Ed, I just noticed something different on a current KPA100 I'm building for someone and it may be the same with your K2.
The KPA100 PCB is an ROHS one with soldering lands gold plated. I don't know if that has anything to do with what I've noticed, but it's something I never saw on the earlier roller tinned PCBs I've worked on - and there have been a few! When inserting a component after bending its leads, if the leads are scraped as they are pushed into the plated through holes, sometimes a tiny whisker of tinning is scraped off the leads. This could lead to shorts if left on the board, so now after insertion and soldering, I check carefully around the lead entry points on the component's side of the board and if I see a whisker, I brush it off with a small paintbrush. As for tools for the job, I find a small pair of Spencer-Wells forceps (artery clamps, often used by fishermen to winkle the hook out of the innards of their catch), a pair of good tweezers and also a thin rod of - almost anything - with a blob of Blu-Tak (sticky stuff) on the end is so useful for swift retrieval of items that "think" they've escaped the soldering iron. Good luck with the construction, just follow the instructions and you'll have something to be proud of at the end. 73 DaveL G3TJP _______________________________________________ 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
