Re: [Elecraft] K2FCTR instructions

[Nick Waterman]

Steve Kirk/ KW5TX wrote:
> Where are the instructions for building the K2FCTR/Frequency Probe ?  I
> have the kit but can't seem to find how to build.

Appendix E, page 9

-- 
"Nosey" Nick Waterman, G7RZQ, K2 #5209.
use Std::Disclaimer;[EMAIL PROTECTED]
I plead contemporary insanity.
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[Elecraft] K2 RF board, NPO capacitors

[Gary Hvizdak]

David Lankshear wrote ...

Guess I must have done something wrong because I got no reply, so can anyone
who's "been there, done that" kindly advise, please?

Hi Dave,

I don't have an answer for your NPO question, but I can tell you a little
bit about Elecraft parts support ...

1) Elecraft will gladly provide complementary replacements for any missing
parts, and in my experience they will do so very quickly.

2) Occasionally Elecraft parts support chaps can get backlogged a few days
with email requests.  Perhaps someone there is on holiday, which would
further slow their response time?

3) There used to be a statement somewhere on the Elecraft site about
allowing five days for parts orders to ship.  However, I no longer can find
such a statement and further, I believe it was only intended for duplicate
parts purchases.  I would expect replacement parts would ship much sooner.

4) There is a statement on the parts order page ...
  "If you have problems ordering, please email sales @ elecraft . com"
Typically, Lisa or Pam will see and act on messages sent to this address
within just a few hours during their workday (Pacific Time).

5) As I recall, when emailing the Elecraft "parts" address I always received
an automated reply within a matter of minutes confirming receipt of my
email.

Cheers,
Gary, KI4GGX
K2 #4067

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Re: [Elecraft] K2 RF board, NPO capacitors

[Geoffrey Mackenzie-Kennedy]

Hi Dave,

Some manufacturers do supply NPO and COG capacitors that are blue 
resin-dipped. I have seen other colours but blue seems to be the favourite. 
The small blue capacitors that Elecraft supplied for my K2 #3255 RF board 
are NPO types, which would be required in the tuned circuits of the K2. 
Other temperature coefficients might be required if temperature compensation 
was being attempted, but this is not the case in the K2.


Farnell does sell NPO and COG capacitors as well as the 'usual' type of disc 
ceramic, just watch the voltage rating.


Please let me know if I can be of any further help.

73,
Geoff
GM4ESD


David Lankshear wrote:


I'm building K2 #5551 and was concerned that most of the RF board 
capacitors

listed as NPO appeared to be ordinary blue resin-dipped ones.







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Re: [Elecraft]linux and elecraft

[Nick Waterman]

Brian Mury wrote:
>> Linux use unique jargon or "talk" related to their software, it is 
>> NOT technical. Even windoze is in English. 
> 
> Windows uses just as much jargon as Linux does. You just don't notice it
> because you have learnt it and become accustomed to it.

Many fields have their own sets of jargon, none of them seem that bad to
insiders, most of them sound pointless to outsiders.

AUTOEXEC.BAT, boot.ini, ntldr, regedit, pagefile.sys,
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, Macafee, Symantec, C-colon-backslash, DLL, EXE, INI,
 WMA, BMP, RDP, dir, zip, installshield, chkdsk, system32, devmgr,
tracert, hyperterminal...

ls, grep, awk, perl, xoscope, baudline, vi, emacs, fsck /dev/hda1,
traceroute, df, cp, rpm, more, less, tar, top, tty, chmod, /etc/passwd,
kill, mplayer, sendmail, xterm...

ST L, ST P, T-R, INP PDLn, IAB, SSB, ATU, RANT, RTTY, CW, SSB, PRE/ATT,
AGC, ALC, XFIL, AFIL, RIT, XIT, VOX, SPOT, FPLY, VFO, CAL FCTR, CAL FIL,
CAL PLL,  SWR, KPA100, KAT2, KNB2, AUX IO, XVTR, RSGB, ARRL...

microfarads, kilohms, SIP resistor pack, monolithic capacitors,
transistor, shottky diode, quad op amp, MCU socket, 7-degment
multiplexed LCD, PCB-mount jack, linear potentiometer, shift register,
variable inductance, ferrite balun core, ceramic resonator, 2-D fastener...

actus reus, advance directive, articles of incorporation, business
records exception, breif (which usually isn't), FMLA, FCRA, DPA, FLSA,
form interrogatories, fieri facias, filing fee, FSBO, negotiable
instrument, offensive collateral estoppel, vested remainder...

6-4-3 double play, around the horn, banjo hitter, batterymates, bloop,
cleanup, closer, clutch, dinger, dish, fouling off, frozen rope, fungo,
going yard, hat trick, hook foul, meatball, pinch runner, slugger,
tater, WHIP...

ante, blind stud, cap, cold call, deuce-to-seven low, door card, royal
flush, aces high, going south, horse, kitty, loose cannon, match the
pot, overcall, pocket pair, post dead, rainbow flop, semi-bluff, wild
card...

Damn, my spell-checker's gonna love this   :-(

-- 
"Nosey" Nick Waterman, G7RZQ, K2 #5209.
use Std::Disclaimer;[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Went to the boxing match last night. A hockey game broke out.
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[Elecraft] New K2 Conceived

[Oscar F Hills]

Hello everyone. I have been following the reflector for about three  
weeks now, so I thought I would introduce myself.


I am Oscar, WV1C, formerly WN6NDG in 1969, who returned to ham radio  
in March after a 37 year layoff. I found, after a few weeks that I  
was just drawn back to CW, my first love, lo, those many years ago,  
and that is about all I have been working. I am getting my skills  
back very slowly, and still getting the hang of these "new-fangled"  
iambic keyers after having bug-use burned into my muscle memory from  
way back.


Anyway, about a month ago, I built a Logikey CMOS4 Keyer, and, well,  
the thrill of that thing actually working when I powered up was just  
indescribable (and with this group, I know I don't _have_ to describe  
it)!


So, I started thinking about what the next project should be at about  
the same time I read what a great receiver the K2 had.


To make a long story short, I arrived home today to find a huge box  
of parts that goes by the name of K2 #5630 and it will be a K2/100  
with all the trimmings whenever I actually finish it.


I figured I'd better say hi now, because I will be paying very close  
attention from now on! The other reason I am saying hello now is that  
it is just too late to start building (or counting parts, at least)  
tonight, but I'm too excited to go to bed! I'm taking four days off  
for the 4th, so if I can get through some of my honey-do list early  
in the weekend, I'm hoping my wife will grant me a little time to get  
started on the K2! CANNOT WAIT!!!


Oscar, WV1C
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[Elecraft] RE:Slightly off top amp question (David Douglass)

[David Douglass]

Firstly thanks to all who replied to my original post, if I didn't reply
personally..

On closer inspection I have so far found 2 ceramic door knob capacitors that
were falling apart !! These were not in the input coil alignment section,
but near the valves and band-switch in the amp.

For you RF guru's out there... I have a couple of questions..

1. Is it possible to solder these capacitors back together ? They are the
flatter type doorknob caps and basically what has happened with both of them
is that the one of the screw housings has fallen off the side of each cap
(hope this makes sense).

2. Secondly, if this is not advisable, can I just replace these with the
standard type (barrel shaped) door knob caps, as long as the KV rating is
greater or equal to that of the originals ?? Surplus sales have these for
under $20US each

Again apologies for the off topic post

Regards from a chilly Sydney..

David, Vk2NU

>Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2006 23:11:36 +1000
>From: "David Douglass" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: [Elecraft] Slightly off top amp question
>To: 
>Message-ID:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Content-Type: text/plain;  charset="us-ascii"

>Apologies in advance for the off topic question!

>I've just bought an old FL-2100B amp to do up, and run with my K2 (I have
>the bits and pieces on order for the external keying
circuit!!).


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[Elecraft] Band Pass Filters

[J F]

I'm looking to modify a MFJ-1025 (ala W8JI) and need
to build a couple bandpass filters. My first thought
is to "steal" the filter from the 160M Elecraft board,
heck it works great. I do not have the parts for that
on hand. I do have the parts for the filter in the
KPA.

Other than power handling, what are the differences
between the two? Is the shape significantly different?


I don't have BCB issues at this point, but the preamp
in the MFJ is wide open to out of band noise.

Thanks,
Julius
n2wn
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RE: [Elecraft] Slow Code Watering Holes?

[Darwin, Keith]

Peer group pressure.  Don't ya' love it!  People are struggling to keep
up with 25 to 30 wpm yet we stay there.  I've often thought it would be
interesting in a contest to vary the speed depending on the size of the
pile up.  Fast for a large pile, slow for no pile.  There's just no
benefit in calling CQ FD over & over at 30 wpm.  Slow down to 12 and
pick up the slower S&P operators who would not have called you at 30.

I *almost* did what you suggested - calling CQ FD slowly.  I was
eyeballing the novice portion of 40 meters but just didn't.

Ironically, I didn't find the CW to be all that fast this year.  I was
sending at 15 to about 22 wpm.  Of course I guess it is all relative.
15 wpm is flying for some people.

Yea, I like the idea of starting a trend.

- Keith KD1E -
- K2 5411 -

-Original Message-

started calling at about 10-13 wpm ... Maybe we could start a trend.
-Pete
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Re: [Elecraft]linux and elecraft

[John GM4SLV]

On Wed, 28 Jun 2006, Nick Waterman wrote:

> Many fields have their own sets of jargon, none of them seem that bad to
> insiders, most of them sound pointless to outsiders.
> 
> AUTOEXEC.BAT, boot.ini, ntldr, regedit, pagefile.sys,
> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, Macafee, Symantec, C-colon-backslash, DLL, EXE, INI,
>  WMA, BMP, RDP, dir, zip, installshield, chkdsk, system32, devmgr,
> tracert, hyperterminal...
> 
> ls, grep, awk, perl, xoscope, baudline, vi, emacs, fsck /dev/hda1,
> traceroute, df, cp, rpm, more, less, tar, top, tty, chmod, /etc/passwd,
> kill, mplayer, sendmail, xterm...
> 

Nick, I notice "Macafee" & "Symantec" in the first group, but no 
equivalent words in the second...

Have you missed something from the Linux list...


;-)


 John 'SLV 
=== 
ASIDE for the *nix among us - I'm sitting at work, on a private network 
that has a webproxy server to allow us minions access to the web. I've 
used Putty to connect, using SSH via the company proxy server, to my 
home network, where my ADSL router port-forwards me to my Linux desktop 
machine. I can run terminal sessions/software directly or full graphical 
VNC sessions by tunelling the VNC connection over the SSH connection. 
This single SSH connection is also used to securely tunnel connections 
to my mailserver at home, allowing me to run an email client - PCPine - 
on my work machine and talk IMAP and SMTP to my mailserver at home, so I 
can sit here and keep an eye on my email while I'm at work. I'm not 
aware that this would be easy, or even possible, with windows machines. 
Are there free ssh servers, IMAP and SMTP servers, DNS servers - all of 
which I've got running at home, entirely for free? Even the OS itself is 
free..!
The various machines are old cast offs - either 486's or P1 vintage 
(except the main desktop which is a second hand P4/2.6GHz). Linux keeps 
these old doorstops in a useful job!
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[Elecraft] Re: Elecraft Digest, Vol 26, Issue 33

[PA3GYU]

Steve

I also...would like to mount the K2 and EC2 in a rack mount case for
transport in and out of my RV .. I need brackets...  any ideas?  anyone
done this?
I saw a picture of a rackmounted K2 on the Elecraft website under 'Picture 
gallery'. Scroll down to 'More Picture gallery shots' and there it is: 
'NP2B's Rack Mounted K2 and K1'.


