Spare parts for K2

[JEAN-FRANCOIS MENARD-2]

Does somebody have any suggestion of a list of parts considered "a
must" in my spare parts package for my K2 I would like to store at home
???

For sure Q7 (2SC1969) is in my kit !!!

===============================================
Jean-François Ménard / VA2VYZ
[hidden email]

Club d'Astronomie Amateur de Sherbrooke
Club Radio Amateur de l'Estrie

Mon site web personnel : http://homepage.mac.com/jfmenard
===============================================
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[Don Wilhelm-2]

Jean-Francois,

I would say to save your money - unless you want to accumulate some parts
for other homebrew projects.

Parts in the K2 rarely fail (almost never) unless they are abused in some
way.
The design point for the components is conservative and little stress is
placed on them in normal usage.  I have never had a component fail in a K2
in 5 years unless I 'slipped' with the probe - and if that happens, it is
hard to say just what component will be zapped - it depends on where the
probe was placed.

If you insist, I would suggest buying some 2N7000 MOSFETs because they have
very low gate current and can be used if you want to 'steal' a signal from
inside the K2 without creating undue extra loading.  They will handle up to
200 ma of drain current too, so they can drive a heavy load if required.
Other good choices are 2N2222 NPN transistors and 2N2906 PNP transistors
which will give a good start for any junkbox.  An assortment of 1/4 watt
resistors and a stock of capacitors is always a good thing to have on hand.
I keep every value resistor in the 10% value scale in stock and lots of
.001, .01 and .1 capacitors as well as assorted smaller values.  You can
usually parallel capacitors to obtain the in-between values when needed.
What you add to your parts selection does depend on the kind of circuits you
are likely to build, but you can't go wrong with the above suggestions for a
starting point.

73,
Don W3FPR

Life is what happens when you are making other plans

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

Does somebody have any suggestion of a list of parts considered "a
must" in my spare parts package for my K2 I would like to store at home
???

For sure Q7 (2SC1969) is in my kit !!!



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[JEAN-FRANCOIS MENARD-2]

Thanks Don for your suggestion,

This is a good starting point.... I'm agree that I don't need a lot of
components, but a few basic and versatile to be commonly use in many
other projects.

And one other thing, all parts seems to be very common anyway in any
good electronic store, or at least you will get it in a couple of
days...

73

Le 04-06-25, à 11:11, Don Wilhelm a écrit :

> Jean-Francois,
>
> I would say to save your money - unless you want to accumulate some
> parts
> for other homebrew projects.
>
> Parts in the K2 rarely fail (almost never) unless they are abused in
> some
> way.
> The design point for the components is conservative and little stress
> is
> placed on them in normal usage.  I have never had a component fail in
> a K2
> in 5 years unless I 'slipped' with the probe - and if that happens, it
> is
> hard to say just what component will be zapped - it depends on where
> the
> probe was placed.
>
> If you insist, I would suggest buying some 2N7000 MOSFETs because they
> have
> very low gate current and can be used if you want to 'steal' a signal
> from
> inside the K2 without creating undue extra loading.  They will handle
> up to
> 200 ma of drain current too, so they can drive a heavy load if
> required.
> Other good choices are 2N2222 NPN transistors and 2N2906 PNP
> transistors
> which will give a good start for any junkbox.  An assortment of 1/4
> watt
> resistors and a stock of capacitors is always a good thing to have on
> hand.
> I keep every value resistor in the 10% value scale in stock and lots of
> .001, .01 and .1 capacitors as well as assorted smaller values.  You
> can
> usually parallel capacitors to obtain the in-between values when
> needed.
> What you add to your parts selection does depend on the kind of
> circuits you
> are likely to build, but you can't go wrong with the above suggestions
> for a
> starting point.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>
> Life is what happens when you are making other plans
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>
> Does somebody have any suggestion of a list of parts considered "a
> must" in my spare parts package for my K2 I would like to store at home
> ???
>
> For sure Q7 (2SC1969) is in my kit !!!
>
>
>

===============================================
Jean-François Ménard / VA2VYZ
[hidden email]

Club d'Astronomie Amateur de Sherbrooke
Club Radio Amateur de l'Estrie

Mon site web personnel : http://homepage.mac.com/jfmenard
===============================================

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[Ron D'Eau Claire-2]

FB about getting a new Q7, Jean-François!

