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SWR normal on cw and digital modes. As soon as I go to SSB and begin speaking amp goes into bypass mode. ?HF-Auto tuner says 1.2 SWR. If I put amp in bypass mode and turn radio to 100 watts all is ok on SSB. Any thoughts would be appreciated. I don't have a external sir meter.
Dennis/W4OZ
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High Dennis. I was having a similar problem. First a couple of questions. Do you have the HF Auto from Palstar? 2nd. Did you try it on high power through a dummy load? If you did what were the results?
Joe
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Always been an issue with me and sometimes on CW as well but not nearly as bad. ? Running 160 contest and tuned antenna and the SWR which is caused by the LA1K can be about 4:1 but drops fast as I move up band. ? ? ?
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From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Komkit Listisard via Groups.Io
Sent: Friday, December 6, 2019 10:18 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [la1k] SWR High SSB ONLY - When Using LA-1K Amp ? I am running into this problem as well.? Took some time off, now back on the air. I do not recall I have had this sort of problem before.
I am using band data cable from my Yaesu FTDX 3000D.? My F=(frequency) would flashing and this is on a good 1.5KW wet dummy load.
Often with antenna,? it would tripped the Bypass SWR.
For CW I can hold down the key all day long, no problem.
73, Kit
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Yup, what's happening here is exactly what I posted back in May 2019.? No answers.? The best I got is I might have RF in the shack.? Funny, never been an issue before, and ONLY an issue on SSB.? I doubt that's it.? I thought I had it licked with a firmware update a couple of months ago, but during the ARRL Sweepstakes, it was happening again.? I'm not particularly happy with my $3500 paperweight.
Keith/W1KRB
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I have an LA-1K? and have no issues.? ?I have an HF-Auto Tuner. I read some were using?a band data cable.? Not needed it is an RF Sensing amp. Other obvious question or comment.? You must connect a PTT cable to the amp. If your tuner is reading correctly with the amp on standby there should not be an issue.? If your tuner remains constant,again there shouldn't be an issue.? ?Run on a 220, I run the amp full out, usually 45 input from my ftDX5000 will give me 1050 to 1100, but usually run at 35 to 40 gives me 900,also depends on band, you might want to run more input to maintain your amp output.? Don't run enough CW to be of help, but if your amp is shutting down because of swr, by all means contact Palstar.? The temperature?your amp is more important if it is running over 85 degrees C it is time to think about backing off on input power.? 220VDC is the only way to? go unless you only want 650 out.? This has been my experience.? Hope this helps some. Mike KR9G
On Sat, Dec 7, 2019 at 2:18 PM Komkit Listisard via Groups.Io <w3kit= [email protected]> wrote: [Edited Message Follows]
I can not use SSB currently,? few words in - LA-1K went in to Bypass SWR just about 30 watts drives.? Attached video clip, at 5 sec in the SWR went up to 9.8 real quick and that tripped the Bypass SWR.? Antenna was tuned with AT2K down to about 1.0 - 1.1.?
?I am not really sure what is happening here.? I guess I will have to wait to talk to someone at Palstar Monday.? I do not even know if any one at Palstar monitoring this user group.
73, Kit
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You may want to lower your ALC level. Paul Sobon
1700 Bassett Street, #1904
Denver, CO 80202
303-601-5773 cell
On Sat, Dec 7, 2019, 11:40 AM Komkit Listisard via Groups.Io <w3kit= [email protected]> wrote: I can not use SSB currently,? few words in - LA-1K went in to Bypass SWR just about 30 watts drives.? Attached video clip, the SWR was not even in the red. Antenna was tuned with AT2K down to about 1.0 - 1.1.?
?I am not really sure what is happening here.? I guess I will have to wait to talk to someone in Palstar Monday.? I do not even know if any one at Palstar monitoring this user group.
73, Kit
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I have yet to try the band data cable although I have been told it does help some issues. ? I need to get a null modem cable I think to do this. ? But my amp is wired 220 and has all the hiccups mentioned by others. As a matter of fact, I have had it trip into a dummy load (Palstar) when testing and changing frequency.? So I can rule out 220, tuner (also Palstar) and antenna. ? Most the time its pretty good and one update we got helped quite a bit. ? Rich ?