Hope this helps,

Bart de PA3GYU

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Re: [Elecraft]linux and elecraft

[Tom Althoff]

Here are three roughly equivilent Linux terms for "Macafee AV" and 
"Symantec/Norton AV"..

"F-Prot"
"RAV (Reliable Anti Virus)"
"Clam AV."

First it was the border wars between the Canada and the US and now we are 
having religious debates!


Wayne...you better start shipping those KPA-800's soon!  We're running out 
of Elecraft talk! 8-)


73 de Tom K2TA

- Original Message - 
From: "John GM4SLV" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

To: 
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 8:14 AM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft]linux and elecraft




On Wed, 28 Jun 2006, Nick Waterman wrote:


Many fields have their own sets of jargon, none of them seem that bad to
insiders, most of them sound pointless to outsiders.

AUTOEXEC.BAT, boot.ini, ntldr, regedit, pagefile.sys,
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, Macafee, Symantec, C-colon-backslash, DLL, EXE, INI,
 WMA, BMP, RDP, dir, zip, installshield, chkdsk, system32, devmgr,
tracert, hyperterminal...

ls, grep, awk, perl, xoscope, baudline, vi, emacs, fsck /dev/hda1,
traceroute, df, cp, rpm, more, less, tar, top, tty, chmod, /etc/passwd,
kill, mplayer, sendmail, xterm...



Nick, I notice "Macafee" & "Symantec" in the first group, but no
equivalent words in the second...

Have you missed something from the Linux list...


;-)


John 'SLV
===
ASIDE for the *nix among us - I'm sitting at work, on a private network
that has a webproxy server to allow us minions access to the web. I've
used Putty to connect, using SSH via the company proxy server, to my
home network, where my ADSL router port-forwards me to my Linux desktop
machine. I can run terminal sessions/software directly or full graphical
VNC sessions by tunelling the VNC connection over the SSH connection.
This single SSH connection is also used to securely tunnel connections
to my mailserver at home, allowing me to run an email client - PCPine -
on my work machine and talk IMAP and SMTP to my mailserver at home, so I
can sit here and keep an eye on my email while I'm at work. I'm not
aware that this would be easy, or even possible, with windows machines.
Are there free ssh servers, IMAP and SMTP servers, DNS servers - all of
which I've got running at home, entirely for free? Even the OS itself is
free..!
The various machines are old cast offs - either 486's or P1 vintage
(except the main desktop which is a second hand P4/2.6GHz). Linux keeps
these old doorstops in a useful job!
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Re: [Elecraft]linux and elecraft

[Russ Hines]

No problem here... I've been throwing all this stuff into /dev/null. ;-)

73,
Russ
WB8ZCC

Tom Althoff wrote:
Here are three roughly equivilent Linux terms for "Macafee AV" and 
"Symantec/Norton AV"..

"F-Prot"
"RAV (Reliable Anti Virus)"
"Clam AV."

First it was the border wars between the Canada and the US and now we 
are having religious debates!


Wayne...you better start shipping those KPA-800's soon!  We're running 
out of Elecraft talk! 8-)


73 de Tom K2TA

- Original Message - From: "John GM4SLV" 
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

To: 
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 8:14 AM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft]linux and elecraft




On Wed, 28 Jun 2006, Nick Waterman wrote:

Many fields have their own sets of jargon, none of them seem that 
bad to

insiders, most of them sound pointless to outsiders.

AUTOEXEC.BAT, boot.ini, ntldr, regedit, pagefile.sys,
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, Macafee, Symantec, C-colon-backslash, DLL, EXE, 
INI,

 WMA, BMP, RDP, dir, zip, installshield, chkdsk, system32, devmgr,
tracert, hyperterminal...

ls, grep, awk, perl, xoscope, baudline, vi, emacs, fsck /dev/hda1,
traceroute, df, cp, rpm, more, less, tar, top, tty, chmod, /etc/passwd,
kill, mplayer, sendmail, xterm...



Nick, I notice "Macafee" & "Symantec" in the first group, but no
equivalent words in the second...

Have you missed something from the Linux list...


;-)


John 'SLV
===
ASIDE for the *nix among us - I'm sitting at work, on a private network
that has a webproxy server to allow us minions access to the web. I've
used Putty to connect, using SSH via the company proxy server, to my
home network, where my ADSL router port-forwards me to my Linux desktop
machine. I can run terminal sessions/software directly or full graphical
VNC sessions by tunelling the VNC connection over the SSH connection.
This single SSH connection is also used to securely tunnel connections
to my mailserver at home, allowing me to run an email client - PCPine -
on my work machine and talk IMAP and SMTP to my mailserver at home, so I
can sit here and keep an eye on my email while I'm at work. I'm not
aware that this would be easy, or even possible, with windows machines.
Are there free ssh servers, IMAP and SMTP servers, DNS servers - all of
which I've got running at home, entirely for free? Even the OS itself is
free..!
The various machines are old cast offs - either 486's or P1 vintage
(except the main desktop which is a second hand P4/2.6GHz). Linux keeps
these old doorstops in a useful job!
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RE: [Elecraft] K2 Serial # 5600

[Darwin, Keith]

Gee, I keep feeling like I have a "new" K2 but SN 5411 is almost 200
behind the lead runner at this point.  By the end of the year we will
probably pass the 6000 mark.  Maybe I should start timing it now so I
can get SN 6000?

Come to think of it, who ever decided that keeping track of SNs was a
good idea?  I've seen interest in SNs with other rigs but only to
identify new vs. old and whether a rig has the latest mods or not.  But
then I guess Elecraft is not like other rigs.

- Keith KD1E -
- K2 5411 - 

-Original Message-

For those that have an interest in the current K2 serial numbers, 
today I received K2 kit  #5600. 
 
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Re: [Elecraft] New K2 Conceived

[Joe-aa4nn]

Hi Oscar, etal,

Welcome to the fold.  Excitement is great, but take your time with the 
build... enjoy the moments.


You don't need to be frustrated with the new fangled dual lever paddles when 
there are
a number of single lever paddles out there.  Two very fine paddles to look 
at are the
Begali single lever (simplex mono) : 
http://www.i2rtf.com/html/keys_paddles.html  $165.00
and the Shurr Profi single lever paddle. 
http://www.mtech.whsites.net/schurr/  $300.00

An old bug hand can work these paddles in his sleep.

While a Kent single lever paddle is okay at $140, you will not be 
disappointed with the
Begali line of keys.  I am not affiliated with any of these, I just own them 
and know which

is best.  hi.

73 & best of luck.
de Joe, aa4nn
-
I am getting my skills  back very slowly, and still getting the hang of 
these "new-fangled"  iambic keyers after having bug-use burned into my 
muscle memory from  way back.




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Re: [Elecraft]linux and elecraft

[Thom R LaCosta]

Quick...before Wayne or Eric declare that this thread is over and we keep on 
posting about it:


Continue your sparing at
http://www.zerobeat.net/qrp/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=15

Vent your spleen!

Register for the forum and you'll get a notice when someone challenges your 
assertion that the  OS is the one true OS because it is , and does not

require 

73,Thom-k3hrn
www.zerobeat.net Home of QRP Web Ring, Drakelist home page,Drake Web Ring,
QRP IRC channel, Drake IRC Channel, Elecraft Owners Database
www.tlchost.net/hosting/  ***  Web Hosting as low as 3.49/month
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[Elecraft] Ponderings

[Richard Kent]

I am trying to decide.. 1) Build the KPA100 into an EC2 case. 2) Convert my
current K2 to a K2/100. 3)  Build a separate new K2/100. Goals are: 100
watts as an option. Maintain portability. Minimum building time. Don't get
me wrong I like building. I have house related projects to do. A Son in
scouting, baseball, and band. Daughters in college. Cars to fix. Need I
continue. I guess I would like to know what the caveats are to the separate
box solution. Any ideas?? Any other ideas not mentioned?? Thanks in
advanced.

 

Richard Kent, WD8AJG

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Re: [Elecraft] Band Pass Filters

[Geoffrey Mackenzie-Kennedy]

Julius N2WN wrote:


I'm looking to modify a MFJ-1025 (ala W8JI) and need
to build a couple bandpass filters. My first thought
is to "steal" the filter from the 160M Elecraft board,
heck it works great. I do not have the parts for that
on hand. I do have the parts for the filter in the
KPA.

Other than power handling, what are the differences
between the two? Is the shape significantly different?


I don't have BCB issues at this point, but the preamp
in the MFJ is wide open to out of band noise.


-

Possibly I misunderstand you Julius, but the filters in the KPA100 working 
at 80m - 10m are Low Pass. Does it use a Bandpass filter on 160m?


If you are looking for a filter to knock down MF BC signals if the need 
arises but pass 160m, I can if you like send you circuits for either High 
Pass or Bandpass filters - the latter of course attenuate signals / noise 
above and below 160m.  Please let me know off-list.


73,
Geoff
GM4ESD 




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RE: [Elecraft] Ponderings

[Darwin, Keith]

I suspect option 2) Convert K2 to K2/100 is the simplest way to achieve
your goals.  It is the least costly in time and money.  The biggest
drawback would be the portability aspect of it but I think the KPA100 is
fairly simple to remove on occasion if you wanted to go back to a wimpy
15 watt K2 for portable operation.

Other options?  Buy a 2nd hand rig that gives you 100 watts and keep the
K2 as a 15 watt only rig.  That certainly minimizes build time.

Are you in a band?  What type of music, what instrument?

And tell the truth, do you have a Kent key?  Wait, I guess any key you
have is a Kent key.  :-)

- Keith KD1E -
- K2 5411 -
- Bass, Rhythm Gtr, vocals, arranger, some writing -

-Original Message-
From: Richard Kent

I am trying to decide.. 1) Build the KPA100 into an EC2 case. 2) Convert
my current K2 to a K2/100. 3)  Build a separate new K2/100. Goals are:
100 watts as an option. Maintain portability. Minimum building time.
Don't get me wrong I like building. I have house related projects to do.
A Son in scouting, baseball, and band. Daughters in college. Cars to
fix. Need I continue. I guess I would like to know what the caveats are
to the separate box solution. Any ideas?? Any other ideas not
mentioned?? Thanks in advanced.

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[Elecraft] Using Elecraft 100W antenna tuners with any rig

[Alexandra Carter]

Is there a way to use the antenna tuner that is meant for the 100W  
k2, with an arbitrary other rig? I mean, it's an Elecraft it's a GOOD  
tuner, is there any thought in mind of making an interface box or  
something that allows this?


I'm seeing a lot of autotuner complaints on eham etc lately and had a  
few myself, I'd happily build a 100W Elecraft tuner for my applience,  
hehe. 73 de Alex NS6Y.


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Re: [Elecraft] RE:Slightly off top amp question (David Douglass)

[Vic K2VCO]

David Douglass wrote:


On closer inspection I have so far found 2 ceramic door knob capacitors that
were falling apart !! These were not in the input coil alignment section,
but near the valves and band-switch in the amp.


These are probably padders to supply more capacity to either the tune or 
load capacitors on 80 and 160 meters.  If they are broken, it might be 
hard to resonate the output circuit on these bands which would cause 
problems with input SWR and of course power output.



For you RF guru's out there... I have a couple of questions..



