[Elecraft] Random K2 building hints for those starting out

[Tom, W6WW]

Maintaining a list of hints & kinks for newbie kit builders is a good idea.
Here are a couple more that have occured to me in my K2 building (first kit
since Heathkits in 1955):

 - Masking tape works better for me than bending leads to temporarily hold
parts in place while soldering.

 - It may be easier to follow the toroid winding instructions if you think
of it as there is a clockwise and counterclockwise way of looking at the
winding.

- You CAN strip the toroid leads with an Xacto knife if you are very
careful.  It went better for me that way than the torch, which was hard to
control down to the 1/8" distance from the core.

73,
Tom, W6WW
K2 #3453


> Hi,
>
> My K2 is in the RF board part 2 stage and I would like
> to give my 2 cents worth of suggestions to help the
> beginning builder.
>
> 1.) Muffin Tins make great parts holders.  I raided
> the kitchen late one night and ran off with some
> regular and mini-muffin tins.  The mini tins are
> especially useful for pre sorting the caps and
> hardware. They are metal so static charge is not an
> issue either.
>
> 2.) I use electrical tape to hold components to the
> board before soldering.  I can hold down many
> resistors, caps or sockets at once and not have to
> worry about them lifting when I flip the board to
> solder. I don't like bending the leads out, I find it
> unreliable.
>
> 3.) The circuit boards are hard to place in a
> Pana-vise board holder due to components being too
> close to the edge. It can be done on the control and
> front boards with care.  I can clamp the rf board in
> the holder by running a longish screw into the four
> metal blocks at the edges of the board.  I let them
> stick out a bit so they fit into the notches in the
> holder.
>
> 4.) At 40 my magnifying visor is not a luxury, it's a
> necessity! I have one with several magnifications
> available by flipping the lens into place.  I use it
> continuously to inspect part numbers and solder
> joints. My visor has moved into the essential
> equipment category!
>
> 5.) I would install the ssb option components to the
> front board earlier in the process than the manual
> suggests. I would do it before the pots are installed.
>  These are tightly spaced components and it would make
> life alot easier to solder these components before the
> pots are installed. IMHO
>
> 6.) I went to Home Depot and got a 4 foot shop light.
> I hung it about three feet over the bench and it is a
> great, shadowless source of light.
>
> 7.) This one is really basic but it may help somebody.
>  Put your finger over each lead before you clip it
> off.  A clipped lead will fly a great distance. They
> can get into your eye and/or get impossibly embedded
> into carpet. There are hundreds of them too! With
> minimal practice it can be a one handed operation if
> you have spring loaded cutters.
>
> That's all I can think of at the moment. Hope this
> helps someone. Have fun building the kit.  I never
> cease to be amazed at the brilliant design and
> forethought that went into the kit.
>
> Rick N3IKQ K2#3465
>
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