Re: [Elecraft] K2 problems

2017-11-26 Thread Don Wilhelm

Oscar,

Instead of checking for the maximum power output, check to see if you 
have power control.
Operate into a dummy load - if you have the KAT2 installed, set the ATU 
menu to CALP and exit the menu.  Then set the POWER knob to 5 watts and 
see whether the power output goes to something quite above 5 watts.
If the power is significantly higher than that set by the POWER knob, 
then the K2 is not measuring the power output correctly.


If you have the KAT2, there is a problem with the wattmeter on the KAT2. 
 Most likely diodes D1 and D2 have been damaged by static coming from 
the antenna feedline.  Those diodes are the first thing to check.


If no KAT2, then D9 on the RF board is the most likely suspect.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 11/25/2017 9:09 PM, Oscar Castillo wrote:

hello all

 i have a problem whit my K2, on 40 meters band i have like 22 - 24 watts of 
power all the others bands are ok 13 - 15 watts on full power, and on SSB any 
band i hit the mike i get the CAL CURR sign, any clue what the problem are?

thanks everyone for the advices


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Re: [Elecraft] K2 problems after lightning

2014-04-07 Thread Edward R Cole
I just wanted to offer a few general suggestions.  Do follow Don's 
expert instructions.


A lesson taught me by a fellow bench tech who did not have a lot of 
tech training was to initially open the unit and carefully look over 
the circuit board for obvious burnt items!  Use your nose for burnt 
smell. Touch to find Hot components (carefully). Look for black 
marks indicating arcing.  I can't tell you how well that worked for him!


An approach I used when I had a dead short on the dc power, which 
could be anywhere on the board that the power trace went, 
was:  divide and conquer, meaning try to isolate sections and 
troubleshoot each by itself.  This might require cutting the power 
trace in certain areas (in your case, follow Don's approach as he 
knows these radios intimately...he will tell you if that becomes necessary).


My first step after the look-sniff-touch method is check basic 
performance (radio lamps light-up, makes noise in Rx, keys in 
transmit, shows output power, etc.)  Those symptoms help narrow down 
what to check.  Then get out the multimeter and make resistance and 
voltage checks.  Of course this assumes you have a schematic diagram 
and have the background knowledge to understand it.  If the unit is 
not stable when you apply power then you will have to start out with 
resistance checks and/or isolation methods.


The lightening hit is probably one of the worst as it may have gone 
anywhere in the unit. Hope you are successful in fixing it.


73, Ed - KL7UW
http://www.kl7uw.com
Kits made by KL7UW
Dubus Mag business:
dubus...@gmail.com

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Re: [Elecraft] K2 problems after lightning

2014-04-07 Thread Fred Jensen
The easiest radio to repair is one that has had a small fire in one 
corner of the chassis.

Tom, W6AHY (SK)

73,

Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the 2014 Cal QSO Party 4-5 Oct 2014
- www.cqp.org

PS:  Tom had no eyesight

On 4/7/2014 10:54 AM, Edward R Cole wrote:


A lesson taught me by a fellow bench tech who did not have a lot of tech
training was to initially open the unit and carefully look over the
circuit board for obvious burnt items!  Use your nose for burnt smell.
Touch to find Hot components (carefully). Look for black marks
indicating arcing.  I can't tell you how well that worked for him!



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Re: [Elecraft] K2 problems after lightning

2014-04-06 Thread Don Wilhelm

Ian,

It may be a challenge, but can be resolved by doing some orderly 
troubleshooting.  Hopefully, you will not jump around and try to 
'shotgun' it - in this case, I think that will only lead to frustration 
and perhaps incorrect conclusions.


Perhaps with a little work on your part and the benefit of your other 
K2, we can get to the bottom of things.
First of all, the most likely thing to have been damaged is the MCU - 
hopefully you have the same level firmware in both K2s, and you can swap 
between them to check - but I only mention that at this point, do not do 
any swapping first, we need to 'set the stage' for further troubleshooting.


You first want to remove the KSB2 and the K60XV.  Install jumpers in the 
headers - J9 and J10 between the two outside pins, and a .001 uF 
capacitor between J11 pin 7 and pin 12.
The K60XV removal requires a 4.7 uF capacitor between pins 1 and 3 of 
J15 and a wire jumper between J13 pins 3 and 5.


First check your key for shorts at both the dot and dash contacts with 
an ohmmeter.  It is normal for a K2 to go into transmit as the key plug 
is inserted, so check the key first and then plug it in before powering on.
Does the K2 power up in receive or in transmit?  If receive, then it is 
OK to go on(skip the next paragraph), but if not, stop, power down and 
check out the key lines from the inside of the K2 (do not remove the key 
plug) as follows.
If it goes immediately to transmit, remove the left side panel and check 
the resistance to ground at the rearmost end of R1 and R2 - which one is 
showing zero ohms?  If neither, then close the dot side of the paddle - 
one but not both should go to zero ohms - do the same for the other paddle.

All OK?  If so, the key jack is acting like it should.

Next, remove the capacitor from J11 (the SSB header).  The K2 will not 
transmit without it and no harm will come to the PA transistors with a 
long period in transmit.
Close one side of the paddles for a short string of dots or dashes as 
heard from the sidetone.  Does it go back to receive?  If so, try the 
other paddle, it should also go back to receive when you release the paddle.
If it goes to transmit and stays there, check the DC voltages at the 
anodes of D6 and D7 (this is just a check to see what is going on, it is 
not the problem).  In RX, D7 should have near zero volts and D6 near 8 
volts.  The opposite should be true for TX (use TUNE to check for that, 
it is constant rather than dots or dashes).


