new to a K2 hesitation on power out & TX in general

[Ivin Flint]

I just bought a used pre-built K2 from a local friend.  I bought the rig for my main QRP station in the house and also to take out where ever I decide to operate radio.  I very much hope it is durable enough to travel in a bag.  I'm still trying to get used to this rig.  It was a huge investment toward my hobby and I am still a little nervous it isn't functioning quite right or won't meet my needs.

I notice a hesitation in output power when I first key the rig after changing bands.  IS THIS NORMAL DUE TO THE BAND SWITCHING RELAYS?  It is a little annoying when trying to call that first station on a new band and they miss the first letter of my call and have to ask for it again. After the intitial key down it seems to work fine.

I also have more output power at least on 20 and 40 meters than what the power setting is set to.  last night with the output power set to 5 watts I was getting about 7.5 watts out.  I plan to change out the resistor in R98 to correct this problem.  

I would also like to know what ideas any of you have come up with to reasonably weather proof the radio while using it outside.  I only have the noise blanker and SSB board in it right now so there seems like a lot of holes in the back for dirt or a critter to crawel into and there are a lot of seams around the panels.

The reflector has helped answer some questions and of course is a great resourse.  Thanks!

Ivin W9ILF


     

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[Vic K2VCO]

Ivin Flint wrote:

> I notice a hesitation in output power when I first key the rig after changing bands.
> IS THIS NORMAL DUE TO THE BAND SWITCHING RELAYS?  It is a little annoying when trying
> to call that first station on a new band and they miss the first letter of my call and
> have to ask for it again. After the intitial key down it seems to work fine.

This is normal due to the closed-loop method used to set the drive.

> I also have more output power at least on 20 and 40 meters than what the power setting
> is set to.  last night with the output power set to 5 watts I was getting about 7.5
> watts out.  I plan to change out the resistor in R98 to correct this problem.

If you do not have the antenna tuner or KPA100 installed, then power measurement is done
by a simple RF voltmeter which is only accurate when the load is exactly 50 ohms.

For a QRP K2, the KAT2 antenna tuner is a great option -- it solves this problem, provides
  two antenna outputs (programmable per band) and of course is a very effective tuner. I
highly recommend this.

--
73,
Vic, K2VCO
Fresno CA
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco
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