[Elecraft] K1
Thanks to all who have helped me here on the Reflector , maturing as a ELECRAFT Newbie One more query. Using ( 2 )2 -channel filter boards , instead of the 4 channel board which is no longer available , I am confused as to how to configure the channel #'s of them. It seems to me that each board should be set up with b1 and b2 on each boardand not b1 , b2 on one board , and b3 , and b4 on the other .Is that a good assumption ? the manual is a little sketchy on this. Dave W1DWZ __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1
Dave, When the K1 detects a 2 band board, it will only show b1 and b2. You will have to set those two parameters each time you change the board. The frequency offsets are remembered for each band, so unless there is a duplication of a band between the two boards, you will not have to change the offsets. 73, Don W3FPR On 11/17/2014 1:06 PM, w1dwz w1dwz wrote: Thanks to all who have helped me here on the Reflector , maturing as a ELECRAFT Newbie One more query. Using ( 2 )2 -channel filter boards , instead of the 4 channel board which is no longer available , I am confused as to how to configure the channel #'s of them. It seems to me that each board should be set up with b1 and b2 on each boardand not b1 , b2 on one board , and b3 , and b4 on the other .Is that a good assumption ? the manual is a little sketchy on this. __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
[Elecraft] K1 Power Out flaky
I am an ELECRAFT Newbie. Just finished a K! and it works great out of the box. I am slowly learning the operating stunts with the TAP / HOLD feature . One little glitch . To set the output power , it sets properly , say at 4.0 Watts, with the WPM +/- buttons , but after a few seconds it dribbles around and goes down to 0.5 Watts or whatever Tweaked the cans on the Filter Board but still NG .Wonder if others have experienced this anomaly. Dave W1DWZ RI __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1 Power Out flaky
Dave, That sounds like the behavior of an unsoldered or poorly soldered connection that is heating when you transmit. I don't know where to tell you to start looking, but if you want to shorten the search, you might be able to tell something from the Transmit Signal Tracing steps in the back of the manual. It has a chance of leading you to the failing stage and then you can examine that stage in detail. Alternately, you can reflow the soldering over the entire RF Board with a hot (750 degF) iron and dwell on each connection long enough to watch the solder melt and flow. 73, Don W3FPR On 11/15/2014 11:02 AM, w1dwz w1dwz wrote: I am an ELECRAFT Newbie. Just finished a K! and it works great out of the box. I am slowly learning the operating stunts with the TAP / HOLD feature . One little glitch . To set the output power , it sets properly , say at 4.0 Watts, with the WPM +/- buttons , but after a few seconds it dribbles around and goes down to 0.5 Watts or whatever Tweaked the cans on the Filter Board but still NG .Wonder if others have experienced this anomaly. Dave W1DWZ RI __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
[Elecraft] K1 FOR SALE
Nice looking and working Elecraft QRP K1 with the KFL1-4 band filter board installed, 40, 30, 20, and 15 meters. It will not transmit on 15m. I talked with Don w3fpr and after a voltage check he thought that the bandpass filters needed to be adjusted. Works great on all other bands. Output is 0.1-7 watts Serial number 3015. Comes with the Lighted Dial, KAT1 Auto Antenna tuner and all the original manuals. $350.00 shipped CONUSA. Call Tomy at 928-710-9231, kf...@arrl.net 73! Tomy KF7GC AZ STM NM AZ Section Net ORS __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
[Elecraft] WTB: Elecraft K1
G’day After my earlier ad for a basic Elecraft K1 (no extras) two-bander covering 40m and 20m, it was suggested to me off-list that I was cutting down my options and it would be better simply asking if there was anyone who had had a Elecraft K1 of any kind for sale. I think the writer had a point. Please email me direct if you have a K1 that you are interested in selling. Thank you! Vy 73 Steve, VK6VZ (Glen Forrest, Western Australia) --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
[Elecraft] WTB: Basic Elecraft K1 for 40m + 20m
G’day I am looking for a basic Elecraft K1 (no extras) two-bander covering 40m and 20m. Please email me direct if you have one that you are interested in selling. Thank you! Vy 73 Steve, VK6VZ --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1 IF Amp Mod?
Curt wrote: I thought the K1 was the commercial version of the Sierra. The...er...Sierra is the commercial version of the Sierra. :-) It's still sold by Wilderness Radio. The Sierra is rather different from the K1. Not least difference being the four PIC controllers found in the K1/KFL1/KAT1/KNB1 combo, and none in the Sierra. It has always amazed me how non-existent digital noise is in the K1. There's an interesting article about the Sierra, with schematic showing the IF stage design that is at the root of this thread, found here: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/tis/info/pdf/96hb1789.pdf Didn't the Sierra predate Elecraft? Sierra = 1994, Elecraft = 1998, K1 = 2000 BTW, the K1 is about the neatest QRP radio I own... I agree. It's sad to see its current reduced status in the Elecraft catalog...but it *is* 14 years old. Few other ham rigs besides those from Elecraft survive for such long runs. I'd give up almost every ham rig I've ever owned before I'd let my K1 #175 get away. I'm also pretty attached to three of Dave Benson's DSW-series that I built. Like the DSW's, when the K1 finally goes away completely, many will count themselves lucky to own one, especially if it has the four-band filter board. At least the KX1 is still available for those who want a DDS QRP rig...but there's nothing exactly comparable to the K1. 73, Mike / KK5F __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1 IF Amp Mod?
Maybe not. The Sierra has been shown on the Wilderness Radio website as out of stock for quite a while now. Too bad. It was a very versatile kit. 73, Rick Dettinger K7MW On Oct 19, 2014, at 11:02 AM, Mike Morrow wrote: The...er...Sierra is the commercial version of the Sierra. :-) It's still sold by Wilderness Radio. __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
[Elecraft] K1 IF Amp Mod?
I thought the K1 was the commercial version of the Sierra. Didn't the Sierra predate Elecraft? BTW, the K1 is about the neatest QRP radio I own, even above my K2. I've built boards for every band 80M-10M, especially enjoy working from the patio @ 1W into an EFHW on 20M. It's my go to rig for QRP contests. 73, Curt KB5JO __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
[Elecraft] K1 and Cumbria Designs X-Lock
Howdy fellow Elecrafters. Would like to get in contact with anyone out there who has interfaced a Cumbria Designs X-Lock VFO stabilizer with a K1. 73, Joe W2KJ __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1 and Cumbria Designs X-Lock
Joe, I have not tried it, but Davbe G4AON has written a paper on his installation. You can see it at http://www.cumbriadesigns.co.uk/images/X-Lock%20K1/X-Lock_K1.pdf. It looks straightforward enough to me. I would think you would have to adjust the VFO range after installation, but that is easy enough to do, just change the turns spacing on L1. There are several reviews on eHam - http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/8437 73, Don W3FPR On 10/17/2014 9:48 AM, Joe W2KJ wrote: Howdy fellow Elecrafters. Would like to get in contact with anyone out there who has interfaced a Cumbria Designs X-Lock VFO stabilizer with a K1. __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1 and Cumbria Designs X-Lock
Oh no -- I'm not yet done with my K1, it appears. I wondered why the pdf file below showed no photos with the mounting of the board in the K1; then I read For the time being it is working perfectly while wrapped in bubble wrap! :-) 73, Phil W7OX On 10/17/14, 7:21 AM, Don Wilhelm wrote: Joe, I have not tried it, but Davbe G4AON has written a paper on his installation. You can see it at http://www.cumbriadesigns.co.uk/images/X-Lock%20K1/X-Lock_K1.pdf. It looks straightforward enough to me. I would think you would have to adjust the VFO range after installation, but that is easy enough to do, just change the turns spacing on L1. There are several reviews on eHam - http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/8437 73, Don W3FPR On 10/17/2014 9:48 AM, Joe W2KJ wrote: Howdy fellow Elecrafters. Would like to get in contact with anyone out there who has interfaced a Cumbria Designs X-Lock VFO stabilizer with a K1. __ 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 Message delivered to w...@socal.rr.com __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1 and Cumbria Designs X-Lock
Phil, Scroll down a bit and you will see the photos - unless you have something lacking in the .pdf viewer in your browser - in that case, download the link by right clicking and choose save file as then open it with Adobe Reader. 73, Don W3FPR On 10/17/2014 11:12 AM, Phil Wheeler wrote: Oh no -- I'm not yet done with my K1, it appears. I wondered why the pdf file below showed no photos with the mounting of the board in the K1; then I read For the time being it is working perfectly while wrapped in bubble wrap! :-) 73, Phil W7OX On 10/17/14, 7:21 AM, Don Wilhelm wrote: Joe, I have not tried it, but Davbe G4AON has written a paper on his installation. You can see it at http://www.cumbriadesigns.co.uk/images/X-Lock%20K1/X-Lock_K1.pdf. It looks straightforward enough to me. I would think you would have to adjust the VFO range after installation, but that is easy enough to do, just change the turns spacing on L1. There are several reviews on eHam - http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/8437 73, Don W3FPR On 10/17/2014 9:48 AM, Joe W2KJ wrote: Howdy fellow Elecrafters. Would like to get in contact with anyone out there who has interfaced a Cumbria Designs X-Lock VFO stabilizer with a K1. __ 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 Message delivered to w...@socal.rr.com __ 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 Message delivered to w3...@embarqmail.com __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1 and Cumbria Designs X-Lock
I noticed the same thing that Phil did. Three photos show up. Not one of them shows the X-Lock in or out of bubble wrap. The hookup photos were less interesting to me at this point than how he was able to stuff it in the K1. Eric KE6US On 10/17/2014 8:28 AM, Don Wilhelm wrote: Phil, Scroll down a bit and you will see the photos - unless you have something lacking in the .pdf viewer in your browser - in that case, download the link by right clicking and choose save file as then open it with Adobe Reader. 73, Don W3FPR On 10/17/2014 11:12 AM, Phil Wheeler wrote: Oh no -- I'm not yet done with my K1, it appears. I wondered why the pdf file below showed no photos with the mounting of the board in the K1; then I read For the time being it is working perfectly while wrapped in bubble wrap! :-) 73, Phil W7OX On 10/17/14, 7:21 AM, Don Wilhelm wrote: Joe, I have not tried it, but Davbe G4AON has written a paper on his installation. You can see it at http://www.cumbriadesigns.co.uk/images/X-Lock%20K1/X-Lock_K1.pdf. It looks straightforward enough to me. I would think you would have to adjust the VFO range after installation, but that is easy enough to do, just change the turns spacing on L1. There are several reviews on eHam - http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/8437 73, Don W3FPR On 10/17/2014 9:48 AM, Joe W2KJ wrote: Howdy fellow Elecrafters. Would like to get in contact with anyone out there who has interfaced a Cumbria Designs X-Lock VFO stabilizer with a K1. __ 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 Message delivered to w...@socal.rr.com __ 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 Message delivered to w3...@embarqmail.com __ 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 Message delivered to eric_c...@hotmail.com __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
[Elecraft] K1 IF Amp Mod?
Hi. I have noticed that the K1 and Sierra rcvrs are very similar (as 602 based designs). The main difference is imo that the Sierra has a MC1350 IF amp (as has the K2 btw) followed by an LM386, but the K1 seems to do all amplification after XFIL on AF frequencies using LM386+LM380. Could/have the K1 be(en) modified with an IF amp and IF based AGC? Thanks. Roy RF Tinkerer __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1 IF Amp Mod?
Since you consider yourself as an RF tinkerer, it sounds like an interesting experiment. Since the technology in the K1 predates my interest in Elecraft, probably the up to date inclusions in the Sierra were not available when the K1 was designed 20 years or so ago. The K3 design is not getting long of tooth and the KX3 is the ultimate QRP design from Elecraft. It does not sound like a design change that will make Wayne and Erik any money! Willis 'Cookie' Cooke, TDXS DX Chairman K5EWJ Trustee N5BPS, USS Cavalla, USS Stewart On Friday, October 17, 2014 1:16 PM, r j rjinsp...@gmail.com wrote: Hi. I have noticed that the K1 and Sierra rcvrs are very similar (as 602 based designs). The main difference is imo that the Sierra has a MC1350 IF amp (as has the K2 btw) followed by an LM386, but the K1 seems to do all amplification after XFIL on AF frequencies using LM386+LM380. Could/have the K1 be(en) modified with an IF amp and IF based AGC? Thanks. Roy RF Tinkerer __ 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 Message delivered to wrco...@yahoo.com __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1 IF Amp Mod?
... probably the up to date inclusions in the Sierra were not available when the K1 was designed 20 years or so ago... The Sierra predates the K1. The NE602 mixer and MC1350 IF amp was in common use long before the Sierra was designed and even longer before Elecraft was formed. Elecraft used MC1350 in K2, but chose to substitute it with all AF amplification in K1. When - one day - the K3 and all IcoYaeWoods are irrepairable junk (due to special technology/chips/firmware), you can always rip apart your dead and dusty K1 or K2, throw away the microcontroller and the display, put in a few jumpers on the RF boards, and voila - you have an all analog radio that you can repair from your component junk box and (then) obsolete fleabay ICs. In the exact same way as people do 50+ years old tubes today. No surprise. Yes, I know. That is why I wonder why the IF amp was changed for an AF amp. Roy RF Tinkerer On Sat, Oct 18, 2014 at 1:12 AM, r j rjinsp...@gmail.com wrote: Hi. I have noticed that the K1 and Sierra rcvrs are very similar (as 602 based designs). The main difference is imo that the Sierra has a MC1350 IF amp (as has the K2 btw) followed by an LM386, but the K1 seems to do all amplification after XFIL on AF frequencies using LM386+LM380. Could/have the K1 be(en) modified with an IF amp and IF based AGC? Thanks. Roy RF Tinkerer __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1 IF Amp Mod? Some history.
...were not available when the K1 was designed 20 years or so ago. That's a pretty fanciful date to just pick out of thin air! :-) There wasn't anything that was Elecraft 20 years ago. The K1 was shown first at Dayton 2000, after which many of us ordered one. The first deliveries to the mass unwashed customer base were made in October, 2000, after a wait of more than five months. I got No. 175 in November, 2000. Not 1994! It's already been noted that the Sierra (also designed by Wayne/N6KR) came out long before the K1...in fact...in 1994. So there's your 20 years! Mike / KK5F __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1 IF Amp Mod? Some history.
