This K2 is tough!

[Randy Rathbun NV0U]

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My tale of woe and intrigue:

Just walked in the shack and sat down and noticed the meter on the K2  
was lighting... very nicely I might add, in a nice little pattern.  
Then I noticed the external wattmeter was  showing about 5 watts.

I don't know how long it had been sending dits into the dummy load,  
but it was at least since last night!

Yes, other than being warm, nothing seems out of wack on the rig -  
normal power output everywhere.

What was the problem? a plug came kind of loose on my set of paddles  
that goes into a box I made so that I can have all my keys and  
computer hooked up. It was loose enough that it got the rig sending  
dits. For at least the past 24 hours.

Why didn't I notice? I had my headphones plugged in.

This is now part of SOP at station NV0U = don't just put the antenna  
on the dummy load - unplug the stinkin' key box when closing down for  
the night.

Randy Rathbun NV0U
[hidden email]
K2#1981, kx1 #1318, ARS #895, QRPARCI #10776, FP#1292, KCQRP #1



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[Dan Barker]

You'd have learned that long ago if you had cats.

Dan / WG4S

<snip>
unplug the stinkin' key box when closing down for the night.
</snip>
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[Kevin Rock]

My cat does not yet have his license :)
    Kevin.  KD5ONS



On Wed, 12 Apr 2006 22:59:39 -0400, Dan Barker <[hidden email]>
wrote:

> You'd have learned that long ago if you had cats.
>
> Dan / WG4S
>
> <snip>
> unplug the stinkin' key box when closing down for the night.
> </snip>



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[Ron D'Eau Claire-2]

Randy NV0U wrote:

Just walked in the shack and sat down and noticed the meter on the K2  
was lighting... very nicely I might add, in a nice little pattern.  
Then I noticed the external wattmeter was  showing about 5 watts.

I don't know how long it had been sending dits into the dummy load,  
but it was at least since last night!

Yes, other than being warm, nothing seems out of wack on the rig -  
normal power output everywhere.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Five watts is loafing for the K2, even running continuously.

I'm a brass-pounder too, and I've long ago gotten into the habit of pressing
the K2's MODE button when I'm leaving the operating position with power to
the rig turned on. That puts the K2 in TEST mode so it can't make RF.  

Don't feel like the "Lone Ranger". Accidentally keyed rigs are an
all-too-common experience, even when they are pumping 100 watts (or more)
into an antenna. Over the years, many a chase has gone on for days trying to
run down a "ditter" who left the rig running and then something got set
against the key accidentally. I've never been in on the kill, but I've read
some very humorous stories about the aghast Ham who finds a couple of fellow
Hams at his door explaining that his rig has been pounding out a steady
string of dots or dashes, sometimes for several days!

Ron AC7AC

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