{"id":38141,"date":"2019-06-09T07:39:20","date_gmt":"2019-06-09T11:39:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=38141"},"modified":"2019-06-09T11:21:34","modified_gmt":"2019-06-09T15:21:34","slug":"hamvention-highlights-the-polar-explorer-500-watt-transmitter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/06\/hamvention-highlights-the-polar-explorer-500-watt-transmitter\/","title":{"rendered":"Hamvention Highlights: The Polar Explorer 500 watt transmitter"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Each year at the Dayton Hamvention I enjoy checking out the latest radio products and services. This year (2019) I found an exceptional number of innovations and will share these in Hamvention Highlights posts. If you would like to check out 2019 Hamvention Highlights as I publish them, bookmark this tag:\u00a02019 Hamvention Highlights<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

The Polar Explorer<\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Compared to others, the Polar Explorer<\/strong> booth at the 2019 Hamvention was quite modest. As you can see in Polex Technology photo [at the top of this page], they only had an Elecraft KX3, a laptop, and their Polar Explorer on the table.<\/p>\n

So what is the Polar Explorer exactly?<\/p>\n

At first blush, the Polar Explorer looks like a 500 watt amplifier, but then you notice that it has both a microphone and key connected directly to it. The Polar Explorer also has a color backlit screen\/display–and the one at the 2019 Hamention was attached to an Elecraft KX3<\/a> QRP Transceiver.<\/p>\n

Turns out the Polar Explorer isn’t an amplifier at all–it’s an external 500 watt transmitter. As noted on the Polar Explorer website<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The Polar Explorer is a breakthrough in transmitter design which brings much higher efficiency to SSB and CW transmitters. Most ‘linear’ amplifiers run at around 55 to 60% efficiency, which means a lot of extra power supply capacity is required, along with extra cooling and dissipation capacity. By increasing efficiency, The Polar Explorer significantly reduces power supply requirements as well as cooling. From this, significant reductions in cost, size, and weight can be realized for a given power output level.<\/p>\n

[…]The Polar Explorer interfaces to your transceiver using the CAT interface to obtain frequency and mode information. It automatically follows the transceiver as you QSY or change modes. Your transceiver never transmits; The Polar Explorer handles those functions, and includes a T\/R relay to protect your transceiver.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

By connecting your transceiver to the Polar Explorer, you’re essentially bypassing and delegating the transmitter portion of your transceiver to it. Your transceiver still provides the receiver section and full interface\/user experience–the Polar Explorer provides the muscle.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Note that the Polar Explorer is a project in development<\/em>. I know that at least initially it has been designed to interface with the Elecraft KX3, but I imagine additional compatible transceivers will be added in due time.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

At the 2019 Hamvention, the company was seeking beta testers that would be willing to pay for the Polar Explorer–essentially in kit form–at cost. If all goes well, they hope to finish all beta testing by the end of the year and potentially start production in early 2020.<\/p>\n

As for the price, I don’t think they have a firm number yet, so I would either contact them directly or watch their website<\/a> for updates.<\/p>\n

If you’re interested in becoming a beta tester or learning more about the Polar Explorer, I encourage you to check out the Polex Technologies website!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Do you enjoy the SWLing Post?<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

