KX1 rehab
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My first post to the list... I bought a KX1 with the 80/30m option. This is not my first used rig but it is my first used kit rig. The rig is in good shape and appears to be well built. I haven't made a QSO with it yet but I have done some listening. All the menus appear to behave as they are supposed to behave.
I also bought the internal ATU kit, which I built over the last couple of evenings. The ATU seems to work but I have a little more testing to do before I am sure. Here's the question(s): Does it make sense to run through the test and alignment procedures that one would do while building the kit? Is there a list somewhere of tweaks and things to be aware of, especially with regard to power output, filtering or key clicks? I have seen a random post or two about adjusting coils and the like. Thanks in advance! 73 de bill K7WXW ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] |
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Intent? Good question. Mostly I am wanting to tune the rig so it runs as it should but I also want to know how it works and learn how to do the stuff you mention in your list. I am teaching myself how to do things like align a radio and checking specs. As I haven't found anyone local with the time or interest in being a mentor, I am really happy to have email lists like this one! Thanks and 73 de bill K7WXW From: Putnam Dale <[hidden email]> Reply: Putnam Dale <[hidden email]> Date: September 23, 2017 at 6:39:06 AM To: - K7WXW bill <[hidden email]>, Mailing List QRP-L <[hidden email]> Subject: Re: [QRP-L] [Elecraft] KX1 rehab Hi Bill, The question goes to intent. Do you intend to operate mostly, or do you intend to learn the radio inside and out? Yes, a new to the shack radio should be checked out. Doing that, can be done in a number of ways, depending on the intent. If you want to assure that it is working to specs... then a rx sens check, a spectogram sweep, power out, and tx waveform, with a monitor of current consumed, could be accomplished without disturbing the radio or risking delving into the internals. Not too time consuming either. On the other hand, delving into the radio, finding out how it works, and what all goes on when signals happen, tx and rx.. then go thru the entire setup in the manual. Be aware of required test equipment to accomplish that. Takes a bit longer.. but you learn a lot too. Good Luck, Have a great day, --... ...-- Dale - WC7S in Wy "Actions speak louder than words" 1856 - Abraham Lincoln From: [hidden email] <[hidden email]> on behalf of [hidden email] <[hidden email]> Sent: Friday, September 22, 2017 2:57 PM To: bill - K7WXW Cc: [hidden email] Subject: Re: [QRP-L] [Elecraft] KX1 rehab Bill, If it appears to be working to specs, I would leave it alone. You may wish to see if spreading or squeezing toroid windings in the output results in increased power output, and/or change the resistors in the output (as pointed out in Elecraft addendums). Again if it ain't broke, don't fix it. 72 Howard Kraus, K2UD ---- bill - K7WXW <[hidden email]> wrote: > My first post to the list... I bought a KX1 with the 80/30m option. This is not my first used rig but it is my first used kit rig. The rig is in good shape and appears to be well built. I haven't made a QSO with it yet but I have done some listening. All the menus appear to behave as they are supposed to behave. I also bought the internal ATU kit, which I built over the last couple of evenings. The ATU seems to work but I have a little more testing to do before I am sure. Here's the question(s): Does it make sense to run through the test and alignment procedures that one would do while building the kit? Is there a list somewhere of tweaks and things to be aware of, especially with regard to power output, filtering or key clicks? I have seen a random post or two about adjusting coils and the like. Thanks in advance! 73 de bill K7WXW ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] ______________________________________________________________ QRP-L mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/qrp-l 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] |
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Bill,
Dale gave a good answer, but did not include how to do it with the KX1. I can supply that. If you have the KXAT1 installed, pull it out and jumper between pins 1 and 3 of the 3 pin header next to the BNC jack. That connects the antenna with the KXAT1 not in place. If you have a wideband noise generator, connect it to the BNC jack - if not you can likely use an antenna - tune to a spot where there is only band noise and set the RF Gain to max clockwise and the bandwidth to a mid-point. Select 20 meters and tune CA and CB (marked 20A and 20B on the board) for a noise peak. If you cannot discern a peak, try it tuned to a moderate strength signal. Then, switch to 40 meters and peak CC (marked 40) the same way. If you have 30 meters, switch to that band and adjust the 2 trimmers on the 30 (or 30/80) meter band board for a