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Excellent External Speaker for K2

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Jim K4ZMV

Excellent External Speaker for K2

After replacing the phone jack on my K2, I have been searching for a really good external speaker. One that allows me to use my headphones and mute the speaker when doing so. Well, I had an old Kenwood SP-180 speaker that I had replaced a bad speaker in with a 4 ohm speaker designed for Collins. This particular equipment has audio filters and accepts a 1/4 inch stereo headphone jack. I cleaned it up and it has been in line now for over an hour. The audio filters really help with CW in QRN and smooth out really strong signals that otherwise had a harsh note as they were tuned across. P49V is on 40 meters and is about 40 over S9 and is smooth as silk. The 1/4 inch headphone jack will help, too, as that is what is on the K3 I have ordered (due in early July).

I just wanted to pass this along as one can find the old Kenwood speakers for nearly nothing online or at hamfests and they will help K2 audio.

73, Jim, K4ZMV

Gary D Krause

Re: Excellent External Speaker for K2

Hi Jim, I'm using a Kenwood SP-230 speaker with my K2. It also has
the audio filters and does a great job with the K2.

Gary, N7HTS
Jim K4ZMV wrote:

> After replacing the phone jack on my K2, I have been searching for a really
> good external speaker. One that allows me to use my headphones and mute the
> speaker when doing so. Well, I had an old Kenwood SP-180 speaker that I had
> replaced a bad speaker in with a 4 ohm speaker designed for Collins. This
> particular equipment has audio filters and accepts a 1/4 inch stereo
> headphone jack. I cleaned it up and it has been in line now for over an
> hour. The audio filters really help with CW in QRN and smooth out really
> strong signals that otherwise had a harsh note as they were tuned across.
> P49V is on 40 meters and is about 40 over S9 and is smooth as silk. The 1/4
> inch headphone jack will help, too, as that is what is on the K3 I have
> ordered (due in early July).
>
> I just wanted to pass this along as one can find the old Kenwood speakers
> for nearly nothing online or at hamfests and they will help K2 audio.
>
> 73, Jim, K4ZMV
>

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DW Holtman

Re: Excellent External Speaker for K2

Hello,

I finished my base K2 about a week ago. I installed the Noise blanker and
SSB modules, with no problems. Next I installed the DSP module. The audio
quality went to Sh**. I spent two days playing around with filter
adjustments, DSP settings to no avail. Tonight I plugged in an external
speaker. Magic!! The distortion is gone, it sounds great. For some reason I
was using a headset until I put in the DSP module.

The internal speaker on the K2 is so bad, it is almost unusable. Unless the
one I have is defective. I have been having it sit side by side with my
TR-7, wondering why I ever bought a K2. Now with a working speaker, I know
why I bought a K2. It really is a very nice receiver.

Best,
DW Holtman
WB7SSN

----- Original Message -----
From: "Gary Krause" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Monday, March 17, 2008 8:27 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Excellent External Speaker for K2

> Hi Jim, I'm using a Kenwood SP-230 speaker with my K2. It also has the
> audio filters and does a great job with the K2.
>
> Gary, N7HTS
> Jim K4ZMV wrote:
>> After replacing the phone jack on my K2, I have been searching for a
>> really
>> good external speaker. One that allows me to use my headphones and mute
>> the
>> speaker when doing so. Well, I had an old Kenwood SP-180 speaker that I
>> had
>> replaced a bad speaker in with a 4 ohm speaker designed for Collins.
>> This
>> particular equipment has audio filters and accepts a 1/4 inch stereo
>> headphone jack. I cleaned it up and it has been in line now for over an
>> hour. The audio filters really help with CW in QRN and smooth out really
>> strong signals that otherwise had a harsh note as they were tuned across.
>> P49V is on 40 meters and is about 40 over S9 and is smooth as silk. The
>> 1/4
>> inch headphone jack will help, too, as that is what is on the K3 I have
>> ordered (due in early July).
>>
>> I just wanted to pass this along as one can find the old Kenwood speakers
>> for nearly nothing online or at hamfests and they will help K2 audio.
>>
>> 73, Jim, K4ZMV
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
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DW Holtman

Re: Excellent External Speaker for K2

In reply to this post by Gary D Krause

Hello,

On Ebay, the Kenwood SP-230 speaker runs from $85.00 to $202.00, looking at
completed auctions.

Best,
DW Holtman
WB7SSN

----- Original Message -----
From: "Gary Krause" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Monday, March 17, 2008 8:27 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Excellent External Speaker for K2

Matt Patterson-9

Re: Excellent External Speaker for K2

I just use a good ol' set of amplified PC speakers. Works great for
me... Or maybe I don't realize what I'm missing since it's the only
thing I've ever used?!?!?!!?