OK, that is enough information to tell me where you should head next to 
solve the problem.
Rather than cluttering up the reflector with troubleshooting that may 
not apply to anyone else, you may want to take it off-line and report 
the results back to the list after the problem has been solved.


We will get to the bottom of it with enough checking in the right places.

73,
Don W3FPR


On 4/6/2014 4:45 PM, Ian Liston-Smith wrote:

Not a direct hit via the antenna, but the random wire was unplugged, lying on 
the bench close the the Morse key, through which it discharged!! It took a 
while for me to identify the 'Tick, tick, tick' which were sparks from the 
antenna plug jhumping to the Morse key, and not necessarily the grounded bit.

My S/N 6905 K2 has 60m, noise blanker and 160m accessories.

From switch on, receiver seems to be functioning normally, all receiver 
function buttons and controls K2 receiver appear to operate.

There is no response at all from the MENU button.

Symptoms in CW mode:

Plug key in and K2 goes immediately into CW tx mode as key jack contacts are 
made, and stays in tx mode. Power is variable by power control. All controls 
inoperable until switch off-on, and K2 back in rx mode until key is inserted 
again.

Off-on then pressing TUNE button puts out RF momentarily then drops to nothing. 
Display stuck showing P 0.1 or some random power level. All controls inoperable 
until off-on.

Presumably when the static got in through the key it did something nasty to 
some solid-state devices and/or capacitors.

I have a no-accessory K2 to use as comparison, but don't know where to start or 
what to measure. I can swap bits around, but I'm reluctant to do that in case 
some faulty board or IC  does damage on the working K2.

This could be a challenge...




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Re: [Elecraft] K2 Problems

2012-08-29 Thread Don Wilhelm
Brent,

In cases of lightning damage to the KPA100, I normally just replace all 
the active devices (transistors, diodes and ICs) on the premise that if 
not damaged, they have been stressed and will fail later - I do not 
normally replace the KPA100 PA transistors because they are quite 
hardy..  The KAT100 does not usually endure damage other than the diodes 
in the wattmeter and usually the firmware IC, but you can't take my 
usual observations to heart with lightning damage. Most anything is 
suspect, so check it all out.

Look at the boards - If there is evidence of charring or burning, that 
area will have to be cleared of carbon and any damaged PC traces 
replaced with wire repairs.

What I am saying is that it is less expensive and easier to assume that 
all active devices have been damaged and arbitrarily replace then than 
it is to try to debug exactly the failing component and then endure the 
frustration of an additional failure a few weeks later when a stressed 
component fails.  Replacing all the ICs in the KPA100 and KAT100 is not 
really that expensive when compared with the alternative.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 8/29/2012 6:48 PM, Brent Sutphin wrote:
 I now have the basic K2 working as it should after replacing the TX finial
 and bias transistors. Now to move on to the KPA100.

 Brent
 - Original Message -
 From: Brent Sutphin bsutp...@triad.rr.com
 To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
 Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2012 9:27 PM
 Subject: [Elecraft] K2 Problems


 The symptoms I explained earlier were after an electrical storm
 that also took out my cable modem and wireless router.  The K2 was
 connected
 to its antenna but was turned off at the time.  It also had the KPA100 and
 KAT100 installed.  I decided to remove the KPA100 and KAT100 to see if I
 still had the problem with the basic K2.  I wanted to see if the high
 current warning was
 still there.  The high current warning did not come on but the power
 transistors became very hot very quickly. I was not transmitting. That led
 me to believe
 that the power transistors were defective. There very well could be
 problems
 with the KPA100 as well.  Now I'm not so sure.

 Brent
 WB4X

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Re: [Elecraft] K2 Problems

2012-08-24 Thread Don Wilhelm
Brent,

With that clarification, yes, I can say that the PA transistors in the 
base K2 need to be changed.  If you ordered the PA transistors from 
other than Elecraft, I suggest that you do not use those transistors -  
Order the K2PAKIT from Elecraft and you will receive a matched pair of 
PA transistors plus 2 2NA transistors to replace those at Q11 and 
Q13.  Do replace the Q11 and Q13 transistors because they often fail 
either as the cause of the PA failure (the bias goes high) or they are 
damaged as a secondary effect from excessive voltage on the PA 
transistor bases.

What is happening is that the current draw is exceeding 5 amps and the 
resettable fuse trips turning power off (that is a good thing).

If you have the KPA100, do check D16 and D17 to see if they are 
damaged.  If they do not function properly, the K2 will go to maximum 
power and that places stress on the base K2 PA transistors. If you do 
not have the KPA100, but have either the KAT2 or KAT100, they also have 
wattmeter diodes that can be damaged by static.

I would suggest that you install a resistor across all of your feedlines 
to discharge static charges that can occur from nearby lightning, wind, 
rain or snow.  The common advice is to disconnect the antennas when not 
in use, but plugging in PL-259s are especially bad because the center 
conductor makes contact before the shell, and if there is a static 
charge on the feedline, there is no chance to bleed it off before it 
zaps those diodes.  The protection must be in the feedline rather than 
in the K2.  I use an antenna switch in the shack and switch the 
transmitters to dummy loads when not in use - my resistors are mounted 
inside the antenna switch, so I do not have to physically disconnect the 
antennas, just turn the switch.

A resistor of 5k to 100k will be effective.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 8/24/2012 4:10 PM, Brent Sutphin wrote:
 I ordered a half dozen of the 1N5711 diodes  and finals for the K2 today.  I
 also ordered several of the 2n7000 transistors. I felt like there was some
 confusion last night after my original post with the nature of my problem.
 After reading my post today it was easy to understand the confusion.

