+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 09:51:09 -0600 From: "Timothy A. Raymer" Subject: [Elecraft] 160m RX board notes Fellow Elecrafters, I wanted to offer a recommendation about the 160M module after completing it. I adapted a technique one of our fellow "listees" recommended for T2 on the RF board. I used thin double sided foam tape to aid in the mounting of the two torroids on the 160M board. These are the only torroidal chokes that mount in the manner these do: All of the ones similiar to these on the main RF board are end mounted. You do need to be cautious as to use thin foam tape. If it is too thick, you could have a short to the ATU. So far, it has worked out good. Another alternative may be some hot glue on the end opposite of the soldered connections. I have not tried that yet. Hope this helps. Tim Raymer 73 de KA0OUV ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Date: Mon, 3 Jul 2000 15:45:48 -0700 From: gsurrency at juno.com Subject: Re: [[Elecraft] Low power indication on 160meters] This is still true. In recent kits, we have increased the size of C153 from 39pF to 68pF to improve the TX drive on 160m. R4 is also left out, since it was originally used to swamp the Q of the 160/80m band-pass filters to make them more broad on 160m. This also reduced drive a little bit, so we decided to leave R4 out and tune the 160m BPF at 1850kHz. The bandwidth is still great enough to permit full output across most of the 160m band, with just a little dropoff in output at the edges. Now don't everyone go out and make these changes if your 160m output is already satisfactory. Some kits were on the edge of the minimum drive needed on 160m, and these changes help prevent that possibilty. If C153 becomes too large, it reduces the carrier suppression due to more IF leak-thru, especially on 40m. 68pF was found to be a good compromise between sufficient drive and excessive IF leakage. In all of the kits I've repaired that had 160m adapters, they all were able to achieve 12-15 watts. Remember to align the 160/80m BPF at 1850kHz, using the least RF output that allows a good meter indication. I always use less than 1 watt of RF output when I do this. Adequate DC input voltage is also a factor for best TX efficiency, so use 13.8 to 14.4 volts for best results. And if you've wound T4 for the 5 watt level - don't expect to get 10-15 watts RF output on any band, especially 160m. If the RF output on 80 is good, then you must have a problem in the 160m BPF or 160m LPF sections. Go back and check the component values and toroid for correct type (and dare I say it?): Poorly Tinned Toroid Leads!!! :-) Some variation in TX output is to be expected between rigs, with different RF transistors, construction, and alignments. At 1800kHz and 28MHz, the TX strip begins to drop off a little due to transistor performance and design efforts to keep the TX strip stable. Hope this info helps. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Murphy Chesney wrote: > > Paul Erickson wrote: > I just tried my K2 for the first time on 160meters, and when I try > to tune up, I get a low power indication. and after the tuner is > done, the power indicator does not deflect at all. > > Anyone else run into this? All the other bands are fine. > -- > cheers, Paul - VA7NT (ex VE7CQK) - email: paule at sfu.ca > > Paul, there was a discussion on the reflector May 20 2000 from Gary Surrency > regarding "Question about R4" where the issue of low power on 160m came up. > Per Gary "I've found in several rigs that merely increasing C153 from 39pF to > 68-100pF is sufficient to bring up a low 160m TX output, even with R4 > installed... In difficult cases, R4 may still need to be removed, but be sure > BPF is well aligned first at about 1850kHz" ... I'm sure Gary will respond > individually when his e-mail gets caught up but this may give you something to > play with until then. Good luck my friend - Sandy/KB3EOF > Hi Sandy, Thanks for the reply. I suspect that my BPF is not aligned correctly, because the reciever noise on 160 is significantly less than it is on 80meters. Guess I missed something. - -- cheers, Paul - VA7NT (ex VE7CQK) - email: paule at sfu.ca +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2001 09:05:59 +0100 From: bejones at hursley.ibm.com Subject: [Elecraft] Improved 10m output ..