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New (second-hand) K2 owner, what now?

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Daniel Solano Gómez

New (second-hand) K2 owner, what now?

Hello, all,

My name is Daniel, AG5UT, and I recently purchased a second-hand K2 (#5240) as my first HF rig. I believe it’s in good working condition—I haved been able to successfully confirm it transmits, but have yet to have a QSO. It has the following options installed:

* KSB2 (1.08b)
* KAT2 (1.07)
* KIO2 (1.09)
* K160M

I have purchased the KBT2, since I like the idea of taking this car camping and being able to operate without having to be plugged in.

So, I have a few questions:

1. It seems like since it’s a later serial number, so I shouldn’t need to worry about doing any upgrades of the main system. Is this right?

2. I think I also have the latest firmware versions, is this correct?

3. Is there any type of calibration I should do to make sure everything is fine? I don’t really have much in the way of test equipment, such as frequency counters, signal generators, or oscilliscopes. Should I be worrying about this?

4. Should I consider some of the options I don’t have, i.e. the KNB2 or KAF2?

5. I see references to a KDSP2, but that no longer seems to be available, is that right?

6. Any thoughts if getting the KPA100 would be worth it for base station use? Can it be used externally? Is it fine to use it with the internal battery installed? Would it be better to just buy a KXPA-100 in case I ever decide to upgrade to a KX3?

7. I didn’t get the cable for KIO2. I mistakenly purchased the W1SERKT thinking it was what I needed. Would the KUSB the right thing to get?

8. Are there any questions I haven’t asked, but should?

Thank you for your patience, and I appreciate your help with my newbie questions. I am super-excited to finally get on the air with HF.

73,

Daniel, AG5UT

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Francis Belliveau

Re: New (second-hand) K2 owner, what now?

Daniel,

1,3. As I first rig I might be inclined to check through all the calibrations, but there is no reason to not assume that all is okay for now and see how the rig performs; although filter tuning can be a little personal. So maybe get a copy of spectrogram, hook the rig to your computer and see what the filters look like. Again others can help you with this better than I can.

2. Others are likely to give you advice on firmware, but what you have is likely close enough. I expect that some of mine are older than yours.

4, 5. Both of the KNB2 and KAF2 are useful, but the KNB2 only functions for certain types of noise so it might be lower priority. I could be wrong, but I believe that the chip in the KDSP2 is no longer available so there are no more kits available from Elecraft.

6. I would never think of having the KBT2 and KPA100 installed at the same time. I am not sure if they even can be. My personal choice was to not get a KBT2 and always use an external power source. I have specialized battery setups for what you are thinking of. Although that means carrying two packages, it greatly simplifies things when the battery dies in the field and you want to continue operating.
I actually put a KPA100 and KAT100 into an EC2 enclosure that looks nice next to my K2 with KAT2 installed. The EC2 is also no longer sold, but others on the list have talked about alternatives. I suspect that Elecraft may still have some front panels for this setup available.

7. A cable is easy enough to make for yourself, just look up the diagram in the manual so that you get the t]=pinout correct. There is always a lot of discussion regarding USB interfacing. Near as I can tell, it can be problematic so take heed of what others tell you on the list about what to get for a converter.

Good Luck and 73,
KA4FRH, owner of K2 S/N 314

> On Jun 17, 2019, at 18:25, Daniel Solano Gómez <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> Hello, all,
>
> My name is Daniel, AG5UT, and I recently purchased a second-hand K2 (#5240) as my first HF rig. I believe it’s in good working condition—I haved been able to successfully confirm it transmits, but have yet to have a QSO. It has the following options installed:
>
> * KSB2 (1.08b)
> * KAT2 (1.07)
> * KIO2 (1.09)
> * K160M
>
> I have purchased the KBT2, since I like the idea of taking this car camping and being able to operate without having to be plugged in.
>
> So, I have a few questions:
>
> 1. It seems like since it’s a later serial number, so I shouldn’t need to worry about doing any upgrades of the main system. Is this right?
>
> 2. I think I also have the latest firmware versions, is this correct?
>
> 3. Is there any type of calibration I should do to make sure everything is fine? I don’t really have much in the way of test equipment, such as frequency counters, signal generators, or oscilliscopes. Should I be worrying about this?
>
> 4. Should I consider some of the options I don’t have, i.e. the KNB2 or KAF2?
>
> 5. I see references to a KDSP2, but that no longer seems to be available, is that right?
>
> 6. Any thoughts if getting the KPA100 would be worth it for base station use? Can it be used externally? Is it fine to use it with the internal battery installed? Would it be better to just buy a KXPA-100 in case I ever decide to upgrade to a KX3?
>
> 7. I didn’t get the cable for KIO2. I mistakenly purchased the W1SERKT thinking it was what I needed. Would the KUSB the right thing to get?
>
> 8. Are there any questions I haven’t asked, but should?
>
> Thank you for your patience, and I appreciate your help with my newbie questions. I am super-excited to finally get on the air with HF.
>
> 73,
>
> Daniel, AG5UT
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> 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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Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

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Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
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EricJ

Re: New (second-hand) K2 owner, what now?

In reply to this post by Daniel Solano Gómez

Hi Daniel,

I'll let others handle the bulk of your questions. I have two K2's (s/n
567 and 6911). One QRP, the other with a KPA100. One with the KAF2 and
the other with the KDSP2. I highly recommend the KAF2. For me, it has
been very effective. With the KDSP2, I have to be retrained on how to
use it if I take a lunch break. It works well when I get it set up (that
was a major undertaking itself), then if I didn't use it, I'd always
have to look everything up. The KAF2 just works.

