610 – again
with no problems.? There is a photo of that configuration on my QRZ.com
page.?
?
George
W7GDK.?
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From: Jerry
Webb
Sent: Wednesday, March 8, 2023 12:07
Subject: Re: [la1k] LA-1K overdrive warning
?
I agree with Bob's evaluation.? I used an Icom 7600 with my
LA-1K? w/o and issues. My TS-890S has no issues.? I suspect that the
SDR-function on the IC-7610, and it's "younger kin" IC-7300, might be the design
problem.
?
On Wed, Mar 8, 2023, 13:54 Thomas NE7X
<thomasne7x@...> wrote:
I
am using an ICOM IC-7610 with my LA-1K and HF-AUTO tuner. I have been having
intermittent "OVERLOAD" issues. I can run the amp for several hours, then it
starts "OVERLOADING" every time I speak into the microphone. When I AC power
cycle the amp and back on, everything is back to working normal. Then a few
minutes later, it goes into OVELOAD again. It does it mostly on SSB, however I
have seen it happen also when first key on CW and RTTY.
I called
Palstar tech support and talked wtih Mark. He indicated ICOM IC-7300 and
IC-7610 transceivers put out a HIGH PEP power spike on SSB and CW key-ups
which exceeds the threshold value of the amplifier input station, causing the
LA-1K to go into OVERLOAD.? He suggested using an ALC connection between
the ICOM transceivers and the LA-1K, and playing with the ALC settings on both
the ICOM transceivers and the LA-1K to find a value that stops the RF OVERLOAD
peaks. He also suggested flattening out the transmitter audio using
compression and mic gain levels, so no high RF peaks are being produced at
key-up.
I have been trying Mark's recommendations and the jury is still
out. Still having intermittent OVERLOAD issues, however not a frequent. I'm
still trying to find that perfect sweet spot.
Another local ham said
maybe I am having floating RF in the shack causing the amp to go into
OVERLOAD. I checked all my cables, connections, and I have everything
connected to earth ground buss in the shack. No sure what else I can check
there.
Anyone else have any input or recommendations?
Thomas
NE7X...
|
Re: LA-1K overdrive warning
My 7610 works perfect with my La1k. I use the band change cable.
On 3/8/2023 1:43 PM, W1SWL wrote:
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FYI; Never had an issue driving the LA-1K with a
Yaesu FTDX101MP.
Worked Great.
Art W1SWL
I agree with Bob's evaluation.? I used an
Icom 7600 with my LA-1K? w/o and issues. My TS-890S has no
issues.? I suspect that the SDR-function on the IC-7610,
and it's "younger kin" IC-7300, might be the design
problem.
I am
using an ICOM IC-7610 with my LA-1K and HF-AUTO tuner. I
have been having intermittent "OVERLOAD" issues. I can
run the amp for several hours, then it starts
"OVERLOADING" every time I speak into the microphone.
When I AC power cycle the amp and back on, everything is
back to working normal. Then a few minutes later, it
goes into OVELOAD again. It does it mostly on SSB,
however I have seen it happen also when first key on CW
and RTTY.?
I called Palstar tech support and talked wtih Mark. He
indicated ICOM IC-7300 and IC-7610 transceivers put out
a HIGH PEP power spike on SSB and CW key-ups which
exceeds the threshold value of the amplifier input
station, causing the LA-1K to go into OVERLOAD.? He
suggested using an ALC connection between the ICOM
transceivers and the LA-1K, and playing with the ALC
settings on both the ICOM transceivers and the LA-1K to
find a value that stops the RF OVERLOAD peaks. He also
suggested flattening out the transmitter audio using
compression and mic gain levels, so no high RF peaks are
being produced at key-up.
I have been trying Mark's recommendations and the jury
is still out. Still having intermittent OVERLOAD issues,
however not a frequent. I'm still trying to find that
perfect sweet spot.?
Another local ham said maybe I am having floating RF in
the shack causing the amp to go into OVERLOAD. I checked
all my cables, connections, and I have everything
connected to earth ground buss in the shack. No sure
what else I can check there.
Anyone else have any input or recommendations?
