KX1 #978, comments and questions on second stage

[Andrea Borgia]

Hello, everybody.


If you care about the impressions of a first-time builder, here are my
notes and questions regarding the receiver assembly part:

-page 30, finding inductors: all inductors' colors match, save for L7
that is really org-vio-gold (two people pronounced it "definitely
orange") instead of yel-vio-gold. Is it a packing error or a
documentation error? Should I ask Elecraft for a new inductor? Mind you,
I have performed a full inventory of every single part, taking care not
to mix inductors and resistances and and this is the only odd bit that I
have found.

-page 38, installation of X5: in page 21 (X1 installation), the warning
about too much solder flowing through the holes must have made quite an
impression on my inexperienced mind because when the time came to
install X5 I promptly had a cow upon finding that one of the pins was
shorted to ground... I removed it, cleaned the pads, reinstalled it
and... again shorted to ground... then I did what I should have done
earlier and checked the schematics... and felt very very stupid 8-P
On a related note, how much clearance is there between the crystals and
the battery packs? My crystals are not as well-aligned as those of other
builders and I soldered the ground wire on the side rather than on top,
per instructions.

-page 47, receive current drain test: text states typical receive drain
is 32mA; the included errata sheet instructs the builder to correct the
figure (35mA) on the specifications page, but not here. Display
brightness at 2 gives 35mA and the only thing that saved me from another
silly have-a-cow situation  was good memory. Ok, I know: it's a trivial
mistake but it also is rather easy to fix in future releases of the
documentation 8-)


All in all, I'm pretty satisfied with the results and even toroids were
not that big deal I thought they would be: I used a short scrap to try
out the three stripping methods and settled for sandpaper alone (wound
toroids both had 0.3 ohms for a 13in/33cm wire). Far trickier for me was
the "piggyback" installation of C56 and R32! Alignments and tests went fine.

Parroting a well-known commercial: "KX1: 360 EUR; Getting it to work
after one full day of assembly and many mistakes: priceless!"


Pictures are available here (no fancy graphics here, sorry):
http://andrea.borgia.bo.it/kx1


B73,
Andrea.

--
Homepage: http://andrea.borgia.bo.it     /    Amateur radio: IZ4FHT
A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on usenet and in e-mail?
_______________________________________________
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

[Ron D'Eau Claire-2]

Hi Andrea!

You wrote:

L7 ... is really org-vio-gold (two people pronounced it "definitely
orange") instead of yel-vio-gold. Is it a packing error or a
documentation error?

-----------

L7 is a 4.7 uH inductor, so it is really Yellow! Orange-violet-gold would be
3.7 uH, not 4.7 uH. How does its color compare alongside L10, which is
orange-orange-black (33 uH)?

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

You wrote:

On a related note, how much clearance is there between the crystals and
the battery packs? My crystals are not as well-aligned as those of other
builders and I soldered the ground wire on the side rather than on top,
per instructions.

-----------------------------
page 47, receive current drain test: text states typical receive drain
is 32mA; the included errata sheet instructs the builder to correct the
figure (35mA) on the specifications page, but not here. Display
brightness at 2 gives 35mA and the only thing that saved me from another
silly have-a-cow situation  was good memory.

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

In both places the spec says "about". The current will typically be a little
lower at the point of the test than in normal operation because no signals
are being received at that point.

Sorry for the confusion. You make a good point about a better-defined spec.
for the current drain test. I'll bring it up with the KX1 designer (Wayne).

Ron AC7AC


_______________________________________________
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

[Andrea Borgia]

Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:


> L7 is a 4.7 uH inductor, so it is really Yellow! Orange-violet-gold would be
> 3.7 uH, not 4.7 uH. How does its color compare alongside L10, which is
> orange-orange-black (33 uH)?

I don't have the KX1 here with me, so I asked my friend Nicola to check
this. In the worst case, I should be able to check again myself on
saturday. I do recall, though, that I compared the color bands with
those on other inductors and resistors under the same lighting
conditions and could tell which ones were yellow and which ones orange.
If my L7's first band turns out to be indeed yellow, then it means the
manufacturer got a batch of truly weird paint ;-)


> Sorry for the confusion. You make a good point about a better-defined spec.
> for the current drain test. I'll bring it up with the KX1 designer (Wayne).

