[Elecraft] Re: T1 tuner from elephant-craft

[Alexandra Carter]

Yerg, but Eham's still down. I'll write an even better one when the  
site's back up, it'll be the bestest review in the whole wide world!  
Or something. I have to admit, when I first heard the name Elecraft,  
I imagined a cartoon of a bunch of elephants sitting around a table  
building stuff..... ought to draw it someday. 73 de Alex NS6Y

On May 26, 2006, at 8:43 AM, wayne burdick wrote:

> Thanks, Alex  :)
>
> This would make a great T1 review on eHam (better written than  
> most) when they come back up, someday....  the URL for T1 reviews is:
>
>   http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/4956
>
> 73,
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
>
> On May 26, 2006, at 1:36 AM, Alexandra Carter wrote:
>
>> It never forgets! That it's a tuner! The AT-897 from LDG often  
>> forgot it was a tuner and thought it was a rock. I returned it and  
>> ordered a T1 kit, and what a neat lil' tuner!
>>
>> Works tickety-boo as I think they say in Oz, and while the  
>> "operator interface" is 3 LEDs and 2 buttons, it's both easy to  
>> work with and tells you a lot. Tells me a lot. Tells one a lot. It  
>> does tune right down to a very low SWR, brrt brrt brrrrrt and  
>> there you are. I took it to the park today with my 897 and a bunch  
>> of wire and got 12 feet of that wire up in a tree (took 3 throws)  
>> and laid out a counterpoise... here and there.... and talked to  
>> Minnesota on 20W.
>>
>> Don't feel ashamed if you choose to order it already built, they  
>> sure earn that $50 or so difference at the factory, this is harder  
>> than any of the mini-kits or rig accessories I've built, although  
>> there's less to it than to a KX1 or K1. You get to wind about 10  
>> or so toroids, really no problem, and when you're done toroids  
>> will be familiar territory for you. The smallest value one is  
>> wound left-handed for a change, meanwhile I'm left-handed and have  
>> learned to wind toroids right-handed because that's the standard.
>>
>> With an 800 degree iron the BNC conns are easy to solder, for the  
>> rest a 700-degree pointy tip iron is just right. One row of relays  
>> has .1uF SMD caps between their legs so you have to solder a bit  
>> carefully. The control board needs to have its components trimmed  
>> close so have good flush cutters and solder "the Elecraft way"  
>> without leaving a big blobby fillet. It was greatly satisfying to  
>> see everything clearing the CPU very nicely when it all went  
>> together. When inserting the CPU get those legs at a nice perfect  
>> 90 degrees and make sure it all lines up when you install it in  
>> the socket, because it's going into a bit of a tight spot. It  
>> doesn't hurt to look at it from a few different angles to make  
>> sure the legs are all going in, as you squeeze it down bit by bit.  
>> That's a very high quality socket Elecraft uses so once it's in  
>> there right It's going to stay right. I'd say go slow and do it  
>> right, I did it in 2 evenings, someone else told me theirs took a  
>> bit longer, it's possible to put one together in one sitting I  
>> guess .
>>
>> With my 897 on battery power I'm limited to 20W and this is a 20W  
>> "max" tuner, so it works out just right. Everything is very  
>> logically laid out so I feel if I ever zorch something I can  
>> easily order the parts and fix it.
>>
>> Great, great little tuner! 73 de Alex NS6Y
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