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From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Hobart Poyser
Sent: Saturday, December 7, 2019 4:23 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [la1k] SWR High SSB ONLY - When Using LA-1K Amp ? I have an LA-1K? and have no issues.? ?I have an HF-Auto Tuner. I read some were using?a band data cable.? Not needed it is an RF Sensing amp. Other obvious question or comment.? You must connect a PTT cable to the amp. If your tuner is reading correctly with the amp on standby there should not be an issue.? If your tuner remains constant,again there shouldn't be an issue.? ?Run on a 220, I run the amp full out, usually 45 input from my ftDX5000 will give me 1050 to 1100, but usually run at 35 to 40 gives me 900,also depends on band, you might want to run more input to maintain your amp output.? Don't run enough CW to be of help, but if your amp is shutting down because of swr, by all means contact Palstar.? The temperature?your amp is more important if it is running over 85 degrees C it is time to think about backing off on input power.? 220VDC is the only way to? go unless you only want 650 out.? This has been my experience.? Hope this ? On Sat, Dec 7, 2019 at 2:18 PM Komkit Listisard via Groups.Io <w3kit=[email protected]> wrote: [Edited Message Follows] I can not use SSB currently,? few words in - LA-1K went in to Bypass SWR just about 30 watts drives.? Attached video clip, at 5 sec in the SWR went up to 9.8 real quick and that tripped the Bypass SWR.? Antenna was tuned with AT2K down to about 1.0 - 1.1.?
?I am not really sure what is happening here.? I guess I will have to wait to talk to someone at Palstar Monday.? I do not even know if any one at Palstar monitoring this user group.
73, Kit
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All:
Please note this (trimmed) frame from the video just as the amp
is tripping. If you simply play the video you might not be able to
see this but if you step through you'll see that the frame is
there.
This would normally cause one to suspect that something after the
amplifier is intermittent, but I suppose it could be an amp issue
of some sort. Another less likely possibility is that there is a
burst of off-frequency signal being fed to the amp or caused by
the amp that is resulting in an actual high SWR. In any case, the
amp is tripping because it really does seem to think there's an
SWR problem.
Note that these kinds of problems can be power dependent and not
show up at lower power.
My suggestion is to start with a different cable from the amp and
run that direct to a known good dummy load to see if there's an
issue that way. I suspect it will be fine. If not, try another
radio to drive the amp and as a last resort call Palstar.
Chuck - N8DNX
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Same for me. They had me checking static arrestors, etc. ? I ended up setting rig > to amp > dummy load up with all new coax and still tripped after freq change ? 73 ? ? ?
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From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Charles Scott
Sent: Sunday, December 8, 2019 6:49 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [la1k] SWR High SSB ONLY - When Using LA-1K Amp? All: Please note this (trimmed) frame from the video just as the amp is tripping. If you simply play the video you might not be able to see this but if you step through you'll see that the frame is there. This would normally cause one to suspect that something after the amplifier is intermittent, but I suppose it could be an amp issue of some sort. Another less likely possibility is that there is a burst of off-frequency signal being fed to the amp or caused by the amp that is resulting in an actual high SWR. In any case, the amp is tripping because it really does seem to think there's an SWR problem. Note that these kinds of problems can be power dependent and not show up at lower power. My suggestion is to start with a different cable from the amp and run that direct to a known good dummy load to see if there's an issue that way. I suspect it will be fine. If not, try another radio to drive the amp and as a last resort call Palstar. Chuck - N8DNX ? 
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Rich,
interesting to see others having same issues as i am. Just operating in the cqwpx cw contest this weekend and mines doing it randomly on CW. Its a real pain to be baby sitting this amp. I may sell it. I feel like somethings not right with this amp. Im not sure i wanna call Palstar anymore. And i thought i had it Fully corrected With going direct mode, forget normal mode, its worse there. Contesting to me is a true test of performance and this amp seems lacking in quite a few ways. Maybe we can chat further on this, but its definitely troublesome. Even on a dummy load.?
