[Elecraft] Elecraft CW Net Announcement

2018-09-15 Thread kevinr 

Good Evening,

   It's been a wet week.  Not a lot of rain in total but fairly 
continuous.  Since last Sunday there have only been a few minutes of 
sun.  Mostly it's been misty verging on actual rain; enough to hear it 
on the roof.  The sun has quieted even farther.  Where there was a tiny, 
quiescent group of spots there are now none. Flux is where it has been 
for months.  I wonder what's going on in Sunspot, New Mexico?  Must be 
some aliens stealing our spots.


   I was reading yesterday, trying to map a solution to a problem, when 
I found a strange word: homoscedasticity.  Not a word you'll use every 
day; you'd use it more or less at random ;)


Please join us tomorrow on:

14050 kHz at 2200z Sunday (3 PM PDT Sunday)
  7045 kHz at z Monday (5 PM PDT Sunday)

73,
Kevin. KD5ONS

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Re: [Elecraft] Craziest / most rewarding QSOs

2018-09-15 Thread Tony Osman 
The QSO that sticks in my mind was back in 1971, I was at college with 
Cable and Wireless in Camborne, Cornwall and the main engineering 
college was at Porthcurno.  I was the social secretary for my group 
(about 30) and my job was to coordinate with the college to get a bus to 
take us to the monthly dance.  I had not been able to contact the 
college and was in qso with Paul, WB2OZW (SK) and mentioned this, he 
then told me that he had just qsoed with one of the guys at the college 
- he went off frequency, found him and brought him on my freq.  I could 
not hear the college guy, skip was too long but Paul could hear us both 
and he relayed the messages back and forward.


I had a number of qsos with Paul after that and he always had a chuckle 
at getting us to the dance!!


--
Tony
VE3RZ

www.tonysturnings.com 
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Re: [Elecraft] Craziest / most rewarding QSOs

2018-09-15 Thread Ken 
The one that comes to mind was via OSCAR III in 1970.  Just married, we 
lived in an apartment, not ideal for sat comms.  My 2 meter rig was a 
WW2 AM aircraft transmitter with an 832 (dual tetrode) push pull as the 
final.  Of course, not designed for CW. mode conversion did not look 
easy.  I broke the cathode lead and put the key in the line with 300 
volts across the key (I'm sure the younger semiconductor generation 
would be shocked!)  It probably had a significant backwave from the 
driver signal but OSCAR didn't hear that.


Antenna?  I C-clamped a board to the outside window sill with a bracket, 
a 10' piece of conduit, and a simple dipole on the top, all fed with 
RG-174 which was thin enough to close the window on.   I saw the 
landlord looking at it one day, but he never said anything.


The setup worked!  I had a QSO with a VE2 as well as a local friend.

Ken WA8JXM
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Re: [Elecraft] Craziest / most rewarding QSOs

2018-09-15 Thread Peter Chamalian 
My tale is not about one QSO but rather an amazing 24 hours of QSOs.  It all 
started with the CQ WW CW DX Contest in November, 1979.  I decided to do 15 
meter single band entry with my basic 4 element monobander at 70 feet, a Drake 
TR-7 and a kw.

The band started off as usual, open to JA, a few SA and Carib stations.  I had 
expected 15 to go dark by 01z but to my surprise it was still going.  The log 
was slowly filling with JA, SA and Carib but now there started to appear 
goodies such as HL9, UA0, VK, ZL and some other Pacific station.  So it sent, 
hour by hour with no let up in sight.  By 08z the opening shifted and now there 
were eastern EU stations coming through!  Yeah -- wow.  By 09z the opening to 
EU closed and I thought I might get a little sleep but first I checked long 
path.  I swung the beam to 220 degrees, the band noise came up and my tuning 
produced some amazing stuff -- a VK6 (who asked for my zone 3 times -- he 
couldn't believe it), 9V1 and a host of goodies from SE Asia and even 
stretching into UL7.  Even a EU or two snuck through.  By 10z the path closed 
but lo and behold 15 was now waking up as it normally would with Carib stations 
and ZS.  Within a short time, it was open to EU and it was off to the races.

I had never experienced anything like this before or since.  Truly an amazing 
30 hours because the band didn't actually close until 03z the next night.

As for results, 1173 QSOs, 95 countries and 37 zones.  Number 5 in the world, 
top US and a USA record score.


Pete, W1RM
w...@comcast.net

-Original Message-
From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net  On 
Behalf Of Wayne Burdick
Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2018 8:46 PM
To: Elecraft ; KX3 
Subject: [Elecraft] Craziest / most rewarding QSOs

15 meters never fails to amaze me. 