 When I turned it on, it came on for a few seconds then a high
 current warning and then off.

 I meant to say, I turned it on, it came on for a few seconds before a high
 current warning and then the radio powered down. If I turn the power off via
 the front panel power switch and back on it does the same thing again.  The
 K2 finals quickly get very hot as if they are drawing full current, all this
 in the RX mode not transmitting . I didn't attempt to transmit.


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Re: [Elecraft] K2 Problems

2012-08-23 Thread Don Wilhelm
Brent,

If I were you, I would order 2 1N5711 diodes (PN E560004).

I suspect that your original problem is that KPA100 diodes D16 and D17 
were damaged by static, with the result that the KPA100 output was at 
maximum (150 t0 180 watts) no matter what the power setting. That 
condition continued for long enough will place stress on the base K2 PA 
transistors and they will die of overload.

I just  recently responded to a similar private enquiry, I copy my 
response below..

Replace Q11 and Q13 since they also can be damaged as a secondary effect.
-
If you did not try to transmit for long after you saw the HiCur display, 
the base K2 PA transistors may still be OK.

Your main problem is that the KPA100 wattmeter diodes have either 
shorted or opened, so the K2 can no longer determine power output. Since 
the K2 MCU thinks there is zero power output, it increases drive to the 
maximum - an external wattmeter will normally show 150 to 180 watts.  
That does place stress on the base K2 PA transistors which may fail as a 
secondary effect.

If that describes your situation, replacement of KPA100 D16 and D17 may 
normally set things in order again.

To prevent similar further incidents  make certain there is a good DC 
path across the feedline of all your antennas.

Other transceivers do not have this problem will fall on deaf ears 
here.  The other transceivers control power output only by changing 
the drive to the final stages.  Elecraft products actually measure the 
power at the output stage and control the power output by a closed 
control loop.  That does require sensitive diodes at the output of the 
PA, but it also means that those diodes are susceptible to static 
charges on the antenna.

Static on the antenna can be caused by wind, rain, sleet, snow or nearby 
lightning charges.
A 2 or 3 watt resistor with a value between 5000 ohms and 100k ohms 
across each feedline will be a great help in reducing the number of 
failures of KPA100 wattmeter diodes.
--

73,
Don W3FPR

On 8/23/2012 7:47 PM, Brent Sutphin wrote:
 We had a storms in the area here yesterday. Afterwards my K2-100 would not
 stay on.  When I turned it on, it came on for a few seconds then a high
 current warning and then off.  Long story short I determined that the K2 rf
 power transistors are bad.  I plan to order new ones tomorrow.  Question is,
 do I need to look further?

 Brent  WB4X

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Re: [Elecraft] K2 Problems

2012-08-23 Thread Bill Frantz
I assume you want a non-inductive resistor in this application.

Cheers - Bill, AE6JV

On 8/23/12 at 17:49, w3...@embarqmail.com (Don Wilhelm) wrote:

 A 2 or 3 watt resistor with a value between 5000 ohms and 100k ohms 
 across each feedline will be a great help in reducing the number of 
 failures of KPA100 wattmeter diodes.
---
Bill Frantz| I like the farmers' market   | Periwinkle
(408)356-8506  | because I can get fruits and | 16345 Englewood Ave
www.pwpconsult.com | vegetables without stickers. | Los Gatos, CA 95032

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Re: [Elecraft] K2 Problems

2012-08-23 Thread Don Wilhelm
Brent,

Take it one step at a time;  Yes, all could be damaged - the base K3 PA 
transistors, the KPA100 wattmeter diodes and the KAT100 wattmeter diodes.

I feel your pain - I recently had a very close lightning event that did 
not come in on the antennas, but got me on the Ethernet connections - I 
lost 4 computers and a router and 2 network switches.   Fortunately for 
backups, I did not loose any data

I don't know how hokey your backup mechanism may be, but if it causes 
you any amount of grief at all, it is better than nothing. All it takes 
is one  event to convince  you that regular backups is the only sane 
answer.  Your data is valid, whether that be just email or whether that 
includes downloads and document files

73,
Don W3FPR
.
On 8/23/2012 9:27 PM, Brent Sutphin wrote:
 The symptoms I explained earlier were after an electrical storm
 that also took out my cable modem and wireless router.  The K2 was connected
 to its antenna but was turned off at the time.  It also had the KPA100 and
 KAT100 installed.  I decided to remove the KPA100 and KAT100 to see if I
 still had the problem with the basic K2.  I wanted to see if the high
 current warning was
 still there.  The high current warning did not come on but the power
 transistors became very hot very quickly. I was not transmitting. That led
 me to believe
 that the power transistors were defective. There very well could be problems
 with the KPA100 as well.  Now I'm not so sure.

 Brent
 WB4X

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Re: [Elecraft] K2 Problems

2012-08-23 Thread vk4tux
I would probably go with 2 x 1.5KE51CA-ND inverse paralleled across the diode
to avoid impedance issues.



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Re: [Elecraft] K2 Problems

2012-08-23 Thread Don Wilhelm
The answer may be in the antenna field.  If the SWR is in excess of 
2.0:1, then the equipment will reduce power (foldback).

73,
Don
W3FPR

On 8/23/2012 10:45 PM, vk4tux wrote:
 I would probably go with 2 x 1.5KE51CA-ND inverse paralleled across the diode
 to avoid impedance issues.



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 View this message in context: 
 http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/K2-Problems-tp7561545p7561555.html
 Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
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Re: [Elecraft] K2 problems

2011-03-13 Thread Allen Wisbey, W1SBY
Don and the group,

I finally got around to replacing D16 and D17, as usual your diagnosis 
was spot on. I now have a happy K2 again!

