K2 Power ouput on 160m

[Bill W4ZV]

Thanks to Don KI4D I finally got an N0SS T-R Relay kit for my K2.  In checking it out with my Alpha 76PA I got ~400 Watts on 160 and ~600 Watts on 80.  I tried adjusting L3 & L4 to optimize 160 but cannot seem to get more than 10+ Watts from the K2 even when driving the amp via the KAT2.  

1.  Is 10+ Watts on 160 and ~15 Watts on 80 about normal for the K2?
2.  Is there any way to increase power on 160 other than peaking L3 & L4?

73,  Bill  W4ZV

[Don Wilhelm-4]

Bill,

Normally there is greater than 12 watts output on 160 meters - most will
do 15+.  However, that is into a 50 ohm dummy load.  The drive is
usually plentiful on 160, and there is not really much you can do to
increase it.  You might modify the Transmit Buffer C150 value to get
more gain on 160, but that would upset other bands too.

I suspect the input to your amp is not a 50 ohm load.  If you have the
KAT2, try doing a TUNE into the amp, or adjust the L and C manually with
the ATU menu until you find a good combination.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 6/12/2012 12:11 PM, Bill W4ZV wrote:

> Thanks to Don KI4D I finally got an N0SS T-R Relay kit for my K2.  In
> checking it out with my Alpha 76PA I got ~400 Watts on 160 and ~600 Watts on
> 80.  I tried adjusting L3&  L4 to optimize 160 but cannot seem to get more
> than 10+ Watts from the K2 even when driving the amp via the KAT2.
>
> 1.  Is 10+ Watts on 160 and ~15 Watts on 80 about normal for the K2?
> 2.  Is there any way to increase power on 160 other than peaking L3&  L4?
>
> 73,  Bill  W4ZV
>

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[Jim Brown-10]

On 6/12/2012 9:11 AM, Bill W4ZV wrote:
> Thanks to Don KI4D I finally got an N0SS T-R Relay kit for my K2.  In
> checking it out with my Alpha 76PA I got ~400 Watts on 160 and ~600 Watts
> on 80.

When I moved to NCCC territory six years ago, I fired up one of my K2s
driving my Titan amp for a CW contest.  Almost immediately I got a call
from another NCCC member complaining about excessive phase noise.  It's
a limitation of the K2 design, which was originally intended to be a QRP
rig.  The phase noise isn't a big deal when you're only running 5W, not
too bad at 100W, but your neighbors won't like you if you're running
more power than that.  And the experience with that rig is one reason
why the K3 is so clean.

73, Jim K9YC
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[Jim Brown-10]

On 6/12/2012 3:06 PM, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:
> I think that Wayne and Eric would be rather astonished at your experience
> with the K2, Jim.

I'm sure that neither would be at all surprised.  Both are well in touch
with the local contesting community.

73, Jim K9YC
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