This is my first kit and first big project, so my comments should be
taken with a grain of salt. However, I try to follow the instructions
very very closely (I've actually read them back-to-back once before even
getting the package!) and I'm pleased to hear my little contribution
will further improve an already awesome manual.


B73,
Andrea.

--
Homepage: http://andrea.borgia.bo.it     /    Amateur radio: IZ4FHT
A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on usenet and in e-mail?
_______________________________________________
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

[Ron D'Eau Claire-2]

Andrea wrote:

This is my first kit and first big project, so my comments should be
taken with a grain of salt. However, I try to follow the instructions
very very closely (I've actually read them back-to-back once before even
getting the package!) and I'm pleased to hear my little contribution
will further improve an already awesome manual.

-----------

As a writer I never object to comments about stumbling points in the
instructions. The one you tripped over was something I should have brought
it to Wayne's attention. Our objective with the Elecraft kits is that they
be buildable by anyone who can solder, follow instructions and do basic
electrical measurements such as resistance and voltage. An instruction for
something to be "...about x mA..." is never good and the worst place to put
it is in a manual that will be used by someone who doesn't have a lot of
experience with the circuits used in the radio.

So I really appreciate your pointing it out.

About the yellow vs. orange color coding, I don't know if Elecraft even
stocks a 3.7 uH inductor in that size. If they do, I guess it's possible
there was a switch.

And, yes, I know that some of the colors being used today are not the best.
Don mentioned that earlier in a post here. We used to see big stripes or
round dots of bright unmistakable colors, but lately I get the feeling that
those choosing color-coding paints for some companies are trying to make a
fashion statement, not communicate a parts value!

I'd say you have a 99% chance of having the right part already. You might
drop a question about whether it could be an error to either
"[hidden email]" (Gary) or "[hidden email]". The latter e-mail
address is strictly for ordering parts, but they might be able to clarify
whether it is even possible that you got the wrong part based on what they
carry in stock.

Ron AC7AC


_______________________________________________
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

[Don Wilhelm-3]

Andrea,

Not to dimish anything Ron said, I should point out that a value of 3.7 is a
rarity.  The standard 5% values have significant digits of 33, 36, 39, 43,
47 and 51 for the value range in question.  Expect a standard value unless
you know it is a precision or 1% value part (and that fact is usually stated
in the parts list) and you will seldom be incorrect.

All that said, you very likely have the correct 4.7 uH choke.

73,
Don W3FPR

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron D'Eau Claire" <[hidden email]>
>
> About the yellow vs. orange color coding, I don't know if Elecraft even
> stocks a 3.7 uH inductor in that size. If they do, I guess it's possible
> there was a switch.
>


_______________________________________________
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

[Andrea Borgia]

[CC'ing to Service(Gary) per Ron's suggestion]


Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:


> About the yellow vs. orange color coding, I don't know if Elecraft even
> stocks a 3.7 uH inductor in that size. If they do, I guess it's possible
> there was a switch.

At last, I have compared L7 with L10 as you suggested in an earlier post
and... the color of the first band is the same shade of orange under all
lighting conditions I could try, including natural sunlight. My friend
Nicola also took some better pictures (soon to go online) with his
digital reflex camera and they're so detailed you can read the bands
yourself, just drop me a line if you'd care to 8-)

So, either the manufacturer misprinted the first band as orange instead
of yellow or my KX1 has got a 3.7uH inductor instead of a 4.7uH. Funny
thing is, apparently it doesn't make much difference!

Now crossing "live" to Gary... does Elecraft carry 3.7uH inductors in
stock in the same size as the KX1 L7? And, more importantly, does it
matter if the value is not correct, in the shorty/long run?


B73,
Andrea.

--
Homepage: http://andrea.borgia.bo.it     /    Amateur radio: IZ4FHT
A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on usenet and in e-mail?
_______________________________________________
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