Re: [Elecraft] K2 working

[lstavenhagen]

Yes, like I said, I dodged a bullet on this build for sure, hi hi. Here are
two pics of the completed board, the bandpass filter relays is where I did
all the damage but fortunately now it's not even visible and it all seems to
be working. And the toroids came out better in this build than my first K2
also. Some of em look like the builder might have known what he was doing!
sort of.. hi hi.

Final assembly will proceed tomorrow, though I'm not putting any options in
it until I've used it on the air a bit to check it out and burn it in...

73,
LS
W5QD 
 
 



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Re: [Elecraft] K2 working

[Kevin Stover]

Congratulations!
You were ready to make an anchor out of a week ago.

On 4/17/2016 5:28 PM, lstavenhagen wrote:

In case anyone's interested, I just completed my erstwhile dead K2 and it
appears to be in good health on all bands after the final alignment.

Whew... I dodged a bullet on this one lol

The transmitter came out particularly good, ranging from about 11 to 12
watts max on 10M up to around 14W max on 80 (on a 12v 9AH battery). I was
extremely careful with winding the transformers in this rig, T2 in
particular and positioning it above the board a bit as specified, moreso
than in my first K2. So it actually outperforms my first K2 by almost a watt
on 10 and 12M lol. Either that or the first one just needs realigned which
it probably does.

The RX seems to be fine on all bands too according to my XG3.

All that's left is the final assembly and then I'll decide what options to
put in it. But first I need to take it out /p and use it for a bit to make
sure it's all good. I can use my X1 external antenna tuner for that

Anyway, thank goodness. It lives!

Tnx es 73,
LS
W5QD



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AC0H
ARRL
FISTS #11993
SKCC #215
NAQCC #3441


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[Elecraft] K2 working

[lstavenhagen]

In case anyone's interested, I just completed my erstwhile dead K2 and it
appears to be in good health on all bands after the final alignment. 

Whew... I dodged a bullet on this one lol

The transmitter came out particularly good, ranging from about 11 to 12
watts max on 10M up to around 14W max on 80 (on a 12v 9AH battery). I was
extremely careful with winding the transformers in this rig, T2 in
particular and positioning it above the board a bit as specified, moreso
than in my first K2. So it actually outperforms my first K2 by almost a watt
on 10 and 12M lol. Either that or the first one just needs realigned which
it probably does.

The RX seems to be fine on all bands too according to my XG3.

All that's left is the final assembly and then I'll decide what options to
put in it. But first I need to take it out /p and use it for a bit to make
sure it's all good. I can use my X1 external antenna tuner for that

Anyway, thank goodness. It lives!

Tnx es 73,
LS
W5QD



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Re: [Elecraft] K2 working on 40M

[Don Wilhelm]

Garry,

You don't need WWV to do the "N6KR" method - you can use any reference 
signal of known frequency and accuracy.  Subtract the BFO frequency from 
the VFO frequency and that should be the frequency of your reference - 
if it is not, then adjust C22 until that condition is true..  With WWV 
(or any other signal on a xxx0.00 frequency), the math is easy and one 
needs only to match the 3 low order digits in the K2 display.
Note - do not attempt to use 15 meters and above - the VFO and BFO are 
additive on those bands.