More history - Elecraft was formally created July of 1998. (We began working on the K2 design well before that.) We shipped the first 100 K2 Field Test Units January and Feb. of 1999. We took orders for production K2 kits at Dayton in May of 1999. We followed that with the K1, then the KX1, the K3, and most recently the KX3. 73, Eric elecraft.com On 10/17/2014 5:40 PM, Mike Morrow wrote: ...were not available when the K1 was designed 20 years or so ago. That's a pretty fanciful date to just pick out of thin air! :-) There wasn't anything that was Elecraft 20 years ago. The K1 was shown first at Dayton 2000, after which many of us ordered one. The first deliveries to the mass unwashed customer base were made in October, 2000, after a wait of more than five months. I got No. 175 in November, 2000. Not 1994! It's already been noted that the Sierra (also designed by Wayne/N6KR) came out long before the K1...in fact...in 1994. So there's your 20 years! Mike / KK5F __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1 IF Amp Mod? Some history.
Well ... Thanks for the history. One can also look at Elecraft's website http://www.elecraft.com/about_elecraft.htm But my question remains: Why did the (very early) Sierra and the (first Elecraft product) K2 have IF amp (MC1350 - and of course the standard AF amp LM386), but the K1 was equipped with no IF amp but two AF amps (LM386 and LM380) and an accordingly somewhat problematic AF based AGC. Thanks. Roy RF Tinkerer On Sat, Oct 18, 2014 at 8:34 AM, Eric Swartz - WA6HHQ, Elecraft e...@elecraft.com wrote: More history - Elecraft was formally created July of 1998. (We began working on the K2 design well before that.) We shipped the first 100 K2 Field Test Units January and Feb. of 1999. We took orders for production K2 kits at Dayton in May of 1999. We followed that with the K1, then the KX1, the K3, and most recently the KX3. 73, Eric elecraft.com On 10/17/2014 5:40 PM, Mike Morrow wrote: ...were not available when the K1 was designed 20 years or so ago. That's a pretty fanciful date to just pick out of thin air! :-) There wasn't anything that was Elecraft 20 years ago. The K1 was shown first at Dayton 2000, after which many of us ordered one. The first deliveries to the mass unwashed customer base were made in October, 2000, after a wait of more than five months. I got No. 175 in November, 2000. Not 1994! It's already been noted that the Sierra (also designed by Wayne/N6KR) came out long before the K1...in fact...in 1994. So there's your 20 years! Mike / KK5F __ 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 Message delivered to rjinsp...@gmail.com __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1 IF Amp Mod? Some history.
Roy, I think one of the reasons for the change from the MC1350 to the NE612 followed by the LM386 was due to the fact that when the K1 was designed, the MC1350 in its DIP format was not to be used for current designs. Yes, the MC1350 is still available in SMD format, and Elecraft has designed a carrier board that allows its use in the DIP format holes (for the K2 ongoing support). To redesign the the K1 to use the MC1350 would be challenging. The AGC system would have to be changed to use that part. There is nothing wrong with the dual NE612 designs - there are several out there, and they perform quite nicely. BTW - the K2 used the LM380-8 audio amplifier, not the LM386. 73, Don W3FPR On 10/17/2014 9:50 PM, r j wrote: Well ... Thanks for the history. One can also look at Elecraft's website http://www.elecraft.com/about_elecraft.htm But my question remains: Why did the (very early) Sierra and the (first Elecraft product) K2 have IF amp (MC1350 - and of course the standard AF amp LM386), but the K1 was equipped with no IF amp but two AF amps (LM386 and LM380) and an accordingly somewhat problematic AF based AGC. Thanks. Roy RF Tinkerer On Sat, Oct 18, 2014 at 8:34 AM, Eric Swartz - WA6HHQ, Elecraft e...@elecraft.com wrote: More history - Elecraft was formally created July of 1998. (We began working on the K2 design well before that.) We shipped the first 100 K2 Field Test Units January and Feb. of 1999. We took orders for production K2 kits at Dayton in May of 1999. We followed that with the K1, then the KX1, the K3, and most recently the KX3. 73, Eric elecraft.com __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1 IF Amp Mod? Some history.
Yep - the K2 uses LM380, but the Sierra uses only an LM386 as headphone amp. My ill formulated sentence. But it doesn't matter - its all AF dBs. My point is that the Sierra and the K2 uses an IF amp MC1350 before the product detector 602 (612, NE, SA ...), and gets a 'proper' AGC. The K2 is of course a better design since it uses a TUF-1 mixer (w. pre- and post amp) in stead of the 602 mixer. But the K1 - a later design then the Sierra and K2 - is imo one step back and down by not having an IF amp. The main rcvr guts of the K1 looks something like: 602 MIXER - XFIL - 602 PROD DET - LM386 AF PRE AMP - LM380 AF POWER AMP There is no IF amplification, and the AGC is based on the very slow CW AF signal. Anyway - it is a piece of cake to mod the K1. Quite a few of the other QRP rigs (in addition to the Sierra) from the period are 602-1350-602. I just wanted to know why they chose the all AF way. I guess someone has asked before - but the answer is imo not all clear. http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/RE-Re-K1-AGC-time-constant-and-how-to-radically-improveK1-AGC-td388515.html Roy RF Tinkerer On Sat, Oct 18, 2014 at 9:37 AM, Don Wilhelm w3...@embarqmail.com wrote: Roy, I think one of the reasons for the change from the MC1350 to the NE612 followed by the LM386 was due to the fact that when the K1 was designed, the MC1350 in its DIP format was not to be used for current designs. Yes, the MC1350 is still available in SMD format, and Elecraft has designed a carrier board that allows its use in the DIP format holes (for the K2 ongoing support). To redesign the the K1 to use the MC1350 would be challenging. The AGC system would have to be changed to use that part. There is nothing wrong with the dual NE612 designs - there are several out there, and they perform quite nicely. BTW - the K2 used the LM380-8 audio amplifier, not the LM386. 73, Don W3FPR On 10/17/2014 9:50 PM, r j wrote: Well ... Thanks for the history. One can also look at Elecraft's website http://www.elecraft.com/about_elecraft.htm But my question remains: Why did the (very early) Sierra and the (first Elecraft product) K2 have IF amp (MC1350 - and of course the standard AF amp LM386), but the K1 was equipped with no IF amp but two AF amps (LM386 and LM380) and an accordingly somewhat problematic AF based AGC. Thanks. Roy RF Tinkerer On Sat, Oct 18, 2014 at 8:34 AM, Eric Swartz - WA6HHQ, Elecraft e...@elecraft.com wrote: More history - Elecraft was formally created July of 1998. (We began working on the K2 design well before that.) We shipped the first 100 K2 Field Test Units January and Feb. of 1999. We took orders for production K2 kits at Dayton in May of 1999. We followed that with the K1, then the KX1, the K3, and most recently the KX3. 73, Eric elecraft.com __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1 IF Amp Mod? Some history.
Hmm .. so where is the KX2, Eric? :-) 73, Phil W7OX On 10/17/14, 6:34 PM, Eric Swartz - WA6HHQ, Elecraft wrote: More history - Elecraft was formally created July of 1998. (We began working on the K2 design well before that.) We shipped the first 100 K2 Field Test Units January and Feb. of 1999. We took orders for production K2 kits at Dayton in May of 1999. We followed that with the K1, then the KX1, the K3, and most recently the KX3. 73, Eric elecraft.com On 10/17/2014 5:40 PM, Mike Morrow wrote: ...were not available when the K1 was designed 20 years or so ago. That's a pretty fanciful date to just pick out of thin air! :-) There wasn't anything that was Elecraft 20 years ago. The K1 was shown first at Dayton 2000, after which many of us ordered one. The first deliveries to the mass unwashed customer base were made in October, 2000, after a wait of more than five months. I got No. 175 in November, 2000. Not 1994! It's already been noted that the Sierra (also designed by Wayne/N6KR) came out long before the K1...in fact...in 1994. So there's your 20 years! Mike / KK5F __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
[Elecraft] K1-4, KAT1: low output on 30, 40, no match on 40 (Part I)
I'm hoping someone here might have had a similar issue, and save me some time. I recently installed a KAT1 into my K1-4. I have 40, 30, 20, and 15 meters installed in the K1. Symptoms: low output (0.1w) on 40 meters and 30 meters. KAT1 will not match to 50 ohm dummy load on 40 meters. I have cycled through the ATU menu, checking the SWR reading on each band, for L0-4 and C0-5.I'll post the results in a separate email. The relays are clicking on each band change, and for each L and C change. The pattern wasn't clear to me; does this point me to C5? The unit was working properly after KAT1 installation. I.e., the problem is new. I've reheated the KAT1 toroid leads, thinking I might have a cold joint. no joy. Does this ring any bells for anyone? Many thanks, and 72. Randy NC4RT __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4, KAT1: low output on 30, 40, no match on 40 (Part I)
Randy, Did the KAT1 wattmeter balance (null) and power and SWR calibrations proceed without incident? The voltage obtained during the nulling procedure should have been in the low millivolt range. If it was not, the problem may be in the wattmeter portion of the KAT1. Check T1 very closely. It must be wound in the direction indicated in the manual diagram, and the leads must be well stripped and tinned. 73, Don W3FPR On 9/25/2014 8:23 PM, Randy Tompson wrote: I'm hoping someone here might have had a similar issue, and save me some time. I recently installed a KAT1 into my K1-4. I have 40, 30, 20, and 15 meters installed in the K1. Symptoms: low output (0.1w) on 40 meters and 30 meters. KAT1 will not match to 50 ohm dummy load on 40 meters. I have cycled through the ATU menu, checking the SWR reading on each band, for L0-4 and C0-5.I'll post the results in a separate email. The relays are clicking on each band change, and for each L and C change. The pattern wasn't clear to me; does this point me to C5? The unit was working properly after KAT1 installation. I.e., the problem is new. I've reheated the KAT1 toroid leads, thinking I might have a cold joint. no joy. __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1 with a strange XFIL problem...
Success! Thanks to Bruce N1RX for his knowledge and prior troubleshooting to resolve this issue. http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/file/n7593336/sn2404fp_problem.jpg What he described and photographed (above) are exactly the cause of this problem. The RIT switch leg was making contact with pin 5 of J1. 72/73 Dave For further details, please see Bruce's reply to me below: Yes I had this exact problem on one I repaired in July of 2012. It was traced to a short between the RIT/XIT switch to a trace on the board, where the switch lead had been bent over by the original builder before soldering. I corresponded with Don Wilhelm about this. Though he didn't provide the solution, our conversation led me to the tests that found it. Copied below is a repost of my last message to Don, after I resolved it. I don't recall if I posted this to the reflector or not. In any event, It may help someone in the future. I have a photo of the offending switch pin connection, if anyone wants it. Bruce Beford, N1RX Hi, Don. You may recall that I posted recently to the list about a strange problem with a K1. I resolved it today, and wanted to share the results with you. Here's a copy of my original post: OK, folks. Time to put on your thinking caps... I just purchased a used K1. Has NB, ATU and 4 band board, set for 7/10.1/14/21 MHz. All appears to be operating normally, except... When cycling through the crystal filter bandwidths from FL1-FL3, once FL3 is reached, all buttons become unresponsive. The VFO readout still works, but the MCU will not respond to any key presses. The filter does actually switch to the narrowest setting, based on the audio response. Cycling the power returns the rig to normal operation (on FL1), and all works fine again until trying to use FL3. About the only other anomaly I notice is what seems to be a louder pop in the speaker when switching in RIT or XIT than I remember from my last K1. I have not yet begun any troubleshooting (except for a full reset). Just thought I would poll the collective wisdom here before digging in. Actually, I'll be getting ready for Lobstercon over the next couple of days, so I don't know how much time I'll be able to commit until after the weekend. You and I both suspected a problem with the MCU, as there should no other circuitry involved, except the DAC and EEPROM. You also suggested perhaps replacing those ICs while in there. Fortunately, I have a friend who allowed me to borrow his working K1. Swapped the entire Front Panel board, mine works fine with his board. I then took his MCU chip and put it in my board, still have the problem. So, the problem was on my FP board, but not the MCU. One thing I did notice was a ticking noise in the audio with no antenna connected, almost like ignition noise in a vehicle, when using my board FP board but not when using my friend's. The ticking would disappear when I went to FL2. Ahh, another clue... I then decided to remove the DAC from my board and see what happens. Lo, The unit would now switch properly, FL3,FL2,FL1 and back to FL3 OK. Of course, it was not actually switching the filter bandwidth with the DAC out. I now had a pretty load, almost moterboating noise in the audio. I decided to ground what was the XFIL/TONE output pin of the DAC (pin 1) to see if it would quiet the audio. It did, BUT- it activated the RIT! Wait a minute- there should be no connection between the two but, there was. Upon extra careful inspection, I found that one lead on the RIT/XIT switch was not inserted through the board by the original builder. It was bent over, and was contacting pin 5 on J1 (the XFIL/TONE signal). The moaterboating I heard was actually the MCU driving the LCD pin and polling the input for the switch. This was not noticeable when the DAC was holding this line at a steady DC voltage. So, what was happening was when the DAC output it's lowest voltage for FL1 (about 1.6 volts), it would tickle the input pin on the MCU for the WPM+/FILTER switch. I believe the MCU would think the switch was being held in, therefore no other switches would work, until the unit was powered off. An original symptom (which I didn't recognize at the time) was when I noted that the RIT/XIT button seemed to generate an audio pop when used. That's because it was grounding the XFIL/TONE signal line. I reworked the switch connection, and all is fine now. I have attached a photo of the offending pin (not a good shot, but shows the connection in question). I thought you might like to hear about this one. Thanks for being a sounding board, Don. I appreciate it. 73, Bruce, N1RX -- View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/K1-with-a-strange-XFIL-problem-tp7558513p7593336.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ Elecraft mailing list
[Elecraft] K1 K1-4/2 with options for sale
Thank you all: The K1 is sold pending funds. 73 Lu - W4LT On Sep 22, 2014 5:16 PM, Lu Romero lrom...@ij.net wrote: K1 #2539 for sale I would like to sell my K1-4/2 for personal reasons. The rig comes with the following options: - Finger Dimple - LCD Backlight kit - KFL1-4 Four band module with o 40 meters o 30 meters o 20 meters o 17 meters - KFL1-2 Two band module (not installed) with o 80 meters o 15 meters - KAT1 Internal Antenna Tuner - KNB1 Noise Blanker Also included are a 12v 4amp power cube type power supply with integral barrel plug and IEC Cable, a spare power cable with molded power barrel plug and tinned ends, Original factory printed assembly manual annotated with build notes plus latest downloaded factory manual with all errata fixed, all the separate manuals for the options, additional 15 meter crystal plus parts to remove 17 meters and add 15 meters to the 4 band module and all leftover assembly parts, factory tools and jigs in original factory bag. Rig is 9.5 on a scale of 10 cosmetically (small scuff on one side panel) and 10 of 10 operationally. Has been with me literally around the world in my backpack but sadly, I don't travel much anymore, my life has gotten complicated and it sees little use. A great rig like this should be used! Will be professionally packed and delivered via UPS ground to the lower 48 states. I really don't need anything to trade for, or else I would keep it. Over $600 new in 2009, offering this very nice and well optioned K1 for $475, which includes shipping as described above. Terms are Cashier's Check or Postal Money order. A scan of the funds transfer document emailed to me holds it in your name until I receive the actual document, then I will ship. I will not cash the document until I receive confirmation that you received the radio from UPS. Please, no funny business! Email direct (please, not here on the list!) for additional information and photographs. I'm good in QRZ. 73 - Lu Romero - W4LT Tampa, Fl. __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1 with a strange XFIL problem...
