[Elecraft] K2 #2881 - rockin' and rollin'

[Mike Zak]

Happy to say that K2 #2881 is done, all the way through page 77 of the =
manual.  Construction started during the first week in October, so it =
looks like it took me about 5 weeks of effort, on-again-off-again, to =
finish.  Building sessions were limited, when possible, to 45 minutes =
apiece in order to avoid brain and eye fatigue.  Problems encountered =
were minimal and in general were quickly resolved either through use of =
the Reflector archives or via an e-mail exchange with either Scott or =
Gary at Elecraft.  100% of the problems encountered were "cockpit error" =
and both Scott and Gary were real gentlemen and assisted me through a =
couple of episodes of self-inflicted injuries.

Special thanks go to N0SS and KD5NDB for their very useful contributions =
to the Elecraft homepage and Reflector archives, especially on the use =
of Spectrogram for filter alignment.  I went through the first round of =
filter alignments according to the Elecraft manual, and then quickly =
transitioned over to Spectrogram.  Once you get the hang of it, it's a =
no-brainer and the shareware fee is an excellent investment.  In =
particular, KD5NDB's insights into how to get CW-N and CW-R in synch (by =
using the birdie at 7 mc/s) were very clever.  I haven't followed the =
debate on the math of filter alignment, but I can interpret graphs and =
plots and Spectrogram really does a great job.

The K2 receiver has been in operation for awhile on 40M, as the =
construction routine provides.  After a few evenings of listening to the =
receiver on 40M, I went ahead and sold my FT-1000mp Mk5 as excess =
baggage and the major reason I'm holding onto my Icom 756 Pro II is =
because it provides 6M capability at the summer QTH up in FN53.  As soon =
as I get a K2 going with a 6M transverter the 756 will be a goner as =
well.  The radios now in use at my home are a K1, K2, and a Collins =
S-Line.

Thanks, Elecraft, for a fun experience and a for radio with a superb =
receiver in it.

Mike - W1MU