(Also 160) .... Also solved another problem. Been having low (1.5W) output on 160m but never bothered because I don't use this band. Discovered I'd forgotten to trim the leads from one of the coils and they had bent back touching each other and shorting. I suppose it proves I tin them well :-). Getting about 5.5W out on my meter but since it's not calibrated below 3.5 Mhz I may well be getting much more - must find a better meter. Bagged another 9 DXCC in the contest including ZD8 and OA Brian G0UKB K2 #1115 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2001 08:40:23 -0700 From: Eric Swartz WA6HHQ - Elecraft Subject: Re: [Elecraft] 160 vs 80 Alignment This is normal. L3 and L4 are shared between 80M and 160M. 73, Eric WA6HHQ Charles Bland wrote: > > I just installed my 160 module. I notice I am getting alignment peaks on 80M > and 160M with L3 and L4. > > Is this expected? It doesn't seem right to me. > > Chuck > #1924 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2001 17:58:54 -0500 From: "David A. Belsley" Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K2 and 160 m Pierre: Did you make the modification to C153 on the RF board as suggested in the errata for the 160 meter module? If you get low output on 160 (less than 10 watts), Elecraft suggests you increase the size of C153 on the RF board (which is normally 39pf) to 68pf. best wishes, dave belsley, w1euy - --On Sunday, November 18, 2001 9:10 PM +0000 Pierre Fillinger wrote: > My K2 has a power output of 12-15 Watts on all bands, except on 160m. > On 160 m, I am able to get # 2 Watts, and then I have the Hi Cur > 3.0 > amps > message. > I am using a 20 A, 14 Volts stable power supply. I noticed, on the > display mode of the K2, that on 160 m the Volts/amps are not stable on > 160 m. > I looked for poorly tinned toroids. I do not think it is the case. > > Any idea what to look for ? > > Pierre de F5MOG +++++++++++++++++++++++++ Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2001 17:09:46 +0100 From: Ulrich.Schmiech at t-online.de (Ulrich Schmiech) Subject: Re: [Elecraft] VFO Linearization Problem Hi Don, I've had the same problem. I wrote to elecraft and this is the answer from Gary: "CAL PLL is NOT RUN on any other band than 40m with the version 2 MCU firmware. See items #9 and #10 of the attached errata sheet. This is true even if the 160m adapter is installed, regardless of what its instructions may say. We will have to update the K160RX manual to reflect the new firmware change to CAL PLL." In easy words: The CALL PLL is o n l y running on 40m and n o t on other bands with the version 2 MCU firmware! Have fun with your K2. 73, Uli DK2LS K2 # 2235 DSJKALLEN at aol.com schrieb: > > Hi gang, > > I am building a K2 for for a friend, and am now beginning the final stages of > alignment, specifically VFO Linearization on page 73. The 40m VFO > Linearization was successful (page 60), however, I am noting a problem with > all other bands. On all other bands after a few seconds of counter readings, > I receive an "INFO 232" error message. This error message is not listed in > the Troubleshooting Section of the manual. Error message INFO 231 is "VCO > not connected to freq counter." The freq counter is connected to TP1 as > specified. And, INFO 235 is "PLL reference oscillator range error." Neither > of these seem applicable. > > Any ideas on what the INFO 232 error message implies, and what may be wrong? > The PLL osc range is within spec, as is the VCO voltage range. > > Tnx, > Don Allen W9CW +++++++++++++++++++++ Date: Wed, 02 Jan 2002 14:39:01 -0600 To: "Timothy A. Raymer" , Dave Benham , elecraft at mailman.qth.net From: Tom Hammond =?iso-8859-1?Q?N=D8SS?= Subject: Re: [Elecraft] 160M low sensitivity problem? Dave: I no longer have PC boards available for the noise source, BUT it's apple-pie simple to build using just about ANY assembly technique you might wish to use... excluding dropping blobs of solder from a height of 6', that is! For an idea of a possible building format, take a gander at how N0RC built his using Manhattan-style construction: http://www.radioactivehams.com/~n0rc/noise_gen/noise_gen.html Note the the component values are pretty flexible... esp. the zener diode... anything between 5.2Vz and 6.8Vz should work great. If you might have any questions, just shout? 