Elecraft KPA500 User Manual

ELECRAFT KPA500 PROGRAMMERʼS REFERENCE

Name

Description

Name

Description

^AL

ALC Threshold

^OS

STBY/OP Mode Selection

^AR

Atten Fault Release Time

^PJ

Power Adjustment

^BC

STBY on Band Change

^RVM

Firmware Version

^BN

Band Selection

^SN

Serial Number

^BRP

PC Port RS232 Data Rate

^SP

Speaker On/Off

^BRX

XCVR Port RS232 Data Rate

^TM

PA Temperature

^DMO

Demo Mode

^TR

T/R Delay Time

^FC

Fan Minimum Control

^VI

PA Voltage and Current

^FL

Fault value

^WS

Power / SWR

^NH

INHIBIT input control

^XI

Radio Interface Selection

^ON

Power Status/Control

Rev. A2 (See Appendix for change history)

Command Set Overview

The KPA500 provides a set of remote-control commands to control most functions and to allow
monitoring of the amplifier.

Command Format

Commands sent from the computer to the KPA500 are considered either GETs or SETs. GET commands
are used by the computer to get information from the KPA500; the KPA500 will then provide an
appropriate response message (RSP). SET commands are sent by the computer to change the instrument's
configuration or initiate an event. Commands with an incorrect format or an out-of-range parameter are
ignored. A SET can be followed by a GET to verify the new settings.

SET commands use 2 or 3 characters, optional data fields, and a terminating semicolon (;). Examples:

^BN05; ! Computer selects xxm band
^OS1;! Computer sets OPER mode in KPA500.

Many SET commands have a corresponding GET command, which is just the command letters with no
data, plus the semicolon. The data format of the response message from the KPA500 (RSP) is usually
identical to the format of the SET data. Exceptions are noted in the command descriptions.

Characters sent to the KPA500 can be in either upper or lower case. The KPA500 always responds with
upper case. The KPA500 will respond to a null command, containing only a ‘;’ by echoing the ‘;’
character. This may be useful to make sure the PC is communicating with the KPA500.

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Command Reference

This section describes all KPA500 GET, SET and RSP (response) command formats. Unless otherwise
noted, the GET format is just the 2 or 3 letters of the command followed by a semicolon. The SET and
RSP data formats are identical unless otherwise noted. All commands must be followed by a semicolon
except where noted.

^AL" (ALC Threshold, GET/SET)

SET/RSP format: ^ALnnn; where nnn is the ALC setting with range of 0 to 210. The ALC value is saved
on a per-band basis for the current band. The response indicates the setting for the current band.

^AR" (Attenuator Fault Release Time, GET/SET)

SET/RSP format: ^ARnnnn; where nnnn is the attenuation timeout value in milliSeconds with range of
1400 to 5000 milliSeconds.

^BC" (STBY on Band Change, GET/SET)

SET/RSP format: ^BCn; where n = 1 to stay in STBY after band change, or n = 0 to return to previous
state prior to band change (STBY or OPER).

^BN" (Band Selection, GET/SET)

SET/RSP format: ^BNnn; where nn = the band. nn can have the following values:

00 = 160m, 01 = 80m, 02 = 60m, 03 = 40m, 04 = 30m, 05 = 20m,
06 = 17m, 07 = 15m, 08 = 12m, 09 = 10m, 10 = 6m

All other values are ignored.

^BRP" (RS232 PC port data rate, GET/SET)

SET/RSP format: ^BRPn; where n = the data rate selector. n can have the value:

0 = 4800, 1 = 9600, 2 = 19200, 3 = 38400

Remember to change the data rate of the PC immediately after changing this value to assure continued
communications with the KPA500.

^BRX" (RS232 XCVR port data rate, GET/SET)

SET/RSP format: ^BRXn; where n = the data rate selector. n can have the value:

0 = 4800, 1 = 9600, 2 = 19200, 3 = 38400.

^DMO" (DEMO mode, GET/SET)

SET/RSP format: ^DMOn; where n = 1 for DEMO mode enabled, n = 0 for normal operation.

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