73,
Don W3FPR

2rGarry wrote:
> Thank you Don.   I think the most confusing part of all was, I was
> looking for various width settings for the ssb filters.  Eventually I
> came to realize that I had to use the other filters for reduced
> bandwidth for ssb.  After that dawned on me it was relatively easy.
> Or perhaps I still have not got it correct.  Still can't get the
> display on frequency.  I guess I need a decent freq counter.  Can't
> seem to manage with wwv.
>
> cheerio and 73.
>
> Garry
>
> On Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 8:52 PM, Don Wilhelm-4 [via Elecraft]
>  wrote:
>   
>> Garry and all - at least those who are building new K2s.
>>
>> Yes, the filter setup is a bit "tricky", especially when using filter
>> widths wider than 1.00 kHz.  The reason is in the varactors that have
>> shipped with the more recent K2 kits.  What that means is that a filter
>> width that is indicates as 2.00 kHz wide on the K2 may actually be 2.5
>> kHz wide (this is not exact, it all depends on the varactors).  The
>> result of this is that the LSB filter settings listed in the manual will
>> be about right, but the USB settings will be way off.  In other words,
>> the manual settings will give you a workable filter for the lower
>> sideband response, but will not work for the upper sideband (USB, RTTYr,
>> and CWr) settings. (NOTE: the OP1 filter width is not affected by the
>> varactors - there are no varactors on the KSB2 board).
>>
>> The only cure I know is to use Spectrogram or another audio spectrum
>> analyzer to measure the actual width of the filter (in LSB or CW - not
>> CWr -  or RTTY - not RTTYr).  When you use LSB, CW or RTTY, you should
>> be on the lower sideband, and you can change the width without much
>> movement of the lower end of the passband frequency.  After getting the
>> filer width as you like it, then refine the low frequency end of the
>> lower sideband filter (by changing the BFO setting) and then set the USB
>> BFOs to properly place the sideband.
>>
>> If you want specifics on how to set the filters, look at part 3 of the
>> article on K2 Dial Calibration at my website www.w3fpr.com (while you
>> are there, you may just want to go through the entire K2 Dial
>> Calibration procedure which includes adusting the filters.
>> I have not yet updated the webpage information to include how to handle
>> this "varactor problem", but since you can see the passband width on the
>> Spectrogram display, it should be obvious.  Just adjust the width of the
>> filter until the actual width is what you want, and use the K2 display
>> only as a relative indicator.
>>
>> 73,
>> Don W3FPR
>> 
>
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Re: [Elecraft] K2 working on 40M

[2rGarry]

Thank you Don.   I think the most confusing part of all was, I was
looking for various width settings for the ssb filters.  Eventually I
came to realize that I had to use the other filters for reduced
bandwidth for ssb.  After that dawned on me it was relatively easy.
Or perhaps I still have not got it correct.  Still can't get the
display on frequency.  I guess I need a decent freq counter.  Can't
seem to manage with wwv.

cheerio and 73.

Garry

On Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 8:52 PM, Don Wilhelm-4 [via Elecraft]
 wrote:
> Garry and all - at least those who are building new K2s.
>
> Yes, the filter setup is a bit "tricky", especially when using filter
> widths wider than 1.00 kHz.  The reason is in the varactors that have
> shipped with the more recent K2 kits.  What that means is that a filter
> width that is indicates as 2.00 kHz wide on the K2 may actually be 2.5
> kHz wide (this is not exact, it all depends on the varactors).  The
> result of this is that the LSB filter settings listed in the manual will
> be about right, but the USB settings will be way off.  In other words,
> the manual settings will give you a workable filter for the lower
> sideband response, but will not work for the upper sideband (USB, RTTYr,
> and CWr) settings. (NOTE: the OP1 filter width is not affected by the
> varactors - there are no varactors on the KSB2 board).
>
> The only cure I know is to use Spectrogram or another audio spectrum
> analyzer to measure the actual width of the filter (in LSB or CW - not
> CWr -  or RTTY - not RTTYr).  When you use LSB, CW or RTTY, you should
> be on the lower sideband, and you can change the width without much
> movement of the lower end of the passband frequency.  After getting the
> filer width as you like it, then refine the low frequency end of the
> lower sideband filter (by changing the BFO setting) and then set the USB
> BFOs to properly place the sideband.
>
> If you want specifics on how to set the filters, look at part 3 of the
> article on K2 Dial Calibration at my website www.w3fpr.com (while you
> are there, you may just want to go through the entire K2 Dial
> Calibration procedure which includes adusting the filters.
> I have not yet updated the webpage information to include how to handle
> this "varactor problem", but since you can see the passband width on the
> Spectrogram display, it should be obvious.  Just adjust the width of the
> filter until the actual width is what you want, and use the K2 display
> only as a relative indicator.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>
> 2rGarry wrote:
>> Congrats on the K2 receiving on 40.  It's only a month or so back that I
>> finished mine so easy for me to remember the thrill of hitting the switch
>> and having it come up working.  I used mine on cw for a week or so then
>> went
>> on to the ssb board which allows digital modes as well as phone.  Still
>> using it qrp here and may never buy and build the power amp as I have been
>> having a blast with it even on qrp.
>>
>> If you chose the ssb option perhaps you will find as I did that the
>> directions for setting up the filters are somewhat confusing however it
>> will
>> all fall into place eventually.
>>
>> Cheerio, maybe hear you on the air sometime.
>>
>>
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Re: [Elecraft] K2 working on 40M

[Don Wilhelm]

LS,

Great progress.  Congratulations.