73 - Tom Hammond N0SS At 11:01 AM 1/2/02, Timothy A. Raymer wrote: >Dave, > >A broad band noise generator may be the best thing to give you a >quantifiable amount of noise to judge against. Tom, N0SS, has constructed >one that the Arizona Scorpions had as a kit for a while. I think they ran >out, but Tom may have boards or documentation available. > >That will give you a source of noise that is uniform in terms of strength >across a wide range of frequencies, and will allow you to do more accurate >comparisons. > >Tim Raymer >73 de KA0OUV >At 15:14 12/31/2001 -0500, David A. Belsley wrote: >>Dave: >> I guess there is a bit of difference in the noise between 80 and 160 ... > > > >>I've been playing around re-aligning my K2 after adding the version 2 >>>upgrade tonight [2 nights ago, now]. Using Spectrogram, I noticed >>>something I've suspected with the 160M module I added quite a while back. >>>(I haven't operated any 160 with the K2, yet). If I have no antenna on >>>the K2, and am receiving just noise on 80M, and set the peak of the >>>waveform to -40db, then switch to 160M, the waveform drops at least 5 db >>>on the Spectrogram screen (preamp on in both cases) -- this drop is quite >>>noticeable to the ear. Is this normal? > > > >Timothy A. Raymer >Missouri Department of Health >and Senior Services ++++++++++++++ Date: Sat, 05 Jan 2002 15:53:21 -0800 From: Paul Erickson To: Elecraft Reflector Subject: [Elecraft] [Fwd: K2 Serial # 654] - Q18 problem I finally got around to troubleshooting my K2's 160 meter problem, and discovered that Q18 (J310) appears to be temperature/frequency sensitive. When I first fire up the rig from being cold, that received signal on 160 is fine, but after a while it begins to fade. Touching it with my finger, or spraying it with cold spray brings the audio back up. As you can see below, another local ham (VA7DB) is having a similar problem. Also, if you tune higher in frequency, or switch to a higher band, the audio comes back. Has anyone else encountered this? Elecraft is sending me a couple of replacements, but Dave and I are wondering what would cause the jfet to go bad, in his case. In mine, the problem has been there from the get go. Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated. -- cheers, Paul - VA7NT (ex VE7CQK) - email: paule at sfu.ca "Those who hear not the music, think the dancers mad..." Hi Paul, Well, the problem on my K2 is that the 160 module was when installed approx a year ago working well, as I have no antenna for that band I haven't used it. Current symptoms are as follows: 1/ No receive signal when antenna connected to ant1 or ant 2 regardless of setting on front panel, however when antenna connected to RX only jack there is good receive signal. 2/ After some few moments the rx signal level drops to zero (even on the rx only ant jack) Touching Q18 effects the signal, IE, if one cools Q18 the signal levels return to normal if one warms it, they drop immediately to zero, the soldering is good and the transistor appears to be microphonic. I would suspect the transistor being faulty but as your rig exhibited exactly similar results I'm thinking it may be systemic or possibly a bad batch of JFET's (J310)?? I have checked and re-seated all connectors and found the SSB board long connector strip to be oxidized a tad causing weird intermittent microphonic and other audio filter effects, a few iterations of plugging in and out again cured this problem. The receive signal is still dead on the ant1 or ant2 jacks and still appears temperature /frequency sensitive on Q18 on 160 mtr band only, I'd be interested to see if any other rigs on the Elecraft reflector of similar vintage have exhibited similar problems. As a point of interest the 160 mtr transmit signal is fine and has had C153 value changed to 68pf and R4 removed. Dave VA7DB (Ex VE7PCC) ++++++++++++++++++ Date: Sun, 06 Jan 2002 07:09:22 -0800 From: Vic Rosenthal Organization: Transparent Software To: Elecraft Subject: Re: [Elecraft] [Fwd: K2 Serial # 654] - Q18 problem] Paul Erickson wrote: > > Elecraft is sending me a couple of replacements, but Dave and I are > wondering what would cause the jfet > to go bad, in his case. In mine, the problem has been there from the get go. FET's are traditionally sensitive to static electricity. I bet the humidity (indoors) there is quite low in the winter with the heat on! 73, Vic, K2VCO Fresno CA +++++++++++++++++ Date: Mon, 07 Jan 2002 15:55:50 -0800 From: Phil Wheeler Organization: Outstanding To: steven.e.huss at exgate.tek.com CC: elecraft at mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K2 with high current warning on transmit That sounds similar to what happened when I left a component out of the driver stage. But, since that was quite a while back (S/N 380), I do not recall the details. But I'd definitely look in both the driver and PA stages. Since it later happens almost immediately, see if there is a component (e.g., transistor) getting really hot. 73, Phil steven.e.huss at exgate.tek.com wrote: > > Hello All, > > Helping a friend with his K2. It has only the 160M option. Receives great on > all bands. > > When doing a tune with 2 watts into a dummy load, current draw is normal and > then gradually increases to its current limit. It then oscillates on and off > after that until I take it out of tune mode. The initial gradual current > draw from normal 2 watt requirement to ~2.5 amps takes 10-15 seconds. > Subsequent tunes with 2 watts selected can begin oscillation almost > immediately. Turning the K2 off and on again will bring back the initial > 10-15 second rise in current. Anyone experience similar problems in the > past? Resistor values check out OK in the troubleshooting 155 area of the > manual. +++++++++++++++++++ To: kr5e at swbell.net, elecraft at mailman.qth.net Date: Fri, 5 Jul 2002 23:22:31 -0700 Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K2 #2720 From: k6se at juno.com Calvin, KR5E wrote: The last option I installed was the 160 board. The simplest and least parts count of any of the options. Well this one got me. There is no receive and trying to transmit with 2 Watts only gives High Current warning. It will switch to the receive antenna and it works on all bands except 160. I have been back over each step many times and I hope someone can give me a suggestion. Could it be relay K1 is defective?? Thanks for any help. Calvin KR5E ========== The only things I can think of are -- Did you do the installation steps on the bottom of pages 5 and 6 of the 160 manual? (i.e., things to do on the RF board -- removal of jumper W1, change C68 from 4.7 pF to 10 pF, change C153 from 39 pF to 68 pF, install a 470 pF at C75, install a 1200 pF at C13, and install a 1200 pF at C14. You can easily check if relay K1 on the 160m board is working. All relays are latching relays, which means they'll stay in the last state they are in even when you turn the power off. While powered up, BAND+ or BAND- until the VFO display shows you are on 160m. Then power down and use an ohmmeter to verify zero ohms between pins 7 & 8 of K1 and zero ohms between pins 3 & 4 of K1. If you want to verify the other relay position, power up and switch to any band other than 160m, then power down and ensure zero ohms from pins 3 & 8 of K1 to ground. You might also check K3 on the RF board closely, which switches in C13 & C14 when the 160m band is selected. Relay K13 on the RF board also comes into play on 160m (C75). 73, de Earl, K6SE +++++++++++++++++++ From: Unifiedtx at aol.com Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 00:17:06 EDT To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net Subject: [Elecraft] KPA100 Snug Fit to K2 With 160 Board I have found that the KPA100 does not fit snugly on the back side because the middle screw on the backside of the KPA100 shield touches the 160 meter relay. Eliminating the lockwasher on that screw will let the KPA100 fit as it should. This may be a problem only I had, but I thought I would mention it. Roy Morris W4WFB K2 #2225 +++++++++++++++++ From: WA9GQT at aol.com Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 00:13:03 EST To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net Subject: [Elecraft] Re:K160M & QSK Hi John! John wrote: I downloaded the K160M manual and read it, but couldn't find an answer to my question... Does the K2 still have full break-in capability when using the 2nd RX port for receive? I live in a very high QRN neighborhood (S7-S9) and am considering trying a separate low-noise receive antenna Yes, John, I work QSK with separate receive antenna on my K2 - Works great! Have fun. 73, Rod WA9GQT K2 #1900 ++++++++++++++++++ From: "Thomas Martin" To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net Date: Fri, 27 Dec 2002 17:24:52 +0100 Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K2 Alignm.