Ci, WU7R wrote: I recently wrote an email to Elecraft re my K-1 transmitting with very weak
power on twenty meters. I got a quick and informative reply back from Gary suggesting that I use a "scope" to measure the peak-to-peak voltage on various pins. Thinking this might provide me with a great learning experience, I borrowed an oscilloscope from a friend of mine, together with three books. I have discovered that it is easier to fly airplanes on instruments in thunderstorms at night than it is to figure out how to measure voltages using an oscilloscope. Any advice anyone has would be appreciated... ------------------------------------------------ Some oscilloscopes are that way, especially the newer ones! They have more bells and whistles than anyone is likely to ever need. And like most things overloaded with bells and whistles, they're incredibly complicated to operate. I suggest you contact the friend and explain what it is that Gary is asking you to measure, and getting his instructions on how to set the controls. The trickiest part is usually the time base - the part that makes the spot move from left to right across the screen (and, if it's moving fast enough, make the spot look like a horizontal line). There are usually a lot of controls that affect when the spot starts each sweep as well has how fast it goes. If you have a sweep in the tube, it's usually placed on a center line of the grid on the face by adjusting a knob. Then voltages applied to the "vertical" inputs make the sweep move up or down (or both). The distance the trace moves up or down is an indication of the peak voltage. An oscilloscope is probably the single most useful measuring instrument one can have on the bench. Because it can do so much it can be a monster to learn. I have an old "analog" 100 MHz HP 1740 scope on my bench simply because it lacks many of the little "features" of newer digital scopes and so is that much easier to operate! Still, at times I have to stop and think about which of the dozens of buttons I need to push to do what I want... Ron AC7AC _______________________________________________ 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
