[Elecraft] K2 Birdies
I have been tuning my receiver & have determined that I have a few birdies in the 40M band, but there are more in the 20M band that are a S9 level. Frequencies are 14.212.22, 14.217, 14.264.8614.315 that all sound more like buzzing sound. Any ideas? Bob WB8DDI K2# 4998 ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
[Elecraft] K2 Birdies
Hi K2ers, Has anyone got any comments to make about internally generated birdies in the K2? I have only just had a look at what my K2 produces because during a QSO with a JA on 40m Long Path a few mornings ago, who was playing chicken at 7. plus gnat's eyebrow, I was getting constant QRM - unkeyed carrier - and he was weak weak. Much blue smoke about guys who dont use dummy loads. Brain finally arrived and remembered a comment in the manual about a weak birdie at 7 Mhz. So, put a dummy load on the K2/100 and indeed QRM was from the birdie. So went looking for other birdies in case K2 needed re-alignment. I found: Scratching noises at 3524 and 3572 as tuning was varied (all freqs are to nearest kHz) Plop and constant at 3590 (sounds like a PLL locking and then letting go as tuning knob is moved) A good plop at 3990(PLL only holding for a small shift in tuning) Healthy one at 4000 ( to be expected) Twins at 7000 Twins at 10.170 Twins at 14.171 A good plop at 14.350 S9 Plop and constant at 14361 (grateful that it is out of band) Twins at 18.172 Twins at 28.000 Good plop at 28.277 Single carrier at 29.483 Have not done any number crunching yet, but I suspect that the "Twins" have something to do with +/- 4 Mhz oscillators +/- something else. The "plops" worry me a bit. Dont want to plop on transmit. All the birdies that are in-band are strong enough to cause "QRM". Are these birdies found in all K2s, or have I not got something properly set up? 73, Geoff GM4ESD ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] K2 Birdies
Bob Wehking wrote: I have been tuning my receiver & have determined that I have a few birdies in the 40M band, but there are more in the 20M band that are a S9 level. Frequencies are 14.212.22, 14.217, 14.264.8614.315 that all sound more like buzzing sound. Any ideas? Bob WB8DDI K2# 4998 Try turning your computer off. -- _ _ _ _ _ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ John L. Sielke ( W ) ( 2 ) ( A ) ( G ) ( N ) http://w2agn.net \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] K2 Birdies
Hi Bob, There is a real birdie at about 7.000 MHz but it's very sharp and doesn't buzz. The buzzing sounds might be due to a computer or a plasma TV. I've heard that even a neighbor's plasma TV can cause a lot of noise. To check your computer monitor (without turning off the power), tune in the birdie and then change the screen on your computer to something with much different content. If it's the monitor, the sound of the birdie will change. To minimize the computer monitor noise, leave the screen as plain as possible. A uniform background makes much less noise than a "busy" screen that has a lot of signal transitions across the scan lines. If that doesn't show anything, try turning off the computer and then everything else in the house to try to locate the source. Light dimmers and loose wires in wall sockets or switches can be noise generators. For really serious noise reduction, ferrite cores on the cables may be necessary. 73/Bob - W5BIG - Original Message - Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2005 3:56 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K2 Birdies > Bob Wehking wrote: > > I have been tuning my receiver & have determined that I have a few birdies in the 40M band, but there are more in the 20M band that are a S9 level. Frequencies are 14.212.22, 14.217, 14.264.8614.315 that all sound more like buzzing sound. Any ideas? > > > > Bob > > WB8DDI > > K2# 4998 > ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] K2 Birdies