The KPA100 is a good choice and works seamlessly with the K2
(obviously), but if I were considering a KX3 later, I might get the
KXPA-100 instead. The KPA100 is only good with the K2. You can put it in
a separate case with the KAT100 tuner like KA4FRH and I did, but it
still requires the K2 to function.

I'd take KA4FRH's advice on calibration. If it seems to work OK, just
start using it. Unless something is obviously amiss, don't worry about
calibration. Once you've used it for awhile, do the calibration with a
little experience behind you. You'll be better equipped to understand
what you're doing with the calibration, and know what you want.

Good luck with it. The K2 is still a fine rig for HF work. One of mine
is ancient, but up to date with mods, so it works as well as the much
newer one.

Eric KE6US

On 6/17/2019 3:25 PM, Daniel Solano Gómez wrote:

> Hello, all,
>
> My name is Daniel, AG5UT, and I recently purchased a second-hand K2 (#5240) as my first HF rig. I believe it’s in good working condition—I haved been able to successfully confirm it transmits, but have yet to have a QSO. It has the following options installed:
>
> * KSB2 (1.08b)
> * KAT2 (1.07)
> * KIO2 (1.09)
> * K160M
>
> I have purchased the KBT2, since I like the idea of taking this car camping and being able to operate without having to be plugged in.
>
> So, I have a few questions:
>
> 1. It seems like since it’s a later serial number, so I shouldn’t need to worry about doing any upgrades of the main system. Is this right?
>
> 2. I think I also have the latest firmware versions, is this correct?
>
> 3. Is there any type of calibration I should do to make sure everything is fine? I don’t really have much in the way of test equipment, such as frequency counters, signal generators, or oscilliscopes. Should I be worrying about this?
>
> 4. Should I consider some of the options I don’t have, i.e. the KNB2 or KAF2?
>
> 5. I see references to a KDSP2, but that no longer seems to be available, is that right?
>
> 6. Any thoughts if getting the KPA100 would be worth it for base station use? Can it be used externally? Is it fine to use it with the internal battery installed? Would it be better to just buy a KXPA-100 in case I ever decide to upgrade to a KX3?
>
> 7. I didn’t get the cable for KIO2. I mistakenly purchased the W1SERKT thinking it was what I needed. Would the KUSB the right thing to get?
>
> 8. Are there any questions I haven’t asked, but should?
>
> Thank you for your patience, and I appreciate your help with my newbie questions. I am super-excited to finally get on the air with HF.
>
> 73,
>
> Daniel, AG5UT
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> 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]

Don Wilhelm

Re: New (second-hand) K2 owner, what now?

In reply to this post by Daniel Solano Gómez

Daniel,

All upgrades are included in all K2s after serial number 4300. The
firmware should work fine. If you want to check the firmware level,
hold any button while powering on and the MCU and KIOC levels will be
briefly displayed - the latest is 2.04r/1.09.

Since the KSB2 is installed, you need to know how the microphone
configuration header is wired. If the prior owner sent a microphone
with the K2, then just use that one - or if he told you which microphone
was used with it, get a similar microphone and use it.

If you have no microphone information, you will have to disassemble the
K2 to get to the back of the Front Panel to see how it is wired.
Guidance for how to disassemble the K2 is given at
https://www.qsl.net/wy3a/Replace_K2_Headphone_Jack.htm. You do not need
to replace the headphone jack, but the disassembly of the K2 is the same
as in that article.
The microphone configuration header wiring for various microphones is
shown in the KSB2 manual - download it from Elecraft if you do not have
a paper copy.

As for other things, you may want to touch up the IF filter alignment,
but if it works, I would leave that for later after you become familiar
with the K2. You will need to use the internal counter probe to do the
IF filter alignment. Elecraft does have a kit of parts for the probe if
you did not receive one with the K2 (it may be inside the K2).

Yes, the KDSP2 has been discontinued.

You will need to construct the special cable shown in the KIO2 manual to
have PC to K2 communications. Do NOT plug a standard serial port into
the K2 AUX IO connector - it contains internal K2 signal lines as well
as 3 RS-232 signals. Using a standard serial cable can cause damage to
the K2 and possibly the serial port.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 6/17/2019 6:25 PM, Daniel Solano Gómez wrote:

Don Wilhelm

Re: New (second-hand) K2 owner, what now?

Daniel,

There is no composite change log for the firmware. Most of the changes
after MCU 2.03 were done to support new changes like support for the
K60XV option.

The change from 2.04P to 2.04r locked the sidetone source at U8-4 at the
request of the support folks who got tired of answering support calls
saying "I have lost me K2 sidetone".

Great that you got the microphone situation sorted out.

Yes, K2FCTR_K2 is the internal frequency counter probe parts.

It is good to hear that you knew about the need for the special K2 to
computer serial port cable.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 6/18/2019 10:56 PM, Daniel Solano Gómez wrote:

> Hello, Don,
>
>
> Looks like I’m running 2.04p/1.09, so I should be fine. Do you know if
> there is a change log/version history maintained anywhere?
>
> I dont’ think I got those, but I think I found it on the Elecraft site
> (K2FCTR_K2).
>
>