Hi all - I wonder if this problem has ever been resolved? I have had the same issue for several years with mine (serial number 278, previously owned by K8RA who reported the same problem.) http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/On-a-K1-how-do-I-get-back-from-FL3-to-FL1-or-FL2-Menu-freezes-td7570579.html http://marc.info/?l=elecraftm=105624414018316w=2 and the thread to which I reply now: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/K1-with-a-strange-XFIL-problem-tp7558513p7558526.html 72/73 Dave -- View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/K1-with-a-strange-XFIL-problem-tp7558513p7593290.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
[Elecraft] K1 - For Sale: K1-4/2 with options
K1 #2539 for sale I would like to sell my K1-4/2 for personal reasons. The rig comes with the following options: - Finger Dimple - LCD Backlight kit - KFL1-4 Four band module with o 40 meters o 30 meters o 20 meters o 17 meters - KFL1-2 Two band module (not installed) with o 80 meters o 15 meters - KAT1 Internal Antenna Tuner - KNB1 Noise Blanker Also included are a 12v 4amp power cube type power supply with integral barrel plug and IEC Cable, a spare power cable with molded power barrel plug and tinned ends, Original factory printed assembly manual annotated with build notes plus latest downloaded factory manual with all errata fixed, all the separate manuals for the options, additional 15 meter crystal plus parts to remove 17 meters and add 15 meters to the 4 band module and all leftover assembly parts, factory tools and jigs in original factory bag. Rig is 9.5 on a scale of 10 cosmetically (small scuff on one side panel) and 10 of 10 operationally. Has been with me literally around the world in my backpack but sadly, I dont travel much anymore, my life has gotten complicated and it sees little use. A great rig like this should be used! Will be professionally packed and delivered via UPS ground to the lower 48 states. I really dont need anything to trade for, or else I would keep it. Over $600 new in 2009, offering this very nice and well optioned K1 for $475, which includes shipping as described above. Terms are Cashiers Check or Postal Money order. A scan of the funds transfer document emailed to me holds it in your name until I receive the actual document, then I will ship. I will not cash the document until I receive confirmation that you received the radio from UPS. Please, no funny business! Email direct (please, not here on the list!) for additional information and photographs. Im good in QRZ. 73 Lu Romero W4LT Tampa, Fl. __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
[Elecraft] K1 For Sale
The K1 I offered for sale has been sold. John K7JLT __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
[Elecraft] K1 For Sale
K1 For Sale Serial Number 206 Original Non-Smoking Owner Equipped With- - K1-4 4 Band Module with 15, 20,30 40 Meters (Trimmer Mod Installed) - KAT1 Antenna Tuner - KNB1 Noise Blanker - Back Lighted LED Modification - Homemade Tilt Stand - Spare 2 Band Module with 40 20 Meter (80 meter parts change kit included) - External 8 cell battery holder - Tuning Range Linearzation Modification Completed - Original Owners Manuals, Sales Documentation,Tools Unused parts Recently Tested and passed RX sensitivity/TX 5 watt power output on all bands Asking $425 which includes priority USPS shipping to US locations Please respond directly John K7JLT __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
[Elecraft] K1 Issue. Lost reception when transmitter stage completed.
Dear Fellows, I just finished construction of my K1. The receiver stage worked perfectly until I finished the transmitter stage. I still get audio hiss and volume but no signal on any band, AGC on or off, attenuator on or off. All the voltages and resistances check out except the anode of D9, according to the manual, is supposed to be 100k. I'm sure this is an error, however, since the DC path to ground from that point goes through three resistors and a choke totalling only about a couple K, which is what I measure. I still get rf out of the VFO, and can trace it through the filter board, J6, at pins 1,2 and 6, with my scope. However, there is no trace of signal rf from the antenna on pins 1 or 8 of J7. I have no rf at the attenuator relay either, at pin 3, or any other. I can't quite figure out yet how the TR switch circuit works (or doesn't perhaps) so it's hard to troubleshoot if it is the problem or not. Needing the filter board in place makes trouble shooting all the harder too. I wish I had a layout view showing the bottom of the rf board to help. As always, any comments welcome and appreciated. 73 Les KE7SLX __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1 Issue. Lost reception when transmitter stage completed.
Les,
You did not mention your test gear nor any information about your setup,
so I have to make some guesses and ask some groundwork questions.
Are you injecting RF from a signal generator to the BNC jack? If so, is
that signal large enough to register on what you are using to determine
signal or no signal ('scope with 10X probe or RF Probe)?
Do you have the jumper installed in J2 of the band board?
Turn the signal generator off, then on while observing the level at band
board J8 pin 8 - you should see a rise in the RF being measured. If
not, the signal level is too low to register on your measurement device.
The Signal Tracing section starting on page 5 of the K1 manual appendix
gives you an orderly sequence for troubleshooting. Where does the
signal level drop below the expected level? That point is just past the
point of failure.
73,
Don W3FPR
On 8/22/2014 1:03 PM, Les Garwood wrote:
Dear Fellows,
I just finished construction of my K1. The receiver stage worked perfectly
until I finished the transmitter stage. I still get audio hiss and volume
but no signal on any band, AGC on or off, attenuator on or off.
All the voltages and resistances check out except the anode of D9,
according to the manual, is supposed to be 100k. I'm sure this is an
error, however, since the DC path to ground from that point goes through
three resistors and a choke totalling only about a couple K, which is what
I measure.
I still get rf out of the VFO, and can trace it through the filter board,
J6, at pins 1,2 and 6, with my scope. However, there is no trace of
signal rf from the antenna on pins 1 or 8 of J7.
I have no rf at the attenuator relay either, at pin 3, or any other.
I can't quite figure out yet how the TR switch circuit works (or doesn't
perhaps) so it's hard to troubleshoot if it is the problem or not.
Needing the filter board in place makes trouble shooting all the harder
too. I wish I had a layout view showing the bottom of the rf board to help.
As always, any comments welcome and appreciated.
__
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Re: [Elecraft] K1 Issue. Lost reception when transmitter stage completed.
Les wrote: All the voltages and resistances check out except the anode of D9, according to the manual, is supposed to be 100k. I'm sure this is an error, however, since the DC path to ground from that point goes through three resistors and a choke totalling only about a couple K, which is what I measure. The manual calls for this to be greater than *100* ohms, not *100,000* ohms. A kit sold for 14 years is unlikely to have incorrect test point standards. :-) I wish I had a layout view showing the bottom of the rf board to help. I have wished (for 14 years) for such PCB trace layouts. They are very appropriate for *ALL* kits. For some reason that has never been coherently explained, Elecraft has never supplied them. Tom/N0SS (SK) published photos of the PCB for the K1 years ago, but I do not think those are available any more, even at the remnant of his web site that is preserved by his ham club. Mike / KK5F __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1 Issue. Lost reception when transmitter stage completed.
Thanks again, Don.
I've been using Elecraft's signal injector; you may know it puts out 50
micro volts on the high setting.
I'll try your suggestions but I think I did part of them already.
BTW, I'm using my Android phone so it's tough to write a lot of detail.
Les
On Aug 22, 2014 11:05 AM, Don Wilhelm w3...@embarqmail.com wrote:
Les,
You did not mention your test gear nor any information about your setup,
so I have to make some guesses and ask some groundwork questions.
Are you injecting RF from a signal generator to the BNC jack? If so, is
that signal large enough to register on what you are using to determine
signal or no signal ('scope with 10X probe or RF Probe)?
Do you have the jumper installed in J2 of the band board?
Turn the signal generator off, then on while observing the level at band
board J8 pin 8 - you should see a rise in the RF being measured. If not,
the signal level is too low to register on your measurement device.
The Signal Tracing section starting on page 5 of the K1 manual appendix
gives you an orderly sequence for troubleshooting. Where does the signal
level drop below the expected level? That point is just past the point of
failure.
73,
Don W3FPR
On 8/22/2014 1:03 PM, Les Garwood wrote:
Dear Fellows,
I just finished construction of my K1. The receiver stage worked
perfectly
until I finished the transmitter stage. I still get audio hiss and volume
but no signal on any band, AGC on or off, attenuator on or off.
All the voltages and resistances check out except the anode of D9,
according to the manual, is supposed to be 100k. I'm sure this is an
error, however, since the DC path to ground from that point goes through
three resistors and a choke totalling only about a couple K, which is
what
I measure.
I still get rf out of the VFO, and can trace it through the filter board,
J6, at pins 1,2 and 6, with my scope. However, there is no trace of
signal rf from the antenna on pins 1 or 8 of J7.
I have no rf at the attenuator relay either, at pin 3, or any other.
I can't quite figure out yet how the TR switch circuit works (or doesn't
perhaps) so it's hard to troubleshoot if it is the problem or not.
Needing the filter board in place makes trouble shooting all the harder
too. I wish I had a layout view showing the bottom of the rf board to
help.
As always, any comments welcome and appreciated.
__
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Re: [Elecraft] K1 Issue. Lost reception when transmitter stage completed.
Hi, Yes, Tom had scans of all the legacy gear boards, both top and bottom. They were on the preserved website at http://www.mmccs.com/mmarc/n0ss/, but right now, it looks like the link refers back to the master page. I will try to contact their webmaster to see if that can be fixed. In the meantime, I do have copies of those board images, and will email them one at a time to anyone who requests them. 73, Don W3FPR On 8/22/2014 2:18 PM, Mike Morrow wrote: I wish I had a layout view showing the bottom of the rf board to help. I have wished (for 14 years) for such PCB trace layouts. They are very appropriate for *ALL* kits. For some reason that has never been coherently explained, Elecraft has never supplied them. Tom/N0SS (SK) published photos of the PCB for the K1 years ago, but I do not think those are available any more, even at the remnant of his web site that is preserved by his ham club. __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1 Issue. Lost reception when transmitter stage completed.
Les,
50 uV is not a large enough signal to see on a 'scope or RF probe. You
really need 1.4 volts (or whatever is specified in the procedure) of RF
input.
I suggest you build the simple oscillator shown in the Signal Tracing
appendix of the manual. It has good output for that purpose. The
crystal should be at a frequency within your tuning range.
73,
Don W3FPR
On 8/22/2014 3:07 PM, Les Garwood wrote:
Thanks again, Don.
I've been using Elecraft's signal injector; you may know it puts out 50
micro volts on the high setting.
I'll try your suggestions but I think I did part of them already.
BTW, I'm using my Android phone so it's tough to write a lot of detail.
Les
On Aug 22, 2014 11:05 AM, Don Wilhelm w3...@embarqmail.com wrote:
Les,
You did not mention your test gear nor any information about your setup,
so I have to make some guesses and ask some groundwork questions.
Are you injecting RF from a signal generator to the BNC jack? If so, is
that signal large enough to register on what you are using to determine
signal or no signal ('scope with 10X probe or RF Probe)?
Do you have the jumper installed in J2 of the band board?
Turn the signal generator off, then on while observing the level at band
board J8 pin 8 - you should see a rise in the RF being measured. If not,
the signal level is too low to register on your measurement device.
The Signal Tracing section starting on page 5 of the K1 manual appendix
gives you an orderly sequence for troubleshooting. Where does the signal
level drop below the expected level? That point is just past the point of
failure.
73,
Don W3FPR
On 8/22/2014 1:03 PM, Les Garwood wrote:
Dear Fellows,
I just finished construction of my K1. The receiver stage worked
perfectly
until I finished the transmitter stage. I still get audio hiss and volume
but no signal on any band, AGC on or off, attenuator on or off.
All the voltages and resistances check out except the anode of D9,
according to the manual, is supposed to be 100k. I'm sure this is an
error, however, since the DC path to ground from that point goes through
three resistors and a choke totalling only about a couple K, which is
what
I measure.
I still get rf out of the VFO, and can trace it through the filter board,
J6, at pins 1,2 and 6, with my scope. However, there is no trace of
signal rf from the antenna on pins 1 or 8 of J7.
I have no rf at the attenuator relay either, at pin 3, or any other.
I can't quite figure out yet how the TR switch circuit works (or doesn't
perhaps) so it's hard to troubleshoot if it is the problem or not.
Needing the filter board in place makes trouble shooting all the harder
too. I wish I had a layout view showing the bottom of the rf board to
help.
As always, any comments welcome and appreciated.
__
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Re: [Elecraft] K1 Issue. Lost reception when transmitter stage completed.