Unpluging my D-Link wireless router stopped the birdies. Bob WB8DDI K2#4998 - Original Message - From: "W2AGN" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Bob Wehking" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2005 4:56 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K2 Birdies Bob Wehking wrote: I have been tuning my receiver & have determined that I have a few birdies in the 40M band, but there are more in the 20M band that are a S9 level. Frequencies are 14.212.22, 14.217, 14.264.8614.315 that all sound more like buzzing sound. Any ideas? Bob WB8DDI K2# 4998 Try turning your computer off. -- _ _ _ _ _ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ John L. Sielke ( W ) ( 2 ) ( A ) ( G ) ( N ) http://w2agn.net \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.344 / Virus Database: 267.10.18/89 - Release Date: 9/2/2005 ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] K2 Birdies
On Tue, 6 Sep 2005 20:03:22 -0400, Bob Wehking wrote: >Unpluging my D-Link wireless router stopped the birdies. Study these links (from my website). http://audiosystemsgroup.com/SAC0305Ferrites.pdf http://audiosystemsgroup.com/Ferrites-Ham.pdf What you need to do is wind those Ethernet cables and the power cable for the router and computers through the right toroids to form chokes. The links tell you how. Jim ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] K2 Birdies
Jim, I, too, have a serious bird problem and the source is my D-Link router. However, I cannot open either of the links you provided. I'll try again later. Tom, W3QS -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jim Brown Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2005 8:50 PM To: Elecraft List Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K2 Birdies On Tue, 6 Sep 2005 20:03:22 -0400, Bob Wehking wrote: >Unpluging my D-Link wireless router stopped the birdies. Study these links (from my website). http://audiosystemsgroup.com/SAC0305Ferrites.pdf http://audiosystemsgroup.com/Ferrites-Ham.pdf What you need to do is wind those Ethernet cables and the power cable for the router and computers through the right toroids to form chokes. The links tell you how. Jim ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] K2 Birdies
Had a quick check with my K2 serial No.4168 for birdies: All 80m frequencies quoted below 4000 nothing on any mode. I did have moving interference with a poor tone on 3857 of S1 drifting HF + a broadcast station on 3891 of S0. Appear to be external pickup despite having a BNC 1/2W term on the K2 antenna socket. 4000 Yes at S1 7000 Yes at S0 10170Yes on CW at 10172.4 at S0 LSB at 10172.5 at S0 USB clear 14171Yes on 14172 CW/LSB at S0 14167 USB at S0 14350Yes on CW transit only 14351.19 to 14351.20 LSB transit only 14351.38 to 14351.39 USB transit only 14353.38 to 14353.39 14361Yes on CW transit only 14361.19 to 14361.20 LSB appears abruptly 14361.40 and disappears same. S7 USB appears abruptly 14363.38 and disappears same. S7 18172Yes on 18172.40 CW at S0 18172.50 LSB at S0 18167 USB at S0 28000Yes on all modes at S0 28277Yes on CW 28275.80 at S0 LSB 28277.70 at S0 USB 28275.60 at S0 29483Yes on CW 29480 at S0 LSB clear USB 29481.40 at S0 All measurements were taken with the pre-amp on. Apart from the strong birdie at 14361 of S7 and the internal 4000kHz clock in the K2, all were very weak and failing to move the S meter. I think if you scrutinise most radios for the amateur market you will find such slight imperfections somewhere, though I would suspect that the K2 is a lot better than some. At the end of the day with all such items it is a trade-off between the cost the consumer is willing to pay against perfection at any price. Bob, G3VVT K2 #4168 ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] K2 Birdies
G'day, #1400 revision "A" matches this +/- calibration: | 4000 Yes at S1 | 7000 Yes at S0 | 10170Yes on CW at 10172.4 at S0 | LSB at 10172.5 at S0 | USB clear USB at 10167.3 at S0 | 14171Yes on 14172 CW/LSB at S0 | 14167 USB at S0 | 14350Yes on CW transit only 14351.19 to 14351.20 | LSB transit only 14351.38 to 14351.39 | USB transit only 14353.38 to 14353.39 | 14361Yes on CW transit only 14361.19 to 14361.20 | LSB appears abruptly 14361.40 and disappears same. S7 | USB appears abruptly 14363.38 and disappears same. S7 | 18172Yes on 18172.40 CW at S0 | 18172.50 LSB at S0 | 18167 USB at S0 | 28000Yes on all modes at S0 | 28277Yes on CW 28275.80 at S0 | LSB 28277.70 at S0 | USB 28275.60 at S0 | 29483Yes on CW 29480 at S0 | LSB clear | USB 29481.40 at S0 Mike VP8NO (G3VUI) #1400 ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com