First K2 question

[NZ0T]

I just ordered mine and a question has already popped up in my fevered
brain.  Since the parts are arranged in different bags, one for each board,
does it make sense to inventory and separate parts for each board?  In other
words, inventory and separate the control board parts and then finish the
board.  Once done, then proceed to an inventory/separation/finish of the
front panel board and then so on.  It seems to me it would cut down on
clutter from parts that are not yet needed and create more usable space on
my workdesk.


_______________________________________________
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

[Tom McCulloch]

Hi Bill,
  I won't presume to speak for the Elecraft guys, but they are very good and
sending any parts that might be missing, and very quick about it too, I
might add.  With that said, it would probably be best to only open the bags
as you need them, to avoid mixing the parts up.  If a part is missing in a
later bag, you can generally work around it (not always though), but even if
you can't they'll have the part to you in a week at the outside.

If I remember correctly the resistors are taped together in the order they
are installed (not sure about that, though).

Have fun and keep us posted (what's your serial number?)

Tom
WB2QDG
K2 #1103


----------------------------------------------

Teamwork is a lot of people doing what I say.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Carpenter" <[hidden email]>
To: "elecraft list" <[hidden email]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 15, 2006 10:21 PM
Subject: [Elecraft] First K2 question

>I just ordered mine and a question has already popped up in my fevered
>brain.  Since the parts are arranged in different bags, one for each board,
>does it make sense to inventory and separate parts for each board?  In
>other words, inventory and separate the control board parts and then finish
>the board.  Once done, then proceed to an inventory/separation/finish of
>the front panel board and then so on.  It seems to me it would cut down on
>clutter from parts that are not yet needed and create more usable space on
>my workdesk.
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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 

_______________________________________________
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

[Terry W9TRB]

Bill Carpenter wrote:
> I just ordered mine and a question has already popped up in my fevered
> brain.  Since the parts are arranged in different bags, one for each
> board, does it make sense ...

snip

Hello Bill,

        When I was doing mine my wife remembered how disorganized I was with
the OHR Kits and the K-1. So, she went shopping and came home with three
plastic boxes with separators that could be re-positioned inside the
larger boxes so as to make trays of various sizes.  This helped with the
inventory, immensely.
        However you decide to do it, the important thing is to get organized in
a way that you will follow through with, at least that is my opinion.
But the inventory should not be skipped because if your eyes are as iffy
as mine, some of the parts are amazingly similar and it helps to sort
out and double check those tiny numbers also,  before any solder flows.

        Whatever you do, take your time and enjoy the build...

73,

Terry W9TRB   East Central Illinois

_______________________________________________
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

[Don Wilhelm-3]

Bill,

There is one bag for the Control Board - open it and do the inventory - you
will have to dip into the Hardware bag for a couple screws while doing the
control board assembly, so your choice is either to inventory the hardware
bag first or keep track of the parts used from it.
Assemble the Control Board.

If you have not done it already, inventory the hardware bag.

The front panel is similar, inventory the Front Panel bag just before doing
the front panel.  The standoffs come in the hardware bag and the Serial
Number packet contains the plastic parts.  The screws are in the hardware
bag. Aseemble the Front Panel.

When you get to the RF board, there are 2 bags to inventory - RFa and RFb.
I have not yet figured out exactly what the rationale is for separating the
capacitors into the two bags, so you can plan on inventoring both together.
Assemble the RF Board.  There are really 3 steps to the RF board assembly.
Do everything in the order spelled out in the manual and all should be
well - do not skip about in the instructions until you have assembled
several K2s and the process begins to make sense.

Following the steps in the manual in order will yield you a fine functioning
K2.

73,
Don W3FPR

> -----Original Message-----
>
> I just ordered mine and a question has already popped up in my fevered
> brain.  Since the parts are arranged in different bags, one for
> each board,
> does it make sense to inventory and separate parts for each
> board?  In other
> words, inventory and separate the control board parts and then finish the
> board.  Once done, then proceed to an inventory/separation/finish of the
> front panel board and then so on.  It seems to me it would cut down on
> clutter from parts that are not yet needed and create more usable
> space on
> my workdesk.
>
>

_______________________________________________
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

[Tom Hammond-3]

Hi Bill:

>I just ordered mine and a question has already popped up in my
>fevered brain.  Since the parts are arranged in different bags, one
>for each board, does it make sense to inventory and separate parts
>for each board?  In other words, inventory and separate the control
>board parts and then finish the board.  Once done, then proceed to
>an inventory/separation/finish of the front panel board and then so
>on.  It seems to me it would cut down on clutter from parts that are
>not yet needed and create more usable space on my workdesk.

