[[Elecraft] Digipan not available...]

[Ron D' Eau Claire]

Tom, WB2ODG, wrote:
> Well I'm in the process of building the ssb module for my K2 with the
> express purpose of working PSK31.
> I've only half-paid attention to the various threads about the suitability
> of the K2 for psk31,but I thought there was a stability issue.

I've not experienced any stability problem with my K2. There have been some
discussions about mods to improve the IMD but I haven't made them myself (I
am now a very occasional PSK operator after spending a chunk of time with
the mode a year ago).

There were two significant issues with the K2 that I was aware of. One was
to avoid giving  it enough audio to 'trip' the ALC. That raises the IMD very
quickly. The second concern was to avoid overheating the finals. The K2 is
rated at 10 watts INTERMITTENT duty and PSK31 like most digital modes is
virtually continuous duty.

The solution to both issues is to set the POWER control to 10 watts, but set
the audio drive to the K2 so it only makes 5 watts output, MAX. That keeps
the power down where the K2 should not overheat, and having the POWER
control up at 10 watts ensures that the ALC circuit won't activate at 5
watts out.

Of course, the audio level to produce 5 watts output will vary with the band
in use, because the overall gain of the r-f circuitry in the K2 varies from
band to band, being lower, typically, on the higher bands. So I had to reset
my audio level from the PC whenever I changed bands.

Ron AC7AC
K2 # 1289