K1 Noise Blanker version diffs?

[Mike Geddes]

I am the proud builder/owner/operator of K1/4 #2319. Had it fired up and on the air this past weekend.  Great little rig.  I was building the K1NB board tonight, and noticed the manual has directions for Rev C and Rev D.  The instructions for Rev C include installing a cap in a mis-named location (there are 2 C6's on the board), omitting a C8, and other differences vs. Rev D.  My questions are these:

1. Since my K1 and accessories (including K1NB) are a recent purchase, should I not have received the "latest" rev, which appears to be D?

2. In my experience, later revisions are based on experiences with earlier versions, and are thus improved. Is Rev D a better design / performer than Rev C?

3. If there is a Rev D, why do they even ship Rev C versions?  To get rid of old stock?

For a recent purchase, it just seems a little odd to be building an older version of the board than the latest available.  Kind of like buying an older version of a software program when a newer is already released.

Any insight or answers to the above questions?

Thanks and 73,

James
N4JX

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[Don Wilhelm-3]

James,

The KNB1 electrical design has not changed between board revisions C and D -
only the board silkscreening and perhaps a few minor PC traces would have
changed.  The board changes have addressed the C6, C8 situation - otherwise
they should be electrically the same (compare the schematics).

Yes, Elecraft is on a budget (are not we all?), and for minor changes like
this, the old board stock would be used up.  If there were a major change or
the previous board trace patterns incorrect, the older run would be scrapped
and the new board sent with each new kit.

If you are unhappy with the board you have in hand, you may want to contact
the folks at Elecraft to see if there is some kind of action available that
would satisfy you.

73,
Don W3FPR

> -----Original Message-----
>
> I am the proud builder/owner/operator of K1/4 #2319. Had it fired
> up and on the air this past weekend.  Great little rig.  I was
> building the K1NB board tonight, and noticed the manual has
> directions for Rev C and Rev D.  The instructions for Rev C
> include installing a cap in a mis-named location (there are 2
> C6's on the board), omitting a C8, and other differences vs. Rev
> D.  My questions are these:
>
> 1. Since my K1 and accessories (including K1NB) are a recent
> purchase, should I not have received the "latest" rev, which
> appears to be D?
>
> 2. In my experience, later revisions are based on experiences
> with earlier versions, and are thus improved. Is Rev D a better
> design / performer than Rev C?
>
> 3. If there is a Rev D, why do they even ship Rev C versions?  To
> get rid of old stock?
>
> For a recent purchase, it just seems a little odd to be building
> an older version of the board than the latest available.  Kind of
> like buying an older version of a software program when a newer
> is already released.
>
> Any insight or answers to the above questions?
>
> Thanks and 73,
>
> James
> N4JX
>
> _______________________________________________
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[Mike Geddes]

Thanks Don. You have answered my main question which regarded performance. I
am not unhappy at all with the NB if it performs the same as the latest
version. Was just curious about the Rev differences. I guess Rev D then just
corrects some issues with the C board labeling, and possibly a more
efficient use of components?  It was changed for some reasons, otherwise
there would not be a D version.  Thanks again for your response and your
contributions to this forum.

>
> If you are unhappy with the board you have in hand, you may want to
> contact
> the folks at Elecraft to see if there is some kind of action available
> that
> would satisfy you.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>

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[Mike Morrow-3]

James wrote:

>...noticed the manual has directions for Rev C and Rev D.
>...should I not have received the "latest" rev, which
>appears to be D?

Don wrote:

>The KNB1 electrical design has not changed between board revisions C and D

It's much simpler than that.  There has **NEVER** been a revision D PCB for the KNB1.  The text in the KNB1 manual has mentioned the revision D PCB since the first KNB1 was sold 6.5 years ago, but no one has a KNB1 with a rev. D PCB.

Elecraft in this and a few other of their kit manuals has sometimes referred to later revisions that don't currently exist, but that **may** be issued sometime in the future.  For the KNB1, that future has not and likely never will arrive, since there is really no substantive reason for revision.

The history of the KNB1 has shown that the most important post-production circuit change is the addition of C14, the 0.01 uF cap between pins 1 and 8 of U1, as detailed in the KNB1 manual errata sheet.  If you forget C14, the KNB1 can generate some gosh-aweful racket on certain frequencies in the 20m band as the K1 shifts between transmit and receive.

Mike / KK5F

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[Mike Geddes]

Interesting Mike.  Thanks for sharing. Now I don't feel like I am missing out on anything!

73,
James
N4JX

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

:It's much simpler than that.  There has **NEVER** been a revision D PCB for the
:KNB1.  The text in the KNB1 manual has mentioned the revision D PCB since the
:first KNB1 was sold 6.5 years ago, but no one has a KNB1 with a rev. D PCB.
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