Make note that the 4.000 MHz reference oscillator setting that is 
correct may differ slightly from exactly 4.000 MHz - so don't exhaust 
too much effort on getting it 'right on' using any kind of measuring 
device - there is a better way.
After you have your K2 finished, use the "N6KR" method (by Wayne Burdick 
himself) to set the reference oscillator precisely - it requires only 
the internal counter probe and the ability to receive a known frequency 
(like WWV at 10 MHz or 15 MHz) on the K2.  I could not find the not 
locate the document on the Elecraft website a few minutes ago, but it is 
preserved on my website - see http://www.w3fpr.com/n6kr_method.htm for 
the content of Wayne's original reflector post.

While you are going to that trouble, why not do the entire job of 
calibrating the K2 dial reading.  For full information on how to 
accomplish that as well as supplimental information on setting the K2 
filters, look at the atricle on my website www.w3fpr.com dealing with 
Setting the K2 Dial Calibration - the whole procedure is explained there 
including the use of Spectrogram.  The full explanation take longer to 
read than to actually do it - walk through the steps once and the second 
time it will be easy.

73,
Don W3FPR

lstavenhagen wrote:
> Fortunately for the 4.00 mhz oscillator adjustment I have my 706MKIIG which
> is pretty well calibrated via WWV over the years I've owned it, so I have
> been able to get it pretty close there. I may have a go with it again when
> the rig is done using the methods posted on Don's website. 
>
> Mine is CW only and will stay that way so just the CW filter adjustment is
> all I think I'll have to go through. I think I got it pretty close with the
> suggested values in the manual in the section on filter setup.
>
>   
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Re: [Elecraft] K2 working on 40M

[lstavenhagen]

Ok, thanks for the info gentlemen.
I finally ran out of capacitors and resistors last night (thank goodness!)
and seem to be in the last stages of building the transmitter and low pass
filters for the rest of the bands. So I guess it's getting close to being
done. Need to resist the urge to rush now hi hi!

Fortunately for the 4.00 mhz oscillator adjustment I have my 706MKIIG which
is pretty well calibrated via WWV over the years I've owned it, so I have
been able to get it pretty close there. I may have a go with it again when
the rig is done using the methods posted on Don's website. 

Mine is CW only and will stay that way so just the CW filter adjustment is
all I think I'll have to go through. I think I got it pretty close with the
suggested values in the manual in the section on filter setup.

The NB module I'm probably going to order today and I'm now strongly kicking
the idea around of getting the internal antenna tuner. Those should still
keep me busy for a while.

Tnx es 73,
LS
W5QD
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Re: [Elecraft] K2 working on 40M

[Don Wilhelm]

Garry and all - at least those who are building new K2s.

Yes, the filter setup is a bit "tricky", especially when using filter 
widths wider than 1.00 kHz.  The reason is in the varactors that have 
shipped with the more recent K2 kits.  What that means is that a filter 
width that is indicates as 2.00 kHz wide on the K2 may actually be 2.5 
kHz wide (this is not exact, it all depends on the varactors).  The 
result of this is that the LSB filter settings listed in the manual will 
be about right, but the USB settings will be way off.  In other words, 
the manual settings will give you a workable filter for the lower 
sideband response, but will not work for the upper sideband (USB, RTTYr, 
and CWr) settings. (NOTE: the OP1 filter width is not affected by the 
varactors - there are no varactors on the KSB2 board).

The only cure I know is to use Spectrogram or another audio spectrum 
analyzer to measure the actual width of the filter (in LSB or CW - not 
CWr -  or RTTY - not RTTYr).  When you use LSB, CW or RTTY, you should 
be on the lower sideband, and you can change the width without much 
movement of the lower end of the passband frequency.  After getting the 
filer width as you like it, then refine the low frequency end of the 
lower sideband filter (by changing the BFO setting) and then set the USB 
BFOs to properly place the sideband.

If you want specifics on how to set the filters, look at part 3 of the 
article on K2 Dial Calibration at my website www.w3fpr.com (while you 
are there, you may just want to go through the entire K2 Dial 
Calibration procedure which includes adusting the filters.
I have not yet updated the webpage information to include how to handle 
this "varactor problem", but since you can see the passband width on the 
Spectrogram display, it should be obvious.  Just adjust the width of the 
filter until the actual width is what you want, and use the K2 display 
only as a relative indicator.

