Newbie K2 questions
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#1117 arrived in the mail today! I am AMAZED at what is coming out of this little box. I was listening to weak EU's on 40CW at 1900Z and flipping back and forth between my Orion and the K2. Not a lot of difference. It will be interesting to test tonight in the pileups to see how well the 100Hz filter works in both rigs.
Question #1: Is there a way to change the shaft encoder rate? Not the rate button rate but the actual # of pulses per revolution in the hardware or firmware? I'd like to get about 2.5Khz per rev. Right now I can choose between 1.0Khz and 5.0Khz. Question #2 for K2/100 owners: How much output can you get with the K2 running 5 watts into the K2/100? I'm considering the 5W at full scale mod for the K2 but might like to swap out the cover with the battery pack and auto-tuner for the 100W module to drive my amp. If I could get 20-30W out of the K2-100 with the K2 running 5W that would be great. Question #3: I have the AtoB, matched crystals, keyclick mod, KAF2 etc etc on their way. I'm open to suggestions. Should I dig in and install the mods right away? Or should I relax and enjoy the radio for a while and get "used" to it first? If I get used to it, will the matched crystals, KAF2 and other mods be a dramatic improvement compared to the basic #1112 which only has the NB/SSB/Auto-Tuner options in it. Question 4: When running on a fully charged internal battery can you get the same ammount of power out as you do on a fixed external supply? Just curious. Oh... The stock knob is gone. The previous owner had a nice ridged knob with a spinner grip installed on the rig. But I had an old knob from an Ampex VPR-3 1" broadcast videotape machine whose diameter just meets with the bottom edge of the K2 and only slightly covers the lables for the ATT and A VFO. It is heavily weighted and the knurled edge is thicker than an ordinary knob, even deeper than the ones on the Orion, plus it's tapered which is unusual and feels great for rolling your fingers around the outside edge as you tune. Will take a pic of it if anyone is interested. This is a great list! Many people answered my probe pic questions and I have a pair of color photos of the actual probes. Thanks to all who replied directly. 73 de one happy K2 camper! BTW...When my wife saw me take the K2 out of the box she remarked "What a cute little pooter!" a phrase she normally reserves for newborn infants and puppies. 8-) Tom K2TA _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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Tom,
Question 2 -- Do not put the 5 watt T4 winding on your K2 unless you are strictly CW and QRP. With this mod in place, the K2 finals are not sufficiently linear for SSB, and when the occasion arises when the drive must be above 5 watts, the efficency is worse than with the standard winding. In other words - the mod will not limit the power to 5 watts, it only makes the efficency at 5 watts better (and the efficency above 5 watts suffers). Question 4 -- A volt is a volt, so it matters not whether it comes from a battery or an external supply. However, a battery will soon discharge to below its freshly charged rated voltage of 13.2 volts, and an external power supply usually will put out 13.8 volts. If you are charging the internal battery from the external supply, you will need a supply that puts out 14.1 to 14.3 volts, the protection diode drops about 0.3 volts (after your A to B mods) and for the best lifetime of your battery, it should be maintained in a fully charged state. One other subtle point - the K2 ALC will attempt to produce the power you request on the POWER knob, so the net result of a lowered voltage will be increased current draw from the supply - of course when running at max power, a voltage sag will result in reduced power because in that case, the max power is limited by the gain of the K2 circuits. On your Question 3 -- become 'familiar' with it before doing the upgrades and mods, but don't get 'used to it' because you should see significant improvement with the upgrades. 73, Don W3FPR ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tom Althoff" <[hidden email]> To: <[hidden email]> Sent: Thursday, October 28, 2004 5:05 PM Subject: [Elecraft] Newbie K2 questions #1117 arrived in the mail today! I am AMAZED at what is coming out of this little box. I was listening to weak EU's on 40CW at 1900Z and flipping back and forth between my Orion and the K2. Not a lot of difference. It will be interesting to test tonight in the pileups to see how well the 100Hz filter works in both rigs. Question #1: Is there a way to change the shaft encoder rate? Not the rate button rate but the actual # of pulses per revolution in the hardware or firmware? I'd like to get about 2.5Khz per rev. Right now I can choose between 1.0Khz and 5.0Khz. Question #2 for K2/100 owners: How much output can you get with the K2 running 5 watts into the K2/100? I'm considering the 5W at full scale mod for the K2 but might like to swap out the cover with the battery pack and auto-tuner for the 100W module to drive my amp. If I could get 20-30W out of the K2-100 with the K2 running 5W that would be great. Question #3: I have the AtoB, matched crystals, keyclick mod, KAF2 etc etc on their way. I'm open to suggestions. Should I dig in and install the mods right away? Or should I relax and enjoy the radio for a while and get "used" to it first? If I get used to it, will the matched crystals, KAF2 and other mods be a dramatic improvement compared to the basic #1112 which only has the NB/SSB/Auto-Tuner options in it. Question 4: When running on a fully charged internal battery can you get the same ammount of power out as you do on a fixed external supply? Just curious. Oh... The stock knob is gone. The previous owner had a nice ridged knob with a spinner grip installed on the rig. But I had an old knob from an Ampex VPR-3 1" broadcast videotape machine whose diameter just meets with the bottom edge of the K2 and only slightly covers the lables for the ATT and A VFO. It is heavily weighted and the knurled edge is thicker than an ordinary knob, even deeper than the ones on the Orion, plus it's tapered which is unusual and feels great for rolling your fingers around the outside edge as you tune. Will take a pic of it if anyone is interested. This is a great list! Many people answered my probe pic questions and I have a pair of color photos of the actual probes. Thanks to all who replied directly. 73 de one happy K2 camper! BTW...When my wife saw me take the K2 out of the box she remarked "What a cute little pooter!" a phrase she normally reserves for newborn infants and puppies. 8-) Tom K2TA _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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In reply to this post by Tom Althoff