During a recent bout of paper log archaeology, I rediscovered a QSO I logged as 
a teen, in 1972. I was just minding my own business, tuning up using a Heath 
DX-20 driving 3 feet of coax to a 40 W incandescent bulb. Then a guy in 
Illinois called me

Some years later I was using a home-brew rig (the “Safari 4”) while visiting my 
Mom in Arizona. The battery was nearly depleted, the rig putting out only 200 
mW. The antenna: 8 feet of wire running directly from the rig through a window 
to a clothesline. Tuning slowly, I heard a CQ from Rwanda (9X5). I called him 
and got a “QRZ?” With a *lot* of patience on his end, we completed a basic QSO. 
No computer, no narrow filtering, no noise blanker. 

I would’ve gone nuts for a KX2 back in those days.

73,
Wayne
N6KR




http://www.elecraft.com
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Re: [Elecraft] KPA100 no PA Key Out

2018-09-15 Thread Martin 
Sorry for the bandwidth, we found it ourselves. The 8r Hold parameter 
was set to 0.01 .


--

Ohne CW ist es nur CB..

73, Martin DM4iM
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Re: [Elecraft] KPA100 no PA Key Out

2018-09-15 Thread Don Wilhelm 

Martin,

It could be a solder failure, a failure of Q12, an open R1, or a bad 
output from firmware U1 pin 16.


73,
Don W3FPR

On 9/15/2018 9:28 AM, Martin wrote:

Elecrafters,
a friend is trying to connect his K2/100 to his external amp. I own a 
K2/10 only , so have no expirience with it.


He performed measurements and found the PA Key Out on the rear panel of 
the KPA100 will not go low on transmit.

What could be the cause?
Thanks.

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[Elecraft] KPA100 no PA Key Out

2018-09-15 Thread Martin 

Elecrafters,
a friend is trying to connect his K2/100 to his external amp. I own a 
K2/10 only , so have no expirience with it.


He performed measurements and found the PA Key Out on the rear panel of 
the KPA100 will not go low on transmit.

What could be the cause?
Thanks.


--

Ohne CW ist es nur CB..

73, Martin DM4iM
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Re: [Elecraft] RF miracles continue to happen

2018-09-15 Thread Dave Sublette 
Two years ago I entered the CQWW160CW contest with 5 watts and my KX3.  I
placed 5th in North America and worked all over the world.  I went
fearlessly up and down the band answering CQ's, most of which answered my
first call.  I guess I should mention that my antenna is a full sized
quarter wave elevated ground plane made from Rohn 45 with insulated
broadcast section at the feed point, which is 27 feet above ground.  There
are 7, full sized radial suspended at 27 feet, drooping to 15 feet at the
ends.  My QTH is on a high ridge, more than 300 feet above average terrain
for 30 miles in each direction.  Electrical noise level is low and I don't
use receive antennas.  I guess the old saying from real estate is
applicable... location, location, location.  The antenna is the key factor,
but the radio is incredible.

73,

Dave, K4TO

On Sat, Sep 15, 2018 at 2:00 AM Frederick Dwight 
wrote:

> I have been a ham for 64 years and continue to be surprised.  For example
> about 3 years ago I decided to try QRP CW on 160 meters.  I live in Alaska
> and the nearest significant ham population is in Seattle, which is about
> 1500 miles away.  I have an inverted L and only a mediocre radial field.
> QSO’s over about 1500 miles have usually been quite difficult if not
> impossible with my 100 watt rig.  For a transmitter, I quickly constructed
> a breadboard 5 watt battery powered transmitter, which probably did not
> meet FCC specs, but my reasoning was that the nearest active hams were over
> 40 miles away, and probably no one would hear my flea powered rig anyway.
> I did not have a battery powered receiver, so I tacked on temporary 1500 pF
> capacitors across each of the 80 meter antenna coils in my trusty modified
> KX-1.  Previously the KX-1 was rather deaf on 160 meters, but with the mod
> it received about the same as my regular station receiver.  In only a few
> hours of operation in 2 or 3 contests I worked about 6 west coast states,
> Texas, and Japan.  Most of the QSOs were over 2000 miles.  I was very
> surprised that this would even be possible.  So please continue to try
> things which seem to be logically impossible.  If you have a KX-3, go out
> in the woods during the next contest and try 160 meters, perhaps with a low
> dipole in the trees.  Good regional contacts should be very possible, and
> with none of the noise present in urban areas should be a very relaxing
> experience.  Rick  KL7CW
>
> Sent from Mail for Windows 10
>
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Re: [Elecraft] K2 minor build caveat: C135 in the transmitter area

2018-09-15 Thread AE0MM via Elecraft 
Don had a great suggestion. The KSB2 kit has a spare 103 that is significantly 
smaller than the K2 103s.