Thanks so much for your help.

73 de Allen, W1SBY

On 12/7/2010 8:53 PM, Don Wilhelm wrote:
Alan,

 Remove the KPA100 shield and check the diodes with your ohmmeter.  There
 are other possible faults that could have crept into your KPA100
 wattmeter circuits, but the diodes are the first suspects since that is
 most common.  If the diodes check good, then I can help you with the
 additional troubleshooting
balance deleted for brevity
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Re: [Elecraft] K2 problems

2010-12-07 Thread Allen Wisbey, W1SBY
Don,

I finally got enough time to do some more tests. The KPA100 is putting 
out in excess of 100 watts on all bands when set for 30 watts. An 
interesting thing though... the  radio acted fine when I first started 
testing, then suddenly went to bad behavior.

So, my next question just to clarify; Replacing D16  D17 should fix it? 
Also what may have happened to cause this?
You repaired and aligned this radio a couple months ago, (SSB chip was 
mounted backwards).  All was well until I moved my shack to a different 
room.
The ONLY difference in setup was I actually grounded the radio to a 
ground rod outside the new location.

73 de Allen, W1SBY

On 12/4/2010 12:00 AM, Don Wilhelm wrote:
 Sorry Alan,
 That was to be directed to you, and not to James.

 73,
 Don W3FPR

 ---

   James,

 Can you use an external wattmeter between the K2 and the dummy load?
 With the power control set at greater than 20 watts and less than 50 
 watts, what is the power read on the external wattmeter when you do a 
 TUNE?
 If it is 100 watts or greater, then you need to replace D16 and D17 in 
 the KPA100.

 If the actual power indicated above is in the range of 20 watts, and 
 you still get the HiCur messages, you will have to do a bit more 
 troubleshooting - remove the KPA100 (physically) and power the base K2 
 through the coaxial power connector and take the ouput to the dummy 
 load from the BNC antenna jack.  Set the power at 5 watts and do a 
 TUNE.  Do you see a HI CUR warning?  If so, what is the actual power 
 output?
 Next set the power knob to 12 watts and do a TUNE again - if you see 
 HiCur and the output is less than 12 watts, you have a problem with 
 the Low pass filter in the base K3 - but if it occurs on all bands, 
 look for the problem at T4 rather than the low pass filter.

 73,
 Don W3FPR

 On 12/3/2010 11:06 PM, Allen Wisbey, W1SBY wrote:
 Hi all,

 I am having problems with my K2 after moving it from one room to 
 another.
 K2/100 into a dummy load
 On all bands I get a HiCur notice when I try to tune, when the PA is
 disabled (10 watts or less) the SWR shows 1:1 OK
 On all bands with the PA enabled (over 10 watts) I get the HiCur notice
 and the SWR indicates a fluctuating range from 3:1 to 9.9 to one
 depending on band and power setting.
 In all instances the power out indication is markedly lower than the
 setting. At 10 watts set, I show 4 watts, at 90 watts set I show 7 
 watts.
 I have misplaced my analog wattmeter during the moving process but my
 LDG autotuner shows that output is actually near or above my settings.
 Not a good diagnostic tool I know.
 I think something has definitely gone awry, any ideas on where to start?

 Thanks,
 Allen, W1SBY

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Re: [Elecraft] K2 problems

2010-12-07 Thread Don Wilhelm
  Alan,

Remove the KPA100 shield and check the diodes with your ohmmeter.  There 
are other possible faults that could have crept into your KPA100 
wattmeter circuits, but the diodes are the first suspects since that is 
most common.  If the diodes check good, then I can help you with the 
additional troubleshooting.

The normal cause for the failure of D16 and D17 is a static discharge 
coming in on the antenna.
If your antenna does not have a DC path across the feedline, that can 
happen when you connect the antenna if the antenna has developed a 
static charge from wind, rain, snow, and yes lightning.

With a PL-259 UHF connector, the center conductor is normally mated in 
the jack before the shell, so if you had a good ground on the K2 and a 
static charge on the feedline, that could zap the diodes.

I am not certain that is how it happened, but it is a definite possibility.
Is there any way you can put an RF Choke or high value resistor (above 
5000 ohms) across your antenna feedlines - if you have an RF switch in 
the shack, that is a good place for it.  Another way is to mount the 
choke or resistor in a PL-259 shell and add a TEE adapter at the back of 
the K2 - one of the female ends of the TEE connects to the PL-259 with 
the resistor and the antenna connects to the other female end.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 12/7/2010 9:27 PM, Allen Wisbey, W1SBY wrote:
 Don,

 I finally got enough time to do some more tests. The KPA100 is putting
 out in excess of 100 watts on all bands when set for 30 watts. An
 interesting thing though... the  radio acted fine when I first started
 testing, then suddenly went to bad behavior.

 So, my next question just to clarify; Replacing D16  D17 should fix it?
 Also what may have happened to cause this?
 You repaired and aligned this radio a couple months ago, (SSB chip was
 mounted backwards).  All was well until I moved my shack to a different
 room.
 The ONLY difference in setup was I actually grounded the radio to a
 ground rod outside the new location.

 73 de Allen, W1SBY

 On 12/4/2010 12:00 AM, Don Wilhelm wrote:
 Sorry Alan,
 That was to be directed to you, and not to James.

 73,
 Don W3FPR

 ---

James,

 Can you use an external wattmeter between the K2 and the dummy load?
 With the power control set at greater than 20 watts and less than 50
 watts, what is the power read on the external wattmeter when you do a
 TUNE?
 If it is 100 watts or greater, then you need to replace D16 and D17 in
 the KPA100.

