[Elecraft] K2 frequency error/drift figures

[Ron D' Eau Claire]

> Guys, the K2 does not use TCXOs and I would not expect it to have the
> same stability as a rig that does.

The interest here has been to see how stable it is, not whether it can match
a rig with a TCXO.

It seems that there is quite a large variation in the stability one gets,
even without going to an extreme 'torture test'. For example, my K2 drifts
less than 50 Hz at 29.000 MHz from a cold start while Dave, G4AON, is
experiencing over 150 Hz  - more than 3 times the drift I am seeing.

Others have observed that the smaller drift I am getting is not unusual. And
there have been some who reported drifts more like Dave has measured.

That begs the question of "why?" and whether there is something that can be
done to reduce the drift in those K2's showing the larger amounts.

The Elecraft K2 spec says "< 100 Hz total drift typical from a cold start at
25 degrees C", so it is not a firm statement that the drift won't be greater
than 100 Hz.

I certainly am not "bashing" Elecraft or am I complaining about the K2.
Still, we wouldn't be "HAMS" if we weren't wondering why it is so and how to
make it better.

If all K2's exhibited similar drift characteristics, we might conclude that
it would take a redesign to improve it. But with the significant variation
that we have seen reported here, clearly the design IS capable of a much
better performance than some ops are getting. That would suggest that
perhaps swapping a few parts that are especially temperature-sensitive or
some other simple approach could make a very worthwhile improvement.

Ron AC7AC
K2 # 1289