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my KX2 experience and a minor structural issue

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Chris Tate - N6WM

my KX2 experience and a minor structural issue

Last week I was on holiday on Oahu with my wife and kids. I brought my KX2 with me and was fortunate to hook up with a couple of fellow contesters, Eran WH6R and Kimo KH7U and Rob KH6/W7NX.

Rob was kind enough to provide me a 33 foot fiberglass mast, with a half wave wire for 20m to set up on Kailua beach facing the mainland US.

I was absolutely blown away by the effectiveness of this little KX2 paired with this antenna, and I made contacts all over the world from Hawaii, and was spotted on RBN all over the US with great sigs. I worked lots of folks.

My assesment--
KX2 paired with an effective radiator makes for a super fun QRP experience. the radio performed great! a fantastic way to bring radio along wherever and whenever..

My discovery.. A minor structural problem but one that Elecraft may want to investigate

As a long time Elecrafter, I have never posted anything critical on elecraft equipment, but I did run into a small problem with this unit. I was on a windy beach, and the fine sand seems to have gotten into the KX2 via a gap in the front plastic display cover that will require me to disassemble to clean up. Since the KX2 is designed for ultra portability, I would suggest that some sort of gasket to seal the front of the unit may really help in situations like this. I suppose I could design one myself out of some thin rubber or foam, but wanted to share in the event the team may want to modify it slightly. Visually looking at the plastic upon return, I clearly notice a gap. This could be avoided with some sort of seal.

JM2C.

Thanks Elecraft for making this rig, I love it.. and plan many more outings. And to fellow KX2/KX3 owners, I highly recommend the experience of the Half wave vertical in proximity to Salt water for an amazing qrp experience. I hope I can figure a way to keep more of the sand and dust out of the rig in the future via some sort of gasket or seal.

Mahalo
Chris
N6WM/KH6
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na5n

Re: my KX2 experience and a minor structural issue

Chris Tate - N6WM writes:
> I was on a windy beach, and the fine sand seems to have gotten into the KX2 via a gap in the front plastic display cover that will require me to disassemble to clean up.

I used my KX2 and a tuned inverted vee for the NM QSO Party, setup portable
on a county line in the NM desert. The wind was awful that day, 35+ mph.
I experienced the same - noticed dust and grit inside the plastic display
cover when I got home. I had not experienced that before on my other
portable operations. Fortunately, the cover was easy to remove to clean
(thanks Elecraft for putting the mounting screws on the OUTSIDE of the
rig!). Your idea of a small gasket is a good one.

I also agree with you on the KX2 performance. I've used mine for the
above, QRPTTF, and a couple other outings and had no problem working coast-
to-coast from NM with a tuned antenna. I know that's hard to do for many
SOTA type operations and the ATU does a great job for good performance on
certain types of antennas. But, using a tuned antenna does take the KX2 up
a notch, in my opinion.

When in the submarine service years ago, stationed at Pearl Harbor, I
participated in a couple of Field Days. We struggled to work the mainland
with 100W (especially at night on 40M). Vacuum tube gear in those days.
The difference today with QRP is the huge leap in receiver technology, such
as seen with the SDR in the KX2.

GL getting yours cleaned. Clean clear plastic with a moist rag, then buff
clean to avoid scratches.

72, Paul NA5N
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Chris Tate - N6WM

Re: my KX2 experience and a minor structural issue

I'm planning on removing the lens and vacuum out the radio, in particular the LCD, and will carefully blow off then use screen cleaner on the plastic. But a lot of this can be avoided with a simple gasket filling the lens gap.

Thanks
~C.

On Jul 10, 2017, at 11:36 AM, Walter Underwood <[hidden email]> wrote:

>> On Jul 10, 2017, at 11:31 AM, [hidden email] wrote:
>>
>> GL getting yours cleaned. Clean clear plastic with a moist rag, then buff clean to avoid scratches.
>
> With sand, I would not use a rag. Flush under running water until clean, then dry off gently.
>
> wunder
> K6WRU
> Walter Underwood
> CM87wj
> http://observer.wunderwood.org/ (my blog)
>
> ______________________________________________________________
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na5n

Re: my KX2 experience and a minor structural issue

In reply to this post by na5n

Walter Underwood writes:

> With sand, I would not use a rag. Flush under running water until clean, then dry off gently.

Actually, that's how I did it. You verbalized it better than me. The
point is, wiping off sand and grit on plastic with a dry rag is guaranteed
to cause scratches. Let water do the work; avoid soaps and harsh cleaning
agents.

72, Paul NA5N
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Hajo Dezelski

Re: my KX2 experience and a minor structural issue

In reply to this post by Chris Tate - N6WM

Hello Chris,

if your Kx2 is an early release, the plastic cover bends slightly after
some time and it is possible that dust comes on the display.

I contacted Elecraft and they sent me a slightly modified cover. Since then
no problems with the rig.