Helpful once again. I also use a Heatkit signal gen., I didn't mention.
It punches up well on my scope. I'll try it again.
The scans are what's already on the board, however. These have been useful
but limited. Maybe there is something out on the Net that identifies the
solder points/pads too.
Les
On Aug 22, 2014 12:23 PM, Don Wilhelm w3...@embarqmail.com wrote:
Les,
50 uV is not a large enough signal to see on a 'scope or RF probe. You
really need 1.4 volts (or whatever is specified in the procedure) of RF
input.
I suggest you build the simple oscillator shown in the Signal Tracing
appendix of the manual. It has good output for that purpose. The crystal
should be at a frequency within your tuning range.
73,
Don W3FPR
On 8/22/2014 3:07 PM, Les Garwood wrote:
Thanks again, Don.
I've been using Elecraft's signal injector; you may know it puts out 50
micro volts on the high setting.
I'll try your suggestions but I think I did part of them already.
BTW, I'm using my Android phone so it's tough to write a lot of detail.
Les
On Aug 22, 2014 11:05 AM, Don Wilhelm w3...@embarqmail.com wrote:
Les,
You did not mention your test gear nor any information about your setup,
so I have to make some guesses and ask some groundwork questions.
Are you injecting RF from a signal generator to the BNC jack? If so, is
that signal large enough to register on what you are using to determine
signal or no signal ('scope with 10X probe or RF Probe)?
Do you have the jumper installed in J2 of the band board?
Turn the signal generator off, then on while observing the level at band
board J8 pin 8 - you should see a rise in the RF being measured. If not,
the signal level is too low to register on your measurement device.
The Signal Tracing section starting on page 5 of the K1 manual appendix
gives you an orderly sequence for troubleshooting. Where does the signal
level drop below the expected level? That point is just past the point
of
failure.
73,
Don W3FPR
On 8/22/2014 1:03 PM, Les Garwood wrote:
Dear Fellows,
I just finished construction of my K1. The receiver stage worked
perfectly
until I finished the transmitter stage. I still get audio hiss and
volume
but no signal on any band, AGC on or off, attenuator on or off.
All the voltages and resistances check out except the anode of D9,
according to the manual, is supposed to be 100k. I'm sure this is an
error, however, since the DC path to ground from that point goes
through
three resistors and a choke totalling only about a couple K, which is
what
I measure.
I still get rf out of the VFO, and can trace it through the filter
board,
J6, at pins 1,2 and 6, with my scope. However, there is no trace of
signal rf from the antenna on pins 1 or 8 of J7.
I have no rf at the attenuator relay either, at pin 3, or any other.
I can't quite figure out yet how the TR switch circuit works (or doesn't
perhaps) so it's hard to troubleshoot if it is the problem or not.
Needing the filter board in place makes trouble shooting all the harder
too. I wish I had a layout view showing the bottom of the rf board to
help.
As always, any comments welcome and appreciated.
__
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Re: [Elecraft] K1 Issue. Lost reception when transmitter stage completed.
You mean this link for N0SS signal tracing on the K1? http://www.mmccs.com/mmarc/n0ss/k1_signal_tracing.pdf Mid-Missouri radio club continues to maintain most of Tom’s papers. 72, gene WG7GW __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
[Elecraft] K1 Receiver Sensitivity Issue.
Dear Fellows, I Bought a K1 kit at a ham fest several years ago (SN 02197) and recently finished the receiver section. Although audio is strong, as evidenced by the hiss, I have nearly no signal on all 4 bands. I can pump strong rf into it and hear a good side tone/bfo but not strongly. Once, I heard a very faint CW station that was loud on my big rig. But no others. From the best of my repeated testings, all voltages and resistances provided in the manual match. I have not built an rf probe for my DMM yet but will. However, I also used the signal generator kit from Elecraft (the KXGI?). It is only weakly audible too, and only on the 50 microvolt setting. The AGC setting has no effect. The attenuator kills the weak probe signal when on. One post I found after scouring the Net spoke of a very similar problem that turned out to be a bad 2N7000, in the A Preamp stage, but I can't see how that would affect signal sensitivity, only audio gain. I also put a scope on pin one and pin 4 of U1, the Receiver Mixer. The relative voltage was 3x higher on pin 1 than on pin 4. I would at least have expected gain instead. Any comments appreciated. 73 Les KE7SLX __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1 Receiver Sensitivity Issue.
Les, Yes, the NE612 should show plenty of gain. When it does not, the usual reason is little or no oscillator signal to pin 6. The Pre-mixer Bandpass filter must be aligned before you will get much of a signal at U1 pin 6. Since you have a 'scope (hopefully with a 10X probe), I will give you an alternate method of tuning the Pre-Mixer Bandpass filter. Since you have the 4 band board, you must follow the proper band order - adjust 15 (or 17) meters before adjusting 20 meters, and likewise adjust 30 meters before 40 meters. Make a check before starting - align all the slots in the trimmer capacitors parallel with the long edge of the band board. Then check the activity of the crystal for each band - put your probe on band board P1 pin 4 and not the amplitude of the signal as you switch through the bands - you should have greater than 200 mV peak to peak. The position of the trimmer slots when tuned should be no more than 30 degrees from the center position if your toroids are correct. Then switch to 15 (or 17) meters, and with your probe on P1 pin 6, adjust the Pre-Mixer trimmer caps for 15 meters for the maximum amplitude. Switch to 30 meters and do the same for that bands trimmers. Do the same for 20 meters and 40 meters. You should be able to get 200 mV peak to peak there on all bands. Remember that your 'scope probe will load the Pre-Mix filter a bit, so the trimmers to the right of the filter will not be at their optimum setting, but it will be enough for receive - you will set the optimum position when you adjust for transmit. You should check to see that the Pre-Mix signal is getting to U1 pin 6 - if it is not, suspect the coax link on the bottom of the board between J9 and J10. Once you have a good signal at U1 pin 6, you should see that the output at pin 4 is much greater than the input at pin 1. 73, Don W3FPR On 8/18/2014 5:20 PM, Les Garwood wrote: Dear Fellows, I Bought a K1 kit at a ham fest several years ago (SN 02197) and recently finished the receiver section. Although audio is strong, as evidenced by the hiss, I have nearly no signal on all 4 bands. I can pump strong rf into it and hear a good side tone/bfo but not strongly. Once, I heard a very faint CW station that was loud on my big rig. But no others. From the best of my repeated testings, all voltages and resistances provided in the manual match. I have not built an rf probe for my DMM yet but will. However, I also used the signal generator kit from Elecraft (the KXGI?). It is only weakly audible too, and only on the 50 microvolt setting. The AGC setting has no effect. The attenuator kills the weak probe signal when on. One post I found after scouring the Net spoke of a very similar problem that turned out to be a bad 2N7000, in the A Preamp stage, but I can't see how that would affect signal sensitivity, only audio gain. I also put a scope on pin one and pin 4 of U1, the Receiver Mixer. The relative voltage was 3x higher on pin 1 than on pin 4. I would at least have expected gain instead. __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1 Receiver Sensitivity Issue.
Hi Don, Extremely helpful and encouraging; thanks. Actually, I was able to get the trimmers set pretty well, i think, using a strong signal source. But I will make the measurements you recommended. Right now, I suspect either low VFO output or something is pulling down the gain of U1. Les On Aug 18, 2014 3:00 PM, Don Wilhelm w3...@embarqmail.com wrote: Les, Yes, the NE612 should show plenty of gain. When it does not, the usual reason is little or no oscillator signal to pin 6. The Pre-mixer Bandpass filter must be aligned before you will get much of a signal at U1 pin 6. Since you have a 'scope (hopefully with a 10X probe), I will give you an alternate method of tuning the Pre-Mixer Bandpass filter. Since you have the 4 band board, you must follow the proper band order - adjust 15 (or 17) meters before adjusting 20 meters, and likewise adjust 30 meters before 40 meters. Make a check before starting - align all the slots in the trimmer capacitors parallel with the long edge of the band board. Then check the activity of the crystal for each band - put your probe on band board P1 pin 4 and not the amplitude of the signal as you switch through the bands - you should have greater than 200 mV peak to peak. The position of the trimmer slots when tuned should be no more than 30 degrees from the center position if your toroids are correct. Then switch to 15 (or 17) meters, and with your probe on P1 pin 6, adjust the Pre-Mixer trimmer caps for 15 meters for the maximum amplitude. Switch to 30 meters and do the same for that bands trimmers. Do the same for 20 meters and 40 meters. You should be able to get 200 mV peak to peak there on all bands. Remember that your 'scope probe will load the Pre-Mix filter a bit, so the trimmers to the right of the filter will not be at their optimum setting, but it will be enough for receive - you will set the optimum position when you adjust for transmit. You should check to see that the Pre-Mix signal is getting to U1 pin 6 - if it is not, suspect the coax link on the bottom of the board between J9 and J10. Once you have a good signal at U1 pin 6, you should see that the output at pin 4 is much greater than the input at pin 1. 73, Don W3FPR On 8/18/2014 5:20 PM, Les Garwood wrote: Dear Fellows, I Bought a K1 kit at a ham fest several years ago (SN 02197) and recently finished the receiver section. Although audio is strong, as evidenced by the hiss, I have nearly no signal on all 4 bands. I can pump strong rf into it and hear a good side tone/bfo but not strongly. Once, I heard a very faint CW station that was loud on my big rig. But no others. From the best of my repeated testings, all voltages and resistances provided in the manual match. I have not built an rf probe for my DMM yet but will. However, I also used the signal generator kit from Elecraft (the KXGI?). It is only weakly audible too, and only on the 50 microvolt setting. The AGC setting has no effect. The attenuator kills the weak probe signal when on. One post I found after scouring the Net spoke of a very similar problem that turned out to be a bad 2N7000, in the A Preamp stage, but I can't see how that would affect signal sensitivity, only audio gain. I also put a scope on pin one and pin 4 of U1, the Receiver Mixer. The relative voltage was 3x higher on pin 1 than on pin 4. I would at least have expected gain instead. __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1 Receiver Sensitivity Issue.
Les, If you can get at least 200 mV peak to peak out of the Pre-Mixer bandpass, the VFO level is OK. The VFO and band module xtal oscillator are mixed in U7 and the output of that mixer (after the bandpass filter) is applied to U1 pin 6. If you find you need to check for loading of the U1 output, lift one lead of C22 to isolate it. 73, Don W3FPR On 8/18/2014 6:08 PM, Les Garwood wrote: Hi Don, Extremely helpful and encouraging; thanks. Actually, I was able to get the trimmers set pretty well, i think, using a strong signal source. But I will make the measurements you recommended. Right now, I suspect either low VFO output or something is pulling down the gain of U1. Les On Aug 18, 2014 3:00 PM, Don Wilhelm w3...@embarqmail.com wrote: Les, Yes, the NE612 should show plenty of gain. When it does not, the usual reason is little or no oscillator signal to pin 6. The Pre-mixer Bandpass filter must be aligned before you will get much of a signal at U1 pin 6. Since you have a 'scope (hopefully with a 10X probe), I will give you an alternate method of tuning the Pre-Mixer Bandpass filter. Since you have the 4 band board, you must follow the proper band order - adjust 15 (or 17) meters before adjusting 20 meters, and likewise adjust 30 meters before 40 meters. Make a check before starting - align all the slots in the trimmer capacitors parallel with the long edge of the band board. Then check the activity of the crystal for each band - put your probe on band board P1 pin 4 and not the amplitude of the signal as you switch through the bands - you should have greater than 200 mV peak to peak. The position of the trimmer slots when tuned should be no more than 30 degrees from the center position if your toroids are correct. Then switch to 15 (or 17) meters, and with your probe on P1 pin 6, adjust the Pre-Mixer trimmer caps for 15 meters for the maximum amplitude. Switch to 30 meters and do the same for that bands trimmers. Do the same for 20 meters and 40 meters. You should be able to get 200 mV peak to peak there on all bands. Remember that your 'scope probe will load the Pre-Mix filter a bit, so the trimmers to the right of the filter will not be at their optimum setting, but it will be enough for receive - you will set the optimum position when you adjust for transmit. You should check to see that the Pre-Mix signal is getting to U1 pin 6 - if it is not, suspect the coax link on the bottom of the board between J9 and J10. Once you have a good signal at U1 pin 6, you should see that the output at pin 4 is much greater than the input at pin 1. 73, Don W3FPR __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1 Receiver Sensitivity Issue.
