Great note Mark. I am looking forward to the project. I will check out
the rework eliminators. I think that an incremental approach is the
best and will follow your advice about building the basic K2 and testing
it first.
The XVs are all Elecraft ones. I ordered the XV432 right after coming
back from Dayton. They had them in Dayton but I saw no reason to
contribute to the OH treasury. When I got that built, I decided to go
the K2 route. I like the idea of automating the whole thing right from
the K2 front panel and so I opted for and bullt the XV50 even though I
have a very nice SSB tranverter for that band. So now I have a stack of
4 XVs, just waiting for the K2 to be ready!
The KK7B binaural receiver is neat. I had built that a while ago but
never really played with it much. Last year I built the IQ-PRO DDS
symthesizer that puts out two RF signals in quadrature. Used that to
feed the binaural receiver. I put that near my bed so that I listen to
the HF bands as I fall asleep. The binaural receiver is neat.
Definitely recommeded.
Thanks again for your note,
All the best,
Raj, N2RD
Mark Schreiner wrote:
Hi Raj,
Sounds like you have a fun project coming up. I built my K2 with all
those options as well as the KAT2 about just over one year ago. We
used it for Field Day both last year and this year and worked great,
as well as some amazing DXing on the lowbands during last winter.
As far as the options go I'm not sure if you also got the rework
eliminators, which some folk have been using to more easily do the
upgrades later (as well as unplugging the options without having to
solder/resolder/unsolder a few caps and resistors). You might
consider those. I recall that there was some disassembly of the main
RF board to install the K160RX and/or K60XV, while all other options
were fairly "painless" to install otherwise. I would recommend
getting the basic K2 built and tested first before going forward too
far with the other options. Test it out on the air to make sure
things all seem okay before proceeding further. Then, install one
option at a time and test it out again to make sure that both the rig
and the option works as it should. The "testing" period should slow
down the building process because once they are all built that is it
until you build something else, so enjoy it while you can! I loved
building mine, along with all the options, but now that it is done
(and I'm out of dollars for a while) all I can do is operate, which is
fine as well.
Did you get the Elecraft XVs or do you have Down East Microwave or
some other XVs? All of my DEM XVs have been in storage for over 5 to
6 years now since I moved but I'm starting to get the "itch" to pull
them out to interface them with the K2 for a portable/rover VHF/UHF
setup. I just built the 4-bay 432 MHz loop as shown in July QST and
plan to build a 2-bay loop for 220 MHz and another for 2m, all with
male threads on the top of the 5' section of 3/4" pipe and female
threads on the bottom so that they can be screwed into each other
depending on if I want to use all, one or only two select antennas
(and to make them shorter for transporting). I still have to build
the 4-way splitter/combiner yet for 432 as well. I know of another
ham that uses the DEM XVTRs with a K2 and he said it has been working
well for him. I hope to find out in time for the August UHF contest!
Oh, I have questions for you also about the IQ-VFO and the Binaural
Rx. I have the IQ-VFO built and working but still need to finish it
off into a nice project box. I had planned to use it with an R2/T2
combination, but am also interested in trying it with a binaural Rx.
How do you like the Binaural Rx? BTW, KK7B, Rick Campbell, was my
favorite professor when I was studying for my BSEE at Michigan
Technological University back in the late '80s.
73,
Mark, NK8Q
K2 4786
Allentown, PA (FN20)
Rajiv Dewan, N2RD wrote:
Just arrived: K2 #5613 with KSB2, K160RX, K60XV, KNB2, KIO2, and
KDSP2 for use as IF rig for the four XVs (50, 144, 222, 432) that I
have already built. Since I plan to put these options in, is there
an optimal option build schedule? Will I have to undo work to put in
these options? I don't like de-soldering!
Any suggestions, ideas are welcome.
BTW, I am an avid kit builder / home brew enthusiast. My most
recently completed project is the N2PK VNA. Other than the XVs, I
have also built the DSP-10 2m rig, KA7EXP Power meter, IQ-VFO and
Binaural receiver combination, and many other projects.
Regards,
Raj, N2RD
--
Rajiv Dewan, N2RD
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
FN13fc
--
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