[Elecraft] K1 #1181 on the air

[Sandy, W5TVW]

I don't have the noise blanker.  No ignition noise and my power
lines are quiet!  The KAT1 for portable operations is a very
important "must have" though!!!!  Replaces a very bulky external
tuner I had and will match most loads I present to it except
ridiculous ones like a 3' or 10' whip or a high Z load.

73,
Sandy W5TVW
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Jackson" <ssj@nc.rr.com>
To: <elecraft@mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Friday, May 17, 2002 7:53 PM
Subject: [Elecraft] K1 #1181 on the air


| K1 #1181 has joined K2 #771 in the shack.  The K1, a birthday gift from the
| XYL, will be the 'frequently portable' radio.
| 
| I made two construction errors on the 4-band board.  I wanted to mention
| what I did wrong and what happened, so that someone else can benefit from
| observing my carelessness.
| 
| Turns out that I installed the premix coupling transformer incorrectly.  It
| was wound fine, and had no PTTL syndrome (I use a solder pot).  I just
| didn't see the green vs. red wires right ... now for the interesting part:
| the SA602 that drives it ran warm, and sucked down an extra 30 mA doing so.
| 
| This is a good habit reinforcement:  when assembling any kit, power it
| through an analog ammeter if you have one.  (I've been doing this since I
| was eleven, 30 years' now, and it's always proven to be a good idea.)  The
| rig was working, but not properly, and drawing nearly 100% more juice (85
| mA) than it was supposed to.  And since when does a 602 dissipate heat?
| 
| I thought the chip was bad, even though bad '602 chips are darned rare ...
| and I pulled it and replaced it.  (Thanks are in order to Scott and Gary.)
| 
| New chip : Same symptom!  Took me a while to find this first error, with a
| bright light and magnifying glass.  Being on this side of 40 is a new
| experience ...
| 
| I easily fixed the 'chip problem' by removing the transformer and
| reinstalling it correctly, and then the radio sprang to life.
| 
| On two bands.
| 
| Whoops.  Error #2:  I apparently got dyslexic on T3 and T4.  They were
| swapped.  I un-swapped them, and now have a smashingly effective 4-band K1.
| 
| Ordered the noise blanker today.  Don't know if I'll need it, but better to
| have it than not.  KAT1 is next.
| 
| 72  Steve KZ1X/4
| Chapel Hill, NC
| 
| PS:  just got my HFPacker amp kit in.  Woohoo, more toroids!  Glad I bought
| that solder pot!  Will get it built, in an EC1 case, by Independence Day.  I
| hope.
| 
| 
| 
| 
| _______________________________________________
| Elecraft mailing list: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
| You must be a list member to post to the list. 
| Postings must be plain text (no HTML or attachments). 
| See: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
| Elecraft Web Page: http://www.elecraft.com
| 
|