Thanks everyone,

--mark/ae0mm

‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐
On September 14, 2018 11:14 PM, Wayne Burdick  wrote:

> All bottom-side components must be less than 0.25” in height so they don’t 
> touch the inside of the bottom cover. You can fold parts over, but I would 
> never, ever attempt to modify their height by removing material. If you feel 
> compelled to do that, better to just request a lower-profile replacement 
> lower profile part from Elecraft.
>
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
> --
>
> http://www.elecraft.com
>
> > On Sep 14, 2018, at 6:45 PM, Don Wilhelm donw...@embarqmail.com wrote:
> > Mark,
> > The answer is "Maybe".
> > I have heard of some builders who have reduced the height of C135, but that 
> > is a risky situation, you may short the plates of the capacitor rendering 
> > it useless.
> > A better solution is to replace it with a capacitor that is smaller.
> > Do you have the KSB2 kit? If so, there is a spare small 0.01 uF capacitor 
> > in that kit. It has leads for .1 inch lead spacing, but spread them out so 
> > they will go into the holes in the RF board.
> > If you do not have the KSB2, but do have the KPA100, you can borrow one of 
> > those small capacitors from the KPA100 kit and order a replacement p/n 
> > E530019 - 0.01uF capacitor 0.1 inch lead spacing from pa...@elecraft.com.
> > 73,
> > Don W3FPR
> >
> > > On 9/14/2018 8:37 PM, AE0MM via Elecraft wrote:
> > > C135 on my K2 RF board sits 1.1mm higher than the 2d fastener. Is it safe 
> > > shaving that much material off the capacitor body, or should I replace it 
> > > with a different 103?
> > > I'm one PA transistor away from being able to inspect, test, and align my 
> > > K2; I don't want to do anything rash.
> > > Thanks,
> > > --mark/ae0mm
> > > ‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐
> > >
> > > > On July 17, 2018 11:55 AM, Mark Petrovic mspetro...@gmail.com wrote:
> > > > I'm in the home stretch of building my K2, and wanted to point out
> > > > something that might help others as they assemble the transmitter 
> > > > portion
> > > > of the radio.
> > > > C135 ("103"), which sits adjacent to the 2D heat sink fastener, needs 
> > > > to be
> > > > installed as close to the board as possible. Check that it is lower than
> > > > the 2D fastener, otherwise the heat sink panel may not make good contact
> > > > with Q7 and Q8. My C135 sat a tiny bit higher than the 2D block; I ended
> > > > up shaving a very thin layer of the capacitor body with a razor blade so
> > > > that it cleared the 2D fastener.
> > > > Mark
> > > > AE6RT
> > > >
> > > > Mark
> > > > Elecraft mailing list
> > > > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
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> >
> > This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
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> >
> > Elecraft mailing list
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[Elecraft] Most rewarding/Craziest QSO

2018-09-15 Thread eric norris via Elecraft 
In 2014 I was on a kayaking trip in the Johnstone Strait/Queen Charlotte Strait 
off Vancouver Island.  I brought my KX3 along, and one evening I had a few 
spare minutes while camped near the Sophie Islands.  I threw my wire up in a 
very wet tree, and laid out a counterpoise on wet, thick underbrush.  I didn't 
have a chance.
I tuned around a bit on 40 CW, and to my astonishment heard a guy also camping 
out on a lake in Arizona, having a QSO with another station.  When they were 
done I called him, signing WD6DBM/VE7.  He kept calling QRZ QRZ, but eventually 
we made it.  What a thrill!  Wire in a tree to wire in a tree!
Later that night I fell asleep to the sounds of a sleeping Northern Resident 
Orca pod in a cove a few hundred feet away from me (5 adults, 2 calves from 
their breathing patterns), and the noise of a cruise ship 5 miles away whose 
engines I could hear coming through my sleeping platform.
73 Eric WD6DBM

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
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[Elecraft] RF miracles continue to happen

2018-09-15 Thread Frederick Dwight 
I have been a ham for 64 years and continue to be surprised.  For example about 
3 years ago I decided to try QRP CW on 160 meters.  I live in Alaska and the 
nearest significant ham population is in Seattle, which is about 1500 miles 
away.  I have an inverted L and only a mediocre radial field.  QSO’s over about 
1500 miles have usually been quite difficult if not impossible with my 100 watt 
rig.  For a transmitter, I quickly constructed a breadboard 5 watt battery 
powered transmitter, which probably did not meet FCC specs, but my reasoning 
was that the nearest active hams were over 40 miles away, and probably no one 
would hear my flea powered rig anyway.  I did not have a battery powered 
receiver, so I tacked on temporary 1500 pF capacitors across each of the 80 
meter antenna coils in my trusty modified KX-1.  Previously the KX-1 was rather 
deaf on 160 meters, but with the mod it received about the same as my regular 
station receiver.  In only a few hours of operation in 2 or 3 contests I worked 
about 6 west coast states, Texas, and Japan.  Most of the QSOs were over 2000 
miles.  I was very surprised that this would even be possible.  So please 
continue to try things which seem to be logically impossible.  If you have a 
KX-3, go out in the woods during the next contest and try 160 meters, perhaps 
with a low dipole in the trees.  Good regional contacts should be very 
possible, and with none of the noise present in urban areas should be a very 
relaxing experience.  Rick  KL7CW

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

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