6600 + Maestro driving New SPE 1.5-FA which suddenly says 1w PEP output ! :-(

WC6Y

Paul - K6HR

Mike-VA3MW

WC6Y

Paul - K6HR

Is the correct input chosen on the SPE? 

WC6Y

Yes. Physically the connections are as described. Logically, in the SPE Antenna table, all the Bank B settings are No (since I don't have a second location) The Bank A settings are all "1" for 80, 40, 30, 20, 17, 15, 12 & 10 and "No" (i.e. no antenna) for 160, 60 & 6. Front panel SPE display shows "Ant 1" and "Bnk A"

Rick - W5FCX

Verify that TX1 is set on the bands settings dialogue- the one with the rows and columns of checkboxes.

WC6Y

Thanks for the idea. Yes TX1, TX2, TX3 & ACC TX are all checked for all bands. Also, RF PWR is set appropriately (automatically by the SPE) to match the exciter power levels set in the SPE. Tune power is set at 10 for all bands. No other boxes are checked.

WC6Y

Having no luck beating the Montenegro pileup barefoot ;-(

K3SF

WC6Y

Bob K8RC

WC6Y

Thanks, I'll see if I can borrow a 2K dummy load and try out your idea.

EA4GLI

This totally sucks, sorry, but it loos like a busted SPE. Do you have a spare radio to test the amp without the flex? But you are describing the finals on the SPE being gone.

Alan

Erik Carling EI4KF

Have you looked at the protection alarms log for the 1.5? Maybe there was one that you missed while you were absent.

WC6Y

Thanks for the idea. The alarm log just had "SWR exceeded limits" messages which have been occurring periodically (and mysteriously to me) for some time. Unfortunately no time/date stamp. As I've note earlier, everything I can measure SWR-wise is well under 2:1 - so these messages seem anomalous to me.

WC6Y

This is my great fear! No spare radio for now. I'll speak w Bob Hardie W5UQ the USA distributor on Monday.

WC6Y

Lawrence Kellar KB5ZZB

The new Finals in the 1.5 are supposed to be more robust than previous versions of the amp. I have a 2K-FA and a 1.3K-FA so I’m curious what you find out

WC6Y

Bob Hardie just happened to check his business email over the weekend. After I reported the current (.4A) and voltage (54v) to the PA, he told me to send him the SPE. In response to my "is this a warranty repair?" he said he would put it on the bench and see. He suspected that the log was full of "SWR overage messages". It was, but as I've described, I'm not sure why - I've treated the SPE with kid gloves. Will keep this thread updated after Thanksgiving when the amp comes back.

WC6Y

Bill -VA3WTB

WC6Y

I don't see that the SPE manual specifies a maximum input power. Since the Flex does not support the analog ALC signal provided by the SPE, the manual suggests starting with a low drive value (e.g. 10 watts) and working one's way up until the proper output power is obtained so as to not overdrive the amp. This I did. I'm using 25 - 29 watts for Max power depending upon the band. When Bob repeated the tests using his exciter on 15m, he used 37 watts to obtain 1520 watts out of the SPE.

Lawrence Kellar KB5ZZB

ALC overshoot?

WC6Y

I don’t know, please describe further. How would this occur?

EA4GLI

Thanks for getting back to us with the update. As "luck" will have it, I just sent my 1.5k to Italy. Very similar problem to yours. I am afraid there is something wrong with the way the 1.5k handles the input power as I am aware of at least 2 other hams who had to send theirs for repairs with same problem. I just don't have any other information and spe is very quiet about the issue. Previous 1k and 1.3k have been rock solid for years. My guess right now is that the protection circuit on the 1.5k is just not fast enough. My recommendation is to not exceed 15 20w input power and deal with the gain the PA can provide, and avoid pushing it to get any "extra" power. You should still be very close to legal limit. I would also add 50 to 100ms to the TX delay in the Flex menu. I had mine with 50,but it wasn't enough or it didn't stop it from failing in my case. Take my advice with a grain of salt. Someone mentioned to me that the Flex with the DX and DX+ Proc options "spikes"... [sic] This is something I have not been able to test neither has it been proven to me. In your case it failed with cw so that is not the cause. People report issues with the 1.5k +icom 7851 + ALC = distortion in the tx voice. So there is definitely something not properly designed in the 1.5k It could be a Flex thing.... However, the other persons I know that have sent their spe 1.5k for repair were not using flex transceivers... So I am inclined right now to put the blame on the 1.5k. I still like the convenience of the spe amp. I have been looking at alternative options in the market while I wait for it to get back from tech. support, but I just can't find anything that is as convenient, practical, small, etc... as the spe. So we will have to wait and eventually find out what is wrong. I take very good care of my gear and have been using the Flex + Spe combo for many years without issues. I don't think we, the users, are the problem. FYI, I have a version 2 of the 1.5k and use a 6700, optibeam and ultrabeam antenas.

Paul - K6HR

One last thought. My SPE had similar issues when I first set it up. It turned out that I had a bad Ground connection. Is your SPE tied into your station ground? Is your station ground a 'low impedance' ground system? My SPE did not act right, so I rebuilt my station grounding and the SPE has not tripped since 2+ years now...

EA4GLI

Hi Paul. What was your grounding solution? Common ground with other equipment?

WC6Y

Hmmm - maybe. Ham shack is a new location on the ground floor. The subfloor was torn up for another reason, I installed a 10' ground rod under the desk and brought up a 4" x 6' copper strap into the hamshack. This ground rod is attached to the Service entrance ground rods by 80' #10AWG wire. The 6600 ground lug is attached to the copper strap by 12' (this could be shorter) of ¾" braid. The SPE is connected to the 6600 ground lug by 8' #10AWG. There are other ground rods for the antennas that are in a star configuration from the Service Entrance ground rods. Thoughts? Anyone see ground loops etc?

How do you recommend I measure the impedance of my ground system?

Bill -VA3WTB