 If the actual power indicated above is in the range of 20 watts, and
 you still get the HiCur messages, you will have to do a bit more
 troubleshooting - remove the KPA100 (physically) and power the base K2
 through the coaxial power connector and take the ouput to the dummy
 load from the BNC antenna jack.  Set the power at 5 watts and do a
 TUNE.  Do you see a HI CUR warning?  If so, what is the actual power
 output?
 Next set the power knob to 12 watts and do a TUNE again - if you see
 HiCur and the output is less than 12 watts, you have a problem with
 the Low pass filter in the base K3 - but if it occurs on all bands,
 look for the problem at T4 rather than the low pass filter.

 73,
 Don W3FPR

 On 12/3/2010 11:06 PM, Allen Wisbey, W1SBY wrote:
 Hi all,

 I am having problems with my K2 after moving it from one room to
 another.
 K2/100 into a dummy load
 On all bands I get a HiCur notice when I try to tune, when the PA is
 disabled (10 watts or less) the SWR shows 1:1 OK
 On all bands with the PA enabled (over 10 watts) I get the HiCur notice
 and the SWR indicates a fluctuating range from 3:1 to 9.9 to one
 depending on band and power setting.
 In all instances the power out indication is markedly lower than the
 setting. At 10 watts set, I show 4 watts, at 90 watts set I show 7
 watts.
 I have misplaced my analog wattmeter during the moving process but my
 LDG autotuner shows that output is actually near or above my settings.
 Not a good diagnostic tool I know.
 I think something has definitely gone awry, any ideas on where to start?

 Thanks,
 Allen, W1SBY

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Re: [Elecraft] K2 problems

2010-12-03 Thread Don Wilhelm
  James,

Can you use an external wattmeter between the K2 and the dummy load?
With the power control set at greater than 20 watts and less than 50 
watts, what is the power read on the external wattmeter when you do a TUNE?
If it is 100 watts or greater, then you need to replace D16 and D17 in 
the KPA100.

If the actual power indicated above is in the range of 20 watts, and you 
still get the HiCur messages, you will have to do a bit more 
troubleshooting - remove the KPA100 (physically) and power the base K2 
through the coaxial power connector and take the ouput to the dummy load 
from the BNC antenna jack.  Set the power at 5 watts and do a TUNE.  Do 
you see a HI CUR warning?  If so, what is the actual power output?
Next set the power knob to 12 watts and do a TUNE again - if you see 
HiCur and the output is less than 12 watts, you have a problem with the 
Low pass filter in the base K3 - but if it occurs on all bands, look for 
the problem at T4 rather than the low pass filter.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 12/3/2010 11:06 PM, Allen Wisbey, W1SBY wrote:
 Hi all,

 I am having problems with my K2 after moving it from one room to another.
 K2/100 into a dummy load
 On all bands I get a HiCur notice when I try to tune, when the PA is
 disabled (10 watts or less) the SWR shows 1:1 OK
 On all bands with the PA enabled (over 10 watts) I get the HiCur notice
 and the SWR indicates a fluctuating range from 3:1 to 9.9 to one
 depending on band and power setting.
 In all instances the power out indication is markedly lower than the
 setting. At 10 watts set, I show 4 watts, at 90 watts set I show 7 watts.
 I have misplaced my analog wattmeter during the moving process but my
 LDG autotuner shows that output is actually near or above my settings.
 Not a good diagnostic tool I know.
 I think something has definitely gone awry, any ideas on where to start?

 Thanks,
 Allen, W1SBY

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Re: [Elecraft] K2 problems

2010-12-03 Thread Don Wilhelm
Sorry Alan,
That was to be directed to you, and not to James.

73,
Don W3FPR

---

   James,

Can you use an external wattmeter between the K2 and the dummy load?
With the power control set at greater than 20 watts and less than 50 
watts, what is the power read on the external wattmeter when you do a TUNE?
If it is 100 watts or greater, then you need to replace D16 and D17 in 
the KPA100.

If the actual power indicated above is in the range of 20 watts, and you 
still get the HiCur messages, you will have to do a bit more 
troubleshooting - remove the KPA100 (physically) and power the base K2 
through the coaxial power connector and take the ouput to the dummy load 
from the BNC antenna jack.  Set the power at 5 watts and do a TUNE.  Do 
you see a HI CUR warning?  If so, what is the actual power output?
Next set the power knob to 12 watts and do a TUNE again - if you see 
HiCur and the output is less than 12 watts, you have a problem with the 
Low pass filter in the base K3 - but if it occurs on all bands, look for 
the problem at T4 rather than the low pass filter.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 12/3/2010 11:06 PM, Allen Wisbey, W1SBY wrote:
 Hi all,

 I am having problems with my K2 after moving it from one room to another.
 K2/100 into a dummy load
 On all bands I get a HiCur notice when I try to tune, when the PA is
 disabled (10 watts or less) the SWR shows 1:1 OK
 On all bands with the PA enabled (over 10 watts) I get the HiCur notice
 and the SWR indicates a fluctuating range from 3:1 to 9.9 to one
 depending on band and power setting.
 In all instances the power out indication is markedly lower than the
 setting. At 10 watts set, I show 4 watts, at 90 watts set I show 7 watts.
 I have misplaced my analog wattmeter during the moving process but my
 LDG autotuner shows that output is actually near or above my settings.
 Not a good diagnostic tool I know.
 I think something has definitely gone awry, any ideas on where to start?

 Thanks,
 Allen, W1SBY

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Re: [Elecraft] K2: Problems With PSK

2010-10-10 Thread Don Wilhelm
  Jon,

How do you have the RTTY FL1 BFOs set?  It sounds like you are 
attempting to use the default settings for the RTTY filter set, and that 
will not work well.