73 Matt
W5LL
K2# 4778

DW Holtman wrote:

> Hello,
>
> On Ebay, the Kenwood SP-230 speaker runs from $85.00 to $202.00,
> looking at completed auctions.
>
> Best,
> DW Holtman
> WB7SSN
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gary Krause" <[hidden email]>
> To: <[hidden email]>
> Sent: Monday, March 17, 2008 8:27 PM
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Excellent External Speaker for K2
>
>
>> Hi Jim, I'm using a Kenwood SP-230 speaker with my K2. It also has
>> the audio filters and does a great job with the K2.
>>
>> Gary, N7HTS
>> Jim K4ZMV wrote:
>>> After replacing the phone jack on my K2, I have been searching for a
>>> really
>>> good external speaker. One that allows me to use my headphones and
>>> mute the
>>> speaker when doing so. Well, I had an old Kenwood SP-180 speaker
>>> that I had
>>> replaced a bad speaker in with a 4 ohm speaker designed for Collins.
>>> This
>>> particular equipment has audio filters and accepts a 1/4 inch stereo
>>> headphone jack. I cleaned it up and it has been in line now for
>>> over an
>>> hour. The audio filters really help with CW in QRN and smooth out
>>> really
>>> strong signals that otherwise had a harsh note as they were tuned
>>> across. P49V is on 40 meters and is about 40 over S9 and is smooth
>>> as silk. The 1/4
>>> inch headphone jack will help, too, as that is what is on the K3 I have
>>> ordered (due in early July).
>>>
>>> I just wanted to pass this along as one can find the old Kenwood
>>> speakers
>>> for nearly nothing online or at hamfests and they will help K2 audio.
>>>
>>> 73, Jim, K4ZMV
>>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Elecraft mailing list
>> Post to: [hidden email]
>> You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
>> Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
>> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
>> Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
>

Roelof Bakker

Re: Excellent External Speaker for K2

In reply to this post by Jim K4ZMV

Hi,

>> The internal speaker on the K2 is so bad, it is almost unusable.<<

I never used a speaker on CW, but my K2's internal speaker sounds so good
that it is on most of the time.
So something is probably amiss with yours!

73,
Roelof, pa0rdt

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pa0pje

Re: Excellent External Speaker for K2

Hi,

I can only agree with Roelof. All K2 internal loudspeakers I have heard
sounded great. But beware that it is not ill treated before it was fixed
to the top cover. Check that the speaker's voice coil moves freely in
the gap and that neither the rim nor the magnet has been deformed. A
stuck voice coil renders the best loudspeaker useless.

best 73,
Peter PA0PJE

Roelof Bakker schreef:

> Hi,
>
>>> The internal speaker on the K2 is so bad, it is almost unusable.<<
>
> I never used a speaker on CW, but my K2's internal speaker sounds so
> good that it is on most of the time.
> So something is probably amiss with yours!
>
> 73,
> Roelof, pa0rdt
>

Dave Andrus-3

Re: Excellent External Speaker for K2

I fully agree.

One other thing to check is to make sure that any clipped component
leads didn't somehow get attracted to the speaker's magnet, lodging on
the top or bottom of the speaker cone near the center (the voicecoil
area). You'd be surprised at what a common problem this can be for
kit builders, and can happen either during a build or later when you
open your box.

Even a single clipped component wire, stuck in the right spot (and
believe me, they all stick in the right spot!) can cause lots of
"buzzy" sound.

Also make sure that the speaker didn't get torqued down too tightly on
one or more corners, causing distortion of the cone and pulling the
voicecoil off center. This can cause horrendous sound as the
voicecoil drags against the magnet or basket.

Oh, and FWIW, I like to use an old Radio Shack "hi-fi" full-range
speaker with a 6 inch woofer and small paper cone tweeter (about a 12"
x 8" wood box). I built a simple mixer/amplifier that allows me to
mix and control audio from all the rigs in my shack to this single
speaker. The sound is much fuller when you really want good audio.
You can always narrow down the effective bandwidth in each
transceiver's audio or DSP filtering. You'd be surprised at how good
many of these cheap low-fi "hi-fi" speakers can be for great
communications audio, and the price is usually very low. I just
picked up a similar pair of Radio Shack's "Presidian" line bookshelf
stereo speakers with similar specs to mine, in black boxes, for US
$14.95 for a new pair--on closeout sale. Now I have one for me to
keep, and one to pass on to a friend!

73,

Dave K7DAA
http://www.k7daa.com

On Mar 21, 2008, at 4:02 AM, Peter PA0PJE wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I can only agree with Roelof. All K2 internal loudspeakers I have
> heard sounded great. But beware that it is not ill treated before it
> was fixed to the top cover. Check that the speaker's voice coil
> moves freely in the gap and that neither the rim nor the magnet has
> been deformed. A stuck voice coil renders the best loudspeaker
> useless.
>
> best 73,
> Peter PA0PJE
>
> Roelof Bakker schreef:
>> Hi,
>>>> The internal speaker on the K2 is so bad, it is almost unusable.<<
>> I never used a speaker on CW, but my K2's internal speaker sounds
>> so good that it is on most of the time.
>> So something is probably amiss with yours!
>> 73,
>> Roelof, pa0rdt
> _______________________________________________
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> Post to: [hidden email]
> You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
> Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
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> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
> Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com