Frustrated!

[N0EHQ]

I need to vent to folks some of whom have likely faced this same problem.

After e-mails and phone calls to Elecraft I still can't get this silly K2 to work on 20 and 30 meters. It appears to work well on all the other bands however.

I can get a good signal at the2/30 meter band pass area so the problem must lie in the low pass filter area specifically the 20/30 meter LPF. I have desoldered and resoldered all the associated parts in the area, checked the parts for value and placement, removed and checked the toroids  for correct turns and continuity. There is no signal starting right from the antenna input. I have even replaced K9 and managed to mess up the board in the process. I have it fixed but it looks like a genuine POS.

I'm beginning to wonder if this K2 was a wise decision for me. I have had on a few ocassions to resist the urge to take this thing out to the shop and reduce it to a manageable size with a sledge hammer and then pitch it into the Tri-County landfill.

Thanks for listening,

Ed, N0EHQ
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[wayne burdick]

On Jan 8, 2005, at 10:24 AM, Ed Palmer wrote:

> I still can't get this silly K2 to work on 20 and 30 meters. It
> appears to work well on all the other bands however.

Hi Ed,

Having built (and designed) many kits, I can empathize with your
frustration at not being able to get part of it to work correctly.
Please don't take a hammer to it quite yet -- it's really a great rig  
;)  The fact that it's working on the other bands means you're 99%
there, and you really have successfully completed the kit.

It sounds like you've tried all of the things I would try, initially,
but here are some more recommendations:

   - The transmit mode signal-tracing procedure in Appendix E of the
manual is very easy, and very effective
     at locating where the signal is disappearing. An easy to build RF
probe is supplied with the kit.
     Chances are you can find out exactly where the signal is getting
lost -- probably the band-pass or
     low-pass filters, but without tracing, you can't be sure.

   - If you build a simple test oscillator like that shown in Appendix
E, you can inject a signal at the antenna
     jack, and trace it using the RF probe. To do this, switch to 20 or
30 meters, shut off the rig, then
     trace backwards with the RF probe starting at the antenna jack.

My guess is that you have a short on the RF board in the 20/30-meter
lowpass filter. Sometimes these shorts can be hard to find.

If all else fails, please send the rig to Gary, our customer support
engineer. He's seen just about everything, and I'm sure he can quickly
fix it for you. If it turns out that the RF board was defective, the
repair will be entirely on us.

73,
Wayne, N6KR
(principle designer of the K2)


---

http://www.elecraft.com

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