Enter CAL FIL (with the internal probe placed in TP2), and first set 
RTTY FL1 to the OP1 filter.
Then go to SSB and observe the BFO settings (tap BAND-) for both LSB and 
USB (write them down).
Then go back to RTTY mode and set the BFO for RTTY rev to the same value 
as the USB BFO, and set the RTTY non-rev BFO to the same value as the 
LSB BFO.

That should produce a good signal and a good waterfall display.
The FL1 BFOs are used for transmit in all cases, and RTTY will transmit 
through the filter on the KSB2.
FL2 thru FL4 can be set to anything you want because they will only be 
used during receive.  I normally set FL2 to 1.00, FL3 to 0.70 and FL4 to 
0.40, then center those filters at 1000 Hz.  Attempting to center them 
higher will cause you to run out of BFO range in RTTY normal.  The 
narrow filters are good for RTTY operation (most others will likely use 
the full width OP1 filter) - set the Mark frequency in MMTTY (or other 
RTTY app) to 915 Hz and it will allow you to narrow the filters down so 
you can avoid QRM (tune with the VFO instead of clicking on the waterfall).

If you have questions about using Spectrogram to set your filters, take 
a look at part 3 of the K2 Dial Calibration article on my website 
www.w3fpr.com.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 10/10/2010 8:13 PM, Jon Perelstein wrote:
 I'm having problems with PSK (and other digital modes) on my K2.  CW and SSB
 seem okay.

 Rig
 --
 K2/100, KSB2, power set to 20 watts.   RTTY (Reverse) for PSK.
 MFJ-941E Versatuner to a Carolina Windom about 35 ft in the air.
 SignaLink USB into an Acer Aspire One running Win XP (SP3)

 On 80/75 meters, I can get a 1.2:1 SWR.  CW and SSB look good (good forward
 power reading on the MFJ).  However, with PSK, the best I can get is 5 watts
 forward showing on the MFJ, but it needs 5 bars of ALC on the K2.  With 1 bar 
 of
 ALC I get about 3 watts out according to MFJ.

 On 40 meters, I can get a 1.0:1 SWR.  CW and SSB look good, and I can get 
 about
 8 watts out on PSK with 5 bars of ALC, and about 5 watts with 1 bar.

 30 meters is about the same, but with a few more watts, on 20 meters it's 
 still
 a few more, etc.

 CW and SSB are good on all the bands.

 I also tried PSK using SSB (USB) rather than RTTY (Reverse) and got the same
 results.

 Anybody have any suggestions about where I should start looking to see what 
 the
 problem is?

 Thanks.

 Jon
 KB1QBZ
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Re: [Elecraft] K2: Problems With PSK

2010-10-10 Thread Jon Perelstein
Don,

Do you ever sleep?  It seems as if every time I post something, no matter what 
day, no matter what hour, there's a response from you within a few minutes. hihi

Seriously, thanks for your reply.

You had me set the RTTY FL1 BFO about a week ago using Spectrogram.

At any rate, the problem I'm having happens when doing PSK with mode USB as 
well 
with mode RTTY (reverse).

Jon
KB1QBZ





From: Don Wilhelm w3...@embarqmail.com
To: Jon Perelstein jpere...@yahoo.com
Cc: elecraft reflector elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Sent: Sun, October 10, 2010 8:42:59 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K2: Problems With PSK

Jon,

How do you have the RTTY FL1 BFOs set?  It sounds like you are attempting to 
use 
the default settings for the RTTY filter set, and that will not work well.

Enter CAL FIL (with the internal probe placed in TP2), and first set RTTY FL1 
to 
the OP1 filter.
Then go to SSB and observe the BFO settings (tap BAND-) for both LSB and USB 
(write them down).
Then go back to RTTY mode and set the BFO for RTTY rev to the same value as the 
USB BFO, and set the RTTY non-rev BFO to the same value as the LSB BFO.

That should produce a good signal and a good waterfall display.
The FL1 BFOs are used for transmit in all cases, and RTTY will transmit through 
the filter on the KSB2.
FL2 thru FL4 can be set to anything you want because they will only be used 
during receive.  I normally set FL2 to 1.00, FL3 to 0.70 and FL4 to 0.40, then 
center those filters at 1000 Hz.  Attempting to center them higher will cause 
you to run out of BFO range in RTTY normal.  The narrow filters are good for 
RTTY operation (most others will likely use the full width OP1 filter) - set 
the 
Mark frequency in MMTTY (or other RTTY app) to 915 Hz and it will allow you to 
narrow the filters down so you can avoid QRM (tune with the VFO instead of 
clicking on the waterfall).

If you have questions about using Spectrogram to set your filters, take a look 
at part 3 of the K2 Dial Calibration article on my website www.w3fpr.com.
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Re: [Elecraft] K2: Problems With PSK

2010-10-10 Thread Don Wilhelm
  Jon,

Yes, I sleep - you will only rarely see a post from me between midnight 
and 8AM local time.  I do check my email periodically throughout the day 
when I am home, and that is most of the time.

Back to your LSB/USB problem.  There should be little difference between 
LSB and USB provided the OP1 filter is somewhat symmetrical and is 
relatively flat within the passband.  You should be able to see that 
with Spectrogram.  Did the LSB and USB passband shape look about the 
same?  If not, then the filter is to blame.  Check the capacitors to be 
certain all are the correct value (CA thru CP).  If the capacitors are 
OK, then first check the soldering in the filter area (re-flow it with a 
hot iron, adding a tiny bit of new solder and flux).  If the passband 
for LSB and USB are still not close to the same shape, you will have to 
change to a new matched crystal set (7 crystals).

