RE: [Elecraft] Keying Mod; Construction technique - cutting PC traces
Paul, Cutting PC lands for changes/upgrades is an industry accepted practice, so it should not be regarded as 'hacking' at all - the result will still look neat and clean. There are many ways to make a cut - if there are a lot of cuts the easiest is to use a small dental burr (it could be a Dremel wit a very tiny burr bit), or for one or two cuts, a sharp knife will suffice. I usually use the tip of my pocket knife just because it is handy (and yes, it will need sharpened afterward). I cut a 'V' groove through the circuit trace with the tip of the knife - I exert some downward pressure with one hand and control the knife blade with the fingers of the other hand placed on the back of the blade near the tip - it does take some pressure there as well. I make 2 angled slicing cuts about 1/16 inch apart and flick out the cut piece. Check continuity before and after the cut to be certain that the copper has been completely severed. It is harder to explain than to do. 73, Don W3FPR > -Original Message- > > I just purchased the KPA100 for my K2 (serial > 3640), and in going over the instructions I see > that the installation of the keying modification > is highly recommended. I'm a little nervous > about the part of the mod that requires the > cutting of a circuit trace. What's the best way > to perform this operation? (Kind of a shame to > have to hack at my K2 this way, but you gotta do > what you gotta do.) > > ___ 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
Severing PCB lands, was [Elecraft] Keying Mod; Construction technique
Hi Paul: At 11:31 PM 11/14/2005, you wrote: I just purchased the KPA100 for my K2 (serial 3640), and in going over the instructions I see that the installation of the keying modification is highly recommended. I'm a little nervous about the part of the mod that requires the cutting of a circuit trace. What's the best way to perform this operation? (Kind of a shame to have to hack at my K2 this way, but you gotta do what you gotta do.) It's not THAT difficult to do, though it does take some 'intestinal fortitude' to do it if you've never done something like that before. The way I do it is to use an Xacto knife with a new (e.g. sharp) blade. Note - If you use the 'standard' Xacto knife & blade, the tip of the blade will probably break as soon as you press down hard on it!!! But that's actually OK< since you really want to be able to use the next-in section of the blade anyway, 'cause it's stronger... heheh! First, DO NOT (ever) DRAW the blade across the land being cut!!! This almost always guarantees you'll slip somewhere along in the process and drag the cutting surface across several other lands (not intended to be cut or TOUCHED by the blade). Place the blade, about as flat on the land as you can, and press it directly DOWN onto the PC board. This will take some effort, and as I noted above, will often cause the thin tip of the blade to break off. Just re-group and re-start with the thicker end of the tip now available. Once you have made your initial downward cut, move the blade about 0.05" (less than 1/16") to one side of the first cut and repeat the effort. Once you have made two cuts in the land, use the sharp edge of the blade to get under and lift the cut section of land free of the PC board. A little added (angular) pressure to get under the cut section of the land will help here. Some folks have also had success using their soldering iron tip to heat just the severed section of land, cause it's adhesive to loosen, and then lift the copper free. I've used this method as well, but find the above method to be a bit safer in some respects since it doesn't run the chance of accidently overheating and lifting the ends of the cut trace as well. If you're going to attach a component across the severed land, once you have the land severed and the cut-out section removed, use your Xacto knife (or whatever knife you're using) with the blade FLAT against the ends of the severed land, to scrape off a bit of the green solder mask. Repeat until the copper is bright and shiny. Then quickly (and lightly) tin the bright copper, using moderate heat and minimal solder. This is only the way _I_ do it. Before you jump in, be sure to read other's responses as well and then use the one you feel most comfortable with. 73, Tom Hammond N0SS ___ 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] Keying Mod; Construction technique
The way I like to do it is to get an X-acto knife or another sharp knife and carefully score the trace in two spots. Use repeated shallow cuts. Heat up the little bit between the score marks with a soldering iron and it should lift off (and stick somewhere you don't want it to stick, but that's just my luck.) On Mon, 14 Nov 2005, Paul Clay wrote: I just purchased the KPA100 for my K2 (serial 3640), and in going over the instructions I see that the installation of the keying modification is highly recommended. I'm a little nervous about the part of the mod that requires the cutting of a circuit trace. What's the best way to perform this operation? (Kind of a shame to have to hack at my K2 this way, but you gotta do what you gotta do.) - Paul, N6LQ ___ 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 -- Hisashi T Fujinaka - [EMAIL PROTECTED] BSEE(6/86) + BSChem(3/95) + BAEnglish(8/95) + MSCS(8/03) + $2.50 = latte ___ 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] Keying Mod; Construction technique
I just purchased the KPA100 for my K2 (serial 3640), and in going over the instructions I see that the installation of the keying modification is highly recommended. I'm a little nervous about the part of the mod that requires the cutting of a circuit trace. What's the best way to perform this operation? (Kind of a shame to have to hack at my K2 this way, but you gotta do what you gotta do.) - Paul, N6LQ ___ 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