For the K2, many, if not all of the resistors will come on a reel, in
the order to be used. This cuts down on the inventory pretty significantly.

Were it me, I'd perform an inventory of ALL components  of the K2
BEFORE beginning assembly. This way, should anything be missing, you
can request a replacement and still have it in time for timely
installation. Elecraft is usually good to respond within 24 hours of
receipt of your request.

The inventory can be performed on a per-bag basis, so you don't get
things mixed up and possibly out of order.

73,

Tom Hammond   N0SS

_______________________________________________
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

[Vic K2VCO]

Tom Hammond wrote:

> Were it me, I'd perform an inventory of ALL components  of the K2 BEFORE
> beginning assembly. This way, should anything be missing, you can
> request a replacement and still have it in time for timely installation.
> Elecraft is usually good to respond within 24 hours of receipt of your
> request.

This comes up regularly, but for the benefit of the new builders, it's
worth repeating.  I agree with Tom but would also add that the process
of looking at the parts and deciding which is which during the inventory
makes it much less likely that you will install the wrong part later.

And the time spent inventorying will be mostly made up when you don't
need to search for a part during construction.  Having everything easily
accessible makes the building flow more smoothly, too.
--
73,
Vic, K2VCO
Fresno CA
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco
_______________________________________________
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

[Doug Faunt N6TQS [phone]]

I didn't do an inventory as such, but I found it useful to sort the
capacitors by value and type, which made actual assembly much less
hassle.

I used a big flat chunk of conductive foam left over from my HP days,
and inserted the leads.

73, doug
_______________________________________________
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

[Mike Harris-9]

G'day,

Life is too short for all this inventory paranoia.  I just read the
manuals right through, identify the unusual looking bits in the parts
list pictures, sort the caps into paper bun cases 102, 103, etc and
get on with it, installing and soldering one piece at a time, checking
for correct component, location, orientation and the subsequent joints
with a magnifier and ticking the action off in the manual.

No problems with K2 #1400, KAT2, KNB2, KSB2(x2), K60XV, KDSP2, KAF2,
KIO2, K160RX, KPA100, KAT100, wound my own toroids, don't have a
solder pot, no fancy desoldering kit just a hand operated solder
sucker, no static problems.  I could go on.  Sometimes this kit making
is turned into too big a deal.

FOLLOW THE MANUAL TO LITERAL THE WORD.  If you find a gap for R6 and
the manual hasn't told you to install it yet then it shouldn't be
installed until told to.  Don't try to out guess things.  The folks
who sorted the manuals did a great job.

Now back to sleep.

Regards,

Mike VP8NO


_______________________________________________
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

[Darwin, Keith]

 
I didn't inventory my K2, just built it.  Then I hit the stage of
installing caps into the RF board.  Lots of caps.  I spread them out on
the bench, sorted into groups and made sure I could ID each one.  That
was very useful so I could make sure I had the right ones.  Once that
was done I went back to my non-inventoried ways.

Rig works great.

- Keith KD1E -
- K2 5411 -
_______________________________________________
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

[w6jd]

And, actually, a lot of fun.

Doug
W6JD

-------------- Original message --------------
From: Vic K2VCO <[hidden email]>

> Fred (FL) wrote:
>
> > 1. Buy the Mr. TOROID Guy's toroid set, for your
> > Elecraft kit. He does a much better job of building
> > these critical L parts, than we will probably do.
> > I felt this was the single most important decision I
> > did - when I built K2 # 5422. If one is the least
> > tired, or rushed - and trys to wind an important L
> > toroid - good luck! Screwing just 1 up - will cause
> > you all sorts of troubleshooting time. And mis-wound
> > toroids may give you a K2 that may never really stack
> > up among the best performers.
>
> Well...Mr Toroid Guy does a good job and his toroids are very neat. But
> this makes it sound like winding them requires special skill or is very
> critical. Not so! Just remember that each pass through the hole is one
> turn, try to space the windings as explained in the instructions, and
> strip the leads properly.
>
> Even if they don't come out as neat as they might, they will work fine
> if you follow the instructions. This is absolutely not rocket science
> or voodoo, and not too hard either!
> --
> 73,
> Vic, K2VCO
> Fresno CA
> http://www.qsl.net/k2vco 
> _______________________________________________
> 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 

_______________________________________________
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