Elecraft

KX1 s/n 1005 lives!

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Michael Ross-6

KX1 s/n 1005 lives!

I've finished building my KX1, s/n 1005. The KX1 build time was much
less than the other Elecraft rigs that I've built. It's a sweet little
rig. It does about 3W output with a 12V 1A regulated power supply. I'm
going to get used to it for a bit, after which I'll build and install
the 30m module and the internal ATU. This would be a nice Elecraft
starter rig for someone to build. Great job Elecraft!

Now, if you guys would come out with a rig with a built-in MP3 player,
I'd never put it down! hi

Mike, W2VD

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Michael Ross-6

Re: KX1 s/n 1005 lives!

I've built and added the 30m option and the internal ATU. Everything
works just fine. It's going to be fun using this rig in the park! Now I
just need to find a BNC male to banana female to connect the portable
antenna and radial.

-Mike W2VD

Michael Ross wrote:

> I've finished building my KX1, s/n 1005. The KX1 build time was much
> less than the other Elecraft rigs that I've built. It's a sweet little
> rig. It does about 3W output with a 12V 1A regulated power supply. I'm
> going to get used to it for a bit, after which I'll build and install
> the 30m module and the internal ATU. This would be a nice Elecraft
> starter rig for someone to build. Great job Elecraft!
>
> Now, if you guys would come out with a rig with a built-in MP3 player,
> I'd never put it down! hi
>
> Mike, W2VD
>
> _______________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Post to: [hidden email]
> You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
> Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
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> Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
>
>

Ron D'Eau Claire-2

RE: KX1 s/n 1005 lives!

Mike W2VD wrote:
Now I just need to find a BNC male to banana female to connect the portable
antenna and radial.

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

A standard BNC male to SO-239 female adapter works FB. A banana plug is a
perfect fit into the center hole of he SO-239 (large coax) connector and
you're all set for the time when you want to hook the rig to an antenna that
happens to have RG-8 or similar large coax and fittings. Even Radio Shack
carries those.

For the ground, a spade lug under the case thumbscrew right under the
connector - use a star washer or rub a little paint off where the screw
meets the metal for a good electrical contact.

Ron AC7AC

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Matt and Kelly

RE: KX1 s/n 1005 lives!

Pomona Electronics makes a binding post, standard, double banana (female) to
BNC male, part number Pomona 1296 that I use and it's great. You can do a
search for them on the Internet or check out any good electronics shop.

Matt - K7OE

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email]
[mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Ron D'Eau Claire
Sent: Monday, May 30, 2005 11:23 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: RE: [Elecraft] KX1 s/n 1005 lives!

Mike W2VD wrote:
Now I just need to find a BNC male to banana female to connect the portable
antenna and radial.

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

A standard BNC male to SO-239 female adapter works FB. A banana plug is a
perfect fit into the center hole of he SO-239 (large coax) connector and
you're all set for the time when you want to hook the rig to an antenna that
happens to have RG-8 or similar large coax and fittings. Even Radio Shack
carries those.

For the ground, a spade lug under the case thumbscrew right under the
connector - use a star washer or rub a little paint off where the screw
meets the metal for a good electrical contact.

Ron AC7AC

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Tony Morgan-2

Re: KX1 s/n 1005 lives!

Matt and Kelly wrote:

>Pomona Electronics makes a binding post, standard, double banana (female) to
>BNC male, part number Pomona 1296 that I use and it's great. You can do a
>search for them on the Internet or check out any good electronics shop.
>
>Matt - K7OE
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: [hidden email]
>[mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Ron D'Eau Claire
>Sent: Monday, May 30, 2005 11:23 AM
>To: [hidden email]
>Subject: RE: [Elecraft] KX1 s/n 1005 lives!
>
>Mike W2VD wrote:
>Now I just need to find a BNC male to banana female to connect the portable
>antenna and radial.
>
>--------------------------------
>
>A standard BNC male to SO-239 female adapter works FB. A banana plug is a
>perfect fit into the center hole of he SO-239 (large coax) connector and
>you're all set for the time when you want to hook the rig to an antenna that
>happens to have RG-8 or similar large coax and fittings. Even Radio Shack
>carries those.
>
>For the ground, a spade lug under the case thumbscrew right under the
>connector - use a star washer or rub a little paint off where the screw
>meets the metal for a good electrical contact.
>
>Ron AC7AC
>
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>Elecraft mailing list
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>You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
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>
>Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
>Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
>
>

Reasonably priced "BNC Male To Dual Binding Posts".
http://www.oselectronics.com/ose_p111.htm

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Ron D'Eau Claire-2

Binding Post Failure (WAS: KX1 s/n 1005 lives!)

Many banana plugs and jacks use nylon insulation which is a *terrible* RF
insulator. Nylon is hygroscopic (absorbs moisture) so its insulating
properties are highly dependent upon the relative humidity.

Running 15 watts into an end-fed wire I literally melted a banana jack that
looks just like those shown at the top of the page here:
http://www.oselectronics.com/ose_p111.htm

In just a few seconds of sending, I smelled hot plastic and saw smoke rising
as the insulation sagged. As it happened, I had a voltage loop (point of
high RF voltage) at the rig on that band and it caused a quick and total
failure. But even at voltages below that which caused failure, part of the
RF was being converted into heat instead of electromagnetic waves.

All of the Pomona hardware that I've seen uses polycarbonate insulation.
This is superior, tough stuff! Pomona makes these adapters for use with test
equipment at very low voltage levels. The popular 1296 that Matt, K7OE
mentioned, is rated to 500 vac max (see data sheet at
http://tinyurl.com/7mca5). They don't publish dielectric info or mention
their losses at RF, but that sounds adequate for RF power levels up to some
tens of watts into a high impedance (1,000-ohm) load. Of course lower
impedances mean lower voltages.

I still use nylon banana plugs and jacks for single wire and open wire
feeder connections, even at QRO power levels, but I never rely on the nylon
for insulation. The jacks are always mounted in an acrylic or polycarbonate
insulating panel with ample spaces between them.

Ron AC7AC

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Aron Brown

RE: KX1 s/n 1005 lives!

In reply to this post by Michael Ross-6

I picked up several of the Bananna Plug/BNC adapters from Radio Shack. Also
found some at a local Electronics surplus store for about half the price.

Aron
NN1F
Bedford, NH
FP#122

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email]
[mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Michael Ross
Sent: Monday, May 30, 2005 1:40 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] KX1 s/n 1005 lives!

I've built and added the 30m option and the internal ATU. Everything
works just fine. It's going to be fun using this rig in the park! Now I
just need to find a BNC male to banana female to connect the portable
antenna and radial.

-Mike W2VD

Michael Ross wrote:

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