Hi Don, Success!!! I mostly followed your advice--I say mostly because I got diverted when I found a clue. I would still be searching without your insights and expertise, however. I was getting about 150 mv out of pin 4 of u7. I traced it to pins 1and 2 of J6, which was still hot on the scope through the secondary winding of T1 ON THE FILTER BOARD but was dead upon arrival at pin 6 on the return leg. This sent me on a merry chase of testing all the relay solenoids for continuity, and their contact leads. They all checked good so then I leapt at the conclusion that the controller IC was at fault. I tried resetting it to factory default but no apparent change resulted. So, I went back to the scope and finally found the exact dead end: C15 was wrongly mounted. Somehow, I misread the silkscreen hole indicator, I'm embarrassed to say. Anyway, I resoldered it in the right holes and, instantly, robust CW screamed at me. I'm thrilled and humbled. Thanks again, Don 73 Les KE7SLX On Monday, August 18, 2014, Don Wilhelm w3...@embarqmail.com wrote: Les, If you can get at least 200 mV peak to peak out of the Pre-Mixer bandpass, the VFO level is OK. The VFO and band module xtal oscillator are mixed in U7 and the output of that mixer (after the bandpass filter) is applied to U1 pin 6. If you find you need to check for loading of the U1 output, lift one lead of C22 to isolate it. 73, Don W3FPR On 8/18/2014 6:08 PM, Les Garwood wrote: Hi Don, Extremely helpful and encouraging; thanks. Actually, I was able to get the trimmers set pretty well, i think, using a strong signal source. But I will make the measurements you recommended. Right now, I suspect either low VFO output or something is pulling down the gain of U1. Les On Aug 18, 2014 3:00 PM, Don Wilhelm w3...@embarqmail.com wrote: Les, Yes, the NE612 should show plenty of gain. When it does not, the usual reason is little or no oscillator signal to pin 6. The Pre-mixer Bandpass filter must be aligned before you will get much of a signal at U1 pin 6. Since you have a 'scope (hopefully with a 10X probe), I will give you an alternate method of tuning the Pre-Mixer Bandpass filter. Since you have the 4 band board, you must follow the proper band order - adjust 15 (or 17) meters before adjusting 20 meters, and likewise adjust 30 meters before 40 meters. Make a check before starting - align all the slots in the trimmer capacitors parallel with the long edge of the band board. Then check the activity of the crystal for each band - put your probe on band board P1 pin 4 and not the amplitude of the signal as you switch through the bands - you should have greater than 200 mV peak to peak. The position of the trimmer slots when tuned should be no more than 30 degrees from the center position if your toroids are correct. Then switch to 15 (or 17) meters, and with your probe on P1 pin 6, adjust the Pre-Mixer trimmer caps for 15 meters for the maximum amplitude. Switch to 30 meters and do the same for that bands trimmers. Do the same for 20 meters and 40 meters. You should be able to get 200 mV peak to peak there on all bands. Remember that your 'scope probe will load the Pre-Mix filter a bit, so the trimmers to the right of the filter will not be at their optimum setting, but it will be enough for receive - you will set the optimum position when you adjust for transmit. You should check to see that the Pre-Mix signal is getting to U1 pin 6 - if it is not, suspect the coax link on the bottom of the board between J9 and J10. Once you have a good signal at U1 pin 6, you should see that the output at pin 4 is much greater than the input at pin 1. 73, Don W3FPR __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
[Elecraft] K1 stand....WTB
Still looking for the stand Elecraft discontinued for the K1. If you have one you don't want or use, let me know. Contact me off line @ ekac...@yahoo.com ThanksEd n7edk Sent from my iPhone __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
[Elecraft] K1 Stand
Good Morning, Looking for the stand that Elecraft use to sell for the K1. If any of you folks have one you don't use/don't want anymore, I'd like to buy it from you ! Thanks, contact me off-line at ekac...@yahoo.com. 72/73 de Ed N7EDK __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
Hi, what would you think of a six-band module ? Would it be interresting for the elecraft K1 users ? I am think about build one. With afined design which is easier to align with different trim capacitors ! Your opinion ??? 73 Herbert -- View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/K1-4-4-band-version-gone-tp7591283p7591621.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
I'm happy with my 4-band module. Works great. And added backlight yesterday: A very nice rig. A six-band module would be good if you wanted 80-40-30-20-15 and one other band. I've never operated QRP on 80, except PSK31 with the PSK-80. Usually too antenna challenged when portable for QRP on 80, and at home QRN is bad a good part of the time. Before doing a six-band module, make sure the MCU will support six *simultaneous* bands in the K1. Seems like new territory, so Wayne would have to weigh in. Phil W7OX On 7/26/14, 9:34 AM, Humberto wrote: Hi, what would you think of a six-band module ? Would it be interresting for the elecraft K1 users ? I am think about build one. With afined design which is easier to align with different trim capacitors ! Your opinion ??? 73 Herbert __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
Oh well, all good things eventually end. Kit building in the conventional sense is probably a declining interest anyway. Having built both thru-hole and SMT radios (ATS-3B), probably enjoy building about as much as operating. Am thankful to have built a K1-4 (40/30/20/15) several years ago, also two-band boards for 80/17 and 12/10. People who like to build ought to get a K1-2, K2, or KX1 before they all disappear due to parts availability issues. Have never owned a KX1, but for me the K1 is pretty much the ultimate QRP radio. 90% of my operation is on 20M, remainder mostly 40M, with solar cycle 15M has been fun too but in another two years that will be over. 30M has been used maybe twice. A 2-band radio would certainly fill my needs. Changing band modules is a special pain for me because installed the onboard tuner (which is rarely used) into my K1 . The extra boards have spent most of their lives in the desk drawer. I would think a K1-2 for 40 (or 30) and 20 would still be a very good choice for anyone wanting a good performing full-featured QRP radio for home and/or portable. Curt KB5JO __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
Curt, All you say rings true. And this is an especially important point: /Changing band modules is a special pain for me because installed the onboard tuner (which is rarely used) into my K//1/ The band module resides under the ATU board making such changes something not done without some strong motive. If I had the original two-band K1, vs. having the 40/30/20/15 model you have, it would satisfy 95% of my operating needs. Phil W7OX On 7/23/14, 6:09 AM, Curt wrote: Oh well, all good things eventually end. Kit building in the conventional sense is probably a declining interest anyway. Having built both thru-hole and SMT radios (ATS-3B), probably enjoy building about as much as operating. Am thankful to have built a K1-4 (40/30/20/15) several years ago, also two-band boards for 80/17 and 12/10. People who like to build ought to get a K1-2, K2, or KX1 before they all disappear due to parts availability issues. Have never owned a KX1, but for me the K1 is pretty much the ultimate QRP radio. 90% of my operation is on 20M, remainder mostly 40M, with solar cycle 15M has been fun too but in another two years that will be over. 30M has been used maybe twice. A 2-band radio would certainly fill my needs. Changing band modules is a special pain for me because installed the onboard tuner (which is rarely used) into my K1 . The extra boards have spent most of their lives in the desk drawer. I would think a K1-2 for 40 (or 30) and 20 would still be a very good choice for anyone wanting a good performing full-featured QRP radio for home and/or portable. Curt KB5JO __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
Changing band modules is a special pain for me because installed the onboard tuner (which is rarely used) into my K//1/ The band module resides under the ATU board making such changes something not done without some strong motive. Tom/N0SS described 14 years ago a simple technique that makes a filter board change when the KAT1 is installed much easier. He cut two segments from a thin rubber band and placed them inside the spacers that separate the KAT1 and KFL1. He threaded the screw coming out below the KAT1 PCB into each spacer with rubber strip in it. That keeps the otherwise loose spacers in place on the screw threads as the screws are turned during KAT1 removal/replacement for subsequent KFL1 swaps. The K1 MCU remembers the frequency display calibration for each band that was set by OFS, using a new KFL1 requires only loosening the two KAT1 PCB screws, removing the KAT1 (the KAT1-KFL1 spacers will now remain on the screw threads as the KAT1 is pulled off), swapping the KFL1, replacing the KAT1, installing the K1 top cover, and assigning b1 and b2 to the new bands. OK...so it's *still* a bit of a pain. But not having to mess with those two PCB spacers below the KAT1 is *major* improvement! Mike / KK5F __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
I am aware of the rubber band trick, but I find no difficulty at all in plugging the KAT1 even with loose standoffs. First place the standoffs so they are close to the holes in the board. Next (and most important) put the long screws through the KAT1 board - hold them down with your fingers or thumbs. Now eyeball the top of the standoffs with the end of the screws and insert the screws a bit into the standoffs. Since the screws contact the standoffs before the connector pins come close to their mates, you can now align the connectors and push them home. Wiggle the screws a little bit to get them to drop into the holes on the KFL1 board and tighten them - job done. 73, Don W3FPR On 7/23/2014 1:12 PM, Mike Morrow wrote: Changing band modules is a special pain for me because installed the onboard tuner (which is rarely used) into my K//1/ The band module resides under the ATU board making such changes something not done without some strong motive. Tom/N0SS described 14 years ago a simple technique that makes a filter board change when the KAT1 is installed much easier. He cut two segments from a thin rubber band and placed them inside the spacers that separate the KAT1 and KFL1. He threaded the screw coming out below the KAT1 PCB into each spacer with rubber strip in it. That keeps the otherwise loose spacers in place on the screw threads as the screws are turned during KAT1 removal/replacement for subsequent KFL1 swaps. The K1 MCU remembers the frequency display calibration for each band that was set by OFS, using a new KFL1 requires only loosening the two KAT1 PCB screws, removing the KAT1 (the KAT1-KFL1 spacers will now remain on the screw threads as the KAT1 is pulled off), swapping the KFL1, replacing the KAT1, installing the K1 top cover, and assigning b1 and b2 to the new bands. OK...so it's *still* a bit of a pain. But not having to mess with those two PCB spacers below the KAT1 is *major* improvement! __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
I use the technique with the rubber band and change filter board in 5 minutes from I start to unscrew the first screw of the top cover. 73 de Hal/la4xx K1 2929 On 14-07-23 19:12, Mike Morrow k...@earthlink.net wrote: Changing band modules is a special pain for me because installed the onboard tuner (which is rarely used) into my K//1/ The band module resides under the ATU board making such changes something not done without some strong motive. Tom/N0SS described 14 years ago a simple technique that makes a filter board change when the KAT1 is installed much easier. He cut two segments from a thin rubber band and placed them inside the spacers that separate the KAT1 and KFL1. He threaded the screw coming out below the KAT1 PCB into each spacer with rubber strip in it. That keeps the otherwise loose spacers in place on the screw threads as the screws are turned during KAT1 removal/replacement for subsequent KFL1 swaps. The K1 MCU remembers the frequency display calibration for each band that was set by OFS, using a new KFL1 requires only loosening the two KAT1 PCB screws, removing the KAT1 (the KAT1-KFL1 spacers will now remain on the screw threads as the KAT1 is pulled off), swapping the KFL1, replacing the KAT1, installing the K1 top cover, and assigning b1 and b2 to the new bands. OK...so it's *still* a bit of a pain. But not having to mess with those two PCB spacers below the KAT1 is *major* improvement! Mike / KK5F __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to dukl...@broadpark.no __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone? (Hand SMT---Never)
Wow -- I kind of touched a nerve with the big boy reference! I recall this term was used by Dave Benson in some of his SWL kit documentation. It merely referred the reader to a stripped-down section of the instructions if one wanted to bypass the lengthy, step-by-step narrative... My point is that manufacturers, such as the premier innovator, Elecraft, should not be constrained in their product designs by offering only through-hole or solder-only kits. Why, even TenTec has leap-frogged the industry in this area with their open-source, Rebel QRP platforms! I apologize for the poor use of words. As a relative newcomer to ham radio, it was not my intention to denigrate anyone on this reflector - especially those who have vastly superior technical knowledge and capabilities. 73 -- View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/Re-K1-4-4-band-version-gone-Hand-SMT-Never-tp7591431p7591475.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
[Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone? (Hand SMT---Never
while this string is open I have used a small Iron and tweezers to position chip caps/resistors tack one end and then do the other end,,, I use some liquid rosin the multi lead devices make sure leads are centered on the board then tack one pin,,, solder the rest and use solder wick to clean up bridges working under a mag light,,, than I go over it with a 10 power stereo microscope static strap fer sure however when I built a DEM 1296 transverter board a chip cap got away from me and couldnt find it,, when I was done I found it sticking to my thumb nail go figure Bob K3DJC On Sun, 20 Jul 2014 19:32:12 -0400 Bruce Beford bef...@myfairpoint.net writes: While I understand this mindset; I for one, am grateful that there are SMT-based kits available. I enjoy building both thru-hole and SMT based projects. In many cases, thru hole equivalents are not available for some components. I have built many all-SMT projects, notably those offered by KD1JV,ad formerly NJQRP (now Midnight Design Solutions), among others __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone? (Hand SMT---Never
I don't think it's a matter of technique, Bob. I have all the right equipment (the special tweezers, solder paste - in the fridge, a hot plate, a heat gun). And I will do small, simple boards -- which even a 4-band K1 would not be. My problem is knowing that an ill timed sneeze can cause a serious problem - and it has. Plus as I age my hands get a bit shaky, another problem. So I avoid SMT whenever possible, to the point of paying someone else to do it as in a recent project. Phil W7OX On 7/21/14, 7:42 AM, riese-k3...@juno.com wrote: while this string is open I have used a small Iron and tweezers to position chip caps/resistors tack one end and then do the other end,,, I use some liquid rosin the multi lead devices make sure leads are centered on the board then tack one pin,,, solder the rest and use solder wick to clean up bridges working under a mag light,,, than I go over it with a 10 power stereo microscope static strap fer sure however when I built a DEM 1296 transverter board a chip cap got away from me and couldnt find it,, when I was done I found it sticking to my thumb nail go figure Bob K3DJC On Sun, 20 Jul 2014 19:32:12 -0400 Bruce Beford bef...@myfairpoint.net writes: While I understand this mindset; I for one, am grateful that there are SMT-based kits available. I enjoy building both thru-hole and SMT based projects. In many cases, thru hole equivalents are not available for some components. I have built many all-SMT projects, notably those offered by KD1JV,ad formerly NJQRP (now Midnight Design Solutions), among others __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone? (Hand SMT---Never)
