[Elecraft] K2 AGC Mod

[frastephen@comcast.net]

Hello All!

Well, I am still having a ball with the "infant" K2 #2644.

I did notice something that others have been discussing lately, and thought
I would report my findings.

Well, I found that the AGC was way to pronounced on my K2, as built per the
manual.  Even with just background noise the AGC was very pronounced.
Turning off the AGC was like turning off the attenuator and turning on the
pre-amp!  I also noticed absolutely no difference between having the AGC set
to FAST or SLOW (I think this is a good real world, simple, bottom line
"test" for too much AGC!).

So I went to the local Radio Shack and picked up some 33k resistors (bought
the 1/2 watt flavor, DOH!).  Swapped out the 51k R1 and replaced it with the
33k.  Powered up and I seem to be doing much better.  Turnnig the AGC on
when there are no signals present only drops the hiss by a small amount.
Now, when I kick on the AGC I notice a marked difference in the behavior of
the AGC whether it is in FAST or SLOW mode.

Bottom Line:    I believe that this mod has improved my K2 experience.  YMMV
                       The FAST/SLOW test worked for me ... anybody else
think this is a useful test for                         diagnosing
over-powered AGC?

Peace and 73,
Stephen
W3SMK
K2 #2644 (now with a little less AGC hegemony)