[Elecraft] Calibration Interval

[G3VVT at aol.com]

In a message dated 14/04/05 05:36:04 GMT Daylight Time,  
rondec at easystreet.com writes:

Jonesy,K9NX wrote:

My K2 #4198 is running just fine and I am  wondering how often to check the
Calibration of my K2 to help make sure it  is running at peak performance 
Say every 6 months or  yearly?

---------------

Just a guess, but I'd say you can ignore  it for a couple of years at least.
Even then, 'recalibration' will catch  any tuned circuits drifting, but isn't
really a test to see if there's  performance degradation from other reasons.


I have a habit of  recalibrating or doing other repairs only when I see
something wrong. I see  something wrong when some critical values change. 

I log the key data  about a new rig so I can look back from time to time if
I'm suspicious that  something's amiss or if I'm simply bored and want to
tinker 


----------------------------------------------
 
What Ron says sums up the situation very well, why would you want to  
recalibrate the radio unless the performance is falling off. To quote the often  used 
phrase "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Not many hams would do this  to the 
latest Japanese/USA black box, so why do this to a K2? The radio is  tested 
to a degree every time it is switched on and used on the bands.  A fall off in 
TX power output or RX sensitivity soon becomes apparent.
 
Is important however, to record *all* the tests you make on original  
commissioning, calibration and after any mods that may be done for future  
troubleshooting if required. By and large unlike earlier tube equipment, solid  state 
equipment performance does not change all that much unless a fault  develops and 
one is usually made aware of this pretty quickly by other hams if  not 
apparent to yourself. Apart from odd quirks that can occur with some radios,  I 
would be rather more worried if the performance does drift as that would not  say 
much about the quality of the original design or the components used.
 
With commercial communication systems these are tested with specific  routine 
maintenance programs on a regular basis to ensure that any defect is  picked 
up before it becomes a problem. The reasoning behind this is to prevent  
unforeseen outages as these can mean lost revenue for the company or a possible  
threat to safety. Ham radio does not normally fall into this category, so unless 
 tinkering with the K2 calibration really turns you on, it is far better to  
use the radio for the purpose it was designed for in the first  place, 
communicating with other hams.
 
Bob, G3VVT
(retired comms maint tech)