Am 21.07.2014 14:40, schrieb N4OI - Ken: Wow -- I kind of touched a nerve with the big boy reference! I recall this term was used by Dave Benson in some of his SWL kit documentation. It merely referred the reader to a stripped-down section of the instructions if one wanted to bypass the lengthy, step-by-step narrative... My point is that manufacturers, such as the premier innovator, Elecraft, should not be constrained in their product designs by offering only through-hole or solder-only kits. Why, even TenTec has leap-frogged the industry in this area with their open-source, Rebel QRP platforms! I apologize for the poor use of words. As a relative newcomer to ham radio, it was not my intention to denigrate anyone on this reflector - especially those who have vastly superior technical knowledge and capabilities. 73 -- View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/Re-K1-4-4-band-version-gone-Hand-SMT-Never-tp7591431p7591475.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ 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 Message delivered to hwschu...@sapo.pt -- Cumprimentos / Freundliche Grüsse / Best regards Herbert W. Schulte __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone? (Hand SMT---Never)
Simple SMD kits are fine because the success rate can be high and the investment risk on the part of both the customer and the manufacturer is low. We may offer such kits in the future, though we don't have any present plans for these. The percentage of builders who could complete a complex SMD kit, or have the skill and test gear to troubleshoot them, is small. Kitting and documentation alone would be a huge investment for us, not to mention customer support. Many such kits would never be finished, or repaired, or would have mysterious unresolved issues. Perceived quality would suffer and frustration levels would go way up. One thing Elecraft is known for is packing a lot of functionality into a small space. This requires the use of very fine-pitch TQFP IC packages as well as 0603 passives (even 0402 in a few cases). To make SMD kits viable at all we'd have to use much larger-pitch parts. This would force products to be larger, heavier, and more expensive. Even though a small percentage of customers would be willing and able, this simply isn't an economically viable direction for us. 73, Wayne N6KR __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone? (Hand SMT---Never)
Hi all, as I started that idea with the SMT components, I will try to moderate a little bit. I am over sixty and so I know the problems with needs of special glasses to handle the SMT components down at 603 or 402 ( 1 x 0.5mm). So my idea is, not designing without SMT, but for those who like it, provide kits with premounted SMT , so that these users may build their kit without the needToday to handle and solder SMT sand. Today in some cases the wanted parts are no longer available as THT. In the future this will be the case for more and more parts. The most evil thing is, that some very interesting part are even today only available as BGA SMT which needs the handling by special tools or machine just for the placement ?! So let's have fun and let's not forget to prepare a way for those which can not or are unwilling to solder SMT Humberto . Am 21.07.2014 14:40, schrieb N4OI - Ken: Wow -- I kind of touched a nerve with the big boy reference! I recall this term was used by Dave Benson in some of his SWL kit documentation. It merely referred the reader to a stripped-down section of the instructions if one wanted to bypass the lengthy, step-by-step narrative... My point is that manufacturers, such as the premier innovator, Elecraft, should not be constrained in their product designs by offering only through-hole or solder-only kits. Why, even TenTec has leap-frogged the industry in this area with their open-source, Rebel QRP platforms! I apologize for the poor use of words. As a relative newcomer to ham radio, it was not my intention to denigrate anyone on this reflector - especially those who have vastly superior technical knowledge and capabilities. 73 -- View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/Re-K1-4-4-band-version-gone-Hand-SMT-Never-tp7591431p7591475.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ 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 Message delivered to hwschu...@sapo.pt -- Cumprimentos / Freundliche Grüsse / Best regards Herbert W. Schulte __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
Hi Wayne, hi K1 friends, I followed the discussion about the 4 band module and the problems. I can imagine to design a replacement board with four or even more bands in a way, that the problems with the alignment and the components will be solved. I do not know, if the dialogue to the PIC was ever published ??? Because a board needs to do that dialogue for the bands that are provided. I would redesign that board and offer it to the K1 family as a kit with presoldered smd and possibly with ready wound coils so that the handling for the user could be easier ? What do you think.. worth thinking about ??? 73 Herbert CT2IJD -- View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/K1-4-4-band-version-gone-tp7591283p7591415.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
Hi Wayne, hi K1 friends, I followed the discussion about the 4 band module and the problems. I can imagine to design a replacement board with four or even more bands in a way, that the problems with the alignment and the components will be solved. I do not know, if the dialogue to the PIC was ever published ??? Because a board needs to do that dialogue for the bands that are provided. I would redesign that board and offer it to the K1 family as a kit with presoldered smd and possibly with ready wound coils so that the handling for the user could be easier ? What do you think.. worth thinking about ??? 73 Herbert CT2IJD -- View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/K1-4-4-band-version-gone-tp7591283p7591416.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
I was reminded how capable the K1 is a couple weeks ago at a beach house at Seabrook Island, SC... I broke away from family activities for just a couple hours one night and made solid K1 DX QSOs with Ukraine, Sweden, Italy and others using just a lightweight 20 meter dipole tied to the corner of the house and then slung over a big live oak branch. Spanish moss hanging on the wire overlooking about 15 square miles of salt marsh... Priceless! Back to topic... perhaps it is time for Elecraft to start offering some big boy kits that make full use of SMTs and other modern components. Any serious ham should have a good digital 'scope, and a hot air solder station with a syringe of solder paste (which can be bought new for less than $100). With the right tools, SMTs are the way to go! There is a lot of real estate available in the K1 enclosure; an updated 4-band board with some cool, new features to retrofit the K1 would be a great first Elecraft big boy kit offering! (I expect that if Elecraft takes a pass on this opportunity, some enterprising Internet mom 'n pop shop will step in.) 73 ES GOD BLESS U ES URS DE KEN N4OI -- View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/K1-4-4-band-version-gone-tp7591283p7591417.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
I will second that. I built two Weber MTRs and in many ways it was easier than through-hole, except for the size. I used a soldering iron. “No soldering required” kits are no fun to me. I would never say that I built my KX3 for instance, only assembled it. Gil. -- PGP Key: http://keskydee.com/gil.asc On Jul 20, 2014, at 8:30 AM, N4OI - Ken ke...@roadrunner.com wrote: Back to topic... perhaps it is time for Elecraft to start offering some big boy kits that make full use of SMTs and other modern components. Any serious ham should have a good digital 'scope, and a hot air solder station with a syringe of solder paste (which can be bought new for less than $100). With the right tools, SMTs are the way to go! __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
Not all serious hams would agree with you. In my first SMT effort I was very careful but lost one part. Looked all over for it. Two days later I found it in my shoe. I have paste, hot air gun, hot plate -- all the goodies -- but I try to avoid using them, a matter of mental stress -- and, to be honest, age. Something as complex as a K1 would be a bit much. I prefer the pre-mounted SMT component kits, if there are to be SMTs. Phil W7OX On 7/20/14, 5:30 AM, N4OI - Ken wrote: Any serious ham should have a good digital 'scope, and a hot air solder station with a syringe of solder paste (which can be bought new for less than $100). With the right tools, SMTs are the way to go! 73 ES GOD BLESS U ES URS DE KEN N4OI __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
And, not all hams are able to have a workbench or shack to house the needed gear. Sometimes, things like that intervene. While it would be nice to be able to build, not everyone can, even if they have the desire and experience. Doesn't mean they aren't serious about ham radio. 73 de Ray K2ULR KX3 #211 On Jul 20, 2014, at 11:37 AM, Phil Wheeler wrote: Not all serious hams would agree with you. In my first SMT effort I was very careful but lost one part. Looked all over for it. Two days later I found it in my shoe. I have paste, hot air gun, hot plate -- all the goodies -- but I try to avoid using them, a matter of mental stress -- and, to be honest, age. Something as complex as a K1 would be a bit much. I prefer the pre-mounted SMT component kits, if there are to be SMTs. Phil W7OX On 7/20/14, 5:30 AM, N4OI - Ken wrote: Any serious ham should have a good digital 'scope, and a hot air solder station with a syringe of solder paste (which can be bought new for less than $100). With the right tools, SMTs are the way to go! 73 ES GOD BLESS U ES URS DE KEN N4OI __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
LOL, yes, size is definitely an issue. I use glasses, a magnifying lens and tweezers. You do not have to cut leads that end up everywhere though. It is precise work, no doubt, especially on the ICs. I know in ten or fifteen years I may not be able to see those parts anymore. I like SMT though, didn’t think I would. With good eyes and a steady hand, anyone can do it. Gil. -- PGP Key: http://keskydee.com/gil.asc On Jul 20, 2014, at 11:37 AM, Phil Wheeler w...@socal.rr.com wrote: Not all serious hams would agree with you. In my first SMT effort I was very careful but lost one part. Looked all over for it. Two days later I found it in my shoe. __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
And here's a third. I built one of Weber's ATS-3B kits and use it on occasion, such as during Field Day 2011. http://www.genebitsystems.com/david/HamRadio/FieldDay2011/FieldDay2011.htm The demand and popularity of his kits is evident as the last run of MTRs sold out literally hours after it was released, see here. http://w2mdw.blogspot.com/2013/03/steve-webers-mountain-toper-radio-mtr.html There is definitely a niche for SMD kits requiring more builder expertise and involvement than simply assembling modules together. I would love to see an up-to-date SMD transceiver kit with a mix of features lying somewhere between the MTR and the KX3, perhaps even call it a KX2 as others have alluded to. My vision for such a rig would be an integrated station, multiband (at least 80 through 15) with no band module swapping, half the volume or less of a KX3, with internal antenna tuner and battery, and a very simple user interface. It would be CW, or possibly include additional modes but only if the associated volume increase is minimal. I could go on and on but you get the idea. The KX3 is an awesome radio and I am definitely not criticizing it. There just seems to be a huge void between it and the lower-tier rigs. And a solder-required SMD kit is appealing to many builders. Gil G. wrote I will second that. I built two Weber MTRs and in many ways it was easier than through-hole, except for the size. I used a soldering iron. “No soldering required” kits are no fun to me. I would never say that I built my KX3 for instance, only assembled it. Gil. -- PGP Key: http://keskydee.com/gil.asc On Jul 20, 2014, at 8:30 AM, N4OI - Ken lt; kenst@ gt; wrote: Back to topic... perhaps it is time for Elecraft to start offering some big boy kits that make full use of SMTs and other modern components. Any serious ham should have a good digital 'scope, and a hot air solder station with a syringe of solder paste (which can be bought new for less than $100). With the right tools, SMTs are the way to go! __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto: Elecraft@.qth This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to lists+1215531472858-365791@.nabble -- View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/K1-4-4-band-version-gone-tp7591283p7591429.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone? (Hand SMT---Never)
... perhaps it is time for Elecraft to start offering some big boy kits that make full use of SMTs and other modern components. Some would likely take exception to that strong implication that one is not a big boy (whatever that means) if one rejects significant SMT hand application. I've been a ham almost 50 years, commercial radiotelegraph licensed until standards dropped 20 years ago, and an electrical engineer for 40 years...is that big boy enough? Perhaps not...yet I'm not hesitant to state that hand-application of SMT components is a half-vast :-) misapplication of technique to devices designed solely for machine placement. It should never be required in any step of production of a commercial product, even for hams. So, to any enterprise proposing to *sell* something that requires significant SMT hand-application, I would *not* give such a product even a moment's consideration. OTOH, supply the PCBs with SMTs pre-fixed by machine as designed, and I'll likely be very interested. Any serious ham should have a good digital 'scope, and a hot air solder station with a syringe of solder paste (which can be bought new for less than $100). Well...there you go again. I suspect most of us will just *never* qualify as a N4OI serious ham, for lack of meeting these canonical and doubtless universally-recognized requirements for the title. :-) 73, Mike / KK5F __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
Just imagine a KX3 kitted at the parts level. I wonder if the price would be less than the current offering? Phil W7OX On 7/20/14, 9:22 AM, Dave KW4M wrote: And here's a third. I built one of Weber's ATS-3B kits and use it on occasion, such as during Field Day 2011. http://www.genebitsystems.com/david/HamRadio/FieldDay2011/FieldDay2011.htm The demand and popularity of his kits is evident as the last run of MTRs sold out literally hours after it was released, see here. http://w2mdw.blogspot.com/2013/03/steve-webers-mountain-toper-radio-mtr.html There is definitely a niche for SMD kits requiring more builder expertise and involvement than simply assembling modules together. I would love to see an up-to-date SMD transceiver kit with a mix of features lying somewhere between the MTR and the KX3, perhaps even call it a KX2 as others have alluded to. My vision for such a rig would be an integrated station, multiband (at least 80 through 15) with no band module swapping, half the volume or less of a KX3, with internal antenna tuner and battery, and a very simple user interface. It would be CW, or possibly include additional modes but only if the associated volume increase is minimal. I could go on and on but you get the idea. The KX3 is an awesome radio and I am definitely not criticizing it. There just seems to be a huge void between it and the lower-tier rigs. And a solder-required SMD kit is appealing to many builders. Gil G. wrote I will second that. I built two Weber MTRs and in many ways it was easier than through-hole, except for the size. I used a soldering iron. “No soldering required” kits are no fun to me. I would never say that I built my KX3 for instance, only assembled it. Gil. -- PGP Key: http://keskydee.com/gil.asc On Jul 20, 2014, at 8:30 AM, N4OI - Ken lt; gt; wrote: Back to topic... perhaps it is time for Elecraft to start offering some big boy kits that make full use of SMTs and other modern components. Any serious ham should have a good digital 'scope, and a hot air solder station with a syringe of solder paste (which can be bought new for less than $100). With the right tools, SMTs are the way to go! __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
Phil, I suspect the cost would be significantly greater than for the assembled board version that we have now. To produce a kit, the parts would have to be pulled and counted, capacitors hand marked for values and packaged in some reasonable manner - that is a lot of labor cost. Much greater than loading a reel of SMD components into an automated placement process as used in a board manufacturing house. It is no wonder that we only see small projects in SMD format. The Steve Weber transceiver kits are an exception. 73, Don W3FPR On 7/20/2014 1:00 PM, Phil Wheeler wrote: Just imagine a KX3 kitted at the parts level. I wonder if the price would be less than the current offering? Phil W7OX __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
