[Elecraft] Key Clicks?
Ron D'Eau Claire
[email protected]
Fri Feb 27 23:37:01 2004
Hi, Tom:
In response to your questions in quotes below:
"1) Are the key clicks which folks are experiencing in violation of FCC
regs?"=20
NO. The K2 meets all FCC regs. However, those regs are very loose, =
referring
to things such as "good Amateur practice" to define acceptable emission
standards. As Eric observed the other day, trying to equate the =
performance
of the K2 to FCC regs beyond acknowledging that the K2 does MEET the FCC
regs is an exercise in hair-splitting futility about how various ops
interpret them.=20
"2) Does the severity of the Key Clicks vary from rig to rig? (i.e. will =
one
K2's click be a problem while another's are acceptable?)?
I'm beginning to think so. Some folks say that their rigs show audible
clicks as much as 1.5 kHz from the carrier. They speak of the clicks =
being
limited to a maximum of 300 Hz from the carrier after the mod. My =
unmodified
K2 shows NO clicks on an auxiliary receiver at 200 Hz from the carrier, =
even
when the signal is right up near overload (S9++++). I wouldn't tolerate
clicks 1.5 kHz from the carrier either!=20
"3) Should we *ALL* be checking to see if we have this problem (in =
order to
conform with the regs, if in fact #1 above is an issue)."
Yes. I believe so. Even when a "problem" hasn't been reported, I think =
it's
smart to arrange for some tests for signal quality whenever a new rig is =
put
on the air or significant changes made to the setup. A decent =
"auxiliary"
receiver is a wonderful piece of test equipment, but lacking that an
arrangement to have your signal checked by another ham NEARBY who you =
trust
is the next best thing. Best of all, have him bring over his receiver or
trade places so you can hear your rig on the air.=20
"Of course I understand that we should all be striving for the cleanest
possible signal, but..."
I agree that we should strive for the best possible signal. But, as I =
noted
a while back, I personally would hate ops to become intolerant of what =
they
might consider less-than-perfect signals. This is a hobby. Woe to us if =
ops
feel intimidated about trying their homebrew creations on the bands, or
firing up an old glowbug. Report a signal that you think has an issue of
some sort, certainly. It's our responsibility to other Hams.=20
There's a LOT more to Ham radio that running the most expensive, latest =
and
greatest bit of technology money can buy.
I have only followed the key click issue over the past year or two =
slightly,
since my own on-air monitoring of my signal didn't disclose any issues. =
It
was my impression that it originally came up over ops using their =
K2/100s in
multi-rig situations (like Field Day) and in that situation some rigs =
were
noticed to be producing key clicks in nearby receivers. Actually some
reports were of very severe key clicks.
Of course, this is a very severe test of the K2, well beyond what most =
of us
will expose our rigs to. =20
Still, Wayne determined that the keying characteristics could be better
"fine tuned" and he has done so.=20
Ron AC7AC=20