[Elecraft] Cal Cur

[Don Wilhelm]

Ron and all,

The normal current for 10 watts is about 2.5 Amps -- BUT this is only for
the base (bare-bones) K2.  Each option adds a bit of current draw.  My K2
with the 160 meter, SSB, NB and ATU options would draw about 2.8 Amps.

The other thing that will cause higher current is to try to get as much
power out as possible - the PA just tries to draw more current to satisfy
the POWER requested setting.

And be aware that the 'normal' current draw for the K2 is with a power
supply delivering 13.8 volts (K2 will display about 13.2 volts due to the
protective diode).  If the power supply voltage drops, the K2 will draw more
current - again to satisfy the power requested setting - the ALC circuit
just works that way.

Setting CAL CUR higher does no harm, you can set it to match your power
supply rating if that is appropriate and you will get the warning message if
it is exceeded.  I have mine set to 3.5 AMPS - and I have determined that is
a 'sensible' value for my situation.

73,
Don Wilhelm  - Wake Forest, NC   W3FPR home page: http://www.qsl.net/w3fpr/
  QRP-L # 485   K2  SN 0020   mailto: w3fpr@arrl.net

*** Life is what happens when you're making other plans -- Mike Cross  ***

----- Original Message -----
>
> Where are most K2's set with respect to Cal Cur?  I think the manual says
> 2.5 should be good for 10Watts Operation.
>
> Mine is at 3.60 and I still get Hi Cur on 80M even with a dummy load.  On
> 80M, my current jumps up and down quite a bit also.  On the other bands,
the
> current seems much more stable and only increases very slowly, which is
> normal I understand.
>
>