[Elecraft] K2/100 at N0SS for FD...

[Mark J. Dulcey]

Tom Hammond N=D8SS wrote:
> Mark Dulcey wrote:
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>> K2 #1984 (Big Brother is Listening) plus a shiny new KPA100 (this one =

>> separated according to the KI6WX instructions) handled 510 CW QSOs at =

>> W1BOS...  We worked N0SS, so we may have had a K2/100 - K2/100 contact=
!
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> It WAS, unless we both happened to be making our Natural Power QSO's at=
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> tht same time early Sunday morning on 15M.

No, we made our natural power contacts right at the beginning of Field=20
Day, on 40. I think the contact with you was on 15 on Sunday morning,=20
but I don't know when. Alas, I would have to reboot this computer to=20
find out; I'm running Linux right now, but the WriteLog software=20
(station standard, not my choice) is installed in the Windows 2000=20
partition, and won't run under Wine.

>> My big old AEA AT-300 doesn't seem to be able to match such an antenna=
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>> - the inductances probably don't go low enough.) The K2/100 gave a HI =

>> REFL warning, but happily soldiered on at somewhat reduced power.
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> Does the AT-300 have 'fixed-by-band' inductances? (e.g. switch position=
s=20
> for "80", "40", "20", etc.) Or does it have a switch to allow you to=20
> select numerous tap points?

The AT-300 is a bit unusual; it uses TWO tapped coils and ONE capacitor. =

Each inductor has an 18-position switch. It's built like a tank; it's as =

big as some legal-limit tuners I've seen. Good power handling, low loss, =

but not a champion in ability to match any arbitrary antenna.

>> Dave Hunt, WX1G, was impressed by the K2. I loved it all along - but=20
>> if Dave, one of the best CW operators around, liked it, that really=20
>> means something! He particularly noted the smooth QSK and the=20
>> effective filters. I just did the crystal filter grounding mod last=20
>> week; that couldn't have hurt.
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> With only 3-4 instances, I think we used a filter bandwidth of 1.0kHz=20
> the entire time.

We normally operated at the 700Hz bandwidth setting, moving down to=20
400Hz or 100Hz for a few contacts where the QRM was very close and loud. =

I think I could count the number of times on my fingers, but the tight=20
filters were real lifesavers when we needed them. (I say we because I=20
was present for most of the operating period. Dave was the primary=20
operator, but he's blind, so he needs a logger, and he wasn't fully=20
familiar with the control panel of the K2, so I pushed buttons as=20
needed. For instance, he found my preferred sidetone volume too soft, so =

I turned it up.) My CW filter settings are currently OP1, 700, 400, 100; =

I'm considering replacing the OP1 setting with something narrower.

When I operated WPX last year, I used 400Hz most of the time. This could =

mean that Dave is better at selecting signals in his head than I am,=20
that the bands are even more crowded during WPX than on Field Day, or=20
that the improved skirts from the filter mod lessened the need for=20
narrow filter settings. More experimentation is clearly needed.

Dave's comments about the filters probably also reflect some other good=20
things as well, such as the excellent strong-signal handling and AGC=20
performance of the K2. What he was noticing was not just selectivity,=20
but the lack of other nasty effects caused by other nearby signals. We=20
used the attenuator full-time on 80 because the background noise on the=20
band is so high (the band noise floor was easily heard even with the=20
attenuator on), but not on the other bands.