Check the carrier balance in both LSB and USB.  If you have a 'scope, 
you can connect it across the dummy load, and using a sensitive 
amplitude setting on the 'scope, plug paddles into the key jack (do not 
connect a mic), close the dot paddle and adjust the carrier balance pot 
for minimum RF - check both LSB and USB to be certain they are both the 
same.
You can use the S-meter of another receiver to make the same check, but 
the 'scope is easiest.

If the passband shape for USB and LSB are the same, you should have good 
output no matter which sideband is in use.

One temporary solution - BPSK does not care which sideband you use 
(while others do care), so you can use the one that works well.  That 
does not fix it, but allows you a bit more operating time.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 10/10/2010 10:22 PM, Jon Perelstein wrote:
 Don,

 Do you ever sleep?  It seems as if every time I post something, no matter what
 day, no matter what hour, there's a response from you within a few minutes. 
 hihi

 Seriously, thanks for your reply.

 You had me set the RTTY FL1 BFO about a week ago using Spectrogram.

 At any rate, the problem I'm having happens when doing PSK with mode USB as 
 well
 with mode RTTY (reverse).

 Jon
 KB1QBZ

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Re: [Elecraft] K2 problems

2009-12-29 Thread Don Wilhelm
Robert,

Can I assume correctly that you are asking about U4 and U5 on the RF 
Board?  If so, yes, these are digital signals and yes, the voltages 
listed are incorrect for normal measurements.  If you look with a 
triggered oscilloscope during the active levels, the voltages will be 
correct.

73,
Don W3FPR

Robert Greenwalt wrote:
 I completed the baseline k2 kit but I seem to have some problems:

 The Voltage measurements from pg17 of the trouble shooting section differs
 from what I'm seeing in the receive case:
 U4 5-pin should be 5 but I get 0
 U4 7-pin should be 0 but I get 5
 U5 1-pin should be 0 but I get 5
 U5 2-pin should be 5 but I get 0.

 I've traced through - U4, 5-pin is connected to U5-2 and 3 pins on the
 control board.  I've followed the leads and they are clean.
  I've resistance checked them and everything appears properly connected.
  I've also checked resistance to ground and U4-5 is not shorted. Likewise
 U4-7 connets to U5-1 and two chips on the control board. They seem to be
 digital logic pins, so I wonder if the listed voltage is incorrect?
  Otherwise it seems one of my chips is bad.

 Suggestions?

 Thanks

 Robert
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Re: [Elecraft] K2 Problems

2009-08-12 Thread Ingo Meyer, DK3RED
Hello Nick,

 Looking for some help please. My K2 has developed some distortion on received 
 signals and without warning  the internal speaker (and the external speaker 
 jack) failed to work when turned on -- although headphones still work. I am 
 about to check out the AF amp but wondered if my symptoms ring any bells with 
 long-time K2 owners (I should add that my K2 was damaged by lightning static 
 and these faults possibly spring from that time. 

Maybe the headphone jack in your K2 is (a little bit) faulty. The contacts for 
the 
headphone works sill. But the switcher inside the jack failed. This is the 
reason why the 
speacker an the external speacker jack failed too.
-- 
73/72 de Ingo, DK3RED - Don't forget: the fun is the power!
www.qrp4fun.de - dk3...@qrp4fun.de

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Re: [Elecraft] K2 Problems

2009-08-12 Thread Stephen W. Kercel
The failure mode that Ingo describes is not that unusual in a K2. If you 
cannot get speaker audio, the phone jack should be one of the first 
things to check.

73,

Steve Kercel
AA4AK


Ingo Meyer, DK3RED wrote:
 Hello Nick,

   
 Looking for some help please. My K2 has developed some distortion on 
 received signals and without warning  the internal speaker (and the external 
 speaker jack) failed to work when turned on -- although headphones still 
 work. I am about to check out the AF amp but wondered if my symptoms ring 
 any bells with long-time K2 owners (I should add that my K2 was damaged by 
 lightning static and these faults possibly spring from that time. 
 

 Maybe the headphone jack in your K2 is (a little bit) faulty. The contacts 
 for the 
 headphone works sill. But the switcher inside the jack failed. This is the 
 reason why the 
 speacker an the external speacker jack failed too.
   

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Re: [Elecraft] K2 Problems

2009-08-11 Thread Don Wilhelm
Nick,

I cannot comment on the distortion with any certainty (would need more 
information), but the sudden lack of speaker means that the little 
plastic lever inside the headphone jack has broken - replacement of the 
headphone jack is the only known cure.  If you want a 'work-around', you 
can place a jumper wire from the junction of R35 and R36 over to pin 1 
of the speaker connector (P5).  With that jumper, your speaker will be 
active all the time unless you put a blank 3.5mm plug into the external 
speaker jack.

It is doubtful that the distortion and the lack of speaker audio are 
related.

73,
Don W3FPR

Nick Henwood wrote:
 Looking for some help please. My K2 has developed some distortion on received 
 signals and without warning  the internal speaker (and the external speaker 
 jack) failed to work when turned on -- although headphones still work. I am 
 about to check out the AF amp but wondered if my symptoms ring any bells with 
 long-time K2 owners (I should add that my K2 was damaged by lightning static 
 and these faults possibly spring from that time. 
 73 Nick G3RWF
   

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Re: [Elecraft] K2 problems

2008-03-21 Thread Thomas S. Knutsen

Hello Scott.
What is the current the radio draws?
Is it possible that there might be an bad soldering or an forgotten  
one? it`s way to easy to do.