73,
Don W3FPR

2rGarry wrote:
> Congrats on the K2 receiving on 40.  It's only a month or so back that I
> finished mine so easy for me to remember the thrill of hitting the switch
> and having it come up working.  I used mine on cw for a week or so then went
> on to the ssb board which allows digital modes as well as phone.  Still
> using it qrp here and may never buy and build the power amp as I have been
> having a blast with it even on qrp.
>
> If you chose the ssb option perhaps you will find as I did that the
> directions for setting up the filters are somewhat confusing however it will
> all fall into place eventually.
>
> Cheerio, maybe hear you on the air sometime.
>   
>
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Re: [Elecraft] K2 working on 40M

[2rGarry]

Congrats on the K2 receiving on 40.  It's only a month or so back that I
finished mine so easy for me to remember the thrill of hitting the switch
and having it come up working.  I used mine on cw for a week or so then went
on to the ssb board which allows digital modes as well as phone.  Still
using it qrp here and may never buy and build the power amp as I have been
having a blast with it even on qrp.

If you chose the ssb option perhaps you will find as I did that the
directions for setting up the filters are somewhat confusing however it will
all fall into place eventually.

Cheerio, maybe hear you on the air sometime.

72

Garry/Ve7ajj
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Re: [Elecraft] K2 working on 40M

[Mike K8CN]

I'll add hearty congratulations as well.  L33 is indeed the tricky part
(don't ask me how I know, but Don's advice to re-heat suspicious solder
joints comes to mind) and you've done well to leap this hurdle. You'll be
golden from here on!

73,
Mike K8CN

 
lstavenhagen wrote:
> 
> 
> Again, I didn't seem to run into any trouble. My first kit and all I'm
> expecting to have busted something but so far all OK (even the install of
> L33 hi hi). Maybe I'll mess something up putting in the transmitter and
> the rest of the RX in the next build phase, who knows hi.
> 
> 
> 

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Re: [Elecraft] K2 working on 40M

[KC9QQ]

lstavenhagen wrote:
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> In case anyone's interested, I got through with test and alignment II on
> my K2 last night. Everything seemed to proceed normally.
> 
> 
> On to build phase III
> 
> LS
> 
Congratulations on your success.  I remember how excited I was last year
when I powered up my K2 and was able to receive signals on 40m.  Just take
your time and you will be rewarded with a wonderful radio.  There are a ton
of parts on the RF board, but the each get added one at a time.  Double
check each parts value and solder joints and it should work the first time.  

Have fun,

Fred, KC9QQ
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[Elecraft] K2 working on 40M

[lstavenhagen]

Hi all,

In case anyone's interested, I got through with test and alignment II on my
K2 last night. Everything seemed to proceed normally.

Again, I didn't seem to run into any trouble. My first kit and all I'm
expecting to have busted something but so far all OK (even the install of
L33 hi hi). Maybe I'll mess something up putting in the transmitter and the
rest of the RX in the next build phase, who knows hi.

I do need to redo the filter calibration tho, as I didn't get them setup the
way I want or record any values. And I'm definitely going to have to add the
noise blanker if I have any hope of using the rig at home. The line noise is
unbelievable here hi! So that'll be my first project after finishing the rig
itself I guess
On to build phase III

LS
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[Elecraft] K2 working again...

[Steve Kallal]

Thanks for all the suggestions on getting my K2 back up again. I was
modifying P4 on the K2 Control Board to prepare it for the KPA100. My K2
quit functioning in the process.

It turned out that pin 1 on the U6 40 pin socket was defective. On
inspection I noticed that pin 1 was missing one of the two contacts that
squeeze together to hold the chip pin. All this time, pin was only
connecting on one side. After five years of use, all it took was a handling
the Control Board to cause a failure. It wasn't a routine handling of the
board, but the removal of P4 pin in preparation for interfacing to the
KPA100. That did stress the board a bit.

I didn't build this K2 or any other, so it was a real learning experience
troubleshooting the problem. Its been nearly 20 years since I've been a
bench technician, but some of the instinct came back to me.

Right now I am recalibrating the K2, since I did a master reset in a moment
of frustration. Don Wilhelm is advising with me. Kudos to Don for his help
and patience.

73,

Steve N6VL

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