On assembling versus building... I think my hobby of woodworking has almost ripped away my soldering iron from my hot little hands. I still have a solder-kit sitting on my desk ready to be put together (the W1 meter) and it just sits there. All my spare time this summer is building white oak deck chairs for the back patio. Aside from that comment, I do enjoy soldering but I am very glad that Elecraft makes the assembly kits available to we the customers. I like this because: --- I personally enjoy the process of putting it together and maybe even more then using a soldering iron (I really liked my Erector Set as a kid). --- I get enjoyment out of marveling at the great engineering and design that goes into the kits. --- I learn the inner workings somewhat so that future options are not a scary thing to install. In this, soldering in a kit has no advantages to me as I will never been customizing or changing the workings of my Elecraft gear. Even the little electronics diddling that I do at rare times is via a breadboard approach and again not using a soldering iron. My two-bits. 73, phil, K7PEH On Jul 20, 2014, at 7:38 AM, Gil G. g...@keskydee.com wrote: I will second that. I built two Weber MTRs and in many ways it was easier than through-hole, except for the size. I used a soldering iron. “No soldering required” kits are no fun to me. I would never say that I built my KX3 for instance, only assembled it. Gil. -- PGP Key: http://keskydee.com/gil.asc On Jul 20, 2014, at 8:30 AM, N4OI - Ken ke...@roadrunner.com wrote: Back to topic... perhaps it is time for Elecraft to start offering some big boy kits that make full use of SMTs and other modern components. Any serious ham should have a good digital 'scope, and a hot air solder station with a syringe of solder paste (which can be bought new for less than $100). With the right tools, SMTs are the way to go! __ 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 Message delivered to phys...@mac.com __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
That was my thinking, too, Don. Phil W7OX On 7/20/14, 10:16 AM, Don Wilhelm wrote: Phil, I suspect the cost would be significantly greater than for the assembled board version that we have now. To produce a kit, the parts would have to be pulled and counted, capacitors hand marked for values and packaged in some reasonable manner - that is a lot of labor cost. Much greater than loading a reel of SMD components into an automated placement process as used in a board manufacturing house. It is no wonder that we only see small projects in SMD format. The Steve Weber transceiver kits are an exception. 73, Don W3FPR On 7/20/2014 1:00 PM, Phil Wheeler wrote: Just imagine a KX3 kitted at the parts level. I wonder if the price would be less than the current offering? Phil W7OX __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
[Elecraft] K1 Serial #3198 FOR SALE
I purchased and built a K1 Transceiver with a two-band module for 40 and 20 meters at the end of 2012. I immediately fell in love with Elecraft's products, and soon after ordered a KX3. I don't do much portable operation, so the K1 has sat idle for about a year and a half. (The KX3 has found a permanent position on my operating desk in front of the Yaesu FT-2000!). I have taken the K1 to the back yard a few times in the short time I've had it, and I can tell you it does a fantastic job. Here is the rundown: K1 Transceiver with 2-band module, S/N 3198; the backlight kit, the KAT1 Internal ATU, and the Finger Dimple. I wisely ordered the pre-wound toroids for the transceiver from Mychael Morohovich, AA3WF(an Elecraft approved vendor), so all the toroids are properly wound and aligned. I will sell the K1 and include the XIT XTHC40 medium hard photographic equipment carrying case I keep it in for $450.00. PayPal preferred, but I will accept a check or postal money order. Please contact me privately via email to work out the details. Thank you for the bandwidth. 73, Mike Babb, N4PF Cynthiana, Kentucky __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone? (Hand SMT---Never)
I have to agree with Mike, especially with the assertion about SMT components being intended for robotic assembly. Imagine all of the troubleshooting calls and e-mails that Elecraft would get if Joe Ham had to populate circuit boards with these miniature components. Too much room for error. While I'd prefer a through-hole kit where soldering was required (although I hate winding toroids!), like the K1 and K2, if the KX3 had even one SMT device, I would not have purchased one. 72/73 de Jim - AD6CW On 7/20/2014 9:55 AM, Mike Morrow wrote: ... perhaps it is time for Elecraft to start offering some big boy kits that make full use of SMTs and other modern components. Some would likely take exception to that strong implication that one is not a big boy (whatever that means) if one rejects significant SMT hand application. I've been a ham almost 50 years, commercial radiotelegraph licensed until standards dropped 20 years ago, and an electrical engineer for 40 years...is that big boy enough? Perhaps not...yet I'm not hesitant to state that hand-application of SMT components is a half-vast :-) misapplication of technique to devices designed solely for machine placement. It should never be required in any step of production of a commercial product, even for hams. So, to any enterprise proposing to *sell* something that requires significant SMT hand-application, I would *not* give such a product even a moment's consideration. OTOH, supply the PCBs with SMTs pre-fixed by machine as designed, and I'll likely be very interested. Any serious ham should have a good digital 'scope, and a hot air solder station with a syringe of solder paste (which can be bought new for less than $100). Well...there you go again. I suspect most of us will just *never* qualify as a N4OI serious ham, for lack of meeting these canonical and doubtless universally-recognized requirements for the title. :-) 73, Mike / KK5F __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone? (Hand SMT---Never)
While I understand this mindset; I for one, am grateful that there are SMT-based kits available. I enjoy building both thru-hole and SMT based projects. In many cases, thru hole equivalents are not available for some components. I have built many all-SMT projects, notably those offered by KD1JV,ad formerly NJQRP (now Midnight Design Solutions), among others. No, they are not for everyone. But- I am glad they are offered for those of us who can and do enjoy building them. It is not nearly as difficult as some seem to believe it to be. Different techniques are required, that's all. In many cases, a much more compact package, or an otherwise impossible project is the result. Bruce/N1RX I have to agree with Mike, especially with the assertion about SMT components being intended for robotic assembly. Imagine all of the troubleshooting calls and e-mails that Elecraft would get if Joe Ham had to populate circuit boards with these miniature components. Too much room for error. While I'd prefer a through-hole kit where soldering was required (although I hate winding toroids!), like the K1 and K2, if the KX3 had even one SMT device, I would not have purchased one. 72/73 de Jim - AD6CW __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone? (Hand SMT---Never)
Support your local maker space, they will likely have the gear and knowledge to do SMT… and probably a bunch of young guys that have never seen HAM before or know the potential. On Jul 20, 2014, at 3:04 PM, Jim Lowman jmlow...@sbcglobal.net wrote: I have to agree with Mike, especially with the assertion about SMT components being intended for robotic assembly. Imagine all of the troubleshooting calls and e-mails that Elecraft would get if Joe Ham had to populate circuit boards with these miniature components. Too much room for error. While I'd prefer a through-hole kit where soldering was required (although I hate winding toroids!), like the K1 and K2, if the KX3 had even one SMT device, I would not have purchased one. 72/73 de Jim - AD6CW __ 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 Message delivered to rgcon...@gmail.com __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone? (Hand SMT---Never)
More power to you and others who have the patience, equipment and eyesight/hand coordination to work with SMT devices, Bruce. I think what many of us are saying, is that type of construction is not for everyone. I have a nice Weller soldering station and a variety of tips for it, as well as enough 63/37 solder to last a lifetime. Somehow it fell into my tool pouch from time to time, when I was in the Air Force working on air traffic control radar systems. :-) I'd rather spend my money on other items for the shack, than for the tools necessary to do SMT work. Maybe if there hadn't been the inference that we weren't big boys if we didn't build kits with SMT devices, this thread may have passed, unnoticed. 73 de Jim - AD6CW On 7/20/2014 4:32 PM, Bruce Beford wrote: While I understand this mindset; I for one, am grateful that there are SMT-based kits available. I enjoy building both thru-hole and SMT based projects. In many cases, thru hole equivalents are not available for some components. I have built many all-SMT projects, notably those offered by KD1JV,ad formerly NJQRP (now Midnight Design Solutions), among others. No, they are not for everyone. But- I am glad they are offered for those of us who can and do enjoy building them. It is not nearly as difficult as some seem to believe it to be. Different techniques are required, that's all. In many cases, a much more compact package, or an otherwise impossible project is the result. Bruce/N1RX __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone? (Hand SMT---Never)
My first experience with SMT was building a softrock multiband receiver kit. It is a hybrid through hole/SMT kit, with few different types of SMT devices. I really enjoyed building it, and learned a lot from it, and would recommend it to anyone wanting to dip their toe in the water, so to speak. ObElecraftContent: Elecraft does have a kit where you have to solder an SMT device -- the wideband noise generator. I got to practice twice with that one: once when I first build it, and then again after I have a little accident with a transmitter :-) I was going to try to remove the damaged component with a hot air rework station that I picked up recently, but with the plastic battery holder etc. nearby, thought better of it and just snipped off the fried component with my side cutters, with no dramas. 73, Matt VK2RQ __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone? (Hand SMT---Never)
I build all my SMT projects with my 30+ year old Weller WTCPT iron, and an Optivisor. Have been for years now. Bruce/N1RX Jim/ AD6CW wrote:More power to you and others who have the patience, equipment and eyesight/hand coordination to work with SMT devices, Bruce. I think what many of us are saying, is that type of construction is not for everyone. I have a nice Weller soldering station and a variety of tips for it, as well as enough 63/37 solder to last a lifetime. Somehow it fell into my tool pouch from time to time, when I was in the Air Force working on air traffic control radar systems. :-) I'd rather spend my money on other items for the shack, than for the tools necessary to do SMT work. __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone? (Hand SMT---Never)
Oh yes, that! I didn't think of it as SMT because it has four leads. Took me a while to figure out how to orient it, though. I sneezed and almost lost that critter. And I have two spares -- so mine is likely to last forever. Phil W7OX On 7/20/14, 5:30 PM, Matt Maguire wrote: ObElecraftContent: Elecraft does have a kit where you have to solder an SMT device -- the wideband noise generator. I got to practice twice with that one: once when I first build it, and then again after I have a little accident with a transmitter :-) I was going to try to remove the damaged component with a hot air rework station that I picked up recently, but with the plastic battery holder etc. nearby, thought better of it and just snipped off the fried component with my side cutters, with no dramas. 73, Matt VK2RQ __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
The only science I can think of has to do with propagation. It seems to me that 20m/40m would give the best overall opportunity for use hour by hour over the course of a full sunspot cycle. Everything else pretty much just boils down to personal preference or available space for antennas. 73, Dave AB7E On 7/17/2014 11:14 AM, Phil Hystad wrote: I wonder if there is a science behind the logic in which two bands to choose to go together. 73, phil, K7PEH __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
I am sad about the recent turn of events but not surprised. I bought the K1-2 band right after it was available with an extra 2 band board. When the 4 band board was introduced, I jumped on that purchase. I will probably buy a few of the 2 band boards before they are gone. I don't want any portable style radio as that's not the way I operate. I have used the K1-4 for several years and really love everything about it. I have earned DXCC on 40 meters with this radio so it does work well. I use an outboard SCAP filter that really makes a huge difference on receive. I recently retired and did some updating/repair on my K1. I plan to operate this radio a lot more in the future. Mike, AC4UR http://sunbyrdpress.blogspot.com/p/amateur-radio.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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
[Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
All this talk about the K1 backlight led me to look back at the K1 order page. There is no option for a 4-band version, nor for the KFL1-4 4-band filter module itself. Is this an oversight, or has the 4-band board been discontinued? If so, when and why? Also if so, then the K1 description page should be edited to remove reference to the new 4 band board... or at least explain that it is no longer available. Bruce N1RX __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
Yes, Bruce, it looks like this: /T//he K1...A compact, high-performance CW rig that _you_ can build./ // /HF operation is more fun than ever these days--five watts is all you need to work worldwide DX. That's why we've packed up to four bands into our affordable, easy-to-build K1-4 transceiver. You can order the K1 as either a four-band radio *(K1-4)* or a two-band radio *(K1-2)*. The new four-band K1-4 covers 40, 30, 20, and either 17 or 15 meters. (All band parts are supplied with the kit and 17 or 15M are chosen as the last band at build time.) You can also upgrade the K1-2 to a K1-4 by purchasing the four-band KFL1-4 module and replacing the KFL1-2 in your original K1-2. The KFL1-2 two band module covers your choice of two bands (80, 40, 30 20, 17 and 15 meters available). Combining a K1-4 with an extra KFL1-2 band module on 80 + (15 or 17M) gives you all six bands on your K1! Both module types simply plug in to the K1's main board, internally, and you can swap either type in at any time./ needs an edit -- unless lack of a 4-band module is a temporary situation. Perhaps Elecraft will clarify when their day begins soon. Phil W7OX On 7/17/14, 4:13 AM, Bruce Beford wrote: All this talk about the K1 backlight led me to look back at the K1 order page. There is no option for a 4-band version, nor for the KFL1-4 4-band filter module itself. Is this an oversight, or has the 4-band board been discontinued? If so, when and why? Also if so, then the K1 description page should be edited to remove reference to the new 4 band board... or at least explain that it is no longer available. Bruce N1RX __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
I emailed Elecraft about it and they said the 4-band module is unlikely to come back. http://radiopreppers.com/index.php/topic,824.0.html Gil. -- PGP Key: http://keskydee.com/gil.asc On Jul 17, 2014, at 11:47 AM, Phil Wheeler w...@socal.rr.com wrote: needs an edit -- unless lack of a 4-band module is a temporary situation. Perhaps Elecraft will clarify when their day begins soon. __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
This is sad news indeed. I have built a few K1s, and repaired a few for others. The 4 band board made for a very capable rig, without the swapping that the 2 band version requires. A redesign/reintroduction would be nice, but I imagine it's primarily a business decision, rather than strictly an engineering one. -Bruce/ N1RX I emailed Elecraft about it and they said the 4-band module is unlikely to come back. http://radiopreppers.com/index.php/topic,824.0.html Gil. __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
Bummer -- and Lisa's exact words from that link were more definite and final: /The 4-band board was discontinued due to a part availability issue that was crucial to the functionality of the KF1-4. So no, it will not be coming back sorry to say./ The 4-band K1 is a really nice, small QRP radio -- with 5 Watts. Definitely a better CW receiver than the KX1 (4-pole filter, plenty of audio, etc.) and a more capable transmitter. Of course, not the freq coverage of the KX1 and not as tiny or trail friendly, but a very nice rig. If I had to sell my KX1 or my K1 it would be the KX1. My K1 would make a capable 40-30-20-15 qrp CW based station, particularly after adding one of my audio filters. KX3 is, of course, a far better option and I have one; but it is larger and much more expensive -- plus it's not a melt solder and wind toroid kit. 73, Phil On 7/17/14, 8:55 AM, Gil G. wrote: I emailed Elecraft about it and they said the 4-band module is unlikely to come back. http://radiopreppers.com/index.php/topic,824.0.html Gil. __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