1. Is it possible to solder these capacitors back together ? They are the
flatter type doorknob caps and basically what has happened with both of them
is that the one of the screw housings has fallen off the side of each cap
(hope this makes sense).


I don't know, but I would certainly try, with silver-bearing solder! 
Look carefully to see if the units are not otherwise damaged.



2. Secondly, if this is not advisable, can I just replace these with the
standard type (barrel shaped) door knob caps, as long as the KV rating is
greater or equal to that of the originals ?? Surplus sales have these for
under $20US each


Probably yes.  There is both a current and a voltage issue, but in this 
application the 5 KV types should be OK.  $20 seems steep, however.  Try 
this guy:  
He is honest and has reasonable prices.  Also you might check Fair Radio 
Sales , who are cheaper than the so-called 
'surplus bandits'.

--
73,
Vic, K2VCO
Fresno CA
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco
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RE: [Elecraft] RE:Slightly off top amp question (David Douglass)

[peter gerba]

Did they have a resistor between them or at one side of a large RF Choke?

pete

-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Vic K2VCO
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 8:15 AM
To: David Douglass; Elecraft Reflector
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] RE:Slightly off top amp question (David
Douglass)


David Douglass wrote:

> On closer inspection I have so far found 2 ceramic door knob capacitors
that
> were falling apart !! These were not in the input coil alignment section,
> but near the valves and band-switch in the amp.

These are probably padders to supply more capacity to either the tune or
load capacitors on 80 and 160 meters.  If they are broken, it might be
hard to resonate the output circuit on these bands which would cause
problems with input SWR and of course power output.

> For you RF guru's out there... I have a couple of questions..

> 1. Is it possible to solder these capacitors back together ? They are the
> flatter type doorknob caps and basically what has happened with both of
them
> is that the one of the screw housings has fallen off the side of each cap
> (hope this makes sense).

I don't know, but I would certainly try, with silver-bearing solder!
Look carefully to see if the units are not otherwise damaged.

> 2. Secondly, if this is not advisable, can I just replace these with the
> standard type (barrel shaped) door knob caps, as long as the KV rating is
> greater or equal to that of the originals ?? Surplus sales have these for
> under $20US each

Probably yes.  There is both a current and a voltage issue, but in this
application the 5 KV types should be OK.  $20 seems steep, however.  Try
this guy: <http://www.mgs4u.com/RF-Microwave/doorknob-capacitors.htm>
He is honest and has reasonable prices.  Also you might check Fair Radio
Sales <http://fairradio.com/>, who are cheaper than the so-called
'surplus bandits'.
--
73,
Vic, K2VCO
Fresno CA
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco
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Re: [Elecraft] K2 RF board, NPO capacitors

[Eric Swartz - WA6HHQ, Elecraft]

Hi David,

The blue resin dipped caps actually -are- the NP0 type. :-)  Caps can 
appear in a variety of forms and colors and they do not directly 
correlate to the type. (Also, the 68 pF cap you think is missing may be 
marked either as "680" (68 times ten to the zero = 68pf)  or as just 
"68", depending upon the manufacturer.  680 pF will be marked as "681".  
(Note: NP0 and C0G caps are effectively the same for our usage.)

.
I just checked with Scott in our parts department and he doesn't recall 
seeing your email. (We save all emails and replies.) Did you send it to 
[EMAIL PROTECTED] If so, you would have received an automated receipt 
reply immediately.


In general email:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]   -  for missing parts, identification questions and 
spare parts orders.


[EMAIL PROTECTED]   - for problems debugging and operating your 
Elecraft kit.


[EMAIL PROTECTED]   - for orders, shipment status and follow up if you 
have not received a reply from parts or support after 2-3 business days.


As a general note, we frequently get emails sent to us late Friday or 
over the weekend. Its not unusual for someone to email us again even 
later that night or on Saturday or Sunday asking why we haven't replied. 
I guess everyone thinks we never sleep at Elecraft central. ;-)  That's 
probably our fault since we frequently get a little obsessive and check 
email over the weekend and late at night. Also, don't forget that we are 
in California and mat be in a different time zone from you. (And for 
international customers our holidays may be different than yours.)


When we get into work on Monday it can take a day for us to reply to all 
of the parts and support email backlog from over the weekend. We do put 
extra support staff on email Mondays, but since many builders build on 
the weekend, or open their kit for the first time, that is one of our 
highest email volume periods.


And always, if all else fails, or if it is urgent, please call us at 
831-662-8345 Mon-Fri and/or email [EMAIL PROTECTED] if you are having 
trouble reaching [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] .


73, Eric   WA6HHQ
Elecraft

P.S. Many of our missing parts requests are actually due to customer 
mis-identification of a part, of  from customer mis-placement of a part. 
Its not unusual for us to get a follow up email saying "never mind!" 
right after we send out the spare part. :-)  Don't forget to fully 
inventory your kit! :-)

---

David Lankshear wrote:

Hi all, hope someone can offer some advice on this.

I'm building K2 #5551 and was concerned that most of the RF board 
capacitors

listed as NPO appeared to be ordinary blue resin-dipped ones.

I mailed Elecraft tech support a few days ago to enquire if the caps
supplied were NPO (zero temperature coefficient dielectric) or whether 
that

spec was still required. Guess I must have done something wrong because I
got no reply, so can anyone who's "been there, done that" kindly advise,
please?

I need to order a missing 68pF NPO from Farnell and if necessary, could
re-order all the NPO caps, just to be sure.

Grateful thanks in advance for any assistance.

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[Elecraft] KX1 Ext. Speaker

[Dale Kretzer]

After recently completing a KX1 kit, I wanted to monitor with a speaker and 
what I had been using gave me very poor output levels. I bought the recommended 
Sony earbuds, which have wonderful volume and reproduction, but still wanted a 
speaker because that's the way I operate most of the time.
Cruising my local Radio Shack, I happened upon their exclusive "mini 
extension speaker for transceivers," stock number 19-318 at $26, and took it 
chance on it working well since it is "optimized for communications." It also 
is black and tiny, an appealing companion for the KX1.
I'm here to tell you that little bitty box puts out a terrific sound, 
particularly for cw and my OT hearing! Now, I'm never without it hooked up to 
my K2, K1 or KX1 unless I need the earbuds for some odd reason. I highly 
recommend it as the ideal traveling companion and in particular for solo or 
public display Field Day stations. I nearly wrote Wayne earlier to recommend it 
after spotting the speaker in his FD setup that was bigger than the rest of his 
station :)
Meanwhile, I'm still chuckling over AB3AP's insightful comment that the 
K2's "not inst" display also flashes a subliminal "buy me" message. I'm going 
to try that reasoning with the xyl on my next Elecraft purchase, which will be 
a noise blanker so I'm not bothered by all the UPS truck deliveries.
73, Dale K6PJV
Sacramento
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RE: [Elecraft] K2 Serial # 5600

[Bernard Gaffney]

  Just FYI, my K2-to-be is #5601. Having it built for
me. Hoping to have it somewhere mid-July to a little
after that.

FWIW, will have:

K2   - QRP version   
KAF2 - K2 Audio filter and Real Time Clock
KBT2 - K2 Internal 2.9AH Battery Kit
KIO2 - K2 AUX I/O RS-232 Interface
KSB2 - K2 SSB Option

  72 de N8PVZ
---bernie



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Re: [Elecraft] Ponderings

[Jack Brindle]

Richard;

I would opt for the third option (separate K2/100) for just one  
reason. As you mentioned below, you have "A Son in scouting,  
baseball, and band." Is he interested in ham radio yet? When you do  
get him addicted, you will want to have a separate station for him to  
work with besides your main one. It could definitely be a huge  
advantage to have a second rig at the ready, one for you and one for  
him to practice, operate, etc.


I'm looking at a similar situation - KG6YMN (my 14 year old) is  
showing signs of wanting to upgrade from technician. He thoroughly  
enjoyed operating the GOTA station at Field Day. The possibility of  
having to share my K2/100 is making me contemplate other options...


On Jun 28, 2006, at 6:49 AM, Richard Kent wrote:

I am trying to decide.. 1) Build the KPA100 into an EC2 case. 2)  
Convert my
current K2 to a K2/100. 3)  Build a separate new K2/100. Goals are:  
100
watts as an option. Maintain portability. Minimum building time.  
Don't get
me wrong I like building. I have house related projects to do. A  
Son in
scouting, baseball, and band. Daughters in college. Cars to fix.  
Need I
continue. I guess I would like to know what the caveats are to the  
separate

box solution. Any ideas?? Any other ideas not mentioned?? Thanks in
advanced.



Richard Kent, WD8AJG

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- Jack Brindle, W6FB
 
-



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Re: [Elecraft] K2 Serial # 5600

[W4ABW]

I have often wondered if serial numbers on today's radios run  sequential.
 
Seems like they may skip numbers to make us think they sell more than they  
actually do.
 
I wonder mostly about the Ken,IC and Yaesu.
 
 
Al
W4ABW
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[Elecraft] KXAT1 calibration

[k4elv]

I have a question for the group.  I have recently completed the KX1 with the 
30/80 board.  The unit is working.  Worked OJ0 last Friday night on 30 meters.  
The problem I'm having is with the KXAT1.  The first problem was reading only 
(---) when installed.  Problem was fixed with a new MCU for the main board.  
Now I can access the ATU and it's parameters.  Here's my question.  Following 
my interpreation of the calibration steps, I tap menu to gain ATU. I rotate the 
VFO switch to find CAL.  Now my understanding is to hold both Menu and Band 
while still in CAL to enter TUNE.  If that's correct I have a problem.  I can 
not access Tune while in CAL.  I can use the VFO to go to TUNE, but that's not 
using the Menu and Band switches, which I interprate as no longer being in CAL. 
 Is that correct??  Boy, am I confused.  Any help would be appreciated.  73 
Mike K4ELV

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RE: [Elecraft] rack mount

[Timothy A. Raymer]

If memory serves me correctly, the station out in the Carribean that 
Bob Patten, N4BP, operates from in some contests has two K2 radios 
rack mounted.  Maybe Bob could help?


Tim Raymer
73 de KA0OUV
K2 #1383

At 21:42 06/27/2006, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:

Steve KW5TX asked:

I also...would like to mount the K2 and EC2 in a rack mount case for
transport in and out of my RV .. I need brackets...  any ideas?  anyone
done this?


Timothy A. Raymer
Missouri Department of
Health and Senior Services




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Re: [Elecraft] KX1 Ext. Speaker

[Martin Gillen]

Hi, Dale.

I bought a set of Nexxtech speakers for my KX1:

http://tinyurl.com/l7ql3

They develop a huge amount of audio and they fold together to a package
about the same size as the KX1.  Very light and Li-ion batteries last a LONG
time (I'm still on my first set after 6 months...).

I'm very happy with those, esp. for back packing.

The only problem is the length of the cord they came with (about 1
foot) but that
was easily solved with an extension :)

73
Martin.
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Re: [Elecraft] KX1 Ext. Speaker

[Leigh L Klotz, Jr.]

This is a good find...I have never seen it in the stores...I will look 
for one.


Here are a couple more options: depending on your sense of style, you 
may also like the Radio Shack 277-1008, which is a $13 mono speaker, 
though decidedly Radio Shack looking.  A step up (and smallest of the 3) 
is the MacAlly iPod "PodWave" speaker, IP-A111,  but it needs an 
impedance transformer to make it work with the KX1.  I see they now have 
an IP-A111B in black, both for $40.


