[Elecraft] KX1 Receiver alignment
Vin, At 06:10 06-07-06 -0400, you wrote: [Aligning a KX1] So I took a metallic screwdriver and electrical taped the entire shaft except for the tip. Despite the insulation, the metal in influencing the alignment, of course, so I am trying to align slightly, pull away and see what happens. If I touch the board near the cap, the gains comes WAY, WAY up, but only for the duration of the touch. Yep, I noticed that to. I didn't have a plastic alignment tool, I ended up slipping a scrap of paper over the screwdriver to isolate it. Surprisingly, it worked. Also, I notice that while listening to receive, I am hearing signals, but not nearly as strong as I hear them on any other receiver in the shack on the same antenna. I did NOT notice that. If it still occurs even after you have the alignment straight, I'd say something isn't right. Best, Bart de PA3GYU ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
[Elecraft] KX1 Receiver alignment - further information
OK I managed to whittle a plastic tuning wand to the correct shape in order to adjust the 2 tuning capacitors for 20M and the 1 for 40M. The situation I mentioned about touching the board and having the signal come way, way up is only happening when I transmit my K1-4 into the DL1 in the shack. So the increase in gain may be that the RF is in the shack (even though it is only 100 mW into a dummy load), and when I touch the board (especially near L7), I am capacitivlely coupling a high amount of RF into the KX1. If I simply listen to 40M or 20M, on an antenna and touch the board, nothing happens. But I am still slightly troubled by the fact that signals on the KX1 just aren't as loud and/or strong as on any other radio in my shack with the same antenna. I have done numerous checks for cold/non-existent solder joints. Any ideas what may be wrong, if anything? Thanks again. Vin Cortina KR2F K1-4 s/n:1977 KX1 s/n:1476 Earlier posts: Hi there, again. I just finished Alignment and Test Part II. For the most part, things seem OK, but I have one or two concerns. As a signal source, I used my K1-4 at 100mW into my Elecraft DL-1. Now out of all my alignment tools, none of the non-ferrous type would fit in the alignment hole through the board. So I took a metallic screwdriver and electrical taped the entire shaft except for the tip. Despite the insulation, the metal in influencing the alignment, of course, so I am trying to align slightly, pull away and see what happens. If I touch the board near the cap, the gains comes WAY, WAY up, but only for the duration of the touch. Also, I notice that while listening to receive, I am hearing signals, but not nearly as strong as I hear them on any other receiver in the shack on the same antenna. I think I know what you are going to tell me. Get a non-ferrous alignment tool, right? This may simply be because the alignment is not quite correct, but I also notice that even with the volume up full, the background hiss isn't really that loud ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] KX1 Receiver alignment - further information
Vin, Congratulations on completing your KX1 your fun is just beginning. Your audio will naturally be higher on 40M, at least mine is. Low audio output is a common subject on this net for the KX1. I suspect your unit is fine. Sensitive earphones are a necessity with the KX1, check your specifications. I use 94-dB sensitivity headphones which are adequate but on the low side for a KX1. There are a lot of low cost headsets/earbuds with sensitivity above 110-dB/Mw. On 40M with filter set to wide and connected to a full sized dipole the band noise is too loud with full audio gain. With narrowest filter settings I tend to run the audio gain full on but no desire for more. Mike Scott AE6WA Tarzana, CA (near LA) Elecraft KX1 4-Watts -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Vin Cortina Sent: Wednesday, July 05, 2006 5:14 PM To: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: [Elecraft] KX1 Receiver alignment - further information OK I managed to whittle a plastic tuning wand to the correct shape in order to adjust the 2 tuning capacitors for 20M and the 1 for 40M. The situation I mentioned about touching the board and having the signal come way, way up is only happening when I transmit my K1-4 into the DL1 in the shack. So the increase in gain may be that the RF is in the shack (even though it is only 100 mW into a dummy load), and when I touch the board (especially near L7), I am capacitivlely coupling a high amount of RF into the KX1. If I simply listen to 40M or 20M, on an antenna and touch the board, nothing happens. But I am still slightly troubled by the fact that signals on the KX1 just aren't as loud and/or strong as on any other radio in my shack with the same antenna. I have done numerous checks for cold/non-existent solder joints. Any ideas what may be wrong, if anything? Thanks again. Vin Cortina KR2F K1-4 s/n:1977 KX1 s/n:1476 Earlier posts: Hi there, again. I just finished Alignment and Test Part II. For the most part, things seem OK, but I have one or two concerns. As a signal source, I used my K1-4 at 100mW into my Elecraft DL-1. Now out of all my alignment tools, none of the non-ferrous type would fit in the alignment hole through the board. So I took a metallic screwdriver and electrical taped the entire shaft except for the tip. Despite the insulation, the metal in influencing the alignment, of course, so I am trying to align slightly, pull away and see what happens. If I touch the board near the cap, the gains comes WAY, WAY up, but only for the duration of the touch. Also, I notice that while listening to receive, I am hearing signals, but not nearly as strong as I hear them on any other receiver in the shack on the same antenna. I think I know what you are going to tell me. Get a non-ferrous alignment tool, right? This may simply be because the alignment is not quite correct, but I also notice that even with the volume up full, the background hiss isn't really that loud ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
[Elecraft] KX1 Receiver alignment
Hi there, again. I just finished Alignment and Test Part II. For the most part, things seem OK, but I have one or two concerns. As a signal source, I used my K1-4 at 100mW into my Elecraft DL-1. Now out of all my alignment tools, none of the non-ferrous type would fit in the alignment hole through the board. So I took a metallic screwdriver and electrical taped the entire shaft except for the tip. Despite the insulation, the metal in influencing the alignment, of course, so I am trying to align slightly, pull away and see what happens. If I touch the board near the cap, the gains comes WAY, WAY up, but only for the duration of the touch. Also, I notice that while listening to receive, I am hearing signals, but not nearly as strong as I hear them on any other receiver in the shack on the same antenna. I think I know what you are going to tell me. Get a non-ferrous alignment tool, right? BTW, every other test up to now has passed easily. Thank you for your time and attention. Best Regards, Vin Cortina KR2F K1-4 s/n:1977 KX1 s/n:1476 (under construction) ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
[Elecraft] KX1 Receiver alignment supplemental
This may simply be because the alignment is not quite correct, but I also notice that even with the volume up full, the background hiss isn't really that loud. Vin Cortina KR2F K1-4 s/n:1977 KX1 s/n:1476 ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
[Elecraft] KX1 receiver alignment?
Greetings, Have just finished phase 2 testing of my KX1--all seems well. One question I have with regards to adjusting the tunable capacitors CA, CB and CC. These have ranges of 8-50, and 5-20pF. Upon rotation, the peaks are apparent. Is the proper procedure to traverse the entire range of the capacitor to find the strongest peak, or is one or two rotations of the slug sufficient to attain peak receiver performance? Thanks. Ted. ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
