Seattle K2 calibration

[Lee Kimber]

Hi,

This is my first post to the list.

I wondered if there are any people in the Seattle area with experience
of calibrating a K2?

I have just finished building mine and am looking for a more experienced
handhold to get me through calibration. I think my system is working but
I have ended up with a left over "104" ceramic cap for which I can't
find a home on the PCB and am finding the calibration instructions don't
have much impact on what appears to be a very poor 40m reception. In
other words, I think I may have a problem with my K2. However, I live in
a basement apartment with no decent antenna so my environment is
sub-sub-optimal!

If there is anyone in the Seattle area with more experience than the
zero experience that I have, I'd really appreciate some guidance.

Thanks!

Lee    KE7DKR
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[Don Wilhelm-3]

Lee,

I'm not in Seattle, but here near the other coast - BUT perhaps I can help
with your K2 calibration.  Surf to my website http://w3fpr.qrprqdio.com or
the mirror at http://home.earthlink.net/~w3fpr and look at the article there
on K2 Dial Calibration.

Yes there is a possibility that it will help perk up the performance - step
3 of that article deals with CAL FIL - the filter alignment, and it is
important to achieving the best performance from the K2.  If you have
already peaked the bandpass filters on transmit as instructed in the manual,
and aligned L34 for the best receive (again as instructed in the manual),
then the CAL FIL alignment should peak it to perfection.

The only other thing that may help is for you to optimize the AGC
Threshold - the initial 3.8 volt setting may not be optimal (optimum setting
is usually a bit lower (in the 3.65 to 3.8 volt range).  If you hear a
difference in noise level when toggling between AGC on and AGC off with no
antenna connected, your K2 is not set for the optimum AGC Threshold.

Have fun with your new K2.

73,
Don W3FPR

> -----Original Message-----
>
> Hi,
>
> This is my first post to the list.
>
> I wondered if there are any people in the Seattle area with experience
> of calibrating a K2?
>
> I have just finished building mine and am looking for a more experienced
> handhold to get me through calibration. I think my system is working but
> I have ended up with a left over "104" ceramic cap for which I can't
> find a home on the PCB and am finding the calibration instructions don't
> have much impact on what appears to be a very poor 40m reception. In
> other words, I think I may have a problem with my K2. However, I live in
> a basement apartment with no decent antenna so my environment is
> sub-sub-optimal!
>
> If there is anyone in the Seattle area with more experience than the
> zero experience that I have, I'd really appreciate some guidance.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Lee    KE7DKR
>

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