Posted by
John Ragle on
Aug 28, 2011; 2:50pm
URL: http://elecraft.85.s1.nabble.com/XV144-tp6734563p6734792.html
Hello, David...
You raise two issues. Let me mention the dial reading issue first.
Elecraft has a mod that allows the LO in the XV144 to be pulled a bit.
In the K3 there is also an internal (to the K3) adjustment to correct
for the offset, but it was not sufficient to bring my XV144 anywhere
near the proper frequency. I am not sure about the situation for the K2.
Someone (e.g. Don) will chime in with that info.
The Elecraft mod is a slug-tuned inductor that installs in place of the
strap over near the LO crystal. Consult with Elecraft about this
problem; they are equipped to deal with it immediately and simply. My
XV144 was very far off frequency when assembled without this mod,
despite the fact that the LO crystal was marked to be of the proper
frequency, and the mod fixed things properly.
With respect to range, I see you are in Kansas. Around Elmdale, things
are pretty flat, so you should have no problems working out to 100 miles
with the 11 element beam -- your ERP will be of the order of several
hundred watts in the main lobe, assuming you are running the XV144 wide
open. Here in *(quite hilly*!) western New England I have no trouble
working out 100 miles with the XV144 running barefoot, as long as
conditions are normal. Usually to go any further than that, I have to
turn on the heat...350 watts to an 11 element beam at 38 feet does
wonders for a range increase. Of course, trying to use ssb in marginal
conditions only makes matters worse*;* CW is a marvelous communications
enhancer...
My conclusion from your observations is that you are correct...there is
a problem on the receive side of your set-up. Just where to look, I am
not sure. I assume you have checked the alignment on the receive side of
the transverter. Mine is plenty sensitive, working into a K3...it
compares equally to an ICOM 910H with a GaAsFET preamp on the same
antenna. Questions you might ask, are "is it poor sensitivity you are
dealing with?" or "is it that the signal level to the K2 IF that is low?"
I am sure that as the day wears on, someone else will chime in with a
constructive suggestion...
John Ragle -- W1ZI
=====
On 8/28/2011 8:21 AM, David Heinsohn wrote:
> Hello All
>
> I use a K2 and have XV50 and 144. The XV50 seems to be working just
> fine. However the 144 seems to have a problem. I live far enough away
> from other operators and had a poor enough antenna that I've not been
> able to find a test horse to talk to on two ssb or cw. finally made
> that happen last week. What I found was that the transverter seemed to
> be working. Receive performance is not as good as I think it should be
> (I changed out the loop antenna for an eleven element beam fix pointed
> at the metro area about 100 miles away). I need to run with the preamp
> on, rf and af gains all the way up to hear BIG stations at 100 miles in
> good conditions. And even more worrying is that, based on several
> stations reports my dial reads 12.4 khz high.
>
> From what I can see in the manual there is no alignment for frequency
> readout as such and the adjustment available from the TRN menu is only
> 10 khz.
>
> In checking the K2 against WWV it seems to be within well less than
> 100 hz.
>
> Suggestions?
>
> TNX
> de
> David
>
>
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