Type 277-1008 into google for pix of the $13 radio shack offering, and 
see http://wa5znu.org/log/2006/06/kx1-ipod-speaker.html for the pix of 
the MacAlly PodWave with my KX1.


Leigh/WA5ZNU
On Wed, 28 Jun 2006 9:01 am, Dale Kretzer wrote:
Cruising my local Radio Shack, I happened upon their exclusive 
"mini extension speaker for transceivers," stock number 19-318 at $26, 
and took it chance on it working well since it is "optimized for 
communications." It also is black

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Re: [Elecraft] KX1 Ext. Speaker

[Dan KB6NU]

I found a set of battery-powered, amplified computer speakers at  
Dayton for $3/pair. They were designed to use six C cells, three in  
one speaker and three in the other. I modified the main speaker to  
accept a 9V battery. So, for three bucks, I got a nice speaker to use  
with the KX-1 and a second, non-amplified speaker to use for another  
project.


73!

Dan KB6NU
--
CW Geek and MI Affiliated Club Coordinator
Read my ham radio blog at www.kb6nu.com
LET'S GET MORE KIDS INTO HAM RADIO!


On Jun 28, 2006, at 1:57 PM, Leigh L Klotz, Jr. wrote:

This is a good find...I have never seen it in the stores...I will  
look for one.


Here are a couple more options: depending on your sense of style,  
you may also like the Radio Shack 277-1008, which is a $13 mono  
speaker, though decidedly Radio Shack looking.  A step up (and  
smallest of the 3) is the MacAlly iPod "PodWave" speaker, IP-A111,   
but it needs an impedance transformer to make it work with the  
KX1.  I see they now have an IP-A111B in black, both for $40.


Type 277-1008 into google for pix of the $13 radio shack offering,  
and see http://wa5znu.org/log/2006/06/kx1-ipod-speaker.html for the  
pix of the MacAlly PodWave with my KX1.


Leigh/WA5ZNU
On Wed, 28 Jun 2006 9:01 am, Dale Kretzer wrote:
Cruising my local Radio Shack, I happened upon their exclusive  
"mini extension speaker for transceivers," stock number 19-318 at  
$26, and took it chance on it working well since it is "optimized  
for communications." It also is black

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Re: [Elecraft] Scopes

[Darrell Bellerive]

Too bad as it would have been a relatively inexpensive way to get a scope and 
spectrum analyzer.

On June 25, 2006 12:30 pm, Alexandru Csete wrote:
> > What about a PC scope like the Bitscope: http://www.bitscope.com? Anybody
> > use one of these?
>
> I have one of those and I haven't been able to see RF signals on it
> properly; it looks like my signals are drowned in noise. I have the
> feeling that they are designed for "usual" LF electronics and the
> circuit is too simple to do the proper signal conditioning. On the
> other hand, it has open design (like elecraft), so maybe someone can
> improve them :-)
>

-- 
Darrell Bellerive
Amateur Radio Stations VA7TO and VE7CLA
Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada
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[Elecraft] FD wipe-out-need advice on the Iambic key

[William Moore]

Hi,

 I am an 807 generation ham, who has stayed only moderately active over the
years on SSB and VHF-FM as well as involvement community emergency planning.
However, the advent of the Elecraft K2 rekindled a passion to once again
feel that special ham radio magic of my teen years that resulted from
building my own radio, making CW contacts with little power into a simple
(home-brew) antennas and, of course, the glory of participating as a CW
entrant in Field Day using a modest setup.

Recently, my K2 3842, basic kit, made its successful debut. A little late in
completion but a lifetime of life intervened between the arrival of that
special white box of parts and final completion. I made my first CW contacts
in 48 years. What a thrill. I  was motivated. It was now time to prepare for
FD. I got my code speed up to 100% at 10 wpm with W1AW sessions but, alas,
after what seemed like hundreds of QSO's with the K2 in the tESt mode, I
just could not develop any consistent skill using my Bencher BY-2  Iambic
paddles. No problem though. Instead, I dusted off my very old and well
pitted, (by keying the voracious cathodes of the 807's at 500 volts) Lionel
J-38 key and polished up my rusty fist instead.

Field day arrived and I was on the air as a 1E station with my K2 set to a
very testy 5 watts. Very quickly and much to my dismay, it was apparent that
I was so very outclassed. Iambic keys dominated and the average CW speed of
the contest was at least twice that of my recently regained skill of 10 wpm.
Except for the K2, I felt like I was in an F1 race with a 1980 Chevy
Cavalier. I made a few contacts with some very patient operators but I was
so not prepared. I realized how true it is that a radio is only as good as
the operator in front of it.

So, before I condescend to selling my Bencher BY-2, retiring the J-38 for
life and start building the K2 SSB board, the 100 watt amp and permanently
retiring up-band, can someone give me some advice on possibly mastering the
Iambic key. Questions include:

1.  Iambic A or Iambic B?
2.  Proper contact spacing on the paddles?
3.  Paddles n or Paddles r? I am right handed.
4.  How to best learn the art of Iambic keying. For instance start at 20 wpm
and work down or 10 wpm and work up?
5.  Slap or caress the paddles?
6.  Is it just a matter of practice, practice and more practice? Kind of
like soldering
7.  A reality check, maybe I am just too far gone to learn this skill. But,
at one time,  I did have a pretty good fist on  the J-38.
..And any other tid-bits of advice

So, I have returned to W1AW code practice sessions. I will take the K2 out
of tESt (except on SKN New Years Eve), when I can once again copy up to
15-20 wpm and hopefully transmitting with some vestige of skill using Iambic
keying.

Thank you for any advice.

Bill, VE2WMA








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Re: [Elecraft] FD wipe-out-need advice on the Iambic key

[Mike Markowski]

Hi Bill,

First, don't give up!  I'd try using a combination of approaches: copy
some W1AW, copy some qsos, practice off-air at your highest sending (not
copying) speed, and of course have qsos at comfortable, but too
comfortable, speeds.

William Moore wrote:
> 1.  Iambic A or Iambic B?

A sends exactly your paddle presses.
B adds an extra iambic (adds a dit to a dah, or dah to a dit) to your
final press.

I think it comes down to what you've learned.  Last year I liked B best,
but as my speed has increased I now prefer A.

> 2.  Proper contact spacing on the paddles?

Personal preference probably, but I like mine as close as possible so I
barely have to touch the paddles.

> 3.  Paddles n or Paddles r? I am right handed.

Most likely 'n' so that your thumb sends dits and finger sends dahs.

> 4.  How to best learn the art of Iambic keying. For instance start at 20 wpm
> and work down or 10 wpm and   work up?
> 5.  Slap or caress the paddles?
> 6.  Is it just a matter of practice, practice and more practice? Kind of
> like soldering

For all the above, go to http://www.k7qo.net/ and under the section "Ham
Radio Articles" read the article "Sending Morse".  It's extremely helpful.

> 7.  A reality check, maybe I am just too far gone to learn this skill. But,
> at one time,  I did have a pretty good fist   on  the J-38.
> ..And any other tid-bits of advice

It might be me, but relaxation is helpful.  When I'm in the state of
mind where I almost don't care whether I copy correctly...that's when I
copy best!

GL & 73,
Mike  ab3ap
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[Elecraft] K2 SN 05016 CAL FIL BFO Question

[SABorns]

When making my CAL FIL BFO settings the frequency readout varies slightly.  
eg 4913.19 to 4913.20.
I don't remember if my previous K2 (SN 0085) did this. Is this  normal?
TNX ES 73
Steve K8IDN
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RE: [Elecraft] FD wipe-out-need advice on the Iambic key

[Darwin, Keith]

Do you want to use an iambic key or do you want to do CW?  Believe it or
not, you can do a lot of CW without an iambic key.  In fact, I've been
using my straight key more than the paddles and have no plans to change.

My CW speed tops out at around 20 wpm.  I prefer 15 - 18 wpm for most
QSOs.  At those speeds, I used to always use the paddles.  These days,
I'm on the straight key and it is more fun.  Now I'm the one making the
CW, not some DIP in a box.  I used to think a straight key was for
speeds below 8 wpm but now I see I was wrong.  Having a good straight
key and having it correctly adjusted sure helps too.

Of course during contests, speeds are higher and I'm on the Kent paddles
for that but I'm finding my interest in DXing and contesting is
weakening as my interest in simple CW QSOs increases.

If you really want to do the Iambic dance, I'd say start slow and work
up.  Learn to control the beast when it is moving slowly.  Iambic keying
is an indirect timing activity.  With a straight key, your timing
determines the length and spacing of the elements.  It is very direct.
With the paddles you only control when the little keyer makes dots &
dashes for you and often you're giving it commands (switch closures)
before you want the actual element to sound.  It is a different mind set
and indeed takes some practice.  Start slow and practice it right.  Work
on accuracy and good spacing.  Speed will come in time.  Give your body
time to learn the motions.

With paddles, a light touch is all that is needed.  You don't have to
slap it around.  Also, do some reading.  For instance I assume you know
that if you squeeze both paddles you get alternating dots & dashes?
Also I assume you know that if you press the dot key during a dash, the
keyer will insert it at the end of that dash.  If this is news to you,
do some reading to learn what Iambic is & how it works.

- Keith KD1E -
- K2 5411 -


-Original Message-
From: William Moore

So, before I condescend to selling my Bencher BY-2, retiring the J-38
for life and start building the K2 SSB board, the 100 watt amp and
permanently retiring up-band, can someone give me some advice on
possibly mastering the Iambic key.
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RE: [Elecraft] FD wipe-out-need advice on the Iambic key

[BMW]

Actually, Iambic operation is a little more complicated than this. I found a
good explanation at

http://www.n9vv.com/k7qo-a-b-keying.html

In this, Chuck says:

"In mode A. When the paddle or paddles are released, either during a space
element or during a current element being sent, then sending is stopped
after the completion of the current element being sent. It was simple to do,
thus mode A came first."

"In mode B. And this is the part that everyone that I have seen explain this
misses. What is very very critical is that you have to look at the condition
of the paddles at the MIDPOINT of the current element being sent...If at the
mid point of an element the opposite paddle is still depressed, then the
alternating element will be sent after the space. If you can let go of the
opposite paddle before this critical time (the midpoint), then you won't get
anything from that paddle, unless you reclose it before the finish of the
space. Everything that I have seen in print by others implies that if the
opposite paddle is closed at the beginning of the element then you will get
the opposite element sent. This is not supposed to be the case and if any of
you software guru's in your code for the mode B have it this way I'd suggest
changing it."

Brian, W0DZ
--
Mike wrote:

Hi Bill,

First, don't give up!  I'd try using a combination of approaches: copy
some W1AW, copy some qsos, practice off-air at your highest sending (not
copying) speed, and of course have qsos at comfortable, but too
comfortable, speeds.

William Moore wrote:
> 1.  Iambic A or Iambic B?

A sends exactly your paddle presses.
B adds an extra iambic (adds a dit to a dah, or dah to a dit) to your
final press.




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RE: [Elecraft] FD wipe-out-need advice on the Iambic key

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

Bill, VE2WMA asked:

 I made my first CW contacts in 48 years. What a thrill. I  was motivated.
It was now time to prepare for FD. I got my code speed up to 100% at 10 wpm
with W1AW sessions but, alas, after what seemed like hundreds of QSO's with
the K2 in the tESt mode, I just could not develop any consistent skill using
my Bencher BY-2  Iambic paddles. No problem though. Instead, I dusted off my
very old and well pitted, (by keying the voracious cathodes of the 807's at
500 volts) Lionel J-38 key and polished up my rusty fist instead.

