[Elecraft] K1 Question

[Mike Morrow]

Ron Polityka asked:

>Have the 2 band board made for 80 & 17 meters and the
>4 band board made for 40, 30, 20 & 15 meters. Then swap
>them out in the field.

Hi Ron,

I have exactly the two filter board combinations that you mention.

It's no real trouble to swap out filter boards, even with the antenna tuner installed.  The standoffs *would be* the greatest aggravation, but you can fix that with a technique suggested by Tom / N0SS years ago:  Capture the two KAT1 PCB standoffs on their screws with a bit of thin rubber band material.  Run it through the stand off before screwing the screw through the standoff, then trim off excess at each end.  It works wonderfully.  The only aggravating part remaining is replacing the short screw that holds down the middle section of the filter board.  It might be worth leaving its lock washer off to simplify things.

If you have the KBT1 battery installed, it can be difficult to get a firm grip on the filter board to be removed because the KBT1 fits against the front edge on the filter board.  I no longer use the KBT1.

A very leisurely pace will allow board swaps in well less than 10 minutes.

My biggest qualms abut swapping boards in the wear and tear on the connectors and nearby PCB traces, and protecting the un-installed filter board from damage.

73,
Mike / KK5F