[Elecraft] K2 SSB Improvements?

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

Henry, if you are getting ALC action at the compression setting you =
like,
raising the value of R14 more won't help at all. All it did was to give =
you
more audio into the rig and once the ALC starts flickering that first =
bar,
the K2's ALC will keep backing down the gain to compensate for any more
audio you put in.

If you're not happy with the "punch", I'd look closely at the BFO =
frequency
settings and, possibly, the bandwidth of the SSB filter which can be
modified as John Grebenkemper (KI6WX) described.=20

Elecraft designed the K2 with a very narrow SSB filter - just a "tad" =
over 2
kHz - because that generally produces the greatest "punch" by =
concentrating
the voice in the narrowest possible bandwidth without sacrificing
intelligibility. However, that also means that the setting of the BFO
frequencies to properly center your audio in the filter bandwidth is
critical. Also, SOME voices benefit from a slightly wider bandwidth in =
the
SSB filter.=20

Ron AC7AC

-----Original Message-----
... I am using a Heil Pro=20
Set with HC4 element for SSB contesting.  I have changed KSB2 part R14 =
to
4.7K=20
(it was the largest value less than 10K that was in stock at the local =
Radio

Shack when I visited the store).  In my recent ARRL 10 Meter Contest =
effort,
I=20
noted a lack of "punch" in breaking pileups and maintaining the VOX =
between=20
syllables.  I plan to increase the value of R14 to 5.6K or more.  In =
fact, a

little miniature 10K trim-pot may be in order (anyone tried that yet?) =
...

Henry - K4TMC
K2 #3137