Folks -
I am very new to amateur radio and have a question - am looking at my first rig and leaning towards a k2 (would begin without the additional 100W's). I do not have much experience with electronics but am (in general) very handy - is this something that someone with little to no experience can do if they are careful? Or is assembling the kit probably not a good way to go for someone with limited experience. Any opinions are appreciated in advance - Thanks! John Jolley - KD8FKC - Columbus, Ohio _______________________________________________ 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 |
John,
Welcome to amateur radio and to the Elecraft reflector! If you can solder properly and correctly follow written instructions, you can build a K2 (or most any other Elecraft kit). If you are not certain about your soldering ability, check out the soldering tutorial info on the Elecraft website (Builder's Resource page I believe), try several solder connections and if possible find someone who knows what a good solder connection is (and will be honest with you) and ask him/her to critique your work. No similar help with the 'follow instructions' part <G>, but if you don't understand parts of the manual, you will find help on this reflector. 73, Don W3FPR John Jolley wrote: > Folks - > > I am very new to amateur radio and have a question - am looking at my first > rig and leaning towards a k2 (would begin without the additional 100W's). > > I do not have much experience with electronics but am (in general) very > handy - is this something that someone with little to no experience can do > if they are careful? Or is assembling the kit probably not a good way to go > for someone with limited experience. > > Any opinions are appreciated in advance - > > Thanks! > > John Jolley - KD8FKC - Columbus, Ohio > > _______________________________________________ > 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 |
In reply to this post by John Jolley
There are a couple important things to do:
1) Get the right equipment. Read the information at the Elecraft site and get a real soldering station with a variety of tip sizes and an adjustable temperature control. Get the right solder. Get one of those spring-loaded solder suckers for fixing your mistakes. The bulb-shaped ones don't work. (If you can afford a real desoldering station then that's even better, but it's overkill.) 2) Read everything you can find at the Elecraft site about proper soldering technique. Order a minikit or two to assemble first -- maybe the dummy load, which is dirt-simple and is useful for tuning the radio when you're done. If you have a good soldering iron -- not the fixed-temperature cheap Radio Shack model -- and you have a good idea what you're doing, you should be OK. You'll need some kind of magnifying glasses or one of those lights with the magnifying lense built in. And you'll need something to deal with static -- like a static mat and ground strap all properly grounded. Good luck and have fun! Craig NZ0R KX1 #1499 K1 #1966 K2/100 #4941 K3/100 coming soon! -----Original Message----- From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of John Jolley Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2007 4:43 PM To: [hidden email] Subject: [Elecraft] K2 for a newbie HAM Folks - I am very new to amateur radio and have a question - am looking at my first rig and leaning towards a k2 (would begin without the additional 100W's). I do not have much experience with electronics but am (in general) very handy - is this something that someone with little to no experience can do if they are careful? Or is assembling the kit probably not a good way to go for someone with limited experience. Any opinions are appreciated in advance - Thanks! John Jolley - KD8FKC - Columbus, Ohio _______________________________________________ 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 |
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