tk 8180k power settings

[robyice]

Hi have a few settings about the power settings, I am trying to make sure my power settings are right as after entering test mode and looking at the values, I feel I am transmitting at to high power.
when looking at high transmit power setting this value its set at 30

I am guessing that means 30w

we have a licence for our frequency's at 10w
so do this mean I should set

Maximum High Transmit Power = 10
High Transmit Power = 10
Maximum Low Transmit Power =5
Low Transmit Power =5

and what is the difference between maximum high transmit power and high transmit power?

 

[jim202]

Hi have a few settings about the power settings, I am trying to make sure my power settings are right as after entering test mode and looking at the values, I feel I am transmitting at to high power.
when looking at high transmit power setting this value its set at 30

I am guessing that means 30w

we have a licence for our frequency's at 10w
so do this mean I should set

Maximum High Transmit Power = 10
High Transmit Power = 10
Maximum Low Transmit Power =5
Low Transmit Power =5

and what is the difference between maximum high transmit power and high transmit power?

Be careful here as the power numbers Kenwood uses in the software settings are not watts.

The only way you can tell for sure what your actual transmitter power is would be using a watt meter on the output connector of the radio. You can use a dummy load on the far side of the watt meter or your normal antenna. If you use the antenna, make sure you look at both the forward and reflected power.

Use a good watt meter and not some CB used watt meter that probably doesn't work well at the frequency your trying to use the radio on.

 

[mmckenna]

Hi have a few settings about the power settings, I am trying to make sure my power settings are right as after entering test mode and looking at the values, I feel I am transmitting at to high power.
when looking at high transmit power setting this value its set at 30

I am guessing that means 30w

You need an accurate power meter and a dummy load to set this, don't go off the numbers.

we have a licence for our frequency's at 10w
so do this mean I should set

Maximum High Transmit Power = 10
High Transmit Power = 10
Maximum Low Transmit Power =5
Low Transmit Power =5

Your license should specify if that is 10 watts ERP or TPO.
ERP = Effective Radiated Power. That includes:
Radio RF output power
- feed line/filter losses
+ antenna gain.
Your system needs to be designed and set up to not exceed the allowed ERP specified on your license, if that is what it specifies.

TPO = Transmitter Output Power, or what the radio puts out of the rear antenna connector. If your license specifies that, you need to set up the radio accordingly.

 

[robyice]

Thanks for that I will check, can you tel me what the difference is between
Maximum High Transmit Power & High Transmit Power
Maximum Low Transmit Power & Low Transmit Power

 

[buddrousa]

As stated in the Kenwood TK 8180 Service Manual you are to only make adjustments with radio connected to a watt meter and dummy load. Any changes made in the software could turn out to be very expensive if you have to take it to a shop. Unless you have a desk full of service monitors af generator dvm and other tools in the service manual making changes other than programming is very dangerous.

 

[mmckenna]

Thanks for that I will check, can you tel me what the difference is between
Maximum High Transmit Power & High Transmit Power
Maximum Low Transmit Power & Low Transmit Power

There are a couple of settings:
Max high power adjust, sets maximum high RF power output.
Max low power adjust, sets the maximum low RF power output.
High power adjust sets the high power and is set in relation to maximum DC amperage draw.
Low power adjust sets the low power and is set in relation to maximum DC amperage draw.

You'd need the full service manual as well as the correct tools and test equipment to do this properly. Getting it set wrong can cause some major issues as well as the radio operating outside specs.

 

[robyice]

But if I use an swr meter and slowly adjust the output until the approx output was reached should be fine?

 

[mmckenna]

No, not necessarily. Some radios can go unstable if you take them too low. Some Motorola's were notorious for this. I'm not sure about these Kenwood's, but you can risk causing some real issues.

An SWR meter isn't enough. The match of the antenna will impact the output power. You really need to use a proper 50 ohm load with a power meter. You'd need a ammeter, too.

 

[buddrousa]

Like I stated you need the service manual and all the tools the service manual lists. You can cause the radio to draw more current than it was designed. You can cause several things to stop working there are 52 pages for setting up a tk8180 radio they have to be followed for a reason.

 

[robyice]

Like I stated you need the service manual and all the tools the service manual lists. You can cause the radio to draw more current than it was designed. You can cause several things to stop working there are 52 pages for setting up a tk8180 radio they have to be followed for a reason.

well considering I have the manual and the manual is 85 pages long and 11 pages are to do with adjusting the setting, the power settings are only really mentioned in a very few places page 38, 39 and 40 for instance

and seems to me you only need an ampmeter to measure the power going in to radio and an rf power meter with 50 omh dummy load.

so I just used to the amp meter to make sure why setting low power it was under was under 5 amp from memory think it was pulling 3.7 and adjusted the max high power signal until it said 7w on my UHF power meter
then adjusted the low power until it said 5w
then set max high until I got 15w and then set high power to 10w

and everything seems to be working fine.

one thing that I found unclear is whats the difference between max high power and high power, from adjusting the settings I kind of got the feeling that the max high power set the maximum output the radio was capable of, and the max power just seemed to give you a % of this value as seemed to have to set this value much than the max power to still be getting a lower watt out.