In a nutshell, band conditions. At times, on 80 or 40m, signals and noise will be plenty strong. So then I switch in the attenuator. The preamp is mainly for use on 20m and up, especially if you are using just wire antennas without the gain of a beam. If you have a good beam, and signals are strong enough for operation without the preamp, by all means, turn it off. In contest conditions, the preamp increases the problems of QRM from strong nearby stations. Also, on 80 and 40, the attenuator can help with keeping the KW stations from drowning out the weaker stations that you might be working. Good luck and 73 Bob N6WG
----- Original Message ----- From: "Matthew Denson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <Elecraft@mailman.qth.net> Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 9:38 AM Subject: [Elecraft] operating question about K2 pre-amp/attenuator Hi All, My operating experience is fairly limited, so I have a question about operating the K2. What circumstances would cause one to turn off the pre-amp? And related, what circumstances would cause one to turn on the attenuator? Even my old FT-101 had an attenuator to switch in, but I never came across a situation where I thought I'd want to. 73, Matthew AE6UP ____________________________________________________________________________ ________ Sick sense of humor? Visit Yahoo! TV's Comedy with an Edge to see what's on, when. http://tv.yahoo.com/collections/222 _______________________________________________ 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 _______________________________________________ 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
