Elecraft power combo

dynamicfusion
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Joined: Thu Oct 14, 2021 5:23 am

Elecraft power combo

Postby dynamicfusion » Tue Apr 26, 2022 8:42 am

If I were to purchase the elecraft power combo KPA500 + KTA tuner, what are my options to get the band follow feature to function as it did with my kenwood 890? I have a USB to serial adapter elecraft send, and all the interfacing cables used to work with the kenwood. Does the "OC" port on the back get used? Is it done through the computer? Thx
Mike
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2017 6:42 am

Re: Elecraft power combo

Postby Mike » Tue Apr 26, 2022 9:55 am

Use DDUtil V 3.2.5.01 to provide interface and on screen display.

Mike G8ALS
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w-u-2-o
Posts: 5539
Joined: Fri Mar 10, 2017 1:47 pm

Re: Elecraft power combo

Postby w-u-2-o » Tue Apr 26, 2022 12:01 pm

It is best done through the computer. Remember that Thetis is 90% of the radio, and certainly the brains of it all.

Disclaimer: I've done this a bit differently, and only with the KPA500, not the KAT500, so some of this is a bit of a guess...

Elecraft equipment knows nothing about Thetis (or PowerSDR). Luckily the Thetis CAT interface also supports the important Kenwood commands. So you will set both the KPA and KAT to expect Kenwood commands at whatever baud rate you decide upon. Baud rate is not important as long as it matches in Thetis, the KPA and the KAT. In Thetis simply choose a CAT instance in setup, pick the correct port, pick the baud rate you want, and also choose parity none, data 8, stop 1, and enable. To find the correct port you'll have to plug in the USB to serial cable, get it set up with the correct driver, and see that it creates a new serial port in the Windows Device Manager.

Also, the KPA and the KAT do not poll for the information they need, so you will have to enable the "Allow Kenwood AI Command" in Thetis so that Thetis will send the appropriate messages whenever the VFO is changed.

Now the hard part: the cabling.

This is the big guess part. The Kenwood USB to serial cable should work just like it shows in Figure 6 of the KAT500 manual if you can identify the correct software driver for the PC. I'd just plug it in and try it. If it doesn't load the correct driver automatically, don't be shy, contact Elecraft and see if they can direct you to the correct driver software. They truly do like to support their customers.

I'm going to suggest going this route, including calling Elecraft if necessary, before charging down more complicated roads like making your own cables. Especially because I suspect the KPA500 RS232(XCVR) and KAT500 PC Data ports use TTL serial, not truly RS232 levels. Hence the special Kenwood USB to serial cable.

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