Field day arrived and I was on the air as a 1E station with my K2 set to a
very testy 5 watts. Very quickly and much to my dismay, it was apparent that
I was so very outclassed. Iambic keys dominated and the average CW speed of
the contest was at least twice that of my recently regained skill of 10 wpm.
Except for the K2, I felt like I was in an F1 race with a 1980 Chevy
Cavalier. I made a few contacts with some very patient operators but I was
so not prepared. I realized how true it is that a radio is only as good as
the operator in front of it.

So, before I condescend to selling my Bencher BY-2, retiring the J-38 for
life and start building the K2 SSB board, the 100 watt amp and permanently
retiring up-band, can someone give me some advice on possibly mastering the
Iambic key. Questions include:

1.  Iambic A or Iambic B?
2.  Proper contact spacing on the paddles?
3.  Paddles n or Paddles r? I am right handed.
4.  How to best learn the art of Iambic keying. For instance start at 20 wpm
and work down or 10 wpm and work up?
5.  Slap or caress the paddles?
6.  Is it just a matter of practice, practice and more practice? Kind of
like soldering 7.  A reality check, maybe I am just too far gone to learn
this skill. But,
at one time,  I did have a pretty good fist on  the J-38.
..And any other tid-bits of advice

---

Congrats Bill, from another "807 generation" Ham (still have a couple of
807's around, and I'm not talking about the kind that are kept in the
'fridge either). I pounded brass with straight key and bug for 20 years,
followed by 25 years on a keyer, and now almost 10 years back on the bug
just for the fun of it. 

Nothing collapses one's fist like "pressure". You said you got up to 10 wpm
copying W1AW, but what about sending? I have always set aside a little time
to practice and check my sending from time to time - usually when I have the
itch to operate but time is very limited. So I do a little sending practice.
Keyer or Bug, my goal is to send a full page from the phone book, names,
addresses and phone numbers, smoothly and without a mistake. That's how I
learned my keyer and that's what I do regularly to check myself on the bug
now. For smoothness, I used to record my sending then listen to it a few
days later to see if I liked my "fist". A quicker feedback these days is to
use a CW "reader" program on the computer, but those programs are
notoriously sensitive: they often make garbage from a good keyer fist not to
mention a manual key. So if I can get >90% copy on the computer I relax a
tad. I use "CW Get" which is available as Shareware.

I think a contest, especially a contest in which you feel at all pressured
by the speed of other fists, is the most undesirable sort of environment in
which to build your speed. At best you'll learn to recognize calls and
limited data but, as you know, that's a far cry from really copying CW. And,
as you observed, trying to send a reply quickly and efficiently is horribly
difficult. 

An Iambic key is much like a manual key: there's a rhythm that you want to
maintain. The time-honored process of sending at your clean speed and
watching it move upward is still best, IMHO. As the FISTS guys say: accuracy
transcends speed. You don't need to apply much pressure, if any at all. Just
move along at your best sending speed and the speed increases naturally. I
still remember my (very pleasant) surprise when I first got on the air at 5
WPM. I could barely send or copy at that speed. A few months later I
discovered that I was clipping along at 15 wpm on a straight key, and doing
so to the satisfaction of the FCC examiner when I passed my sending and
receiving test for my General class license. Nothing encourages learning
like having fun, including learning Morse. For goodness' sake take that K2
*out* of TEST mode frequently when there's no contest going on. Anyone who
complains about your fist isn't worth a QSO anyway. Have fun on purpose!
This is a hobby, not rocket science! Speed will follow the fun quite
naturally.

Another issue has to do with practice sending vs. actual sending. I've known
a number of Hams who discovered they couldn't think about what to send while
actually sending. They can send prepared text - for a contest exchange or
practice copy off of a printed page - but they can't think of what to say in
a normal QSO *and* send at the same time. I guess it does take practice. I

[Elecraft] Need advice on the Iambic key

[Tom Hammond]

Hi Bill:


So, before I condescend to selling my Bencher BY-2, retiring the J-38 for
life and start building the K2 SSB board, the 100 watt amp and permanently
retiring up-band, can someone give me some advice on possibly mastering the
Iambic key.


NEVER GIVE UP...!


 Questions include:

1.  Iambic A or Iambic B?


Generally, most ops seem to prefer Mode B as it is a bit more 'forgiving'.


2.  Proper contact spacing on the paddles?


Personal preference dominates here, but for starters, try using a QSL 
card as a feeler gauge. This is generally a pretty good starting point.


NOTE: You'll probably get a LOT of 'opinions' here, so read ALL of 
them and then try to choose what feels best to you.


Some folks who consider themselves 'speed merchants' like to set 
their contacts to the point that I'd swear you could BLOW on the 
paddles and have them close. This drives me NUTZ!!! And it is 
certainly NOT RECOMMENDED for a newbie... you can do that later, once 
you are an expert!


2a. You forgot to ask about spring tension. The BY-1 is (supposedly) 
independently adjustable for tension, however given that the spring 
can (eventually) 'roll' around the cylindrical post, you usually wind 
up with both paddles adjusted to nearly the same tension... which is 
not all that bad an idea anyway.


Again, 'personal' taste dominated here, but I like to set my paddles 
(and I am a 25-40 WPM CW op, so these settings work well for me from 
5 WPM to 40 WPM), such that I must exert a small amount of pressure 
on the paddles to close them solidly, but NOT nearly so much pressure 
that there's any chance of my moving the paddle base. I want to be 
able to 1) HEAR a slight 'click' as the contact closes, to 2) FEEL a 
bit of movement when that closure occurs, and finally 3) to feel a 
small amount of resistance as I close the contacts.



3.  Paddles n or Paddles r? I am right handed.


Paddle (N)ormal  E.g. DAH on the right, DIT on the left


4.  How to best learn the art of Iambic keying. For instance start at 20 wpm
and work down or 10 wpm and work up?


Did you ever put in any time on a bug? We'er of the same vintage 
(licensed in '57-'58) it sound like, so you may have had some 
familiarity with a bug.


IF you HAVE used a bug, you may find that you do not need (or want) 
to use iambic keying... the keyer's still completely useful if you 
never use any of the iambic features! NOT using iambic just means 
that you don't try to learn 'squeeze keying'... how to keep one 
paddle closed while flicking your other finger to 'insert' a DIT or 
DAH in between the other element being generated. You'd basically use 
the paddle as if it were a BUG, hitting one side for DITs and the 
other side for DAHs, and merely alternating between the two paddles 
to form characters. Generally easier than learning iambic.


Regardless of which mode you choose, start sending at a speed at or 
just slightly above that at which you can copy. If you learn to send 
at 20 WPM while only copying 10 WPM, you'll find yourself CQing at a 
speed much above what you can copy and having responses at that same 
speed... and having to ask for many QRS'.  One can always (almost) 
always send faster than he can copy, so there's little problem in 
cranking up the speed once you have the 'feel' for the paddles and the keyer.



5.  Slap or caress the paddles?


NEVER SLAP!!!

Caress is probably not a bad description.

When one is sending CW with a paddle, there is a finite amount of 
time required to make the DIT-to-DAH (or vice versa) transition. If 
you 'slap' at the paddles, you fingers will be MUCH too widely spaced 
(from the paddles) and you'll find that you'll have difficulty 
getting your fingers TO the alternate paddle in time to properly 
complete some characters. So, reduce the finger-to-paddle space as 
much as possible.


You don't have to touch both paddles all the time, but your fingers 
should be very close to them so only a small amount of movement is 
required to make alternating closures of the paddles in order to make 
timely contact closures of the contacts. If you don't make timely 
closures, your individual characters will be 'broken' into two 
separate characters, rather than being one complete character.


Also, many ops prefer to use the sides of their fingers to press 
against the paddles. I've always found that the tips of my fingers 
have more verve endings and that I have a finer paddle control if I 
use the tips of my fingers (thumb and index finger) to key.



6.  Is it just a matter of practice, practice and more practice? Kind of
like soldering


Even more demanding than soldering! But equally more fun as well. 
Even after 48 years of hamming I still find myself (esp. when the 
bands are dead) sitting in front of the K2 (in CW TEST mode), sending 
text out of QST into the air of the shack, just purely for fun and practice.



7.  A reality check, maybe I am just too far gone to learn this skill. But,
at one time,  I did have a pre

[Elecraft] RE: K2 Serial # 5600

[Steven Pituch]

Hi Keith and all,
My 1999 K2 #402 has never really seemed old to me.  Maybe a little before I
upgraded it last year, but it kicked ass back then, and did so again
Saturday night during field day.  As a K2/100 it worked so well compared to
the other rigs we were using.  Its timeless, and it’s a keeper.

Steve, W2MY

-Original Message-

Gee, I keep feeling like I have a "new" K2 but SN 5411 is almost 200 behind
the lead runner at this point.  By the end of the year we will probably pass
the 6000 mark.  Maybe I should start timing it now so I can get SN 6000?

- Keith KD1E -
- K2 5411 - 

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RE: [Elecraft] Need advice on the Iambic key

[Dan Barker]

Tom, of course the spring tension is the same on both paddles, the spring
just wraps around the rear post. However, the distance from the pivots to
the spring attachment point is individually adjustable. So, although the
spring tension is identical, left to right, that tension's torque (toward
opening the contact) is dependant on the lever arm from the pivot to the
spring grove on the screw (or is it a bolt).

Dan / WG4S / K2 #2456


2a. You forgot to ask about spring tension. The BY-1 is (supposedly)
independently adjustable for tension, however given that the spring
can (eventually) 'roll' around the cylindrical post, you usually wind
up with both paddles adjusted to nearly the same tension... which is
not all that bad an idea anyway.


btw, I have mine adjusted so the opening torque is the same on both
paddles.

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Re: [Elecraft] Need advice on the Iambic key

[Mark Saunders, KJ7BS]

I agree with Tom.

"NO...!  TAKE IT OUT OF TEST MODE NOW!!!

NOW is the time to be OPERATING! GET ON THE AIR and USE your 
abilities... use the J-38 as a starting point... you can probably get 
up to 18-20 WPM with it yet, all the while improving your abilities 
to copy. "

 There is simply NO better method to improve both your sending and receiving 
skill than to operate on the air, plus it's fun.  Any CW op worth their salt 
will always slow down to your sending speed (assuming most can copy what they 
can send, so don't send faster than you can copy).  If you run across a CW op 
that will not slow down, say no thank you and move on.

We all had horrible fists at one time and were slow.  I will never forget one 
of my first CW QSOs. as a new Technician with Morse code,  that laster over an 
hour.  Later I discovered the ham that listened to my shakey and poor fist was 
an Extra class operator.  That made an impression on me and to this day I do my 
best to "pay it forward" when I hear the slow unsteady fist of a new CW op.

Mark Saunders, KJ7BS
Glendale, AZ

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[Elecraft] RE: Ponderings

[Steven Pituch]

Hi Richard,
I love my K2/KDSP2/KAT2 plus EC2/KPA100/KAT100 combo.  To me it’s the ony
way to go. Yes, its got two tuners but they are available for QRO/ QRP when
you need them.  Disconnect the cables and go instantly from QRO to QRP.
There are two very good web sites that explain how to do the EC2 mod. (But I
have old links to them).  Anyone have the up-to-date links?

