[Elecraft] PC boards for the K2 RIT-SPLIT LED Mod

[Tom Hammond]

In response to an unexpectedly good turnout for PC boards for the K2 
RIT-SPLIT LED Mod, I have just etched up a batch of 100 boards.

They're NOT Elecraft quality. Heck, I make them in the kitchen. BUT I do 
use the photo-etch technique and good quality (CEM1) epoxy-laminate PC 
board. The boards are drilled, trimmed, and notched to fit into the space 
available for the mod. They actually look pretty darn good.

Each board is quite small, about 0.44" x 0.49" (11mm x 12mm) in size, and 
will mount inside the front cover of the K2 with a single 4-40 screw. The 
mounting hole for the 4-40 screw will have to be drilled by you, however a 
pilot hole has been drilled, to ensure correct hole placement.

PC boards are now available for order if you wish to obtain them. Price is 
$3.00 (US) for a single board, and $5.00 (US) for two. This price includes 
delivery within the US/Canada. For foreign delivery, please contact me via 
e-mail first.

When you receive your board, if you feel you did not get your money's 
worth, PLEASE return  it to me and I will refund the full purchase price, 
no questions asked!

If you wish to order PC boards, please write to:

     Tom Hammond  N0SS
     5417 Scruggs Stn Rd
     Lohman MO  65053

AND DON'T FORGET TO ENCLOSE YOUR RETURN MAILING ADDRESS _IN_ THE LETTER...!

Documentation for the mod (and a pictorial of the PC board itself) is 
available at:

   http://home.earthlink.net/~n0ss/download.html

The link to the article (1.3MB PDF) is mirrored by Brendan Minish (EI6IZ), 
so when you click on the link, you'll be taken to Brendan's web site for 
the file.

As I have mentioned previously, this is NOT a mod to be undertaken lightly! 
It requires a fairly high level of precision, especially when drilling the 
hole in the front cover of the K2 to accept the LED. Page 2 of the PDF 
includes a scale drawing of the front of the K2, which should be able to be 
printed, cut out, and then used as a drilling overlay for marking the 
appropriate drill point for this hole.

Also, DO NOT proceed with this mod UNTIL you have found a satisfactory LED. 
The LED can draw no more than 3mA of current through the IC which drives 
it, so you MUST first find an LED and CONFIRM that it will provide 
acceptable light output when drawing a maximum of 3mA (2mA is better). T-1 
LEDs (and smaller) can be found which are rated for 10mA current, rather 
than the more standard 20mA of current. Most of these LEDs are described as 
'High-Efficiency' and should be considered as more desirable choices.

The LED will NOT be blindingly bright! But I have found it to be more than 
adequate to get my attention when I'm running in one of the RIT / XIT / 
SPLIT modes.

Please DO NOT attribute this mod to me! It's Wayne's design completely. The 
ONLY thing I have done with regard to the mod is to design the PC board to 
facilitate the implementation of the mod. I'm not nearly smart enough to 
design the mod itself!

        ONE VERY IMPORTANT NOTE - PLEASE READ THIS

This mod REQUIRES K2 firmware version 2.03d or higher AND IO Controlled 
firmware version 1.07 or higher. It will NOT function with older versions 
of the firmware. Firmware upgrades are available directly from Elecraft.

73,

Tom Hammond    N0SS