Please don't use a VOM unless it was specifically designed for use with modern solid state gear (there are such VOMs, but they are very rare). Otherwise you will damage your Elecraft rig.
Older VOMs (including the very high-end "Simpsons" etc.) used relatively high voltages for resistance measurements (at least 1.5 VDC and some much more - I had one inexpensive VOM that used 22 VDC!). Even 1.5 VDC is plenty to "turn on" junctions in some solid state components and destroy them. Also, a VOM typically puts a significant current drain on the circuit when measuring voltages. In some places this won't hurt. In others it will cause the reading to be completely out of spec and useless. That's why, in the "old days", most folks eventually got a vacuum tube voltmeter (VTVM) with typically an 11 megohm input resistance to minimize this effect. Modern Digital Multimeters (DMMs) are cheap - at least one quite suitable for building any Elecraft kit. They use a very small, safe voltage level for resistance checks and have an input resistance in the 10 megohm range for voltage measurements. Some people get adequate DMMs free when shopping for parts from some on-line sources, but a good basic meter from Radio Shack or a similar place will do you just fine, and it'll come in very handy for many other things over the years. Check the Elecraft web site for the manual for any kit you might be interested in building. It will have a list of recommended tools so you can see what you will need before making the commitment. The range varies as the offering covers the gamut from stuffing your own circuit boards with individual components to "no solder" kits that come with completely assembled pc boards. As Jim Wiley noted, you don't need much. No fancy signal generators, etc. Although if you get the urge to do some testing of your own after building a kit, Elecraft does offer some simple, effective and low-cost test equipment signal generator, step attenuator and other useful kits. Check the "mini-module" section of their web site, but let me repeat, you do *not* need any of those things to build a fully-functioning to spec Elecraft kit. Ron AC7AC -----Original Message----- Jim - The K2, at least, and I suspect all of the other Elecraft transceiver kits, have either built in test equipment, or require only the simplest of external test gear to get them up and running. I built a K2, and while I happen to have a complete RF lab of quality test equipment (HP, Tektronix, Fluke, General Radio, Millen) I just for fun tried aligning the K2 after it was built using only the internal sources, and it worked just fine. A precision alignment after the unit had been in service for a few weeks produced only minimal improvements and in my opinion would have no practical real-world performance advantage over the "non-precision" method. I will admit that the K2 is the only Elecraft transceiver I have, so perhaps there is something I am missing. If your VOM and BC-221 are reasonably close to being in "cal", you will have no trouble. Probably won't even need them. - Jim, KL7CC Falls, Jim wrote: > > Do you need a lab to align these when you are done, or could I just > build one and use it? > > > > That's the part that's off-putting. I have an analog VOM, old o-scope, > and a BC-211 as a frequency generator I've used on GB rigs, but > that's it. > > > > Jim Falls > > K6FWT > > Eureka, CA ______________________________________________________________ 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