Regards,
Steve, W2MY


-Original Message-
From: Richard Kent

I am trying to decide.. 1) Build the KPA100 into an EC2 case. 2) Convert my
current K2 to a K2/100. 3)  Build a separate new K2/100. Goals are:
100 watts as an option. Maintain portability. Minimum building time.

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Re: [Elecraft] Need advice on the Iambic key

[Mike Morrow]

Tom wrote:

>>1.  Iambic A or Iambic B?
>
>Generally, most ops seem to prefer Mode B as it is a bit more 'forgiving'.

Tom, much as I hate to, I'm going to disagree a little here.  

The paddle timing is quite a lot more critical in mode B than in mode A, since 
holding the paddles closed just a *tiny* bit too long at the end of an iambic 
string will cause an unwanted dit or dah to be generated, even though the 
paddle for that dit or dah was not closed.  In mode A, one gets a dit or dah 
ONLY if the paddle for the dit or dah has been closed.

There's no advantage to mode B over mode A in terms of paddle manipulations 
required to generate a particular character, but mode B may allow the paddles 
to be released a tiny bit earlier than mode A would.

I personally hate mode B, the mode that resulted from a logic flaw in an early 
electronic keyer that became advertised, a la Microsoft, as a "feature."  But, 
which ever mode one learns, the other will be hated.

I'd recommend learning mode B over mode A, because some ham rig manufacturers 
(such as Yaesu) have been arrogant enough to include keyers in some of their 
rigs that function only in mode B.  It's also obvious that, in some ham 
Morse-guru circles, some seem to consider the use of mode B as a sign of 
superiority.

73,
Mike / KK5F
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Re: [Elecraft] Need advice on the Iambic key

[Dave Sublette]

One man's nemesis is another man's requirement By pure chance, I 
learned to use a keyer with a Mode B machine many,,,many years ago. I 
now find that I have trouble leaving off trailing dots if I use a Mode A 
machine. So the remark that Mode B allows leaving off a tiny bit earlier 
is right on. I need that little extra time. I'm sure I could retrain to 
use a mode A machine, but at age 64 and 49 years experience on the air 
perhaps doesn't allow for that.


73,

Dave, K4TO


Mike Morrow wrote:

Tom wrote:


1.  Iambic A or Iambic B?

Generally, most ops seem to prefer Mode B as it is a bit more 'forgiving'.


Tom, much as I hate to, I'm going to disagree a little here.  


The paddle timing is quite a lot more critical in mode B than in mode A, since 
holding the paddles closed just a *tiny* bit too long at the end of an iambic 
string will cause an unwanted dit or dah to be generated, even though the 
paddle for that dit or dah was not closed.  In mode A, one gets a dit or dah 
ONLY if the paddle for the dit or dah has been closed.

There's no advantage to mode B over mode A in terms of paddle manipulations 
required to generate a particular character, but mode B may allow the paddles 
to be released a tiny bit earlier than mode A would.

I personally hate mode B, the mode that resulted from a logic flaw in an early electronic 
keyer that became advertised, a la Microsoft, as a "feature."  But, which ever 
mode one learns, the other will be hated.

I'd recommend learning mode B over mode A, because some ham rig manufacturers 
(such as Yaesu) have been arrogant enough to include keyers in some of their 
rigs that function only in mode B.  It's also obvious that, in some ham 
Morse-guru circles, some seem to consider the use of mode B as a sign of 
superiority.

73,
Mike / KK5F
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Re: [Elecraft] Need advice on the Iambic key

[Brian Murrey]

I'm just a slap keyer I guess.  Never could figure out that Iambic
stuff...when to squeeze, when not to squeeze...so I just flop my digits back
and forth.



- Original Message - 
From: "Mike Morrow" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: 
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 5:34 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Need advice on the Iambic key


> Tom wrote:
>
> >>1.  Iambic A or Iambic B?
> >
> >Generally, most ops seem to prefer Mode B as it is a bit more 'forgiving'.
>
> Tom, much as I hate to, I'm going to disagree a little here.
>
> The paddle timing is quite a lot more critical in mode B than in mode A,
since holding the paddles closed just a *tiny* bit too long at the end of an
iambic string will cause an unwanted dit or dah to be generated, even though
the paddle for that dit or dah was not closed.  In mode A, one gets a dit or
dah ONLY if the paddle for the dit or dah has been closed.
>
> There's no advantage to mode B over mode A in terms of paddle manipulations
required to generate a particular character, but mode B may allow the paddles
to be released a tiny bit earlier than mode A would.
>
> I personally hate mode B, the mode that resulted from a logic flaw in an
early electronic keyer that became advertised, a la Microsoft, as a "feature."
But, which ever mode one learns, the other will be hated.
>
> I'd recommend learning mode B over mode A, because some ham rig
manufacturers (such as Yaesu) have been arrogant enough to include keyers in
some of their rigs that function only in mode B.  It's also obvious that, in
some ham Morse-guru circles, some seem to consider the use of mode B as a sign
of superiority.
>
> 73,
> Mike / KK5F
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Re: [Elecraft] Need advice on the Iambic key

[w6jd]

That's my technique too.

Doug
W6JD

-- Original message -- 
From: "Brian Murrey" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 

> I'm just a slap keyer I guess. Never could figure out that Iambic 
> stuff...when to squeeze, when not to squeeze...so I just flop my digits back 
> and forth. 
> 
> 
> 
> - Original Message - 
> From: "Mike Morrow" 
> To: 
> Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 5:34 PM 
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Need advice on the Iambic key 
> 
> 
> > Tom wrote: 
> > 
> > >>1. Iambic A or Iambic B? 
> > > 
> > >Generally, most ops seem to prefer Mode B as it is a bit more 'forgiving'. 
> > 
> > Tom, much as I hate to, I'm going to disagree a little here. 
> > 
> > The paddle timing is quite a lot more critical in mode B than in mode A, 
> since holding the paddles closed just a *tiny* bit too long at the end of an 
> iambic string will cause an unwanted dit or dah to be generated, even though 
> the paddle for that dit or dah was not closed. In mode A, one gets a dit or 
> dah ONLY if the paddle for the dit or dah has been closed. 
> > 
> > There's no advantage to mode B over mode A in terms of paddle manipulations 
> required to generate a particular character, but mode B may allow the paddles 
> to be released a tiny bit earlier than mode A would. 
> > 
> > I personally hate mode B, the mode that resulted from a logic flaw in an 
> early electronic keyer that became advertised, a la Microsoft, as a 
> "feature." 
> But, which ever mode one learns, the other will be hated. 
> > 
> > I'd recommend learning mode B over mode A, because some ham rig 
> manufacturers (such as Yaesu) have been arrogant enough to include keyers in 
> some of their rigs that function only in mode B. It's also obvious that, in 
> some ham Morse-guru circles, some seem to consider the use of mode B as a 
> sign 
> of superiority. 
> > 
> > 73, 
> > Mike / KK5F 
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Re: [Elecraft] Need advice on the Iambic key

[Mike Harris]

G'day,

Well my set up here is:

Mode B
PdLr
I'm mainly left handed and send dashes with my thumb
Have a Bencher BY-2 or whatever the two paddled horror is called and I 
don't like it

Will probably get a single paddle soon, probably Kent kit.  My first keyer
was a Samson (sp) ETM-2B which I used for two years sending weather obs in
the Antarctic thirty years ago.  My second keyer is a K2!  I guess I don't
make much use of iambic except when sending CQ.  There is only a small
advantage in key strokes between iambic and single paddle.  Using a single
paddle I just roll the tip of my finger and ball of my thumb on the paddle
and it works just fine, for me.

How did the dots with the thumb happen.  Right at my beginning with the
ETM-2B I rather thought that sending the fastest element with the slowest
responding digit seemed odd and have sent dits with my finger ever since.
There again as I said above, I'm a mainly left handed hybrid.

In single paddle mode, mode A or B seem to work the same for me.

And remember, only left handed people are in their right mind.  Think
brain hemispheres.

Regards,

Mike VP8NO

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[Elecraft] RE: first checks resist. kx1

[Paul Neuman]

Same story here as Andy...

I  completed the first resistance checks on my kx1 over the weekend.  My 
readings (and confusion) are nearly exactly the same as Andy except my 
pin 5 resistance is  higher at about 33k.


I had taken a lot of care in putting this together as I haven't built a 
kit in many years but I rechecked placements, values, and solder joints 
just to be sure.  I stared through a magnifying glass between making FD 
contacts and then stared some more.  I resoldered some perfectly good 
looking solder joints figuring something must be bad.


Then. after looking back through past postings, I concluded that an 
infinite reading is >10k and I would press on, albeit somewhat 
nervously.  The readings for pins 1, 3, 4, 8, 19, and 20 seemed to be 
the important ones and other than that I was looking for shorts. 

Then I realized I had completely disregarded the need for a power supply 
so I'm on hold until my CUP-36 power supply arrives.   Well, I'm winding 
toroids, finishing up the tuner and 30/80 kits which I had used as 
warmup, and I will put together my NOCAL dummy load.


Did we go wrong someplace or is what we're seeing indeed OK?

Paul KD2MX



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Re: [Elecraft] FD wipe-out-need advice on the Iambic key

[N2EY]

In a message dated 6/28/06 3:06:42 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:


> I am an 807 generation ham, 

I still use them!

>  Lionel
> J-38 key and polished up my rusty fist instead.
> 
> Field day arrived and I was on the air as a 1E station with my K2 set to a
> very testy 5 watts. Very quickly and much to my dismay, it was apparent that
> I was so very outclassed. Iambic keys dominated and the average CW speed of
> the contest was at least twice that of my recently regained skill of 10 wpm.
> 
> 1.  Iambic A or Iambic B?
> 2.  Proper contact spacing on the paddles?
> 3.  Paddles n or Paddles r? I am right handed.
> 4.  How to best learn the art of Iambic keying. For instance start at 20 wpm
> and work down or 10 wpm and work up?
> 5.  Slap or caress the paddles?
> 6.  Is it just a matter of practice, practice and more practice? Kind of
> like soldering
> 7.  A reality check, maybe I am just too far gone to learn this skill. But,
> at one time,  I did have a pretty good fist on  the J-38.
> ..And any other tid-bits of advice

Did you ever use a bug?

For the first 7 years I was a ham, (1967-1974), all I used was a straight 
key. J-37. Could do well over 20 per on it - that's how I passed the Extra 
sending test.

When I got to college in 1972, there was a Vibrokeyer paddle and Autronic 
keyer (remember those?) but I could not get the hang of electronic keying.

In 1974 I got a Vibroplex Original Standard for Christmas. It was a match 
made in heaven. Still using that key, although I now have three other bugs and 
the old J-37. 

Some folks take a dim view of bugs but I have found that nobody knows I am 
using one until I tell them. I have observed that the problems others have with 
bugs come from two basic sources:

1) Not knowing how to properly adjust the key

2) Not having enough straight key experience before trying the bug.

With your straight key experience, you may find it easier to adjust to a bug.

73 de Jim, N2EY


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Re: [Elecraft] KX1 Ext. Speaker

[Leigh L Klotz, Jr.]

I used a Radio Shack 273-1380, whichi is 1K ohms to 8 ohms.  I hooked 
the 8 ohm side to the plug on the PodWave and the 1K ohm side to the 
audio amplifier PC board.  I outboarded it with leads through holes in 
the plastic case.  I clipped the center tap on the 1K ohm side.  I spent 
some time looking for a small SMD audio transformer in the Mouser 
catalog but couldn't find one that wasn't 1:1.  There is enough room 
inside the case for a small transformer.