&Test, Part I, unexpected display of 160m band -- PROBLEM SOLVED Cc: support at elecraft.com Hello, finally I found an error I made which was responsible for the false 160m band display during Test and Alignment, Part I of K2 S/N 3105. I installed R65 (10 kOhm) at the location of R63. R65 (...well if present) pulls the 160RY signal at J14 (Pin 16) to 6V. Looking to the schematic of the K160RX option this signal is fed back from K160RX to the RF Board as 160RY (Pin 16). Taking into account only signal 160RY [and assuming RXRY or RY COM to be 0V] the voltage at 160RY will be about 0V if (...as in my case) R65 is not present or if R65 is present and the K160RX option is installed (there is a voltage divider consisting of R65 and the two coils [in series] of relays K1, 2 on the option board and the signal at the junction of R65 and the two coils is 160RY). So it's not "astonishing" that the I/O controller decided that the option was present. Installing R65 at the correct location solved the problem. Thanks to all members of the elecraft e-mail list who responded to my question. Now back to Assembly of RF Board, Part II. 73 Thomas, DF7TV -- Thomas Martin, Stuttgart, Germany http://www.qsl.net/df7tv ++++++++++++++++ From: "Gregg R. Lengling" To: "Chris Waldrup" , Subject: Re: [Elecraft] 160 meter option board trouble Date: Sun, 29 Dec 2002 21:15:31 -0600 That is a misdirection in the manual....VFO linearization is only done on 40 meters. Gregg R. Lengling, W9DHI PSYCHOLOGY: The science of inventing words for things that do not exist. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chris Waldrup" To: Sent: Sunday, December 29, 2002 8:58 PM Subject: [Elecraft] 160 meter option board trouble I got the 160 meter/2nd antenna board for Christmas and have just installed it in my K2. While beginning the alignment, I did just as the instructions said and set the VFO for 1800.10 khz and connected the frequency counter probe to the correct test point. Upon initiation of the VFO linearization, the unit immediately switched to 40 meters and gave me message 232. I see from the main manual appendix E that 232 indicates that 40 meters is not selected, but I had the unit set to 160 meters as the instructions said? Is anyone familiar with this error? -- snip -- Thanks. Chris Waldrup KD4PBJ +++++++++++++++++++ From: "Jerry T Dowell" To: Date: Sun, 26 Jan 2003 14:26:11 -0800 Subject: [Elecraft] Mojo Not all the mojo seems to seep away from the K2 when converted to K2/100. Despite having only a couple of hours total for operating the CQ 160M contest, I worked all the states I heard (38) plus some VE provinces, ZF, PJ2, FM, DU. All with 100W and a modest, all-band antenna. The big thrill was breaking a pileup to work DU9/N0NM ! The K2 does a great job on 160M! 73, Jerry AI6L +++++++++++++++++++++ Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2003 10:22:34 -0800 From: Wayne Burdick Organization: Elecraft To: Torsten Clay Cc: elecraft at mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] 2nd RX antenna switching Torsten, 1-button switching of RXANT and some other functions which can be assigned to PF1/PF2 is on the firmware wish-list. I can't say when it will be added, but I do plan to add it at some point. Meanwhile, one way to do it with one keypress would be to send the appropriate RS232 command string from a PC. 73, Wayne Torsten Clay wrote: > > Is it possible to make the 2nd RX option switched by a SINGLE button > press? > > 1) is it possible (in principle) with a firmware change? > > 2) How about this: re-route the relay line for the ANT1/2 function to > the 2nd RX relay, and somehow fool the K2 into thinking the antenna > tuner