[Elecraft] K1 front panel protection.

[lhlousek]

I travel with my K1 a lot too and have considered a combination stand and front cover.  I even have the equipment to
fabricate one.  One of these days I will get around to it...maybe.

What I did do is replace the 10 turn 100k pot with a better pot with a metal shaft.  The metal shafted pot has much less
shaft wobble and play and it has also gotten very smooth.  The feel rivals that of the K2's encoder.  A side benefit is
that it is also much stronger.  Any inward axial load on the shaft is borne by a retaining ring riding on the front of
the threaded bushing instead of the rear of the pot.  The front panel would bend well before you could punch out the
rear of the pot.

I also greatly reduced the amount that the knob protrudes forward from the rig.  I spaced the pot back with an
additional washer between it and the front panel and shortened the shaft ~0.1" so that the knob could sit closer to the
front panel.  Finally I reduced the height of the knob and rounded its front edges so that it was easier on the tuning
finger.  The end result is that instead of protruding 0.85", the face of the knob is 0.6" from the front panel, about
.05" more than the AF Gain and RIT knobs.

There is a photo at http://home.nvbell.net/lhlousek/K1knobsm.jpg

The pot is Mouser. pn 652-3540S-1-104 for $13.50

Lou W7DZN