Please consider supporting us via\u00a0Patreon<\/span><\/a>\u00a0or our\u00a0Coffee<\/span>\u00a0Fund<\/span><\/a>! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Your support makes articles like this one possible. Thank you!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each year at the Dayton Hamvention I enjoy checking out the latest radio products and services. This year (2019) I found an exceptional number of innovations and will share these in Hamvention Highlights posts. If you would like to check out 2019 Hamvention Highlights as I publish them, bookmark this tag:\u00a02019 Hamvention Highlights The Polar […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[545,836,3],"tags":[7794,4102,1150,7818,7819,7820,7821],"class_list":["post-38141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ham-radio","category-new-products","category-news","tag-2019-hamvention-highlights","tag-ham-radio","tag-hamvention","tag-polar-explorer","tag-polar-explorer-transmitter","tag-polex-technologies","tag-transmitters"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-9Vb","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":38010,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/05\/hamvention-highlights-affordable-diversity-reception-with-the-sdrplay-rspduo\/","url_meta":{"origin":38141,"position":0},"title":"Hamvention Highlights: Affordable diversity reception with the SDRplay RSPduo","author":"Thomas","date":"May 31, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Each year at the Dayton Hamvention I enjoy checking out the latest radio products and services. This year (2019) I found an exceptional number of innovations and will share these in Hamvention Highlights posts. If you would like to check out 2019 Hamvention Highlights as I publish them, bookmark this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/9DE5153D-D28A-4B35-9291-E9673D9E02D0-e1559298699129-768x1024.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/9DE5153D-D28A-4B35-9291-E9673D9E02D0-e1559298699129-768x1024.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/9DE5153D-D28A-4B35-9291-E9673D9E02D0-e1559298699129-768x1024.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":37987,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/05\/hamvention-highlights-the-palstar-tr-30a-emp-an-emp-hardened-hf-transceiver\/","url_meta":{"origin":38141,"position":1},"title":"Hamvention Highlights: The Palstar TR-30A EMP, an EMP-hardened HF transceiver","author":"Thomas","date":"May 29, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Each year at the Dayton Hamvention I enjoy checking out the latest radio products and services. This year (2019) I found an exceptional number of innovations and will share these in Hamvention Highlights posts. If you would like to check out 2019 Hamvention Highlights as I publish them, bookmark this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_3363.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_3363.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_3363.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_3363.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":38035,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/06\/hamvention-highlights-the-qrp-labs-qsx-10-watt-general-coverage-low-cost-hf-transceiver-kit\/","url_meta":{"origin":38141,"position":2},"title":"Hamvention Highlights: The QRP Labs QSX 10 watt, general coverage, low-cost HF transceiver kit","author":"Thomas","date":"June 4, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Each year at the Dayton Hamvention I enjoy checking out the latest radio products and services. This year (2019) I found an exceptional number of innovations and will share these in Hamvention Highlights posts. If you would like to check out 2019 Hamvention Highlights as I publish them, bookmark this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Kits"","block_context":{"text":"Kits","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/kits\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/QRP-Labs-QSX-Transceiver-6.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/QRP-Labs-QSX-Transceiver-6.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/QRP-Labs-QSX-Transceiver-6.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/QRP-Labs-QSX-Transceiver-6.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":37996,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/05\/hamvention-highlights-the-ten-tec-model-588-omni-vii\/","url_meta":{"origin":38141,"position":3},"title":"Hamvention Highlights: The Ten-Tec Model 588+ OMNI VII+","author":"Thomas","date":"May 30, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Each year at the Dayton Hamvention I enjoy checking out the latest radio products and services. This year (2019) I found an exceptional number of innovations and will share these in Hamvention Highlights posts. If you would like to check out 2019 Hamvention Highlights as I publish them, bookmark this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/A590A421-0C78-403A-8A01-431A8296380A-1024x768.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/A590A421-0C78-403A-8A01-431A8296380A-1024x768.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/A590A421-0C78-403A-8A01-431A8296380A-1024x768.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":19106,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/05\/2016-dayton-hamvention-inside-exhibits-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":38141,"position":4},"title":"2016 Dayton Hamvention: Inside Exhibits Photos","author":"Thomas","date":"May 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Most years I attend the Dayton Hamvention, I take photos of the outdoor flea market.\u00a0It's a great opportunity for me to gauge used equipment prices and check out rare finds. This year, I made an effort to take photos of some of the inside exhibitor booths as well.\u00a0Here they are,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hamvention-Inside-Exhibits - 63","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Hamvention-Inside-Exhibits-63-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Hamvention-Inside-Exhibits-63-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Hamvention-Inside-Exhibits-63-1024x576.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":25891,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/2017-hamvention-photos-inside-exhibits\/","url_meta":{"origin":38141,"position":5},"title":"2017 Hamvention photos: Inside Exhibits","author":"Thomas","date":"May 21, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Saturday was another long day at the 2017 Hamvention, but I did have a moment to visit most of the inside exhibit tables. The following photos were taken (in no particular order) in the main Hamvention buildings at the Greene County Fairgrounds. Again, it was especially fun meeting so many\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/2017-Hamvention-Inside-Exhibits-1-of-132-1-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/2017-Hamvention-Inside-Exhibits-1-of-132-1-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/2017-Hamvention-Inside-Exhibits-1-of-132-1-150x150.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/2017-Hamvention-Inside-Exhibits-1-of-132-1-150x150.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/2017-Hamvention-Inside-Exhibits-1-of-132-1-150x150.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38141\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}