[Elecraft] New Keying Bandwidth Mod manual available

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

Martin, your K2 doesn't sound one bit like my stock K2 at 100 watts or 1
watt.=20

My stock K2 offers no indication of its presence beyond the audio =
bandpass
of a test receiver (300 Hz), and no signs of "clicks" within the =
passband at
signal levels well above what you are using.=20

Your WAV file shows changes in the background "noise" that accompanies =
the
keying even when well off of the tx frequency. That's a sign of three =
things
in my experience:

1) Your K2 is transmitting a great deal of wideband noise with the =
signal.
If so, you have a serious problem with your rig.

2) Your test receiver is very noisy, or it is overloading and creating =
its
own artifacts. It very easy for a receiver to create "key clicks" within =
its
own amplifiers.

3) Some other piece of equipment (usually another receiver) in the shack =
is
creating the clicks. It can even be one that is turned off. =20

The ONLY times I've seen the K2 accused of "clicks" is when multiple
transmitters were operating from the same location. That's an extreme
condition most of us never encounter. But, for those who do, it's great =
that
Elecraft has come up with something to help the problem.

That should not suggest that there is anything abnormally "clicky" about =
a
STOCK K2 at ANY power level.=20

As Eric pointed out, a stock K2 is a good as many of the other
commercially-manufactured rigs out there (e.g. OMNI6+, IC-765 etc.). =
With
the mod, Elecraft has simply made the K2 better for those who choose to
operate it in especially demanding situations with several rigs =
literally
alongside each other.

Having worked my share of Field Day and RACES exercises in multi-tx =
setups,
I can GUARANTEE you that K2 owners with the new click mods will set up =
their
rigs at future events only to hear a cacophony of clicks emanating from
nearby receivers. No matter what one does at the rig (short of shut it =
off)
it won't fix the problems caused by an overloading receiver. What the =
mod
DOES do is reduce the problem as much as possible at the transmitter.=20

Indeed, I've seen situations where the front end of a receiver that was =
SHUT
OFF was creating key clicks in other receivers that were turned on. =
Diode
switches in the receiver that was off were rectifying the signal and
producing the clicks.=20

Fortunately, most of us don't have such complex and demanding station =
setups
<G>.  =20

Ron AC7AC