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Keep in mine that if you're using a wire
antenna that is not solidly secured and susceptible to doing a jig
when the wind blows, your SWR is going to be all over the place
regardless of how good a tuner you have.? My OCFD is suspended
between two trees and can jump around as much as 5-feet from its
normal suspension height.? This in spite of having a heavy balun
at the feed-point and LMR-400 feed-line.? The wind can really make
the antenna dance.? This will clearly impact SWR, and LDMOS amps
protect themselves by going into Bypass mode at a much lower SWR
than other amps.? At 100 watts, varying SWR is less of a problem
(and often not noticeable).
I hope to solve the swaying tree problem in the next week or so
with three 50-foot well-guyed masts resting in 4-inch PVC pipes
anchored in five-feet of concrete.
We'll see.
73,
Kent? K9ZTV
On 5/30/2020 12:38 PM, Barry wrote:
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Rich,
interesting to see others having same issues as i am. Just
operating in the cqwpx cw contest this weekend and mines doing it
randomly on CW. Its a real pain to be baby sitting this amp. I may
sell it. I feel like somethings not right with this amp. Im not
sure i wanna call Palstar anymore. And i thought i had it Fully
corrected With going direct mode, forget normal mode, its worse
there. Contesting to me is a true test of performance and this amp
seems lacking in quite a few ways. Maybe we can chat further on
this, but its definitely troublesome. Even on a dummy load.?
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Kent,
Did you resolve the swaying? tree problem?
I? am only having it go into bypass mode now on 17m CW. 17m Digital is fine. 17m? SSB is fine. What would cause it to only go? ?into bypass mode on? CW, 17m only?
Barry
VE6UM
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Barry ...
What antenna are you using on 17?
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On Aug 7, 2020, at 2:45 PM, Barry < barplo@...> wrote: Kent,
Did you resolve the swaying? tree problem?
I? am only having it go into bypass mode now on 17m CW. 17m Digital is fine. 17m? SSB is fine. What would cause it to only go? ?into bypass mode on? CW, 17m only?
Barry
VE6UM
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Inverted vee. Im considering it could be an antenna issue. But whats odd is why ssb and ft8 or rtty ok on 17 but not cw?
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On Aug 7, 2020, at 8:58 PM, Kent Trimble, K9ZTV <k9ztv@...> wrote:
? Barry ...
What antenna are you using on 17?
On Aug 7, 2020, at 2:45 PM, Barry < barplo@...> wrote: Kent,
Did you resolve the swaying? tree problem?
I? am only having it go into bypass mode now on 17m CW. 17m Digital is fine. 17m? SSB is fine. What would cause it to only go? ?into bypass mode on? CW, 17m only?
Barry
VE6UM
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Barry,
When you say “now,” what did you change that made things better?
Kent ?K9ZTV
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On Aug 8, 2020, at 12:41 AM, Barry < barplo@...> wrote: Inverted vee. Im considering it could be an antenna issue. But whats odd is why ssb and ft8 or rtty ok on 17 but not cw? On Aug 7, 2020, at 8:58 PM, Kent Trimble, K9ZTV <k9ztv@...> wrote:
? Barry ...
What antenna are you using on 17?
On Aug 7, 2020, at 2:45 PM, Barry < barplo@...> wrote: Kent,
Did you resolve the swaying? tree problem?
I? am only having it go into bypass mode now on 17m CW. 17m Digital is fine. 17m? SSB is fine. What would cause it to only go? ?into bypass mode on? CW, 17m only?
Barry
VE6UM
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As I have reported before, I am also having this issue, but in my case it is only in digital modes. I can run SSB without issue, low or high power, but if I try to do a digital mode it will eventually kick out. I am only running about 100-150 watts into an end-fed long wire, but it also will do it at times into a dummy load. Also using a data cable, latest firmware. nothing helps. Palstar has no answer either.
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Kent,?
All i was asking is if you resolved your tree swaying issue. Your now asking me a question in reply and expect an answer?
How does that work?
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On Aug 7, 2020, at 1:45 PM, Barry via groups.io <barplo@...> wrote:
?Kent,
Did you resolve the swaying? tree problem?