73 de

Hajo dl1sdz

---
Cela est bien dit, mais il faut cultiver notre jardin.

http://hajos-kontrapunkte.blogspot.de/

Am 10.07.2017 8:02 nachm. schrieb "Chris Tate - N6WM" <[hidden email]>:

> Last week I was on holiday on Oahu with my wife and kids. I brought my KX2
> with me and was fortunate to hook up with a couple of fellow contesters,
> Eran WH6R and Kimo KH7U and Rob KH6/W7NX.
>
> Rob was kind enough to provide me a 33 foot fiberglass mast, with a half
> wave wire for 20m to set up on Kailua beach facing the mainland US.
>
> I was absolutely blown away by the effectiveness of this little KX2 paired
> with this antenna, and I made contacts all over the world from Hawaii, and
> was spotted on RBN all over the US with great sigs. I worked lots of folks.
>
> My assesment--
> KX2 paired with an effective radiator makes for a super fun QRP
> experience. the radio performed great! a fantastic way to bring radio
> along wherever and whenever..
>
> My discovery.. A minor structural problem but one that Elecraft may want
> to investigate
>
> As a long time Elecrafter, I have never posted anything critical on
> elecraft equipment, but I did run into a small problem with this unit. I
> was on a windy beach, and the fine sand seems to have gotten into the KX2
> via a gap in the front plastic display cover that will require me to
> disassemble to clean up. Since the KX2 is designed for ultra portability,
> I would suggest that some sort of gasket to seal the front of the unit may
> really help in situations like this. I suppose I could design one myself
> out of some thin rubber or foam, but wanted to share in the event the team
> may want to modify it slightly. Visually looking at the plastic upon
> return, I clearly notice a gap. This could be avoided with some sort of
> seal.
>
> JM2C.
>
> Thanks Elecraft for making this rig, I love it.. and plan many more
> outings. And to fellow KX2/KX3 owners, I highly recommend the experience
> of the Half wave vertical in proximity to Salt water for an amazing qrp
> experience. I hope I can figure a way to keep more of the sand and dust
> out of the rig in the future via some sort of gasket or seal.
>
> Mahalo
> Chris
> N6WM/KH6
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to [hidden email]
>

KD7PY

Re: my KX2 experience and a minor structural issue

In reply to this post by Chris Tate - N6WM

I use this to clean the display and lens..

https://www.amazon.com/Blower-Digital-Screens-Cleaning-Keyboards/dp/B00LV01BT2/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1499718910&sr=8-7&keywords=camera+lens+brush

Ed KD7PY

Bob McGraw - K4TAX

Re: my KX2 experience and a minor structural issue

A drop or two of liquid dish washing detergent and soft cloth or rubbing
with ones fingers works quite well. A word of caution, NEVER wipe a
dry plastic lens. Any dust particle will most likely scratch the surface.

On 7/10/2017 3:38 PM, KD7PY wrote:

> I use this to clean the display and lens..
>
> https://www.amazon.com/Blower-Digital-Screens-Cleaning-Keyboards/dp/B00LV01BT2/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1499718910&sr=8-7&keywords=camera+lens+brush
>
>
> Ed KD7PY
>
>
>
> --
> View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/my-KX2-experience-and-a-minor-structural-issue-tp7632377p7632385.html
> Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
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>
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> Message delivered to [hidden email]
>

Chris Tate - N6WM

Re: my KX2 experience and a minor structural issue

Of course.. My bigger concern is the sand that squeaked through the opening in the plastic lens and the case.. and sand is in the lcd.. going to need to be verrrrry careful with that.
________________________________________
From: [hidden email] [[hidden email]] on behalf of Bob McGraw K4TAX [[hidden email]]
Sent: Monday, July 10, 2017 2:00 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] my KX2 experience and a minor structural issue

A drop or two of liquid dish washing detergent and soft cloth or rubbing
with ones fingers works quite well. A word of caution, NEVER wipe a
dry plastic lens. Any dust particle will most likely scratch the surface.

On 7/10/2017 3:38 PM, KD7PY wrote:

tomb18

Re: my KX2 experience and a minor structural issue

In reply to this post by Chris Tate - N6WM

My tackle with reels is 7 lbs 9 Oz. All My clothes with my rainsuit is 18lbs.
We bring our own beer. There's no way we will full the plane

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
-------- Original message --------From: Hajo Dezelski <[hidden email]> Date: 2017-07-10 4:22 PM (GMT-05:00) To: Chris Tate - N6WM <[hidden email]> Cc: Elecraft Reflector <[hidden email]> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] my KX2 experience and a minor structural issue
Hello Chris,

if your Kx2 is an early release, the plastic cover bends slightly after
some time and it is possible that dust comes on the display.

I contacted Elecraft and they sent me a slightly modified cover. Since then
no problems with the rig.

73 de

Hajo dl1sdz

---
Cela est bien dit, mais il faut cultiver notre jardin.

http://hajos-kontrapunkte.blogspot.de/

Am 10.07.2017 8:02 nachm. schrieb "Chris Tate - N6WM" <[hidden email]>:

tomb18

Re: my KX2 experience and a minor structural issue

In reply to this post by Chris Tate - N6WM

Oops....

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
-------- Original message --------From: tomb18 <[hidden email]> Date: 2017-07-10 5:37 PM (GMT-05:00) To: Hajo Dezelski <[hidden email]>, Chris Tate - N6WM <[hidden email]> Cc: Elecraft Reflector <[hidden email]> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] my KX2 experience and a minor structural issue
My tackle with reels is 7 lbs 9 Oz. All My clothes with my rainsuit is 18lbs.
We bring our own beer. There's no way we will full the plane

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
-------- Original message --------From: Hajo Dezelski <[hidden email]> Date: 2017-07-10 4:22 PM (GMT-05:00) To: Chris Tate - N6WM <[hidden email]> Cc: Elecraft Reflector <[hidden email]> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] my KX2 experience and a minor structural issue
Hello Chris,

if your Kx2 is an early release, the plastic cover bends slightly after
some time and it is possible that dust comes on the display.

I contacted Elecraft and they sent me a slightly modified cover. Since then
no problems with the rig.

73 de

Hajo dl1sdz

---
Cela est bien dit, mais il faut cultiver notre jardin.

http://hajos-kontrapunkte.blogspot.de/

Am 10.07.2017 8:02 nachm. schrieb "Chris Tate - N6WM" <[hidden email]>:

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