K2 Fault History?

[Jack Chomley]

Has there been any trends over time, where the same components have failed
on a K2.  I was looking to buy some spares, in case I have a failure. At
least I would not then have to wait for parts to ship, from Elecraft. A
suggested spares list?

73,

Jack  VK4JRC
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[drewko]

Headphone jack.

73,
Drew
AF2Z


On Sat, 18 Jun 2011 21:23:01 +1000, you wrote:

>Has there been any trends over time, where the same components have failed
>on a K2.  I was looking to buy some spares, in case I have a failure. At
>least I would not then have to wait for parts to ship, from Elecraft. A
>suggested spares list?
>
>73,
>
>Jack  VK4JRC
>______________________________________________________________

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[g3ymc]

The headphone jack and the volume control must be the two most common
things that are replaced. Some people seem to blow up PA transistors
but that is not common, but keeping a new set of insulating washers is
a good idea for if you need to do any work. Other than that I suspect
there is nothing else that fits into the category.

K2 #2498 still going strong on its original components (apart from the
volume control) 30,000 QSOs later.

73 Dave G3YMC

On 18 Jun 2011 at 21:23, Jack Chomley wrote:

> Has there been any trends over time, where the same components have
> failed on a K2.  I was looking to buy some spares, in case I have a
> failure. At least I would not then have to wait for parts to ship, from
> Elecraft. A suggested spares list?
>


http://www.davesergeant.com

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[Don Wilhelm-4]

  Jack,

1N5711 diodes and the headphone jack are the two most likely failure
parts in the K2.
You might want to consider having 2N7000 transistors and a K2PAKIT on
hand as well.
Replacement firmware ICs is another possibility, but those are rather
pricey and do not normally fail unless they have been abused or static
damaged when installed.

Other parts do not just fail on their own, they need help of some kind
or another so unless you want to stock one of every component in the K2
-- that would be an unnecessary step IMHO.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 6/18/2011 7:23 AM, Jack Chomley wrote:

> Has there been any trends over time, where the same components have failed
> on a K2.  I was looking to buy some spares, in case I have a failure. At
> least I would not then have to wait for parts to ship, from Elecraft. A
> suggested spares list?
>
> 73,
>
> Jack  VK4JRC
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>

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[Bill Coleman-2]

1N5711 Schottky diodes. Those are the only thing that have failed in my 10-year-old K2/100.

On Jun 18, 2011, at 7:42 AM, drewko <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Headphone jack.
>
> 73,
> Drew
> AF2Z
>
>
> On Sat, 18 Jun 2011 21:23:01 +1000, you wrote:
>
>> Has there been any trends over time, where the same components have failed
>> on a K2.  I was looking to buy some spares, in case I have a failure. At
>> least I would not then have to wait for parts to ship, from Elecraft. A
>> suggested spares list?
>>
>> 73,
>>
>> Jack  VK4JRC
>> ______________________________________________________________
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL        Mail: [hidden email]
Web: http://boringhamradiopart.blogspot.com
Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
           -- Wilbur Wright, 1901

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[Don Wilhelm-4]

Jack,

Predicting the particular failure that you will experience is a pure SWAG.
However, the most common failure point for a basic K2 is the headphone
jack.  If you have a KPA100, then the wattmeter diodes (1N5711) is the
most common failure point - that can be minimized by connecting the K2
to a dummy load when not in use and making certain all your antenna
feedlines have a DC path across the feedline (5K to 50k resistor).
If you do have a KPA100 and the wattmeter diodes fail, it can take out
the base K2 PA transistors because the K2 firmware thinks there is no RF
output and increases the drive to the max - and that stresses the base
K2 PA transistors.

Let it be said that the really most common failure for the K2 is
soldering problems.  Parts failure is low on the list of expected
failure points.

So, my list of most commonly used parts if you want to stock up.
Headphone jack
1N5711 diodes (2 needed)
K2PAKIT

73,
Don W3FPR
>>> Has there been any trends over time, where the same components have failed
>>> on a K2.  I was looking to buy some spares, in case I have a failure. At
>>> least I would not then have to wait for parts to ship, from Elecraft. A
>>> suggested spares list?
>>>
>>> 73,
>>>
>>> Jack  VK4JRC
>>>

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