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Quick Questtion on KX1 ATU

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thomaskd

Quick Questtion on KX1 ATU

Hello,

I am taking advantage of this holiday time to complete the ATU and 30M board for my KX1. I have a quick question about the ATU install before I solder it in place.

I just installed the P1, P2 and P3 connectors and wonder if I took the "must be fully seated" warning in the directions a little too seriously. I installed the long ends of P1, P2 and P3 as far as they would go into the J6, J7 and J8 connectors. When I did this, there was a gap between the plastic part of the J connectors and the P connectors where you could see the metal connector. I gave the plastic on the P connectors a push and while the pins did not go in further, the plastic moved down and closed the gap.

I then put the ATU in place and it fits, but I think it might hang too low. The directions say to make sure that nothing is touching..and I think I am in good shape except for the possibility of a toroid hitting R28. I am not sure I can move it enough. It hard to see to the back of the board and verify everything though.

Did I get a little too enthusiastic? Is that "gap" ok? If so, how much should the gap be and I will see if I can get it back.

I finished the paddles this week and hope to get this ATU installed today. It is supposed to be 50 and sunny tomorrow. I could try my first outside QSO with the rig.

Any and all help appreciated!

73 de Keith KB3ILS
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thomaskd

Re: Quick Questtion on KX1 ATU

I know it's bad form to reply to your own message, but I think I just found my own answer in the Errata sheet. It sounds like that gap is ok to be there....

So now the question is, how big should the gap be so that I can get it back?

73 de Keith KB3ILS
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Don Wilhelm-3

RE: Quick Questtion on KX1 ATU

Kieth,

The gap is a little more than 1/16 inch and less than 1/8 inch. If you
solder the pins so there is just a bit of the square portion sticking beyond
the ATU board surface that should be close enough.

73,
Don W3FPR

> -----Original Message-----
>
> I know it's bad form to reply to your own message, but I think I
> just found my own answer in the Errata sheet. It sounds like
> that gap is ok to be there....
>
> So now the question is, how big should the gap be so that I can
> get it back?
>
> 73 de Keith KB3ILS
>

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thomaskd

RE: Quick Questtion on KX1 ATU

In reply to this post by thomaskd

Don,

Thanks for the spacing info. I have it all installed and it fits right now. Whoever did the layout of this kit did a great job. It all lines up nice and tight but does not touch.

I did the Alignment and Test section. It was a bit tricky to handle all the stuff at once, but I seem to have found the null using the DMM at 0.9 mV. Does that sound good?

On to building the 30M board!

73 de Keith KB3ILS
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Don Wilhelm-3

RE: Quick Questtion on KX1 ATU

Kieth,

Yes, it is tricky, entering TUNE (a 2 button press) and then reading the
voltage on the other side of the unit - causes one's neck to twist in
strange positions to make sure everything is correct.

If you really measured 0.9 mv, then that is great - if you misread or
mistyped and you really measured 0.9 volts, then you should check things
over carefully.

73,
Don W3FPR

> -----Original Message-----
>
> I did the Alignment and Test section. It was a bit tricky to
> handle all the stuff at once, but I seem to have found the null
> using the DMM at 0.9 mV. Does that sound good?
>
> On to building the 30M board!
>
> 73 de Keith KB3ILS
>

thomaskd

RE: Quick Questtion on KX1 ATU

In reply to this post by thomaskd

Don,

I was sure that I read 0.9mV on the DMM...but I have made plenty of mistakes along the way...so I went and double-checked. Yep....0.9mV. I guess it is in good shape.

I hooked it up to my attic dipole and tuned up on 20M and get a reading of 4.2 watts and a SWR of 1.1. I made one call and had a nice QSO from here in PA to Florida. He was surprised I was running QRP when he found out. It was only my 2nd QSO with the KX1 and the first one using the KXPD1 paddles. They got away from me at one point and sent a nice string of dits even when I was not touching them. I still need to adjust them better. Then my earbuds fell out while I was sending and I started to lose track. It was still a good QSO though!

I tried to tune the dipole on 40M and it did not tune well. I think it got to a SWR of 5.2 or something like that. I can tune that dipole on 40M with my LDG tuner..but I wonder what kind of efficiency I get.

I am still quite new at CW and very new at QRP. I am going to enjoy this little rig a lot. I will be cutting some wires and counter poises tonight to try out with it. Especially for 40M.

Thanks for all the help and hopefully I can get the 30M board installed and working without too many posts to the list!

73 de Keith KB3ILS

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Don Wilhelm-3

RE: Quick Questtion on KX1 ATU

Kieth,

Good work.

On your antenna tuning situation on 40 meters - it may be that the feedpoint
impedance is outside the range of the KX1 tuner. Yes, the range is limited
by the necessity of small things - and to further compound the situation, as
the frequency does down, the impedance matching range of the tuner (any
switched L network tuner, the LDG included) is reduced. So it does not say
the tuner is 'broken', it just says that the KXAT1 range may not be
sufficient. You can try adding (or subtracting) a few feet of feedline at a
time to see if the tuning situation improves.

73,
Don W3FPR

> -----Original Message-----
>
> I was sure that I read 0.9mV on the DMM...but I have made plenty
> of mistakes along the way...so I went and double-checked.
> Yep....0.9mV. I guess it is in good shape.
>
> I hooked it up to my attic dipole and tuned up on 20M and get a
> reading of 4.2 watts and a SWR of 1.1. I made one call and had
> a nice QSO from here in PA to Florida. He was surprised I was
> running QRP when he found out. It was only my 2nd QSO with the
> KX1 and the first one using the KXPD1 paddles. They got away
> from me at one point and sent a nice string of dits even when I
> was not touching them. I still need to adjust them better. Then
> my earbuds fell out while I was sending and I started to lose
> track. It was still a good QSO though!
>
> I tried to tune the dipole on 40M and it did not tune well. I
> think it got to a SWR of 5.2 or something like that. I can tune
> that dipole on 40M with my LDG tuner..but I wonder what kind of
> efficiency I get.
>
> I am still quite new at CW and very new at QRP. I am going to
> enjoy this little rig a lot. I will be cutting some wires and
> counter poises tonight to try out with it. Especially for 40M.
>
> Thanks for all the help and hopefully I can get the 30M board
> installed and working without too many posts to the list!
>
> 73 de Keith KB3ILS
>
>