As for spares... Over the years, I have always kept a spare "final" or
"finals" around ever since my 'final' was a 6L6 or 807 vacuum tube. If
something was going to "blow" due to carelessness or the strain of regular
use, it'd be the "final".

In 1977 - more than a quarter century ago - I built a Heath HW-8
transceiver. The other day I was digging around in my semiconductor stock
and came across an envelope marked "Spare HW-8 Final".

The message is that it's been over a quarter century since I've "blown" a
final.

Once you have the rig up and running, just about the only thing that's going
to fail is something that you break by having an accident - like the probe
slipping (You made me wince with that story. I suspect that most of us has
done that at least once!).

Still, if you're going to have something quit in 'normal' operation, it's
most likely one of the 'final' transistors. If you stock one, stock a set.
And it's quite unlikely that they will die. The only real danger is if you
don't mount the heat sink correctly or run the rig at too high a power for
too long. Keep in mind the 10 watt rating for the K2 and the 100 watt rating
for the K2/100 are for CW or SSB, not digital modes. CW/SSB has a lower
'duty cycle' since the key is "up" or you aren't constantly talking so the
average power is well below 10 or 100 watts.

Another op I know lost a bypass cap recently. It shorted, which took out an
IC relay driver. It really screwed up the relay band-switching and it took
him some head-scratching and good detective work to realize what had
happened. All he could see was that the power out was lousy on some bands.
Still that's VERY rare. He asked me for ideas and a shorted bypass never
occurred to me.

My ol K2/100 (S/N 1289) has been working without a hitch for over 3 years,
in spite of being torn down dozens of times to make mods or do testing of
new mods.

So if you want to avoid being off the air unexpectedly at any time, maybe
the best "spare" is a "spare" K2... Or perhaps a KX1 <G>.

73,

Ron AC7AC



-----Original Message-----
Does somebody have any suggestion of a list of parts considered "a
must" in my spare parts package for my K2 I would like to store at home
???

For sure Q7 (2SC1969) is in my kit !!!

===============================================
Jean-François Ménard / VA2VYZ
[hidden email]



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[JEAN-FRANCOIS MENARD-2]

Yes you're right.... maybe someday I'll buy another K2.... I'm planning
anyway to buy another one that will stay in my shack with the PA
100W....

I'm really enjoying this rig... It's a good thing also to have problem
sometime.... make me learn a lot !!! ;-) But no too often...

Le 04-06-25, à 11:44, Ron D'Eau Claire a écrit :

> FB about getting a new Q7, Jean-François!
>
> As for spares... Over the years, I have always kept a spare "final" or
> "finals" around ever since my 'final' was a 6L6 or 807 vacuum tube. If
> something was going to "blow" due to carelessness or the strain of
> regular
> use, it'd be the "final".
>
> In 1977 - more than a quarter century ago - I built a Heath HW-8
> transceiver. The other day I was digging around in my semiconductor
> stock
> and came across an envelope marked "Spare HW-8 Final".
>
> The message is that it's been over a quarter century since I've
> "blown" a
> final.
>
> Once you have the rig up and running, just about the only thing that's
> going
> to fail is something that you break by having an accident - like the
> probe
> slipping (You made me wince with that story. I suspect that most of us
> has
> done that at least once!).
>
> Still, if you're going to have something quit in 'normal' operation,
> it's
> most likely one of the 'final' transistors. If you stock one, stock a
> set.
> And it's quite unlikely that they will die. The only real danger is if
> you
> don't mount the heat sink correctly or run the rig at too high a power
> for
> too long. Keep in mind the 10 watt rating for the K2 and the 100 watt
> rating
> for the K2/100 are for CW or SSB, not digital modes. CW/SSB has a lower
> 'duty cycle' since the key is "up" or you aren't constantly talking so
> the
> average power is well below 10 or 100 watts.
>
> Another op I know lost a bypass cap recently. It shorted, which took
> out an
> IC relay driver. It really screwed up the relay band-switching and it
> took
> him some head-scratching and good detective work to realize what had
> happened. All he could see was that the power out was lousy on some
> bands.
> Still that's VERY rare. He asked me for ideas and a shorted bypass
> never
> occurred to me.
>
> My ol K2/100 (S/N 1289) has been working without a hitch for over 3
> years,
> in spite of being torn down dozens of times to make mods or do testing
> of
> new mods.
>
> So if you want to avoid being off the air unexpectedly at any time,
> maybe
> the best "spare" is a "spare" K2... Or perhaps a KX1 <G>.
>
> 73,
>
> Ron AC7AC
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> Does somebody have any suggestion of a list of parts considered "a
> must" in my spare parts package for my K2 I would like to store at home
> ???
>
> For sure Q7 (2SC1969) is in my kit !!!
>
> ===============================================
> Jean-François Ménard / VA2VYZ
> [hidden email]
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Post to: [hidden email]
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> You must subscribe to post.
> Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, Unsub etc):
> http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
> Elecraft page: http://www.elecraft.com

