[Elecraft] K2 question/new owner
I hope that I am posting this properly, if not please correct me. :-) I am the new owner of K2/10 #5001. I am more used to tuning up the hybrid Kenwoods so while I am looking forward to moving to this more modern radio I have some questions. I think that I must have toggled something off as I no longer can get a tone when I push the tune switch on and off. It was working but I was in the menus and fear I have done something to cause this. I can't find the page in the manual to correct this. Any suggestions? Also, when I tune the radio with my LDG z100 tuner should I dial back the power on the rig to 3-2 watts before tuning, get a match and then go back to 10 watts? I don't understand the read out I get on the display. The Po number that is displayed after the tune up, is that the recommended max power to use at that particular match? I am trying to keep my power out to 10 watts but some matches even a few kelos apart will display a Po reading from 15 to 5 as I tune across the band. I am using the rig SSB into a 80 meter dilpole at 40 feet. 73 Don Bukar KJ4RQV __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] K2 question/new owner
Don, Welcome to the Elecraft list. You must be posting properly, your post made it to the list. When you hold the TUNE button, there is only a brief 'beep' not a tone. During a TUNE, the basic K2 (no KAT2) displays the power output as measured with a simple diode RF detector. That power level will only be correct if the K2 is operating into a load impedance of 50 ohms pure resistive. The variation as you move across the band is due to variation in the actual impedance of your antenna as seen at the shack end of your transmission line. But OTOH, the K2 will attempt to control power at whatever level is set on the Power 'requested' knob, so if you are set to 10 watts, the K2 will try to adjust the drive until the RF voltage from the RF detector is equal to that power level driven into a 50 ohm pure resistive load. SWR into your feedline will affect the actual power developed by the K2. An 80 meter antenna will have a significant change in SWR over the band. You may have to retune the Z100 frequently when moving across the band to allow the K2 to properly control the power. For tuning your Z100, holding the TUNE button will transmit at whatever power level is set on the power knob, so the maximum power that your Z100 tuner should have during a tuning cycle sets the limit. Set that power level with the Power knob. After tuning, set the power to your desired operating power. During the time the Z100 is tuning, the power out indication may vary all over the board as the SWR is constantly changing while the tuner seeks a low SWR. The addition of a KAT2, KPA100 or KAT100 will provide better power control with your K2 because those options contain wattmeters (as opposed to a simple RF voltage detector) which remove the SWR dependency from the power control operation. The bottom line of all this is that the K2 controls power differently than your prior transceivers. The K2 tries to measure the actual RF output and computes what it 'thinks' is the power into a 50 ohm resistive load, then adjusts the drive to bring the output up to what you have requested. Most other transceivers simply adjust the drive to the PA and let it go at that. With the antenna that you have, you should consider the addition of the KAT2 (or if you are considering a future addition of the KPA100, use the KAT100), The built-in wattmeter make tuning antennas much easier. 73, Don W3FPR On 3/10/2013 8:20 AM, bukar wrote: I hope that I am posting this properly, if not please correct me. :-) I am the new owner of K2/10 #5001. I am more used to tuning up the hybrid Kenwoods so while I am looking forward to moving to this more modern radio I have some questions. I think that I must have toggled something off as I no longer can get a tone when I push the tune switch on and off. It was working but I was in the menus and fear I have done something to cause this. I can't find the page in the manual to correct this. Any suggestions? Also, when I tune the radio with my LDG z100 tuner should I dial back the power on the rig to 3-2 watts before tuning, get a match and then go back to 10 watts? I don't understand the read out I get on the display. The Po number that is displayed after the tune up, is that the recommended max power to use at that particular match? I am trying to keep my power out to 10 watts but some matches even a few kelos apart will display a Po reading from 15 to 5 as I tune across the band. I am using the rig SSB into a 80 meter dilpole at 40 feet. 73 Don Bukar KJ4RQV __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] K2 question/new owner
I agree, the KAT2 is the bomb! Sent from my iPad On Mar 10, 2013, at 10:04 AM, Don Wilhelm w3...@embarqmail.com wrote: Don, Welcome to the Elecraft list. You must be posting properly, your post made it to the list. When you hold the TUNE button, there is only a brief 'beep' not a tone. During a TUNE, the basic K2 (no KAT2) displays the power output as measured with a simple diode RF detector. That power level will only be correct if the K2 is operating into a load impedance of 50 ohms pure resistive. The variation as you move across the band is due to variation in the actual impedance of your antenna as seen at the shack end of your transmission line. But OTOH, the K2 will attempt to control power at whatever level is set on the Power 'requested' knob, so if you are set to 10 watts, the K2 will try to adjust the drive until the RF voltage from the RF detector is equal to that power level driven into a 50 ohm pure resistive load. SWR into your feedline will affect the actual power developed by the K2. An 80 meter antenna will have a significant change in SWR over the band. You may have to retune the Z100 frequently when moving across the band to allow the K2 to properly control the power. For tuning your Z100, holding the TUNE button will transmit at whatever power level is set on the power knob, so the maximum power that your Z100 tuner should have during a tuning cycle sets the limit. Set that power level with the Power knob. After tuning, set the power to your desired operating power. During the time the Z100 is tuning, the power out indication may vary all over the board as the SWR is constantly changing while the tuner seeks a low SWR. The addition of a KAT2, KPA100 or KAT100 will provide better power control with your K2 because those options contain wattmeters (as opposed to a simple RF voltage detector) which remove the SWR dependency from the power control operation. The bottom line of all this is that the K2 controls power differently than your prior transceivers. The K2 tries to measure the actual RF output and computes what it 'thinks' is the power into a 50 ohm resistive load, then adjusts the drive to bring the output up to what you have requested. Most other transceivers simply adjust the drive to the PA and let it go at that. With the antenna that you have, you should consider the addition of the KAT2 (or if you are considering a future addition of the KPA100, use the KAT100), The built-in wattmeter make tuning antennas much easier. 73, Don W3FPR On 3/10/2013 8:20 AM, bukar wrote: I hope that I am posting this properly, if not please correct me. :-) I am the new owner of K2/10 #5001. I am more used to tuning up the hybrid Kenwoods so while I am looking forward to moving to this more modern radio I have some questions. I think that I must have toggled something off as I no longer can get a tone when I push the tune switch on and off. It was working but I was in the menus and fear I have done something to cause this. I can't find the page in the manual to correct this. Any suggestions? Also, when I tune the radio with my LDG z100 tuner should I dial back the power on the rig to 3-2 watts before tuning, get a match and then go back to 10 watts? I don't understand the read out I get on the display. The Po number that is displayed after the tune up, is that the recommended max power to use at that particular match? I am trying to keep my power out to 10 watts but some matches even a few kelos apart will display a Po reading from 15 to 5 as I tune across the band. I am using the rig SSB into a 80 meter dilpole at 40 feet. 73 Don Bukar KJ4RQV __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
