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PA Current Meter for 6xxx

Mick W8BE
Mick W8BE Member ✭✭
edited September 7 in SmartSDR API

I see in the 3.10.10 change log that a fix has been applied to 6xxx regarding the pa current..

SMART-11281 Fixed a PA issue with 6000 Series Radios where milliamps were not being converted correctly to amps

I assume this is related to the pa current meter…

{"src":"RAD","num":300,"nam":"PACURRENT","low":0,"hi":10,"desc":"PA current","unit":"Amps","fps":0,"topic":"RAD/300/PACURRENT"}

I did a test on my 6600 to see what the pa current values were after the upgrade. When the radio is not in xmit I see a value of 8.45 which I assume it 8.45 amps. I then keyed up the radio into a dummy load at about 80 watts output and the meter now shows 0. I then backed of the power output to 10 watts and keyed up and see 2.82.

None of this makes any sense. I would assume I would see more current draw when I am transmitting but according to the meter values I see that is not the case.

So is the pa current meter actually working now with 3.10.10 on 6xxx? Is there a conversion I need to do to apply in order to get accurate pa current values? The wiki does show a conversion..

image.png

When I ran the conversion using the formula it takes the 8.45 value from the meter and converts it to 2163.2. If that is milliamps then converting it to amps I get 2.1632 amps. That seems reasonable to me. However if I transmit at 75 watts out the value comes back as 10 which is only 2.56amps converted. Either I am doing something wrong with the conversion or the meter is not working correctly.

Regards

Comments

  • johnn1jm
    johnn1jm Member ✭✭✭
    edited September 7

    I have a similar situation with my 6600. Using Flex Meter utility, in receive PA current is 9 amps ( not sure how accurate this utility is). Transmitting at about 10 to 100 watts it goes to 10 amps Below 10 watts PA current is zero. I can't believe PA current is 9 amps just sitting in receive. My 6400 shows no current in receive and appropriate current at whatever transmit power out. As a side note main fan speed is 1400 rpm which I think is rather high sometimes dipping to 1200 rpm. But with all this it works fine.

  • Mick W8BE
    Mick W8BE Member ✭✭

    if the value range was from 0 - 100 then the conversions would make sense… 8.45 is about 2 amps and 100 would be about 27 amps. I find it hard to believe that this was actually tested before the release.

  • johnn1jm
    johnn1jm Member ✭✭✭

    There has been no response from someone connected to Flex. I think I will put in a HelpDsk Ticket and see what they say.

  • Mick W8BE
    Mick W8BE Member ✭✭

    John

    Did you submit a help desk ticket?

  • johnn1jm
    johnn1jm Member ✭✭✭
    edited September 9

    I haven't had a chance today. I just submitted it.

  • johnn1jm
    johnn1jm Member ✭✭✭

    Mick: It's been elevated to the software group. You might submit one too so they know there is more than one with a similar issue.

    John N1JM

  • Mick W8BE
    Mick W8BE Member ✭✭

    Will do…thanks

  • Mick W8BE
    Mick W8BE Member ✭✭

    John, I just submitted the ticket.

    Regards

  • johnn1jm
    johnn1jm Member ✭✭✭

    Mike

    Any response from Flex? They told me they found a similar problem and are working on it.

    John N1JM

  • Mick W8BE
    Mick W8BE Member ✭✭

    Eric did respond and indicate they found an issue. I ran my tests again into a dummy load and shared with Eric. He indicated it was helpful. It is obvious it is not working as they thought and I assume they will have a new code for in the next 3.x.x release. Here is my test results…

    rx only :   value fluctuates…

    ?name=image.png

     

    tx (10 watts):  

    ?name=image.png

    tx (50 watts):  

    ?name=image.png

    tx (75 watts):  

    ?name=image.png
  • johnn1jm
    johnn1jm Member ✭✭✭

    Mick

    Thanks for the response. Thankfully it's just a metering issue. Otherwise my 6600 works great.

    John N1JM

  • Mick W8BE
    Mick W8BE Member ✭✭

    I got a response from Eric today.

    The PA Current meter that was added was for the FLEX-8000 series, but wasn't marked as such.  Due to this, it shows up for the FLEX-6000 series radios, but has invalid data.  As such, it will be removed from the FLEX-6000 series in a future release. 

    Regards

  • johnn1jm
    johnn1jm Member ✭✭✭

    Thanks. Got the same response today.

  • johnn1jm
    johnn1jm Member ✭✭✭

    Yes. No PA current for my 6000 radio with .15. I have an 8600 coming and see what the PA current will be for that.

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