Posted by
G4JQT on
Aug 18, 2011; 3:38pm
URL: http://elecraft.85.s1.nabble.com/K2-volume-tp6699863.html
Hi,
I’m still trying to pin down the cause of
the low-ish volume of my K2 (s/n 6905), which seems to be something occasionally reported with
this transceiver.
Dave White, VE6DRW, recently sent me the
documentation of the AGC mod to try. (Thanks Dave for digging it out for me – I
tried to thank you via email, but they kept bouncing.) According to Dave the
mod usually fixes the problem, but this doesn't explain why sometimes it's necessary and not others.
I know the K2 does not have a huge amount
of audio gain (for reduced battery consumption during portable operation), nevertheless, most
users say it is more than adequate in a normal environment.
I always have the RF gain set to max and need
AF set to max, or near max. I am listening in a very quiet shack. (And last time
my hearing was tested about two years ago it was normal.) I have a separate active
receive antenna, but this only confirms the situation is not due to a poor
antenna. (The main antenna is 120 ft random wire at 40 ft high via an ATU.)
The audio amp in my K2 is working properly
as far as I can tell by tests carried out using the side tone set to max and
measuring the peak-to-peak voltage across the speaker (1.7 V p-p) which is
about right by all accounts. The speaker in not faulty and I have used various makes/types
of headphones all with similar results.
The AGC voltage is set to 3.75 volts and
with no antenna connected there is no difference in noise between AGC ‘on’ and ‘off’.
L34 is peaked and the alignment procedures
were followed.
Reading through the threads again it seems
there is a real ‘issue’ here, not a variation in expectation from owner to
owner, but ‘something’ that is going on.
What seems odd to me is that most owners
say volume is fine, so there genuinely appears to be a variation in audio
volume - though not necessarily sensitivity as far as I can tell. But what is causing it?
I am considering building the Elecraft SP2
speaker, but I don’t feel this should be necessary given the complexity and
design of the K2; and it's not really getting to the cause.
So… is this a consequence of component tolerances
or just incorrect/sub-optimal alignment?
Thanks and regards,
Ian, G4JQT
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