Questions on battery, pots, chargers, and paddles

[ne1rd]

Fellow Elecrafters:

K2 #4649 is alive! Actually, it has been alive for about a week
but I didn't want to declare victory until both CW & SSB were
fully tested. (OK, 12m is still not working... but I'm getting
there!) I did have a few questions which I hope the
collective expertise of the list might help me with.

1. Travel with the internal battery.
I've ordered the internal battery which should arrive today.
Is this thing sufficiently mounted to travel well
(shake-and-bump-wise)? It will be in a carry-on sized Pelican
case with all the nice padding but I'm wondering if most folks
remove the battery for travel (carry-on) or if it rides well
inside. Opinions?

2. My audio potentiometer is flakey. Who knows why. While I
tried to be careful during assembly, perhaps I pushed on the
shaft. Anyway, it is now "loose" and from about the 40% point
to the 80% point in its rotation it is clear the wiper is not
making good contact. Is this common? Are these potentiometers
especially vulnerable to such things? I'm also guessing that
ordering the replacement from Elecraft is the best idea
(instead of trying to match something in Digikey, or elsewhere).

3. Has anybody used the A&A Engineering smart SLA charger with
the internal battery? What mods, if any, did you make to the
battery system to achieve this?

4. I'm drooling over the hex paddles now advertised on the
Elecraft web site. It looks JUICEY! But, I would want it to
be the key that travels with the radio. Does anybody have this
item? If so, could you render an opinion about how well it
might travel in the aforementioned case?

=-=-=

Thanks for everybody's help. The little K2 is quite a radio!
First QSO was with Columbia on 20m from Massachusetts. Got a
great signal report on SSB 9 watts with a random wire antenna.
Pretty good!

I'm trying to get all this assembled, tested, and ready to
travel for Feb. I'll be QRV from KH6 mid-Feb for a week.
Lots to do before then!

-- Scott (NE1RD)


B. Scott Andersen    | "Magic is real, unless declared integer."
[hidden email]   | -- The collected sayings of Wiz Zumwalt
Acton, Massachusetts | Ham: NE1RD, QRP ARCI#11588, FP#-910

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[Don Wilhelm-3]

Scott,

Answers to 1 and 3 -- the internal battery is quite tightly mounted, so you
should have no worries about it shaking loose.
I use the A&A Smartcharger on my K2 internal battery, and I have implememted
a direct (fused) battery connection for it.  See my website
www.qsl.net/w3fpr for all the relevant details.

73,
Don W3FPR

----- Original Message -----

> Fellow Elecrafters:
>
> K2 #4649 is alive! Actually, it has been alive for about a week
> but I didn't want to declare victory until both CW & SSB were
> fully tested. (OK, 12m is still not working... but I'm getting
> there!) I did have a few questions which I hope the
> collective expertise of the list might help me with.
>
> 1. Travel with the internal battery.
> I've ordered the internal battery which should arrive today.
> Is this thing sufficiently mounted to travel well
> (shake-and-bump-wise)? It will be in a carry-on sized Pelican
> case with all the nice padding but I'm wondering if most folks
> remove the battery for travel (carry-on) or if it rides well
> inside. Opinions?
>
> 2. My audio potentiometer is flakey. Who knows why. While I
> tried to be careful during assembly, perhaps I pushed on the
> shaft. Anyway, it is now "loose" and from about the 40% point
> to the 80% point in its rotation it is clear the wiper is not
> making good contact. Is this common? Are these potentiometers
> especially vulnerable to such things? I'm also guessing that
> ordering the replacement from Elecraft is the best idea
> (instead of trying to match something in Digikey, or elsewhere).
>
> 3. Has anybody used the A&A Engineering smart SLA charger with
> the internal battery? What mods, if any, did you make to the
> battery system to achieve this?
>
> 4. I'm drooling over the hex paddles now advertised on the
> Elecraft web site. It looks JUICEY! But, I would want it to
> be the key that travels with the radio. Does anybody have this
> item? If so, could you render an opinion about how well it
> might travel in the aforementioned case?
>
> =-=-=
>
> Thanks for everybody's help. The little K2 is quite a radio!
> First QSO was with Columbia on 20m from Massachusetts. Got a
> great signal report on SSB 9 watts with a random wire antenna.
> Pretty good!
>
> I'm trying to get all this assembled, tested, and ready to
> travel for Feb. I'll be QRV from KH6 mid-Feb for a week.
> Lots to do before then!
>
> -- Scott (NE1RD)
>
>

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[lonnie.m.juli]

The battery is very secure in its wrap around aluminum bracket. Just set the internal battery switch to the off position to be safe.

I use a Samlex PS goosed up to about 14.5V (Adjust VR2, not VR1!) connected to the normal power jack and all is well.

73,

Lonnie
NY2LJ

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[Leigh L. Klotz Jr WA5ZNU]

I am working on a modification of Don's extra charging jack by replacing
the SPST battery switch with a DPDT in the samf form factor.  The switch
hooks the battery to the rig through the diode and resistor or to the
charging jack through a fuse.  That provides direct access to the
battery safely but protects the rig from that jack.  (I wish there were
a center-off version of the switch so that the battery could be totaly
disconnected even from the jack).

if anybody wants part numbers let me know.  I also have construction
picture...I still need to find the best wire dressing from the switch to
the charging jack (old transverter hole) without going under the KAT2,
which seems undesirable to me because of the RF there.

73,
WA5ZNU Leigh.

On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 8:49 am, W3FPR - Don Wilhelm wrote:
See my website www.qsl.net/w3fpr for all the relevant details.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
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