And, here I was planning to get a 4-band K1 this fall. Yes, real Bummer. So, I figure that I could do one of the following: (1)Buy THREE 2-band K1 radios (saves on interchanging other bands). (2)Buy the Two band option board and get along with 4 bands. (3)Stick with just a 2-band K1. I am going with the obvious, option (1). OK, just kidding. Option (2) But at first I am starting just with Option (1). I wonder if there is a science behind the logic in which two bands to choose to go together. 73, phil, K7PEH On Jul 17, 2014, at 10:46 AM, Phil Wheeler w...@socal.rr.com wrote: Bummer -- and Lisa's exact words from that link were more definite and final: /The 4-band board was discontinued due to a part availability issue that was crucial to the functionality of the KF1-4. So no, it will not be coming back sorry to say./ The 4-band K1 is a really nice, small QRP radio -- with 5 Watts. Definitely a better CW receiver than the KX1 (4-pole filter, plenty of audio, etc.) and a more capable transmitter. Of course, not the freq coverage of the KX1 and not as tiny or trail friendly, but a very nice rig. If I had to sell my KX1 or my K1 it would be the KX1. My K1 would make a capable 40-30-20-15 qrp CW based station, particularly after adding one of my audio filters. KX3 is, of course, a far better option and I have one; but it is larger and much more expensive -- plus it's not a melt solder and wind toroid kit. 73, Phil On 7/17/14, 8:55 AM, Gil G. wrote: I emailed Elecraft about it and they said the 4-band module is unlikely to come back. http://radiopreppers.com/index.php/topic,824.0.html Gil. __ 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 Message delivered to phys...@mac.com __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
Bad news...for those who don't have one. The K1-4 was my introduction to both Elecraft and purpose-built QRP rigs. It's easily in the top 3 favorite radios I have owned in half a century. I think Gil called it a cute mini K2 in the link below, and that's a pretty good description. It's big enough to operate like a real radio in the shack. It's small enough to take anywhere. It tunes smoothly and sounds exceptionally good. It has everything you need for CW and nothing you don't. The KX1 isn't a good substitute for the K1, in my opinion. It's a very specialized rig with lots of compromises for those who need minimum size and weight. After the initial fun of a new rig, my KX1 has been sitting on a shelf with very little use. Whenever I grab it to go camping, I pack the K1 as well just in case. Then I end up using the K1 the entire trip. If I was a backpacker, the roles would probably be reversed, though. Anyway, re: K1-4. I got mine, and I'm KEEPING it. (hi) Eric KE6US On 7/17/2014 8:55 AM, Gil G. wrote: I emailed Elecraft about it and they said the 4-band module is unlikely to come back. http://radiopreppers.com/index.php/topic,824.0.html Gil. -- PGP Key: http://keskydee.com/gil.asc On Jul 17, 2014, at 11:47 AM, Phil Wheeler w...@socal.rr.com wrote: needs an edit -- unless lack of a 4-band module is a temporary situation. Perhaps Elecraft will clarify when their day begins soon. __ 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 Message delivered to eric_c...@hotmail.com __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
The part that has become unavailable is the blue trimmer capacitors that are used for tuning the bandpass filters. That does *not* spell demise of the K1, but only the 4 band board. Yes, sorry that it is gone, but the K1 with a 2 band board and an extra 2 band board will give you 4 band capability - and you can mix and match the 4 bands in any combination of 2 bands that you want. In other words, the choices are more flexible than with the 4 band board. 73, Don W3FPR On 7/17/2014 1:46 PM, Phil Wheeler wrote: Bummer -- and Lisa's exact words from that link were more definite and final: /The 4-band board was discontinued due to a part availability issue that was crucial to the functionality of the KF1-4. So no, it will not be coming back sorry to say./ __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
Hi Bruce, The 4-band module requires extremely low-temperature-coefficient trimmer capacitors because of its narrow-band pre-mix and RF band-pass filters. The last source for these exotic trimmers dried up recently. A redesign using higher-TC trimmers might be possible, but the filters would end up being triple-tuned, which would force the use of SMD components throughout, and tuning the filters would then be very difficult without a spectrum analyzer. Sales volume for the K1 has decreased in recent years due to the KX1 (which is smaller and has a DDS VFO), and the KX3 (which covers all bands, all modes, with up to 12 W output and has a much more capable auto tuner, nicer user interface, etc.). So the cost of a redesign wouldn't be recovered. That said, for the time being we're continuing to offer the two-band version and the other options (KAT1 ATU, KBT1 battery pack, etc.). The K1 is one of our full kits, and has a bit of a fan club of its own. We'll update the website to reflect the change in option availability. 73, Wayne N6KR On Jul 17, 2014, at 4:13 AM, Bruce Beford bef...@myfairpoint.net wrote: All this talk about the K1 backlight led me to look back at the K1 order page. There is no option for a 4-band version, nor for the KFL1-4 4-band filter module itself. Is this an oversight, or has the 4-band board been discontinued? If so, when and why? Also if so, then the K1 description page should be edited to remove reference to the new 4 band board... or at least explain that it is no longer available. Bruce N1RX __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
What is the crucial part that caused this? Inquiring minds wanna know. WT5Y Sent from my Cricket smartphone Original message From: EricJ eric_c...@hotmail.com Date: 07/17/2014 13:32 (GMT-06:00) To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone? Bad news...for those who don't have one. The K1-4 was my introduction to both Elecraft and purpose-built QRP rigs. It's easily in the top 3 favorite radios I have owned in half a century. I think Gil called it a cute mini K2 in the link below, and that's a pretty good description. It's big enough to operate like a real radio in the shack. It's small enough to take anywhere. It tunes smoothly and sounds exceptionally good. It has everything you need for CW and nothing you don't. The KX1 isn't a good substitute for the K1, in my opinion. It's a very specialized rig with lots of compromises for those who need minimum size and weight. After the initial fun of a new rig, my KX1 has been sitting on a shelf with very little use. Whenever I grab it to go camping, I pack the K1 as well just in case. Then I end up using the K1 the entire trip. If I was a backpacker, the roles would probably be reversed, though. Anyway, re: K1-4. I got mine, and I'm KEEPING it. (hi) Eric KE6US On 7/17/2014 8:55 AM, Gil G. wrote: I emailed Elecraft about it and they said the 4-band module is unlikely to come back. http://radiopreppers.com/index.php/topic,824.0.html Gil. -- PGP Key: http://keskydee.com/gil.asc On Jul 17, 2014, at 11:47 AM, Phil Wheeler w...@socal.rr.com wrote: needs an edit -- unless lack of a 4-band module is a temporary situation. Perhaps Elecraft will clarify when their day begins soon. __ 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 Message delivered to eric_c...@hotmail.com __ 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 Message delivered to w...@gt.rr.com __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
The K1 can remember the frequency offset settings for 6 bands, so having 3 2-band boards is quite practical. You get to choose which 2 bands go together on one board for most of your operating pleasure. 73, Don W3FPR On 7/17/2014 2:14 PM, Phil Hystad wrote: And, here I was planning to get a 4-band K1 this fall. Yes, real Bummer. So, I figure that I could do one of the following: (1)Buy THREE 2-band K1 radios (saves on interchanging other bands). (2)Buy the Two band option board and get along with 4 bands. (3)Stick with just a 2-band K1. I am going with the obvious, option (1). OK, just kidding. Option (2) But at first I am starting just with Option (1). I wonder if there is a science behind the logic in which two bands to choose to go together. __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
Thanks for taking the time to reply with the details, Wayne. It's a shame. I (and many others) feel the K1 has some advantages over the KX1, such as the analog VFO, higher output power, and 4-pole filtering. It's internal antenna matching unit also offers more tuning range than the KX1. I have also built a 160m/80m 2 band board for mine. I have built and own all the Elecraft rigs, and each has provided great enjoyment, each has it's strong points. Time marches own, it would be wonderful if a 4-band redesign solution could be found, using modern components. Perhaps a pre-built, pre-tuned SMD based board. But, I imagine the potential sales volume would not justify the costs. Too bad. Bruce/N1RX -Original Message- From: Wayne Burdick [mailto:n...@elecraft.com] Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2014 2:43 PM To: Bruce Beford Cc: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: K1-4 4 band version gone? Hi Bruce, The 4-band module requires extremely low-temperature-coefficient trimmer capacitors because of its narrow-band pre-mix and RF band-pass filters. The last source for these exotic trimmers dried up recently. A redesign using higher-TC trimmers might be possible, but the filters would end up being triple-tuned, which would force the use of SMD components throughout, and tuning the filters would then be very difficult without a spectrum analyzer. Sales volume for the K1 has decreased in recent years due to the KX1 (which is smaller and has a DDS VFO), and the KX3 (which covers all bands, all modes, with up to 12 W output and has a much more capable auto tuner, nicer user interface, etc.). So the cost of a redesign wouldn't be recovered. That said, for the time being we're continuing to offer the two-band version and the other options (KAT1 ATU, KBT1 battery pack, etc.). The K1 is one of our full kits, and has a bit of a fan club of its own. We'll update the website to reflect the change in option availability. 73, Wayne N6KR On Jul 17, 2014, at 4:13 AM, Bruce Beford bef...@myfairpoint.net wrote: All this talk about the K1 backlight led me to look back at the K1 order page. There is no option for a 4-band version, nor for the KFL1-4 4-band filter module itself. Is this an oversight, or has the 4-band board been discontinued? If so, when and why? Also if so, then the K1 description page should be edited to remove reference to the new 4 band board... or at least explain that it is no longer available. Bruce N1RX __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
Wayne wrote: The 4-band module requires extremely low-temperature-coefficient trimmer capacitors because of its narrow-band pre-mix and RF band-pass filters. The last source for these exotic trimmers dried up recently. If all the other parts of the KFL1-4 were still stocked, perhaps those original white ceramic trimmer capacitors could be used again. I used my KFL1-4 for two years with those because I did not want to pull and rebuild the KFL1-4 I built in 2001 after the blue trimmers were made available. Yes, I did need to re-align my KFL1-4 about every six months when the original white capacitors were still in place. This would be an unfortunate compromise, but I'd rather have even the original KFL1-4 with those problematic trimmers than use two KFL1-2 filters to get four bands. I used two KFL1-2 boards (40/20m and 30/15m) prior to the availability of the KFL1-4. Sales volume for the K1 has decreased in recent years due to the KX1 (which is smaller and has a DDS VFO)... I greatly prefer the performance and physical form of the K1 over that of the KX1. I never bought the BS that some KX1 owners slung around after KX1 introduction that the KX1 replaced the K1. Did it?? Try using that KX1 on 15 or 17 meters. Even for backpacking, the K1 is a far better radio to cart along if ham CW band RF performance is valued. The K1 is also less quirky to build than a 80/40/30/20m full-house KX1. ...and the KX3... I believe that there are a number of advantages of the K1 over the KX3 when the extreme sophistication of the KX3 is not required. The K1 is much lighter, less bulky, much lower power consumption, and is incredibly easier to fully master than the KX3 is at even the neophyte level. I purchased the K1 after seeing its introduction at Dayton 2000, and then waited the six months for delivery of #175 in November 2000. After almost 14 years it remains my favorite and most utilized HF ham rig owned in 46 years as a ham. It is a very very good radio, and I greatly admire Wayne's design for this classic QRP rig. Thanks, Wayne. So the cost of a redesign wouldn't be recovered. I've always thought that the K1-line would be the first to be discontinued. I am pleasantly surprised that the *start* of that is happening *only* now. It was a very good run for a great QRP radio...those 14 years! If you don't have one, get one with a KFL1-2 is still available. 73, Mike / KK5F __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
Here's another thought that perhaps one of us could put together: give up the internal battery space for a considerably larger filter board that could be used to allow room for additional 2 band style filters that don't share components (and, thus, don't need high-tolerance parts). No new parts would be needed; the existing 2-band parts kits, and the controller from the 4-band board would serve. This would also open the door for selecting a completely arbitrary set of four bands (eg 15/20/40/80) as the filters would, again, be completely independent of each other. I'll have to give mine a close look for mechanical feasibility when I get home. -kb7psg On Thu, 17 Jul 2014, Wayne Burdick wrote: The 4-band module requires extremely low-temperature-coefficient trimmer capacitors because of its narrow-band pre-mix and RF band-pass filters. The last source for these exotic trimmers dried up recently. A redesign using higher-TC trimmers might be possible, but the filters would end up being triple-tuned, which would force the use of SMD components throughout, and tuning the filters would then be very difficult without a spectrum analyzer. Sales volume for the K1 has decreased in recent years due to the KX1 (which is smaller and has a DDS VFO), and the KX3 (which covers all bands, all modes, with up to 12 W output and has a much more capable auto tuner, nicer user interface, etc.). So the cost of a redesign wouldn't be recovered. That said, for the time being we're continuing to offer the two-band version and the other options (KAT1 ATU, KBT1 battery pack, etc.). The K1 is one of our full kits, and has a bit of a fan club of its own. We'll update the website to reflect the change in option availability. 73, Wayne N6KR __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
Don wrote: The K1 can remember the frequency offset settings for 6 bands... The K1 remembers the frequency display calibration settings (OFS) for all *nine* HF bands between 160m and 10m (60m is excluded), and automatically uses the one previously stored for a particular band when that band gets assigned to a filter board's b1 or b2. ...so having 3 2-band boards is quite practical. You get to choose which 2 bands go together on one board for most of your operating pleasure. It is worth noting that a small problem will arise if multiple KFL1-2 boards are built that duplicate one of the bands...such as a board for 40/20 and a board for 40/15, both for the same K1. The K1 MCU can remember only *one* frequency display calibration setting per band. In the example I use above, one of those two boards will have some calibration error on 40m unless the 40m heterodyne crystal frequencies of both filter boards are very nearly the same frequency. They'll likely be close enough. Mike / KK5F __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4 band version gone?
Jessie wrote: I'll have to give mine a close look for mechanical feasibility when I get home. It is not feasible. Mike / KK5F __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K1-4 4band version gone?
Howdy Fellow Elecrafters: OK...it's so obvious even I figured it out. Notice that we have a KX1 and a KX3?? What happened to the KX2?? Well, read on. I predict the next new transceiver from Elecraft will render obsolete the K1-4 and KX1 obsolete...it will be called, obviously, the KX2. It will be a CW only all band 160M-6M DDS VFO controlled Direct Conversion SDR ala the KX3 but much smaller. Perfect for field use it will become the new rage of the SOTA and IOTA crowd as well as the QRP community in general that likes to take their rigs out for portable OPS. OK Waynesorry I let the cat out of the bag but at times I am just so darn prescient it surprises me. So, when can we expect the new KX2 to be available for order?? OK...OK...All of the above said with tongue firmly placed inside of cheek.but it is just too nice to think about. I really wonder why the KX2 nomenclature has been skipped??? Am I on to something??? (large grin). 73, Joe W2KJ I QRP, therefore I am __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
