[Elecraft] K1 crystal grounding experiment

[Wallace, Andy]

Bottom line: it didn't make a huge improvement!

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NOTE: this is not recommended by Elecraft. It is
not Elecraft's fault if you mess up your crystal
set. If you do, 'fess up pay them for a new set.
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In reading the discussion of filter blow-by on the K2, I
asked several people who had done that if they had also
tried it with a K1. Some had, some had not, but nobody
replied that they had done a before-after comparison.

I tried it with mine. I have good equipment available
(Metcal iron/Pace desoldering stn) at work, so I was
able to remove the xtals without damage, wind a piece of
tinned bare wire (from inside a piece of large gauge stranded
wire) once around the base of the crystal, twist the ends
together like a baggie tie, and solder the twist and a couple
of places along the bottom of the can. I then bent one 
end of the twist downwards to face the ground hole in the 
board. Then I cut the other lead from the twist off. 
I was able to do all this without taking more than 1 second
to perform each soldering operation...

Reinstalled the xtals with the new ground wires, and 
tried it out.

Before, I had some blow-by on very very strong signals
-- S-9 40m powerhouse CW, where you can hear the "opposite 
sideband" as you approach the station.

Now, there shows a slight improvement. I don't think it was
many dB. The good news is that it WAS an improvement, and 
it did not seem to affect the filter shape at all. I don't
think I damaged my xtals in the process, either. 

It seems to me that someone discussed this about the K1
earlier in the year and said that there was a reason 
grounding on the top of the cans was adequate -- but I
can't find that message now. Anyone remember?

So I would say that this is a mod NOT to try. The benefit
seems to be very small and without excellent soldering
technique/equipment you risk damaging your filter crystals.

I just thought I'd post this report in case anyone wondered
how the K1 would fare for the mod.

-Andy