Some K1 Issues

[Steve Brown-20]

I just put K1 #2177 on the air (after waiting almost a year to have the time to build it).   It seems to work well overall, but a couple of problems are nagging at me:

1) The power output is good (5.5 - 7.5 w) on 15, 30, and 40 meters, but only about 4.5 watts max into a vertical with "flat" SWR.  It just won't do more.  Any ideas?  Are there any of the toroids that especially should be checked?  I must have missed something somewhere, but darned if I can find it.   Is there any point in repeating the ENTIRE alignment process?
 
2) Getting the BFO offset exact on a K1 is a nightmare.  Is there some method that works better than that specified in the manual?  Does anyone EVER get it exactly right?  IOW, do all K1 operators just leave the RIT on and "scan" nearby frequencies for replies to their CQ calls?

Thanks... This is my first post to the reflector...

Steve
W9HC  

 

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[Don Wilhelm-3]

Steve,

Welcome to the reflector.

Please tell us what the power output is into a good 50 ohm non-reactive
dummy load.  The power output indication into an antenna may be quite
different if the antenna impedance is something different than 50 ohms
non-reactive (and it often is).  If your SWR bridge has been verified to
be correct at 50 ohms, *and* the SWR indication is *exactly* 1:1, then
the antenna is a 50 ohm non-reactive load - but any variation from those
two conditions leaves doubts about your actual power output.

The BFO offset can be set easily.  If you are having trouble with the
procedure in the manual, try it using Spectrogram to observe the where
the passband of the most narrow filter is placed - adjust the BFO to
place the filter passband at your preferred listening pitch (usually 600
Hz).  The transmit offset can also be set using Spectrogram as an
observation tool if you have trouble discerning the proper pitch and the
resulting zero beat indication.  As with the K2, Spectrogram is a good
tool for indicating the audio spectrum of the received passband (which
is a direct result of the BFO frequency).

73,
Don W3FPR

Steve Brown wrote:
> I just put K1 #2177 on the air (after waiting almost a year to have the time to build it).   It seems to work well overall, but a couple of problems are nagging at me:
>
> 1) The power output is good (5.5 - 7.5 w) on 15, 30, and 40 meters, but only about 4.5 watts max into a vertical with "flat" SWR.  It just won't do more.  Any ideas?  Are there any of the toroids that especially should be checked?  I must have missed something somewhere, but darned if I can find it.   Is there any point in repeating the ENTIRE alignment process?
>  
> 2) Getting the BFO offset exact on a K1 is a nightmare.  Is there some method that works better than that specified in the manual?  Does anyone EVER get it exactly right?  IOW, do all K1 operators just leave the RIT on and "scan" nearby frequencies for replies to their CQ calls?
>
> Thanks... This is my first post to the reflector...
>
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