peak (30A and 30B). Receiver alignment is done. There is not much transmit alignment to do, but if the power output is not up to par on 20 meters, try changing the turns spacing on L2 - occasionally L1 as well. These are the Low Pass Filter toroids. Yellow cores unless the KXB3080 is installed and then they are red. Work with the green windings on L1 and L2 if you have the KXB3080. You usually spread the turns a bit, but sometimes squeezing them helps. So much for the receive and transmit alignment of the base KX1. Now you can put the KAT1 back in and balance the wattmeter. Connect a good 50 ohm dummy load and set the ATU menu to CAL. Get your DMM out and set it to read a low DC voltage. Connect the negative lead to a ground - the 3/16 inch standoff on the battery connector end is my choice - use a clip lead on the meter lead. Find an insulated tuning tool that will fit the slot of the capacitor on the KXAT1 board. Put the positive meter lead on the test point next to the REFL potentiometer. Do a TUNE and adjust the trimmer capacitor for a null - at least in the low millivolt range if it does not go all the way to zero. If you have a well calibrated QRP wattmeter or other means of measuring power below 5 watts, install it between the KX1 and the dummy load. Do a TUNE and observe the power on the wattmeter an also on the KX1 display. Adjust the FWD potentiometer until they read the same. If you do not have an accurate wattmeter, observe that there are two black dots on the rotor of the potentiometer and a line on the stator. Put the two dots on either side of the line and call it good. Set the dots of the REFL potentiometer the same way unless you have a good dummy load of 25 or 100 ohms, in which case, adjust for a displayed SWR of 2.0 when that load is connected. Go to the ATU menu and set it to TUN. Close up the back cover of the KX1, you are finished inside. Now you can set the other menu parameters dealing with calibration. These are well written in the manual. BFO is first. Best done by tuning to a known frequency AM station. If your KX1 has 30 meters, use 10 MHz WWV Ignore the exact KX1 frequency display (it will be close) and tune first in LSB to a clear tone or announcement voice, and write down the frequency displayed. Then switch to USB and tune again for either the voice or the 500 or 600 Hz tone if you have perfect pitch - write down the displayed frequency. Subtract the LSB number from the USB number and record if the number is positive or negative. See page 68 of the KX1 manual for the full procedure. After the BFO Calibation, do the DDS Calibration as indicated on page 68 of the manual. You may now adjust the SIG parameters of the menu. See the menu entry on page 65 of the manual. Put the KX1 into DISPLAY with no signal input and adjust the LO parameter so there are no bars indicated. You will have to exit the menu each time to observe. Start with 1 more bars displayed and reduce the LO parameter by two until you see no bars. Sometimes you can see the lower bar flicker dimly (do not count that as a displayed bar). Then try going up one number to see if you get a bar displayed - if not, leave it alone. To set the HI parameter you will need a signal source that produces a known level signal of S-9 or S-9+20. Adjust as indicated in the menu listing for 5 bars with an S-9 signal or 6 with an S-9+20dB signal. That is it for the KX1 alignment. 73, Don W3FPR On 9/23/2017 3:38 PM, bill - K7WXW wrote: > > Intent? Good question. Mostly I am wanting to tune the rig so it runs as it should but I also want to know how it works and learn how to do the stuff you mention in your list. > > I am teaching myself how to do things like align a radio and checking specs. As I haven't found anyone local with the time or interest in being a mentor, I am really happy to have email lists like this one! > ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] |
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Don,
Thanks for the walk through. With that and the manual I should be good to go. I appreciate the help. 73 de bill K7WXW From: Wilhelm Don <[hidden email]> Reply: [hidden email] <[hidden email]> Date: September 23, 2017 at 7:16:05 PM To: - K7WXW bill <[hidden email]>, [hidden email] <[hidden email]> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] KX1 rehab Bill, Dale gave a good answer, but did not include how to do it with the KX1. I can supply that. If you have the KXAT1 installed, pull it out and jumper between pins 1 and 3 of the 3 pin header next to the BNC jack. That connects the antenna with the KXAT1 not in place. If you have a wideband noise generator, connect it to the BNC jack - if not you can likely use an antenna - tune to a spot where there is only band noise and set the RF Gain to max clockwise and the bandwidth to a mid-point. Select 20 meters and tune CA and CB (marked 20A and 20B on the board) for a noise peak. If you cannot discern a peak, try it tuned to a moderate strength signal. ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] |
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