===============================================
Jean-François Ménard / VA2VYZ
[hidden email]

Club d'Astronomie Amateur de Sherbrooke
Club Radio Amateur de l'Estrie

Mon site web personnel : http://homepage.mac.com/jfmenard
===============================================

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[A.K.Forrest]

>Another op I know lost a bypass cap recently. It shorted, which took
>out >an
>IC relay driver. It really screwed up the relay band-switching and it took
>him some head-scratching and good detective work to realize what had
>happened. All he could see was that the power out was lousy on some bands.
>Still that's VERY rare. He asked me for ideas and a shorted bypass never
>occurred to me.

This happened to me too so it can't be that rare! The other spare
I've needed was a headphone socket. They take mini-jacks but if, like
me you use an adapter to a full size jack, they break. Mine took
about a year. Obviously I now only use mini jacks. I would guess this
isn't that rare either because it is a spare item on the Elecraft
site.

In general I very much agree that things electronic don't wear out.

  Andrew MIKAZ  k2# 3679
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[Allen Ward-2]

I managed to blow a set of K2 finals.  One of the mounting screws rusted and
the rust shorted one collector to ground (high resistance) so one transistor
opened and the other was down to about 3 watts max.  I dredged back in
memory to a First Telephone License test (when they were still available) to
the rules for number of spare tubes required  for radio stations.  I don't
remember the exact numbers but one spare was required for 1-4 tubes, 2
spares for 5-8 tubes (some such numbers).  So I went through the K2
schematic and ordered 3 sets of finals, 2 drivers, and some of just about
everything ( from RF Parts, Mouser, Newark, Digi-key etc.).  After replacing
the finals I have yet to need a single spare (about 2 years).  There is some
moral here connected with Murphy's law or some corollary thereof.  I suppose
in time there won't be any through-hole parts available and if I am still
around I won't be able to see well enough or solder well enough to fix
anything anyway.
Don't worry, be happy.
Allen

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[johnny-52]

Hi Jean,

I agree with Don.  I would stock some 2N7000 mosfet which are easily damaged
by ESD.

Ocassionally, I built K2 on behalf of some hams.  I experienced two failed
2N7000 when I constructed one KPA/100 and one K2 in the past.  If you want
to build another K2 in future, you may wish to stock a few 2N7000.  They are
cheap and only cost USD0.5 in Hong Kong.

73

Johnny Siu VR2XMC

----- Original Message -----
From: "JEAN-FRANCOIS MENARD" <[hidden email]>
Cc: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Saturday, June 26, 2004 12:30 AM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Spare parts for K2


Yes you're right.... maybe someday I'll buy another K2.... I'm planning
anyway to buy another one that will stay in my shack with the PA
100W....

I'm really enjoying this rig... It's a good thing also to have problem
sometime.... make me learn a lot !!! ;-) But no too often...


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