73,
Leigh/WA5ZNU

On Wed, 28 Jun 2006 4:20 pm, David Toepfer wrote:
I assume you are inserting the transformer between the jack and the amp 
in the
mcally amp.  Does the lo-impedence end go to the plug and the 
hi-impedence end

go the the amp, or is it vice-versa?

David, K3TUE

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[QRP-L] American Morse Paddle?

[n0tu/Steve]

Anyone have a American Morse Paddle gathering dust in their pile of 'I
never use this thing I should get rid it'  ~ Steve/n0tu
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Re: [Elecraft] FD wipe-out-need advice on the Iambic key

[Bill Tippett]

Bill, yet another alternative to consider
if you cannot master iambic keying---exchange your
dual-paddle key for a single-paddle key (Vibroplex
Vibrokeyer, Bencher ST-1, Kent SP-1 or Begali
Simplex Mono).  They all work fine with the K2 or
any "iambic" keyer (although you are not actually
using the iambic method per se).

I believe the supposed efficiency
advantage of iambic keying is a myth.  Someone
published an analysis of this within the past year
or two but I cannot find it at the moment.  The
most telling data for me is that the vast majority
of the sending champions at the IARU High-Speed
Telegraphy (HST) Championships use single-paddle
keys, not dual-paddle.

The following was written by W2UP who
attended the HST Championship last year:

**
I thought you guys might be interested in seeing some homebrew 
paddles I saw at the IARU HST (High Speed Telegraphy) Championship in 
Macedonia in June 2005. You may have seen my article about it in Nov 2005 QST.


http://w2up.home.mindspring.com/paddles.jpg

These are 3 of the paddles that were used by members of the Belarus 
team. It surprised me that most there used single-lever paddles. BTW, 
the white stuff is rosin - the same stuff gymnasts use to keep their 
hands from slipping.

**
I believe any efficiency advantage of
a dual-paddle key is offset by the more extreme
timing requirements to send using one.  If you
have any sort of problem with palsy or tremors
in your sending hand, you will be much better
off with a single-paddle.  And if you really want
to QRQ at >60 WPM, use the proven sending
technique that wins sending championships.

73,  Bill  W4ZV

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[Elecraft] Ten Tec Argonaut V for Trade

[Radioham]

Outstanding condition, with TCXO, gold external fan, manual, mike, and
MARS chip installed (open xmit on all freqs).  Has V1.07 software and
60M - does not need update for SSB audio - works well as is.  Puts out
full 20 watts.

Would like to trade for K-2 with SSB, ATU and 160M.

73,

Steve, N4EUK
Reston, VA


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[Elecraft] Iambic Myth

[Bill Tippett]

I wrote:

>I believe the supposed efficiency
advantage of iambic keying is a myth.  Someone
published an analysis of this within the past year
or two but I cannot find it at the moment.

I found the analysis here:

http://www.morsex.com/pubs/iambicmyth.pdf

Summary:

**
The Myth Exposed

The idea that iambic keying is more efficient has 
been around for a long time, and few operators
ever question it, even if they are having trouble 
doing it. They might blame themselves, or the
paddle, and it stops being fun. At first it does 
seem to have a certain “cool” factor, and no doubt
that’s why it was invented to start with. Some 
computer programmer looked at an electronic
keyer, realized that he was looking at logic 
states (dot is on or off, dash is on or off) and decided
to fill in the rest of the truth table– he was 
using “either a or b ,” and he was using “neither a nor
b” but he wasn’t doing anything with “both a and 
b.” In other words there was a third “switch”
that wasn’t being used. Not a bad idea on the 
face of it, and we’ve been paying the price ever

since.

Iambic keying became all the rage, and 
manufacturers got to make a bunch of new-fangled dual
paddles. Somewhere in there electronic keyer 
designers decided to offer “refinements” of the
basic principles, giving everybody Iambic A vs 
Iambic B to argue about, and distracting them
from any consideration of whether Iambic Anything 
was worth bothering with. It’s like saying
the emperor has no clothes, but I’ll say it 
anyhow– iambic keying is clever, and fun, but of very
little practical value. Worse, it can impose a 
speed limit on your sending, and ruin another
perfectly good amateur radio myth– the widely 
accepted notion that anyone can send twice as

fast as he can receive. But let’s talk about that one another time.
***

73,  Bill  W4ZV


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Re: [Elecraft] Scopes

[Stuart Rohre]

A scope can be used with a demodulator, (detector) probe to bring the RF 
signal and modulation into the audio range of the scope.

Sometimes you do not need perfect triggering on the RF; but it is sufficient 
to see the amplitude envelope to tell if you have about the right amount of 
RF voltage for the given application.

So don't give up on the PC scope programs until you try it with a detector 
probe.  There are many suitable probe circuits, Goggle for "RF detector 
probe" and you will  find circuits, articles, and maybe a kit.

-Stuart
K5KVH 


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Re: [Elecraft] American Morse Paddle?

[Sam Binkley]

Anyone have a American Morse Paddle gathering dust in their pile of 'I
never use this thing I should get rid it'  ~ Steve/n0tu


-

I have one but I surely don't want to get rid of it!  Highly recommended.
72,
Sam, KL7V
/5 in OK

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Re: [Elecraft] Undetectable Radar

[Stuart Rohre]

Mike, in radar as in QRP, there is no free lunch.

Rest assured any broad spectrum signal can be found.  For one thing it 
inevitably brings up the noise floor and that can be detected.  Good 
receivers like the K2, could be helpful in noting such effects from new 
radars or BPL use in an area.

Spreading your signal out over many frequencies with a noise like character, 
your radar then suffers from lack of coherency, and thus your range will be 
affected, and perhaps its discrimination of the size of objects.

However, there are systems being studied that look at the effect on the 
spectrum of objects moving thru.

(like the flutter on your TV signal when a plane flies over)

That passive sort of radar has much to offer.  There is no emanation from 
the site of the radar receiver, and thus the target generates the only 
signal.  A couple of receivers provide the ranging by comparing delays in 
signals effects.  Again range suffers, and you have to have a super quiet 
receiver to extend range.  No free lunch, but the trade offs are attractive 
from the stealth angle.

Stuart
K5KVH 


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Re: [Elecraft] FD wipe-out-need advice on the Iambic key

[Kevin Rock]

Howdy Bill,
   You are quite welcome to join us each Sunday on the Elecraft CW Net.   
We do have a semi regular check in from VE1 and another from VE3.  That  
more or less brackets you :)  I live out in Oregon but there are a few  
stations further East of me which act as NCS during the nets.  Yes, nets.   
There are two of them.  The first is at 2300z at or near 14050 kHz.  The  
other is a bit later at 0200z on or near 7045 kHz.  If you don't wish to  
check in you can simply listen as the band changes and hear ops from  
across the continent exchange signal and weather reports.  There is a bit  
of other chatter going on too.  That way you'll hear a number of different  
fists from a variety of locations.  Power ranges from 3 watts to 800 watts  
or more.  I stay at 20 wpm on my keyer but slow down to whatever speed  
required by adding spaces.  The main reason for that is I never learned  
how to send much slower than 15 wpm.  Just a quirk I guess but I learned  
CW via the Farnsworth method.  This technique allows one to hear the  
entire character as a chunk but leave a bit of space for the brain to  
catch up.  Just before I got to 15 wpm copy my mentor started taking out  
the inter-letter spacing and tried inter-word spacing.  That lasted a  
short while until one day I found he wasn't adding any extra spacing  
anywhere.  Then the fun began ;)  He kept going slightly faster than I was  
comfortable until I caught up again.  That was very helpful.  But, getting  
on the air and chatting with someone is much better practice than  
listening to W1AW.  I found sending to myself in TEST mode was helpful for  
developing my muscle memory.  It sounds odd but I 'feel' the code coming  
into my ears in my arm.

   Good luck with your endeavor and please join us,
  Kevin.  KD5ONS


On Wed, 28 Jun 2006 12:05:30 -0700, William Moore <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>  
wrote:


So, I have returned to W1AW code practice sessions. I will take the K2  
out

of tESt (except on SKN New Years Eve), when I can once again copy up to
15-20 wpm and hopefully transmitting with some vestige of skill using  
Iambic

keying.

Thank you for any advice.

Bill, VE2WMA
ttp://www.opera.com/mail/

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RE: [Elecraft] Iambic Myth

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

I used Iambic keying because I found it smooth and easy and it does involve
fewer paddle movements for many things. Sometimes it cuts the hand motions
by half! 

For example, sending CQ involves only eight finger movements in Iambic mode
compared to sixteen movements in conventional keyer mode. (Iambic mode
requires dash on, dit on, dash and dit off (end of C), dash on, touch dit,
dash and dit off (end of Q). Conventional keying requires  dash on, dash
off, dit on, dit off, dash on, dash off, dit on, dit off (C) dash on, dash
off, dash on, dash off, dit on, dit off, dash on, dash off (Q)).  

Someone might argue that cutting the finger movements in half has no
practical value and doesn't allow faster sending. I wouldn't know since I've
never exceeded 35 or 40 WPM on the air and 99.9% of my QSO's are at around
20 WPM or even less. 

What I do know is that I enjoyed the smooth simplicity of Iambic keying.

Most of the histories I've read attributed the modes A and B to a mistake in
the logic in an early popular ASIC designed for keyers. It might have been
Curtiss' original but I'm not sure about that. In any case, it was a very
usable variation and it "stuck", hence the two modes.

Also, I'd like to point out that Iambic keying predates virtually every
commercially made keyer and paddle set on the market today. Electronic
keyers go back at least to the 1940's, although they didn't have the fancy
self completing and auto spacing features we take for granted now. Still,
hardly a month went by when QST didn't have something about new keyer
development in it. I was finally hooked in the early 70's when the CMOS
version of the Accu-keyer (it originally used current-hungry TTL chips) was
published.  At that time I splurged on some inexpensive "Ham key" paddles,
which were dual paddles. Many operators bolted two J-38 keys base-to-base on
a vertical support to use as paddles or homebrewed paddles in a variety of
ways. 

There were no commercial interests driving those developments. They were
coming out of the junk boxes and workshops of Hams all over the world.
Today's huge range of expensive keyers and paddles came along long after the
use of keyers and Iambic mode was in common use by Hams who "rolled their
own" one way or another.

So I'm not inclined to blame the development of the modes or the widespread
use of Iambic mode on any commercial activity. It's just something a lot of
Hams found useful and they adopted it.

Ron AC7AC

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[Elecraft] Iambic Keying

[Frederick Dwight]

Bill,
Congratulations on getting back into CW.  I got into ham radio in the 50's 
and used hand keys and bugs for 30 years.  I even operated comercially as both 
a shore and shipboard radio op.  Although CW was "my thing", the switch to 
iambic keying was not easy for me.  Finally after many years iambic keying now 
seems natural to me.  I was just too stuborn to give up and switch to a single 
lever paddle which would have been easy and natural.  The suggestion just 
posted to switch to a single lever paddle is especially appropriate to someone 
who finds iambic keying difficult.  If I could do it all over, I think I would 
have just gone to a single lever paddle.  I have suggested the single lever 
paddle before to older folks getting back into CW. 
 If you decide to tackle iambic keying, read the many postings on this and 
other sites and determine if A or B is for you and then STICK TO IT.  I had 
trouble keying my new KX1 for weeks, until I discovered that it was set to A, 
not the B mode I had been using for 20 years with other rigs.  
 I think new and especially younger hams should attempt to master iambic 
keying.  However if it does not "come together" then just relax and use your 
single lever paddle.  
 You asked about how to learn Iambic keying.  Perhaps you could search the 
internet for a method, although I suspect that most of us just experiment and 
practice for many hours (off the air).  
 One other thoughtin the last few years many more bugs have been heard 
on the air.  In the old days often we could recognize who was sending even 
before they sent their call.  Today this is not possible.
Rick
KL7CW 99% CW since  1954
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[Elecraft] KX1 #1403 Antenna Project

[Jack Regan]

I have been following the antenna threads since I started building the KX1.
These experiments are based on that thread, the ARRL Handbook 2004, previous
research into commercial verticals and my own experience.

