[Elecraft] KIO2 "Gotcha's" and "Trip Wires"?

[Don Wilhelm]

Paul,

There is little chance of miswiring the KIO2 board itself, and the custom
cable (to the computer) only has 4 wires, and they are all wired on one row
of the connector pins.

Not to worry - that is as long as you can count from 1 to 9 and follow the
(quite clear to me) drawings.  The pin numbers are embossed on the connector
bodies, if one desires a double check on the numbering, and the pin
numbering is the same as the standard for the DB9 connectors.

There is not much chance of miswiring of the KIO2 board itself to the
connector (download the manual and I believe you can see why) - the board
slides between the rows of pins on the connector, so if the solder pads
align with the pins, it is correct (if not, the board is upside down).

The Elecraft instruction manuals are VERY good, but the warnings about not
using a standard serial cable were evidently  not strong enough.  Tom's
document includes those warning in bold colors - I would suggest reading
that document if one has a KIO2 or the KPA100.

73,
Don W3FPR

----- Original Message -----

> As I'm about to embark on building and installing
> a KIO2 in my K2, all of this "wrong serial cable"
> traffic has got me a bit worried.
>
> I'm assuming that the same disastrous consequences
> arising from the use of a standard serial cable
> might arise from an accidental "mis-wiring" of
> the KIO2 or its custom serial cable.  (I seem to
> recall a poster a while back lamenting that he'd
> blown his K2 as a result of an incorrectly
> installed part or sloppy solder joint on his
> KIO2).
>