New Owner

[Andy McMullin]

Hi All,

Having lurked on the list for a short while, I am now the proud owner of a previously-owned K2 with the optional SSB and 1.8 MHz and a 2151 serial number. It arrived by post today.

What checks do you think I ought to carry out to ensure it is in tip-top condition? Is it easy to ensure the firmware is at the best revision and that all the recommended updates have been applied?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

--
Regards
Andy, G8TQH
http://www.rickham.net/

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[Don Wilhelm-4]

  Andy,

Well, you could give a complete alignment and calibration, and during
that process you will likely discover anything that does not behave
correctly.

If you go to my website www.w3fpr.com, you will find a document there
which is an extract from the K2 manual having the test and alignment
portions of the manual duplicated.  You may use that for the basic K2.
When it comes to the dial calibration and filter alignment steps, you
will likely want to follow the instructions in my article on K2 Dial
Calibration rather than those extracted from the manual.

For the KSB2 option, you will find that only the carrier balance
adjustment is needed (along with aligning the OP1 filter BFOs - see my
K2 Dial Calibration article), and you will find methods for setting the
carrier balance in the KSB2 manual.

For the K160RX, you would want to check that the RX antenna works, and
also check the VCO voltage range for 160 meters to be certain it is
within range.

Check the maximum power output from the base K2 on all bands.
All the above can (should) be done with the KPA100 removed from the base K2.

If you have the KPA100 on that K2, consult the KPA100 manual for setting
the bias and balancing and calibrating the wattmeter.  After that, check
each band with the KPA100 attached and powered for maximum power output.

For tools, you will need a good dummy load, the internal counter probe
for the K2, a DMM, and an external wattmeter that you can trust for the
KPA100 wattmeter setting.

Optional to make the task easier - a wideband noise generator like the
Elecraft N-Gen, a signal generator with controlled output level, such as
the Elecraft XG1, XG2, or XG3 for setting the S-meter, An oscilloscope
is handy for observing the RF output (connect it with a 10X probe
directly across the dummy load).
For setting the filters, you will need Spectrogram running on a computer
and a cable from the K2 audio output to the soundcard line in (or mic
input).

The latest firmware is 2.04r/1.09.  You can find out what firmware level
is installed in your K2 by holding a button in when you power on - that
information will be displayed briefly.  If your firmware level is
earlier than 2.01, you will want to upgrade it before proceding with the
alignment and test (or use the older manual) information.  The material
on my website assumes firmware version 2.01 or later.

73,
Don W3FPR

73,
Don W3FPR

On 6/8/2011 3:53 PM, Andy McMullin wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> Having lurked on the list for a short while, I am now the proud owner of a previously-owned K2 with the optional SSB and 1.8 MHz and a 2151 serial number. It arrived by post today.
>
> What checks do you think I ought to carry out to ensure it is in tip-top condition? Is it easy to ensure the firmware is at the best revision and that all the recommended updates have been applied?
>
> Thanks in advance for your advice.
>
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