Thomas NE7X...
|
Re: LA-1K overdrive warning
FYI; Never had an issue driving the LA-1K with a Yaesu FTDX101MP. Worked Great. Art W1SWL
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Mar 8, 2023, at 2:07 PM, Jerry Webb <jerrywebb45@...> wrote:
I agree with Bob's evaluation.? I used an Icom 7600 with my LA-1K? w/o and issues. My TS-890S has no issues.? I suspect that the SDR-function on the IC-7610, and it's "younger kin" IC-7300, might be the design problem. I am using an ICOM IC-7610 with my LA-1K and HF-AUTO tuner. I have been having intermittent "OVERLOAD" issues. I can run the amp for several hours, then it starts "OVERLOADING" every time I speak into the microphone. When I AC power cycle the amp and back on, everything is back to working normal. Then a few minutes later, it goes into OVELOAD again. It does it mostly on SSB, however I have seen it happen also when first key on CW and RTTY.?
I called Palstar tech support and talked wtih Mark. He indicated ICOM IC-7300 and IC-7610 transceivers put out a HIGH PEP power spike on SSB and CW key-ups which exceeds the threshold value of the amplifier input station, causing the LA-1K to go into OVERLOAD.? He suggested using an ALC connection between the ICOM transceivers and the LA-1K, and playing with the ALC settings on both the ICOM transceivers and the LA-1K to find a value that stops the RF OVERLOAD peaks. He also suggested flattening out the transmitter audio using compression and mic gain levels, so no high RF peaks are being produced at key-up.
I have been trying Mark's recommendations and the jury is still out. Still having intermittent OVERLOAD issues, however not a frequent. I'm still trying to find that perfect sweet spot.?
Another local ham said maybe I am having floating RF in the shack causing the amp to go into OVERLOAD. I checked all my cables, connections, and I have everything connected to earth ground buss in the shack. No sure what else I can check there.
Anyone else have any input or recommendations?
Thomas NE7X...
|
Re: LA-1K overdrive warning
I agree with Bob's evaluation.? I used an Icom 7600 with my LA-1K? w/o and issues. My TS-890S has no issues.? I suspect that the SDR-function on the IC-7610, and it's "younger kin" IC-7300, might be the design problem.
I am using an ICOM IC-7610 with my LA-1K and HF-AUTO tuner. I have been having intermittent "OVERLOAD" issues. I can run the amp for several hours, then it starts "OVERLOADING" every time I speak into the microphone. When I AC power cycle the amp and back on, everything is back to working normal. Then a few minutes later, it goes into OVELOAD again. It does it mostly on SSB, however I have seen it happen also when first key on CW and RTTY.?
I called Palstar tech support and talked wtih Mark. He indicated ICOM IC-7300 and IC-7610 transceivers put out a HIGH PEP power spike on SSB and CW key-ups which exceeds the threshold value of the amplifier input station, causing the LA-1K to go into OVERLOAD.? He suggested using an ALC connection between the ICOM transceivers and the LA-1K, and playing with the ALC settings on both the ICOM transceivers and the LA-1K to find a value that stops the RF OVERLOAD peaks. He also suggested flattening out the transmitter audio using compression and mic gain levels, so no high RF peaks are being produced at key-up.
I have been trying Mark's recommendations and the jury is still out. Still having intermittent OVERLOAD issues, however not a frequent. I'm still trying to find that perfect sweet spot.?
Another local ham said maybe I am having floating RF in the shack causing the amp to go into OVERLOAD. I checked all my cables, connections, and I have everything connected to earth ground buss in the shack. No sure what else I can check there.
Anyone else have any input or recommendations?
Thomas NE7X...
|
Re: LA-1K overdrive warning
I am using an ICOM IC-7610 with my LA-1K and HF-AUTO tuner. I have been having intermittent "OVERLOAD" issues. I can run the amp for several hours, then it starts "OVERLOADING" every time I speak into the microphone. When I AC power cycle the amp and back on, everything is back to working normal. Then a few minutes later, it goes into OVELOAD again. It does it mostly on SSB, however I have seen it happen also when first key on CW and RTTY.?
I called Palstar tech support and talked wtih Mark. He indicated ICOM IC-7300 and IC-7610 transceivers put out a HIGH PEP power spike on SSB and CW key-ups which exceeds the threshold value of the amplifier input station, causing the LA-1K to go into OVERLOAD.? He suggested using an ALC connection between the ICOM transceivers and the LA-1K, and playing with the ALC settings on both the ICOM transceivers and the LA-1K to find a value that stops the RF OVERLOAD peaks. He also suggested flattening out the transmitter audio using compression and mic gain levels, so no high RF peaks are being produced at key-up.
I have been trying Mark's recommendations and the jury is still out. Still having intermittent OVERLOAD issues, however not a frequent. I'm still trying to find that perfect sweet spot.?