K2TA wrote:
>Oh... The stock knob is gone. The previous owner had a nice ridged knob >with a spinner grip installed on the rig. But I had an old knob from an >Ampex VPR-3 1" broadcast videotape machine whose diameter just meets with >the bottom edge of the K2 and only slightly covers the lables for the ATT >and A VFO. Darn, I know where there's a VPR-3 here that's not doing anything - never would have imagined that the shuttle knob would fit a K2. From Tom's description, this is a fitting way to recycle bits from the best Type C VTR ever produced. Alex Poniatoff might even have approved. ;^) 73, VR2BrettGraham ex-AMPEX HK _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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It's nice to see some fellow ex-broadcast types on here. I worked in TV
broadcast and later owned a post-production house. I think I've used or owned just about every AMPEX product ever made dating back to the model 350 audio tape deck, every VTR from the VR-1000 forward except the AVR-3 and VPR-80 (including the high speed tape duplicator of which I think only three were made). HS-100 & 200 slomo disc recorders, AVA paint system, several ADOs, ACE editors, Century 330 switchers, etc. Never had a DCT deck or the storage deck based on it though... we went with DigiBeta, D1 and D5 at that time. It was a sad day indeed when AMPEX closed up shop. Without question, Redwood City was the center of the video universe. A lot of those guys went on to make more great products like Abekas (we also had a ton of Abekas equipment). 73, Larry N8LP VR2BrettGraham wrote: > K2TA wrote: > >> Oh... The stock knob is gone. The previous owner had a nice ridged >> knob with a spinner grip installed on the rig. But I had an old >> knob from an Ampex VPR-3 1" broadcast videotape machine whose >> diameter just meets with the bottom edge of the K2 and only slightly >> covers the lables for the ATT and A VFO. > > > Darn, I know where there's a VPR-3 here that's not doing anything - > never would > have imagined that the shuttle knob would fit a K2. From Tom's > description, this > is a fitting way to recycle bits from the best Type C VTR ever produced. > > Alex Poniatoff might even have approved. ;^) > > 73, VR2BrettGraham > ex-AMPEX HK > > _______________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Post to: [hidden email] > You must be a subscriber to post to the list. > Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: > http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm > Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com > > Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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Sorry for the off-topic content.
Wow...it looks like the magic word was Ampex! It is good to know I have something in common with at least 2 people here besides ham radio. I had some old HS-100 discs that I hot-glued audio CD's in the middle of to make them look like giant LP's. They made good mirrors. Also had one with a clock movement in the middle. Yes...I miss Ampex. On topic.... My AtoB, KAF2 and internal battery arrived today. I took Don W3FPR's suggestion that I swipe one of the 470pf caps from the 10/12 bandpass filter update and put it in the VCO circuit....VOILA!!!! I'm on 160M with the K2 again (after first pulling out all the junk caps parallelled and sucking the solder out of the holes etc.). Now I just need to order a replacement 470pf for the bandpass filter. It's great to have a radio that I can fix on top of my washing machine (the only clear bench space I could find today). And its great to meet such helpful friendly people... I wish the ham bands themselves were this pleasant to participate on. Tom K2TA ----- Original Message ----- From: "Larry Phipps" <[hidden email]> To: <[hidden email]> Sent: Friday, October 29, 2004 10:24 AM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Newbie K2 questions > It's nice to see some fellow ex-broadcast types on here. I worked in TV > broadcast and later owned a post-production house. I think I've used or > owned just about every AMPEX product ever made dating back to the model > 350 audio tape deck, every VTR from the VR-1000 forward except the AVR-3 > and VPR-80 (including the high speed tape duplicator of which I think > only three were made). HS-100 & 200 slomo disc recorders, AVA paint > system, several ADOs, ACE editors, Century 330 switchers, etc. Never had > a DCT deck or the storage deck based on it though... we went with > DigiBeta, D1 and D5 at that time. > > It was a sad day indeed when AMPEX closed up shop. Without question, > Redwood City was the center of the video universe. A lot of those guys > went on to make more great products like Abekas (we also had a ton of > Abekas equipment). > > 73, > Larry N8LP > > > > VR2BrettGraham wrote: > > > K2TA wrote: > > > >> Oh... The stock knob is gone. The previous owner had a nice ridged > >> knob with a spinner grip installed on the rig. But I had an old > >> knob from an Ampex VPR-3 1" broadcast videotape machine whose > >> diameter just meets with the bottom edge of the K2 and only slightly > >> covers the lables for the ATT and A VFO. > > > > > > Darn, I know where there's a VPR-3 here that's not doing anything - > > never would > > have imagined that the shuttle knob would fit a K2. From Tom's > > description, this > > is a fitting way to recycle bits from the best Type C VTR ever produced. > > > > Alex Poniatoff might even have approved. ;^) > > > > 73, VR2BrettGraham > > ex-AMPEX HK > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Elecraft mailing list > > Post to: [hidden email] > > You must be a subscriber to post to the list. > > Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): > > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: > > http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm > > Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Post to: [hidden email] > You must be a subscriber to post to the list. > Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm > Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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