73 de Thomas LA3PNA


Den 21. mars. 2008 kl. 22.53 skrev Scott McDowell:


Hi
I am having some problems with a K2 that I am building that I need  
some help with.
During the part 2  alignment and test I discovered that the BFO  
wasn't working.
While investigating that, the frequency counter and volt meter  
stopped working.
I've been checking on the counter and volt meter and found some  
voltages that
are not right. For instance on the control board U6 microcontroler  
pin ten has 0 volts
instead of 5. Pin 18 has 4.9 volts instead of 0 volts.  Pin 24 has 0  
volts instead
of 5 volts.  Pin 25 has 5 volts instead of 0 volts. Pin 33 has 0  
volts instead of 5 volts.
Should I replace U6, or could the problem be somewhere else that is  
causing

these crazy voltages?
Also on CB U2 all the voltages are about half what they should be.
CB U7 has 0 volts on pin 5 instead of 5 volts. Pin 6 has 4.94 volts  
instead of 0 volts.
I'm not much of technition, so do I need to throw the whole mess  
away and start

over on a new one?
Thanks
Scott N5SM
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Re: [Elecraft] K2 problems

2008-03-08 Thread Don Wilhelm

Scott,

You apparently have no BFO, and the product detector will not produce 
output signals without a BFO, so the lack of audio is to be expected 
with no BFO.
To make email communications simpler, look at the RF board schematic 
sheet 2 and locate the components in the lower right corner (labeled 
BFO).  Check and re-check all those components.  If you have a separate 
set of eyes available, ask that person to examine it too - often someone 
else can spot a problem that we have overlooked many times.


Make the DC voltage checks at U11 just to be sure it has voltage to it 
in the right places.   You can also check L33 for continuity to be 
certain you have properly soldered those tiny leads to the resistor 
(actually an insulator with leads).
Be certain D36 and D37 are the right types, and are oriented correctly 
(check the parts placement diagram at the back of the manual to verify 
orientation).


Once you are convinced that all above is correct,  build up the RF probe 
from the parts provided with your K2 and measure the RF voltage at U11 
pin 6 (should be 70 mV rms or greater).


73,
Don W3FPR

[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

Hi
I'm building a K2 and had a problem with not being able to 
adjust L30, which I got corrected with Don's help. 
So all test and alignment procedures have gone as they were

supposed to up until the BFO test. I get no frequency reading
on TP2, and have no audio from the receiver. I've re-soldered
all the joints and checked all components, and there were as
they sould be.
Anyone have any ideas?
Thanks
Scott N5SM

  

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RE: [Elecraft] K2 problems

2006-12-11 Thread Don Wilhelm
Scott,

Go back to the Receive Bandpass filter alignment in the manual.

Do not attempt transmit until you have peaked the bandpass filters on
receive.  If any do not peak, stop and resolve that problem before moving
forward.  If all bands do not show a proper peak, then you have a problem in
the mixer or IF or audio stages somewhere.

You may have to resort to the Receiver Signal Tracing steps in the
Troubleshooting section of the manual.

After the receiver is working properly, then you may move on to the transmit
tests.

The most likely is that you will find your problem either in the soldering
or in a misplaced component.

73,
Don W3FPR

 -Original Message-

 Well I have K2 #5846 with all components in the enclosure, but it's
 not doing what I hoped for.

 Have been trying to align it and this is what I am getting.
 80 meters no receive or output.
 40 meters 20 watts out and no receive.
 30 meters 10 watts out and very weak receive.
 20 meters 1 watt out and no receive.
 17 meters no output and no receive.
 15 meters no output or receive.
 12 meters no output or receive.
 10 meters no output or receive.

 The output measured with a heathkit meter, which is very close to
 being accurate, but not calabrated.
 On the first power up before begining alignment I had a very weak
 recieive on 15 meters.
 The signal source for tuning it is another transceiver with output
 set to 5 watts.
 At one time I had a good receive signal on 40 meters but lost it in
 tuning the other frequencies.
 I think the problem is in the receiver, but don't know where to
 start looking. Have checked for cold solder joints several times.
 Anyone have any ideas?
 Thanks
 Scott N5SM

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RE: [Elecraft] K2 problems

2006-12-11 Thread Stan Rife
What were your results when completeing each stage of the build?
Were the alignment requirements met at each one of those stages? If they
were, then you should at least have a good receive on each band. I don't
know what would have changed so drastically that you now have no receive at
all...not to mention the transmitter.

I would probably start at the beginning and do each stage of the
realignment again, and if you come to an alignment step that does not meet
expectations, start your trouble shooting at that point.  

Stan Rife
W5EWA
Houston, TX



 -Original Message-

 Well I have K2 #5846 with all components in the enclosure, but it's 
 not doing what I hoped for.

 Have been trying to align it and this is what I am getting. 80 meters 
 no receive or output. 40 meters 20 watts out and no receive.
 30 meters 10 watts out and very weak receive.
 20 meters 1 watt out and no receive.
 17 meters no output and no receive.
 15 meters no output or receive.
 12 meters no output or receive.
 10 meters no output or receive.

 The output measured with a heathkit meter, which is very close to 
 being accurate, but not calabrated. On the first power up before 
 begining alignment I had a very weak recieive on 15 meters.
 The signal source for tuning it is another transceiver with output
 set to 5 watts.
 At one time I had a good receive signal on 40 meters but lost it in
 tuning the other frequencies.
 I think the problem is in the receiver, but don't know where to
 start looking. Have checked for cold solder joints several times.
 Anyone have any ideas?
 Thanks
 Scott N5SM

--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.15.15/581 - Release Date: 12/9/2006
3:41 PM

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