My 2nd K1 impression.

[Darwin, Keith]

I made my first K1 QSO last night.  Someone calling CQ - very strong.  I
wasn't really ready but answered anyway.  It was embarrassing.  I didn't
write down his call so had to send QRZ.  My keyer speed was set a bit
higher than I wanted and couldn't remember the menu selection to turn it
down (duh, it's not in the menu!!).  The keyer in the rig is not quite
what I'm used to so my sending was not so hot.  I'm a bit surprised he
answered me :-)  The rig worked FB and we had a good QSO between VT and
MN.  I ended the QSO a bit early to save him the torture of copying poor
CW with a bit of a weak signal.
 
I also did some listening tests, K1 vs. Omni V.  The K1 was noticeably
quieter.  The Omni has a lot more IF hiss which reduces the S/N ratio.
K1's CW signals leap out of the background silence.  The Omni showed a
bit of distortion on the leading edge of each CW element.  K1 distorted
on the first element (audio AGC) but the rest were very clean.
Selectivity didn't seem largely different between the two rigs but more
listening is needed.
 
And the QSK of the K1 was very smooth.  Maybe even smoother than the
Omni V.
 
Of course, the fairly weak European station calling CQ DX didn't hear me
when I came back to him.  I suspect the 100 watts of the Omni would have
made the QSO possible.
 
All in all, this little K1 is really a pleasant surprise!
 
- Keith KD1E -
- K1, Omni V -
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[Mike Morrow-3]

Keith wrote:.


>The keyer in the rig is not quite what I'm used to ...

You may want to try setting the keyer for iambic mode A and then mode B to
see which one is more natural to you.  I personnaly abhor iambic mode B
keyers, but the K1 keyer can be set for either mode.  Its mode A keyer suits
me just fine.  Some rig makers like Yaesu are arrogant enough to provide
only mode B keyers on their rigs.  They'll never get a buy from me!

>I also did some listening tests, K1 vs. Omni V.  The K1 was noticeably
>quieter.

The K1 is very likely the best SA602-type design available.  A feature that
helps make the K1 receiver superior is its very clean LC local oscillator
(LO).  A raw DDS LO (as in a KX1 or DSW) compares unfavorably.

You have mentioned that the s-meter indication on your K1 is usually pegged.
Chapter 11 of the K1 manual describes the s-meter "cal" procedure, which
requires using the SIG menu to set the Lxx and Hx parameters.  It sounds
like yours needs calibration.

Admittedly, even when "calibrated" the s-meter is very rudimentary.  That
doesn't bother me.  I've seldom found s-meters to be of real value on any
rig I've ever used.

I've had my K1 for going on to six years.  If I lost it today, I'd have an
order in for another today.  As a portable power-conserving QRP rig, the K1
is definitely the best of its class, if RF preformance in the ham CW bands
is to be valued more than bells and whistles.

73,
Mike / KK5F
K1 #175

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[Darwin, Keith]

Thanks for the feedback guys,

Yes, A & B keyer modes.  I don't know which is which but I do know I can
only send with one of them :-).  I haven't been on paddles regularly for
5 years so part of the issue is the rust in my finger joints.  My main
keyer is the CMOS 4 from Logikey.  Nice keyer, just haven't hooked it up
to the rig yet ;-)

Actually for now, I need to hook up the straight key.  That will end my
sending issues long enough for me to get used to the rig.  Then, I can
go back to the Kent paddles & keyer and work on regaining my lost skill
with those!

73!

- Keith KD1E -

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]]
Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2006 1:07 PM
To: Darwin, Keith
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] My 2nd K1 impression.

Keith,

*snip*

On the K2 there is a menu option for Iambic A or Iambic B, which refers
to the original Curtis Keyer as either Type A or B.  

*snip*
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