operating question about K2 pre-amp/attenuator

[Matthew Denson]

Hi All,

My operating experience is fairly limited, so I have a question about operating the K2.

What circumstances would cause one to turn off the pre-amp? And related, what circumstances would cause one to turn on the attenuator?  Even my old FT-101 had an attenuator to switch in, but I never came across a situation where I thought I'd want to.

73, Matthew AE6UP




       
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[n6wg]

In a nutshell, band conditions.
At times, on 80 or 40m, signals and noise will be plenty strong.
So then I switch in the attenuator.
The preamp is mainly for use on 20m and up, especially if you
are using just wire antennas without the gain of a beam.  If you
have a good beam, and signals are strong enough for operation
without the preamp, by all means, turn it off.
In contest conditions, the preamp increases the problems of
QRM from strong nearby stations.  Also, on 80 and 40, the
attenuator can help with keeping the KW stations from drowning
out the weaker stations that you might be working.
Good luck and 73
Bob N6WG

----- Original Message -----
From: "Matthew Denson" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 9:38 AM
Subject: [Elecraft] operating question about K2 pre-amp/attenuator


Hi All,

My operating experience is fairly limited, so I have a question about
operating the K2.

What circumstances would cause one to turn off the pre-amp? And related,
what circumstances would cause one to turn on the attenuator?  Even my old
FT-101 had an attenuator to switch in, but I never came across a situation
where I thought I'd want to.

73, Matthew AE6UP





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[AC7AC]

CONTENTS DELETED

The author has deleted this message.

[Curt Milton]

Matt

asking questions is a good thing.  2 great answers
already posted.  here is the 'punch line':

for 80, 40 and 30m i suggest you turn the preamp off.
(to confirm, with your antenna matched to the rig -
tune in a weak signal and verify that preamp makes no
difference here in detecting the signal, and receiver
will have more dynamic range)

for 20m and up - turn the preamp on, and leave it
unless you get obvious 'thumping' from nearby large
signals.  (up here atmospheric noise is less so we
benefit from the preamp).  

you may rarely need to change these settings - but be
aware of the opportunity.  enjoy your rig!  

73, curt

--- Matthew Denson <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Hi All,
>
> My operating experience is fairly limited, so I have
> a question about operating the K2.
>
> What circumstances would cause one to turn off the
> pre-amp? And related, what circumstances would cause
> one to turn on the attenuator?  Even my old FT-101
> had an attenuator to switch in, but I never came
> across a situation where I thought I'd want to.
>
> 73, Matthew AE6UP
>
>
>
>
>        
>

____________________________________________________________________________________

> Sick sense of humor? Visit Yahoo! TV's
> Comedy with an Edge to see what's on, when.
> http://tv.yahoo.com/collections/222
> _______________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Post to: [hidden email]
> You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
> Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
>  http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
> Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
>

       
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