Another local ham said maybe I am having floating RF in the shack causing the amp to go into OVERLOAD. I checked all my cables, connections, and I have everything connected to earth ground buss in the shack. No sure what else I can check there.
Anyone else have any input or recommendations?
Thomas NE7X...
|
Re: SWR High SSB ONLY - When Using LA-1K Amp
This situation is very common with the 7300.? I tried three different 7300s and had the problem with all.? ?Playing with the ALC and reducing drive (thus reducing output) made some improvement but not a complete solution.? I finally gave up, sold the 7300 and bought a FT-710.? Problem solved.
|
Re: SWR High SSB ONLY - When Using LA-1K Amp
I am using an ICOM IC-7610 with my LA-1K and HF-AUTO tuner. I have been having intermittent "OVERLOAD" issues. I can run the amp for several hours, then it starts "OVERLOADING" every time I speak into the microphone. When I AC power cycle the amp and back on, everything is back to working normal. Then a few minutes later, it goes into OVELOAD again. It does it mostly on SSB, however I have seen it happen also when first key on CW and RTTY.?
I called Palstar tech support and talked wtih Mark. He indicated ICOM IC-7300 and IC-7610 transceivers put out a HIGH PEP power spike on SSB and CW key-ups which exceeds the threshold value of the amplifier input station, causing the LA-1K to go into OVERLOAD.? He suggested using an ALC connection between the ICOM transceivers and the LA-1K, and playing with the ALC settings on both the ICOM transceivers and the LA-1K to find a value that stops the RF OVERLOAD peaks. He also suggested flattening out the transmitter audio using compression and mic gain levels, so no high RF peaks are being produced at key-up.
I have been trying Mark's recommendations and the jury is still out. Still having intermittent OVERLOAD issues, however not a frequent. I'm still trying to find that perfect sweet spot.?
Another local ham said maybe I am having floating RF in the shack causing the amp to go into OVERLOAD. I checked all my cables, connections, and I have everything connected to earth ground buss in the shack. No sure what else I can check there.
Anyone else have any input or recommendations?
Thomas NE7X...
|
Re: Please excuse me if this topic has been brought up before
I just fired up my IC-7610 with coax connected to LA-1K (running on 120 VAC), followed by coax connected HF-Auto tuner.
Antenna was not connected to the HF-Auto for this test (left open).
I tuned across 20 meters without seeing anything - no birdies.
Guess I wouldn't be surprised if the display put out a bit of close-up interference - just for fun, try changing the backlight settings.
... Fred,? W9KEY
|
Please excuse me if this topic has been brought up before
I've noticed that on my brand new LA-1K amplifier it sends out a rather husky birdy on 20 meters and possibly other bands.? It actually runs up and down the band.? I verified that it was caused by the amp by turning it off and it disappeared.? I read that this was an issue when the amp was operating on 120VAC but when the person hooked it up to 240VAC the birdy disappeared but obviously not in my case.? I attached ferrite cores on all the cords and cables but didn't even reduce the level of the birdy much less remove the issue.? It most likely is getting back into the radio via the coax cable center conductor.? Has anyone else have this problem and made it go away?? Thanks for reading.
John? N1JP
|
I don't have a schematic for the LA - 1K but I'm assuming like most amplifiers it has some kind of matching network that is switched between various bands on the input. That's what provides the 50 ohm match to the output of your exciter. It's possible you probably have overdriven the amplifier on some of the bands and damaged those input matching circuits, or they have just failed for some other reason. The amplifier most likely will probably have to go back to PalStar. You should contact them.
Dale KB5IY
On Sat, Feb 18, 2023, 09:55 Jerry Leckness < kd4xr@...> wrote: This morning while transmitting on 3.965mhz I noticed a HI SWR warning on my FTDX101MP. At the same time, the LA-1K displayed SWR=1.0 and the HF-Auto SWR = 1.04. I have discovered that the LA-1K RF Input has HI SWR while in "Operate" mode. In "Standby" mode the RF input has normal antenna/Tuner SWR. The LA-1K will NOT amplify on 160, 80, 40 but WILL amplify on 20, 15, and 10. On 10m 10w results in 200w out. It appears something has happened to the LA-1K RF input. Any ideas what's going on???
73 Jerry
kd4xr
|
Eric Clanton
Bob WB8CAC
Craig S
Thomas NE7X
Philip Smith
Fred, W9KEY