 

The goals are to find the best antenna for the KX1 under various operating
conitions.



1.   Smallest, lightest, easiest to set up 4 band backpacking antenna.

2.   Smallest, lightest, easiest to set up for 1, 2, or 3 bands for
backpacking.

3.   Most efficent antenna for 4 bands but still backpackable.

4.   Most efficent 1, 2, or 3 band antennas but still backpackable.

5.   Learn Antenna Theory and Practice.  Formulas, Software, Instruments

 

 

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RE: [Elecraft] KX1 #1403 Antenna Project

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

-Original Message-
Jack wrote:

I have been following the antenna threads since I started building the KX1.
These experiments are based on that thread, the ARRL Handbook 2004, previous
research into commercial verticals and my own experience.

 

The goals are to find the best antenna for the KX1 under various operating
conitions.



1.   Smallest, lightest, easiest to set up 4 band backpacking antenna.

2.   Smallest, lightest, easiest to set up for 1, 2, or 3 bands for
backpacking.

3.   Most efficent antenna for 4 bands but still backpackable.

4.   Most efficent 1, 2, or 3 band antennas but still backpackable.

5.   Learn Antenna Theory and Practice.  Formulas, Software, Instruments

-

Good goals Jack. 

I'll note that 1 and 2 are exclusive of 3 and 4. I've seen "backpackable"
2-element quads built of lightweight telescoping tubes and collapsing poles
that certainly qualify as the "most efficient" but they are definitely not
the smallest, lightest and easiest to set up.

Indeed, it's the tradeoff between the various issues that each of us are
willing to live with that defines what we ultimately call our "favorite"
portable antenna. 

Number 5 is always an excellent investment of your time and it'll
demonstrate clearly that *where* you backpack has a great deal to do with
your antenna choices. Steep mountain trails have a wholly different set of
conditions and opportunities than, say, the seashore, which offers
opportunities for getting excellent performance from some antennas that
can't be duplicated anywhere else without a great deal of added complexity.

Hopefully the genuine enjoyment will come out of learning about all those
things and, in the process, you may well become one of those who offers some
insights for the rest of us to use. After all, learning how to make
something work better, and occasionally learning how to make something work
that no one thought would is what "Amateur Radio" is all about. That's what
Marconi did, and he liked to call himself the "...first radio amateur". 

Ron AC7AC


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[Elecraft] KX1 #1403 Antenna Project

[Jack Regan]

I have been following the antenna threads since I started building the KX1.
These experiments are based on that thread, the ARRL Handbook 2004, previous
research into commercial verticals and my own experience.

The goals are to find the best antenna for the KX1 under various operating
conitions.

1.   Smallest, lightest, easiest to set up 4 band backpacking antenna.

2.   Smallest, lightest, easiest to set up for 1, 2, or 3 bands for
backpacking.

3.   Most efficent antenna for 4 bands but still backpackable.

4.   Most efficent 1, 2, or 3 band antennas but still backpackable.

5.   Learn Antenna Theory and Practice.  Formulas, Software, Instruments

STARTING CONDITIONS
DUMMY LOAD

BAT FREQUENCY   POWER   SWR  
12.43.5005  3.0 1.0
12.43.5600  3.5 1.0

12.47.0005  2.9 1.0
12.47.0580  2.9 1.0

12.410.1005 4.2 1.0
12.410.1495 4.2 1.1

12.414.0005 2.5 1.0
12.414.058002.4 1.0

38' TRAPPED , FLAT TOP DIPOLE, CUT FOR 7.040 PLUS/MINUS,40' HIGH. FEEDPOINT
IS NEAR THE MAST FOR MY CUSHCRAFT MA5B.  I REPLACED SOME OF THE GUYS FOR THE
MAST WITH ROPE TO REDUCE AS MUCH INTERACTION AS POSSIBLE.  WHEN I TAKE THE
MAST DOWN AT THE END OF SUMMER FOR MAINTENANCE I PLAN TO REPLACE ALL GUYS
WITH KEVLAR.

BAT FREQUENCY   POWER   SWR
12.47.0005  4.2 1.2
12.47.0125  4.0   1.1
12.47.0255  3.5   1.0
12.47.0400  3.3   1.0
12.47.0580  3.0   1.0

NOTE: I HAVE MADE SEVERAL QSOS ON THIS ANTENNA WITH THE KX1 ALREADY.

FIRST BACKPACKING ANTENNA. #534 WIREMAN TEFLON COATED ANTENNA WIRE. 29'6"
RADIATOR. 2-29'.6" RADIALS.  THIS WAS BASED ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF
ELECRAFT IN THE KAT1 MANUAL BUT WITH 2 LONGER RADIALS.  I INTENDED TO TRY
BOTH ONE AND TWO RADIALS IN THE FIELD BUT IT STARTED TO SPRINKLE SO I QUIT
BEFORE I COULD DO THE ONE RADIAL TEST.  THE LENGTH OF THE RADIALS WAS BASED
ON THE ARRL HANDBOOK RECOMMENDATION OF QUARTER WAVELENGTH RADIALS. 29' WAS
CLOSE TO THE 1/4 WAVE LENGTH FOR 80 METERS.  FUTURE TEST WILL INCLUDE
MULTIPLE RADIALS FOR EACH BAND.

I TOOK THE GEAR TO THE TOP OF STRAWBERRY HILL (AN ISLAND IN STOW LAKE HERE
IN SAN FRANCISCO) AND HUNG THE ANTENNA AS A 45 DEGREE SLOPER FACING THE
NORTH.

BAT FREQUENCY   POWER   SWR
12.43.5600  ?   9.9

12.47.0400  3.5 1.1

12.410.025  4.3 1.1

12.414.000  2.9 1.3
12.414.020  2.9 1.3
12.414.040  2.9 1.2
12.414.058  2.9 MY FIRST FIELD QSO WITH KX1. 449 FROM WA!!!

As this note took longer to write than I expected I'll leave my guesses as
to what the figures mean till later. Now it's time for food and then some
air time!   





 

 


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[Elecraft] KX1 #1403 Antenna Project

[Jack Regan]

I have been following the antenna threads since I started building the KX1.
These experiments are based on that thread, the ARRL Handbook 2004, previous
research into commercial verticals and my own experience.

The goals are to find the best antenna for the KX1 under various operating
conitions.

1.   Smallest, lightest, easiest to set up 4 band backpacking antenna.

2.   Smallest, lightest, easiest to set up for 1, 2, or 3 bands for
backpacking.

3.   Most efficent antenna for 4 bands but still backpackable.

4.   Most efficent 1, 2, or 3 band antennas but still backpackable.

5.   Learn Antenna Theory and Practice.  Formulas, Software, Instruments

Starting Conditions.

DUMMY LOAD

BAT FREQUENCY   POWER   SWR  
12.43.5005  3.0 1.0
12.43.5600  3.5 1.0

12.47.0005  2.9 1.0
12.47.0580  2.9 1.0

12.410.1005 4.2 1.0
12.410.1495 4.2 1.1

12.414.0005 2.5 1.0
12.414.058002.4 1.0

38' TRAPPED , FLAT TOP DIPOLE, CUT FOR 7.040 PLUS/MINUS,40' HIGH. FEEDPOINT
IS NEAR THE MAST FOR MY CUSHCRAFT MA5B.  I REPLACE SOME OF THE GUYS FOR THE
MAST WITH ROPE TO REDUCE AS MUCH INTERACTION AS POSSIBLE.  WHEN I TAKE THE
MAST DOWN AT THE END OF SUMMER FOR MAINTENANCE I PLAN TO REPLACE ALL GUYS
WITH KEVLAR.

BAT FREQUENCY   POWER   SWR
12.47.0005  4.2 1.2
12.47.0125  4.0   1.1
12.47.0255  3.5   1.0
12.47.0400  3.3   1.0
12.47.0580  3.0   1.0

FIRST BACKPACKING ANTENNA. #534 WIREMAN TEFLON COATED ANTENNA WIRE. 29'6"
RADIATOR. 2-29'.6" RADIALS.  THIS WAS BASED ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF
ELECRAFT IN THE KAT1 MANUAL BUT WITH 2 LONGER RADIALS.  I INTENDED TO TRY
BOTH ONE AND TWO RADIALS IN THE FIELD BUT IT STARTED TO SPRINKLE SO I QUIT
BEFORE I COULD DO THE ONE RADIAL TEST.  THE LENGTH OF THE RADIALS WAS BASED
ON THE ARRL HANDBOOK RECOMMENDATION OF QUARTER WAVELENGTH RADIALS. 29' WAS
CLOSE TO THE 1/4 WAVE LENGTH FOR 80 METERS.  FUTURE TEST WILL INCLUDE
MULTIPLE RADIALS FOR EACH BAND.

I TOOK THE GEAR TO THE TOP OF STRAWBERRY HILL (AN ISLAND IN STOW LAKE HERE
IN SAN FRANCISCO) AND HUNG THE ANTENNA AS A 45 DEGREE SLOPER FACING THE
NORTH.

BAT FREQUENCY   POWER   SWR
12.43.5600  ?   9.9

12.47.0400  3.5 1.1

12.410.025  4.3 1.1

12.414.000  2.9 1.3
12.414.020  2.9 1.3
12.414.040  2.9 1.2
12.414.058  2.9 MY FIRST FIELD QSO WITH KX1. 449 FROM WA!!!

As this note took longer to write than I expected I'll leave my guesses as
to what the figures mean till later. Now it's time for food and then some
air time!   





 

 


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Re: [Elecraft] KX1 Ext. Speaker

[David Toepfer]

I assume you are inserting the transformer between the jack and the amp in the
mcally amp.  Does the lo-impedence end go to the plug and the hi-impedence end
go the the amp, or is it vice-versa?

David, K3TUE
.

--- "Leigh L Klotz, Jr." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> This is a good find...I have never seen it in the stores...I will look 
> for one.
> 
> Here are a couple more options: depending on your sense of style, you 
> may also like the Radio Shack 277-1008, which is a $13 mono speaker, 
> though decidedly Radio Shack looking.  A step up (and smallest of the 3) 
> is the MacAlly iPod "PodWave" speaker, IP-A111,  but it needs an 
> impedance transformer to make it work with the KX1.  I see they now have 
> an IP-A111B in black, both for $40.
> 
> Type 277-1008 into google for pix of the $13 radio shack offering, and 
> see http://wa5znu.org/log/2006/06/kx1-ipod-speaker.html for the pix of 
> the MacAlly PodWave with my KX1.
> 
> Leigh/WA5ZNU
> On Wed, 28 Jun 2006 9:01 am, Dale Kretzer wrote:
> > Cruising my local Radio Shack, I happened upon their exclusive 
> > "mini extension speaker for transceivers," stock number 19-318 at $26, 
> > and took it chance on it working well since it is "optimized for 
> > communications." It also is black
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