I agree withMike, KK5F, and his comment about using 10 x AA cells external to the K1 (his April 2011 post). I have used that arrangement several times on overseas trips without issue. Under these circumstances there are a few advantages to the external AA cell approach:
1. Using 10 x AA NiMh cells gives a nominal 12 Volts supply for a good steady 5 Watts capability. 2. The internal battery option might look better, but if you want rechargeable NiMh cells the Voltage is lower with 8 cells and you cannot run as much power. In addition, freshly charged cells are warm and may cause additional drift if used straight from charge. 3. While it's not easy to charge 10 cells, for casual operation a couple of 2/4 way AA rapid chargers will suffice and take up little space in luggage. 4. Lead acid batteries are heavy for air travel and despite being sealed, the wording "acid" can cause problems with airlines and airport security. While my operating isn't backpacking as such, the need to keep weight down is important. I tend towards using vertical antennas on fishing poles rather than end fed or random length inverted "L" antennas for increased efficiency... The need to take a length of coax is an issue as it's heavier that the wire needed for an end fed. If you use a K1 with the 80/40 band module, the ATU might struggle to match some low band antennas... See my article on increasing the tuning range: http://www.astromag.co.uk/pdfs/g4aon_kat1_mods.pdf In addition, I use a Palm mini paddle and the wide range tilt stand to run the radio on a table, which makes for very comfortable use. 73 Dave, G4AON K1 #1154, ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