I? am only having it go into bypass mode now on 17m CW. 17m Digital is fine. 17m? SSB is fine. What would cause it to only go? ?into bypass mode on? CW, 17m only?
Barry
VE6UM
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Kent,?
2 questions answered as a matter of fact. When i say now, that means, since i used a serial cable to the back of the amp using direct mode. Thats what now means. Since going direct mode.
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On Aug 8, 2020, at 8:56 AM, Barry Ploof <barplo@...> wrote:
? Kent,?
All i was asking is if you resolved your tree swaying issue. Your now asking me a question in reply and expect an answer?
How does that work? On Aug 7, 2020, at 1:45 PM, Barry via groups.io <barplo@...> wrote:
?Kent,
Did you resolve the swaying? tree problem?
I? am only having it go into bypass mode now on 17m CW. 17m Digital is fine. 17m? SSB is fine. What would cause it to only go? ?into bypass mode on? CW, 17m only?
Barry
VE6UM
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The swaying is not a major issue except in high wind gusts. ?
I’m leaning toward the belief that the LA-1K is susceptible to momentary SWR spikes that happen so fast they can only be detected (in my shack, anyway) by viewing videos of the LA-1K’s display on a frame-by-frame basis. ?I have a capture that shows this happening at the same moment the HF-AUTO is displaying a steady 1.04 SWR. ?If the cause is CMC I would think it would be detected by the HF-AUTO before the LA-1K. ?It occurs most frequently at 1000 watts; less frequently at 500 watts; and seldom if ever at 100 watts. ?FW is 1.07B. ?Antenna is an OCFD with numerous chokes on feed-line and interconnecting cables.
Your statement that “I? am only having it go into bypass mode now on 17m CW” implies it previously went into bypass mode on other than 17m CW. ?That’s why I was asking in order to have more information before answering.?
Kent ?K9ZTV
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On Aug 8, 2020, at 9:56 AM, Barry < barplo@...> wrote: Kent,?
All i was asking is if you resolved your tree swaying issue. Your now asking me a question in reply and expect an answer?
How does that work? On Aug 7, 2020, at 1:45 PM, Barry via <barplo@...> wrote:
?Kent,
Did you resolve the swaying? tree problem?
I? am only having it go into bypass mode now on 17m CW. 17m Digital is fine. 17m? SSB is fine. What would cause it to only go? ?into bypass mode on? CW, 17m only?
Barry
VE6UM
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Thank you for reply. ? I think your correct. ? Im going to investigate my 17m antenna further. ? 73 ?
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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Kent Trimble, K9ZTV
Sent: August 8, 2020 1:43 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [la1k] SWR High SSB ONLY - When Using LA-1K Amp? The swaying is not a major issue except in high wind gusts. ? I’m leaning toward the belief that the LA-1K is susceptible to momentary SWR spikes that happen so fast they can only be detected (in my shack, anyway) by viewing videos of the LA-1K’s display on a frame-by-frame basis. ?I have a capture that shows this happening at the same moment the HF-AUTO is displaying a steady 1.04 SWR. ?If the cause is CMC I would think it would be detected by the HF-AUTO before the LA-1K. ?It occurs most frequently at 1000 watts; less frequently at 500 watts; and seldom if ever at 100 watts. ?FW is 1.07B. ?Antenna is an OCFD with numerous chokes on feed-line and interconnecting cables. Your statement that “I? am only having it go into bypass mode now on 17m CW” implies it previously went into bypass mode on other than 17m CW. ?That’s why I was asking in order to have more information before answering.?
On Aug 8, 2020, at 9:56 AM, Barry <barplo@...> wrote:
Kent,? All i was asking is if you resolved your tree swaying issue. Your now asking me a question in reply and expect an answer?
How does that work? ?
On Aug 7, 2020, at 1:45 PM, Barry via <barplo@...> wrote: ?Kent,
Did you resolve the swaying? tree problem?
I? am only having it go into bypass mode now on 17m CW. 17m Digital is fine. 17m? SSB is fine. What would cause it to only go? ?into bypass mode on? CW, 17m only?
Barry
VE6UM
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Paul