[Elecraft] KAT2 Toroids Installation

[Paul Clay]

Hi, Jim.   Part of the reason for my question is 
that I think I may be having trouble because I 
may have misread the instructions.

As I understand the instructions, I have to make 
the toroid, solder it to the square pads on the 
same side of the board that the toroid sits, lift 
up the toroid (after the leads have been 
soldered), insert the insulator. and then lay the 
toroid back down.

When I cut the toroid leads to the length 
indicated by the instructions (a bit less than 
1/8 inch so the toroid is left sitting about 1/16 
inch off the board), I found that that didn't 
leave me a lot of "slack" in the leads so as to 
make it easy to lift the toroid up to slide the 
insulator under and into the center of it.

What's complicating the process for me, as I read 
(and maybe misread) the instructions is: 1) you 
have to cut the leads first, because (for one 
lead at least) the other side of the hole is 
obsured by the previously installed latching 
relays; and 2) the instructions a specific about 
not setting the toroid on the insulator, the 
setting that assembly on the board, and then 
soldering the toroid leads ... this way 
minimizing the possiblity of damage, presumably 
from the heat of the soldering iron.

If I've interpreted the instructions correctly, 
then maybe I'm being just too squeamish about 
manhandling the soldered-in toroids out of the 
way to be able to slide the insulators in.  Or, 
maybe I should be trying so hard to minimize the 
toriod lead lengths to the board.

Hope this clarfies my problem for you.  Please let 
me know if anything I've written indicates to you 
that I'm misreading the instructions, or that the 
problem is as simple as me leaving a bit more 
"slack" in the toroid leads when I tack solder 
them to the square pads.

Happy New Year!
- Paul N6LQ

On Wednesday 31 December 2003 18:27, you wrote:
> I don't understnd your problem.  I have built 
about ten KAT2's and never had
> a problem with the stems of the rubber 
insulators getting in the way.  I
> formed the wires of the toroid to fit the hole 
and them cut them so that
> they were just inserted into the solder pads and 
then I tack soldered them
> in place and reheated the connections as I 
pressed down on the toroid and
> this makes the toroid laydown tightly on the 
board.
> 
> 73
> Jim Younce K4ZM
> K2  SN: 18
> K2  Field Tester
> 
> 
>