> Were you planning to add the Tuner Genius (TGXL) too? The PGXL is a
> broadband solid-state amp, so it really needs an external tuner unless all
> of your SWRs are pretty low.
The PGXL will not reduce power until the SWR exceeds 2:1. I can confirm
this to be true with my imperfect antennas.
The SPE amplifiers reduce power beginning at an SWR of 1.5:1.
73,
Steve, N2IC
On Mon, Jan 13, 2025 at 9:19 PM Bob Wilson, N6TV <n6tv@arrl.net> wrote:
> Mike,
>
> A recent (or the latest?) release of the PGXL firmware requires 25 ms (!)
> of PTT Lead Time, otherwise you get an "RF Early < 25ms!" message from the
> amp if RF input is detected less than 25 ms after the RELAY input is
> switched to ground. This means you will have to use a PTT Lead Time
> setting in logging software of 30 ms or so, and never use the internal
> keyer of the radio with VOX (most radios provide far less PTT lead time;
> the IC-7410 default PTT lead time is worth checking with a scope since the
> menu has no TX Delay adjustment). SSB VOX may be OK, but it may generate
> RF Early as well. K3 has a TX DLY setting but it can make external keying
> sound poor, especially if set to the max value. If you enable CW QRQ mode
> in the K3, the PTT lead time drops to 4 ms (way too short for amp), and the
> TX DLY setting is ignored. Again, use keyer or software PTT to get around
> this.
>
> Were you planning to add the Tuner Genius (TGXL) too? The PGXL is a
> broadband solid-state amp, so it really needs an external tuner unless all
> of your SWRs are pretty low.
>
> The TGXL tuner wants to have its PTT IN / OUT connectors in series between
> the rig and the PGXL, to open the amp's key line when the TGXL is tuning,
> but this delays amp relay closure by an additional 6-8 ms for *every* PTT
> closure, so you get even more RF Early warnings unless you increase the
> logging software PTT delay to 35 ms or so. Note that a dot at 40 WPM is
> only 30 ms long. And if you don't use the PTT jacks of the TGXL, it
> complains "No PTT!" when it detects RF.
>
> The PGXL amp does not support ALC feedback to the rig at all, so it cannot
> tell the rig to back off the power via fast analog feedback. It does have
> an APC (Automatic Power Control) system that reduces amp gain when output
> power exceeds 1800W. I don't think it's smart enough to send commands to
> tell an Icom or Elecraft rig to back off the drive power.
>
> The IC-7410 does not have an RS-232 connector. Connect the PGXL CI-V jack
> to IC-7410 REMOTE jack via standard audio cable (3.5mm male to 3.5mm
> male). The PGXL does not have a legacy Icom "Band Voltage" (Icom Band
> Data) input, so switching bands may be a bit slower than you would like.
>
> PGXL band changes by K3 or K3S Band Data pins will be much faster, but even
> though the K3 ACC and PGXL BCD jacks use the same 15-pin connector, they do
> not use the same pins, so you'll need a custom cable (I can provide this if
> needed). But, the TGXL tuner needs *frequency*, not just band, so it will
> not auto tune well unless it gets frequency via RS-232 (RF sensing is too
> slow). The K3 RS-232 line will be in use by your logging software, so you
> have to use RS-232 "listen only" mode to switch the TGXL (TXD pin open).
> The Serial Box (S-BOX) handles this if you don't want to build your own
> special RS-232 Y-cable. Unfortunately, when connected this way, the TGXL
> will stop tracking whenever the logging software stops running.
>
> Another option to consider is pair of Elecraft KPA1500s, which include a
> built-in automatic tuner, automatically track Icom via CI-V, or Elecraft K3
> via AUXBUS, and can be keyed with as little as 5 ms of PTT delay, with
> completely silent QSK. The IC-7410 power overshoot problem could still
> cause it to back off drive power (soft "overdrive" fault) or fault into
> STBY if overshoot is excessive.
>
> More comments interspersed below.
>
> 73,
> Bob, N6TV
> https://bit.ly/S-BOX
> https://bit.ly/Y-BOX
>
> On Mon, Jan 13, 2025 at 6:29 PM Andy Blank <andyn2nt@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > IE: I run a pair of IC-7410 Icoms (currently, someday I'll upgrade,
> > > probably
> > > to original K3's(non-S's)) and these 7410's are known to have a small
> > > amount
> > > of initial overshoot. How bad, I don't know. It's no longer fixable by
> > > Icom.
> >
>
> See the detailed report by AB4OJ (SK) here:
>
> https://www.ab4oj.com/icom/ic7410/7410notes.pdf
>
> (Search for "overshoot".)
>
> > (related) : TX delay is NOT adjustable like in most modern
> transceivers.(I
> > > use N1MM&YCCC SO2R+ to do the TX delay)?
> >
>
> Correct. You may need to use "PTT by Radio Command" in N1MM rather than
> relying on the WinKey emulation.
>
>
> > > Second question. Is it possible to connect radio "A" to an antenna
> > switch
> > > to feed 6 various antennas, but radio "B" only gets a single antenna or
> > is
> > > there any kind of funny antenna swapping done inside the PGXL like
> > another
> > > popular SS amplifier which won't work for me because of this quirky
> > > feature?
> >
>
> The PGXL only has one antenna output per radio. So connect PGXL Output A
> to your switch, and PGXL Output B to your single antenna. But then Radio B
> will not be able to use any of the other antennas, unless you add more
> external antenna switching such as the Antenna Genius (AGXL), which allows
> any unused antenna to go to either amplifier output. The AGXL also has a
> built-in band decoder, same connectors as PGXL (more splitting required).
>
>
> > > SO2R is not really discussed in the manual. I am not clear on how the
> > > radio(s) and the PGXL would share the same com port, say to N1MMLogger+
> > for
> > > example?
> >
>
> Each radio has its own USB virtual COM port (Icom), or legacy RS-232 port
> (K3). So you tell N1MM which Port is Radio1 and which port is Radio2. The
> RELAY inputs (PGXL has two of them) determine which radio gets amplified.
> If you try to key both radios at the same time, one side is bypassed.
>
> > They're a lot of money to a Canadian, so I want to be sure before I
> finish
> > > saving up $$ and purchase one, it's what will work here, otherwise,
> I'll
> > > just stick to a pair of smaller amps for the time being.
> >
>
> Please let us know what you decide to do.
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