option is installed? > > 3) Could I buy the internal AT option, give up the 2-antenna switching > and reroute the ANT1/2 relay line to activate the RX antenna relay? > (needs to work with KPA100 installed) > > I've loved using my K2 (finished in January) on 80/160, but switching > back and forth between the TX antenna (inverted L) and RX antenna > (beverage) is VERY cumbersome, (3 button presses) especially for use > in a contest situation. > > Torsten > N4OGW +++++++++++++++++++ From: "Don Wilhelm" To: "Jason Lehmann" , Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K160RX Question Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2003 21:07:29 -0500 Jason, Tuning across the entire 160 meter band is a lot of coverage (over 10% {delta f}/ f), so you can expect some fall-off in a bandpass circuit. One likely could tweek the inductors in the bandpass filter or modify the value of the capacitors used for 160 and get it closer to the portion of the band that you prefer. Also, be aware that the tuning of the bandpass filter is a compromise between 80 and 160 meters (the same inductor settings are used for both), so you may have to sacrifice output on one band to peak it on the other - I think the best solution is to set the bandpass to a compromise adjustment so you have the full rated output on both 80 and 160 meters (10 watts, but not necessarily 12 or 15 watts). 73, Don W3FPR ----- Original Message ----- I've just installed the 160m module and I have a question. Everything went well during the tests but I noticed a reduction of random noise at the lower end of the band. If I had to guess, the noise seemed maximum between 1900KHz and 2100KHz. I believe the pass band is not quite correct for 160 but I don't know what to do to fix it. Is this normal? If not, does anyone have any thoughts on how to fix it? +++++++++++++++++++ Reply-To: From: "Sverre Holm - LA3ZA" To: Date: Sun, 20 Apr 2003 23:49:36 +0200 Subject: [Elecraft] K2 - 160m VCO control voltage I wanted to check the VCO voltage range tonight and took the cover off of my K2. Since there have been reports of chirpy CW, in particular on 40m, with too high VCO voltage, I wanted to lower it so that the maximum voltage was 5-6 Volts and not the previously recommended 7.5 Volts (http://www.qsl.net/ve3mcf/elecraft_reflect/K2_40M_Chirp.txt). I got all my voltages into the range recommended in the note from Gary Surrency after I removed C70 (4.7p) as recommended by G3VMW, and also increased the distance between the turns on the VCO inductor, T5. Then I happened to check values for 160m and found 0.88 V at 1800 kHz and 2.36 V at 2000 kHz. This was way below the recommended 1.5 Volts. I am not sure what problems this could cause, but in parts of the 160 m band, there was a slight chirp. My problem was solved with an additional 33 pF in parallel to the 160m VCO capacitor, C75 (470 pF). This changed the voltages to 2.35 and 5.63 Volts. If C75 has a tolerance of 5%, i.e. +/-25 pF, this could be enough too cause this problem. I cannot remember that the 160m option manual specified measurement of VCO voltage, but maybe it should? 73 Sverre, LA3ZA Sverre Holm ------------------ www.qsl.net/la3za ++++++++++++++++++ From: "Roy Vickers" To: Date: Thu, 29 May 2003 06:40:21 -0500 Subject: [Elecraft] 160 mtr problem fixed I installed 2200 pf caps instead of 1200 pf caps at C13 & C14. Works great now, plenty of power. Thanks to all who helped. K2 and all the options are now working so on to the KAT100. Roy KF5YU +++++++++++++++++ From: "Lyle Johnson" To: Subject: RE: [Elecraft] RTC Hash on 160 Meters Date: Sat, 31 May 2003 20:48:41 -0700 Hello Roy! > With the KDSP2 in Primary Menu on the 160 meter band I can hear the RTC > counting the seconds in hash. ...Tap DISPLAY and it goes away. Is > this normal? Yes, it is normal. There are a number of frequencies where this appears. This is explained in the manual, second note on page 27. It is a result of auxbus traffic occurring at about once per second. Normally, during an auxbus transaction, the audio in the K2 is muted. But the RTC mode intentionally does not mute the audio, and any time the KDSP2 is using the display, this will occur. The KAF2 does the same thing. 73, Lyle KK7P +++++++++++++++++