Steve, Just a comment. Your discussion, below, was a very friendly, but solid piece of advice to builders with little prior experience in electronic design/troubleshooting. Good post.
I would add that in the darkest moments of kit building you actually learn most about what you are doing and how your equipment works. It is satisfying when everything fires up perfectly when the last solder joint cools, but you really begin to understand what is going on when it doesn't--and you have to spend a few hours (days?) pouring over the schematic and checking readings to determine what went wrong. In the end (if you didn't fry anything expensive) you probably gained as much as you lost. Something to remember when the #*#$% thing doesn't work. Howard Ashcraft, W1WF -----Original Message----- From: Steve Jackson [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2005 8:03 PM To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: [Elecraft] many thoughts, somewhat at random N5VWN wrote: "I'm at my wit's end trying to figure out why there is no words appearing on the K2 on the phase 1 test." I've felt frustrated many times while building, too, and I've been at it over 30 years. You are not alone. But you've buit a Rockmite and a Pixie. The K2 is WAAAY easier to make work than either of those rigs. My comments, for what they are worth: 1. if I got a K2 for $12, in ANY condition, I'd be dancing an Irish jig! you're starting out WAY ahead of the game ... 2. ... on the other hand, one of the things I have learned to probably not try again is building a kit somebody else started! ;) probably including myself, at an earlier age. 3. Stockton alone has 7 times the number of hams in it that my ENTIRE rural NC county does, yet there are FOUR other K2 rigs/owners here! In Stockton, I'd try to find a local, experienced Elmer to come by and help in person. There's NOTHING like learning from an expert, and NO replacement for having a helper there, IN PERSON. Surely, there MUST be at least ONE local, capable, and willing Elmer, the odds are very much in favor of it. Stockton also has at least one well-known ham club, a great way to find the right person. 4. Hardly anyone ever says this, but, it should be said ... nobody should try to build or fix an electronic *anything* without having an ammeter in line. The current drawn (or, not drawn) by a device-under-test is THE #1 most telling thing about what's wrong with a recalcitrant circuit. If you don't have a handy ammeter, run, do not walk, to go get one, or make one by using a 1 ohm resistor in series with your device and then measure the voltage drop across it. 1/10th volt equals 100 mA and so forth, that is why Ohm's Law is on the test! A good digital voltmeter can be bought at Sears (readily available) and while it probably has a milliammeter in it, it's actually easier to put the shunt in series and use the voltmeter to go back and forth from the shunt to the circuit tests. 5. Another ageless truism is that there's no more useful a piece of test gear than an oscilloscope. Of course, one would need to be taught to use one, and you'd also have to have one ... neither are hard at all ... and this one piece of gear could make the difference between an enjoyable hobby and a frustrating discouragement. Consider making the time investment (I would have said money too but these days a good used 'scope is so cheap as to be laughable). 6. A current-limited bench supply, preferably with variable voltage and adjustable current limiting, can be your best friend. There are some mighty nice used ones around I've seen at hamfests for $10 or $15, and even a decent new one can cost as little at $45. I just got three of some little Chinese knockoff mini bench supply from Circuit Specialists, for work. They are very inexpensive and reliable. No, they are no threat to Lambda or HP, but, hey ... 7. The reason I've suggested these extra goodies is that they make things go faster and smoother. Because I have the experience, I can probably make do without any of them; indeed, I *have* made do without ... that is HOW I got the experience in the 1st place! You don't absolutely need this stuff, but, based on your QRZ! profile, it looks like you're a budding builder. Take it from me, don't do things the hard way like I did (soldering with hot nails, using strips of aluminum foil for wire, etc., I've done it all), get some decent shop equipment and never look back. 8. Please post some specific results of your tests so far. For example, "I turned it on and it doesn't work" is not nearly as useful as "I tested the voltage at U3, pin 4 and found it to be x.y and during the test the set is drawing about 475 mA" and so forth, to help others help you out. 9. This electronic medium is not at all a good way to troubleshoot electronic equipment, but it will do in a pinch, and you can make it much easier by providing specifics, in detail. Don't be afraid to write down every detail because you are the eyes and fingers for all the people who want to help, and there are a LOT of us. 10. Lastly, there are almost 5 thousand K2 rigs now, some six years old, and still going strong. They work, and work well. Let's get YOURS on the air SOON! gl 73 Steve KZ1X/4 K2 #0771 Go Tar Heels __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Helps protect you from nasty viruses. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail _______________________________________________ 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
