[Elecraft] Elecraft Kits

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

Please don't use a VOM unless it was specifically designed for use with
modern solid state gear (there are such VOMs, but they are very rare).
Otherwise you will damage your Elecraft rig. 

Older VOMs (including the very high-end "Simpsons" etc.) used relatively
high voltages for resistance measurements (at least 1.5 VDC and some much
more - I had one inexpensive VOM that used 22 VDC!). Even 1.5 VDC is plenty
to "turn on" junctions in some solid state components and destroy them.

Also, a VOM typically puts a significant current drain on the circuit when
measuring voltages. In some places this won't hurt. In others it will cause
the reading to be completely out of spec and useless. That's why, in the
"old days", most folks eventually got a vacuum tube voltmeter (VTVM) with
typically an 11 megohm input resistance to minimize this effect.

Modern Digital Multimeters (DMMs) are cheap - at least one quite suitable
for building any Elecraft kit. They use a very small, safe voltage level for
resistance checks and have an input resistance in the 10 megohm range for
voltage measurements. Some people get adequate DMMs free when shopping for
parts from some on-line sources, but a good basic meter from Radio Shack or
a similar place will do you just fine, and it'll come in very handy for many
other things over the years. 

Check the Elecraft web site for the manual for any kit you might be
interested in building. It will have a list of recommended tools so you can
see what you will need before making the commitment. The range varies as the
offering covers the gamut from stuffing your own circuit boards with
individual components to "no solder" kits that come with completely
assembled pc boards. 

As Jim Wiley noted, you don't need much. No fancy signal generators, etc.
Although if you get the urge to do some testing of your own after building a
kit, Elecraft does offer some simple, effective and low-cost test equipment
signal generator, step attenuator and other useful kits. Check the
"mini-module" section of their web site, but let me repeat, you do *not*
need any of those things to build a fully-functioning to spec Elecraft kit.

Ron AC7AC


-----Original Message-----

Jim -


The K2, at least, and I suspect all of the other Elecraft transceiver 
kits, have either built in test equipment, or require only the simplest 
of external test gear to get them up and running. I built a K2, and 
while I happen to have a complete RF lab of quality test equipment (HP, 
Tektronix, Fluke, General Radio, Millen) I just for fun tried aligning 
the K2 after it was built using only the internal sources, and it worked 
just fine.  A precision alignment after the unit had been in service for 
a few weeks produced only minimal improvements and in my opinion would 
have no practical real-world performance advantage over the 
"non-precision" method.  I will admit that the K2 is the only Elecraft 
transceiver I have, so perhaps there is something I am missing.  If your 
VOM and BC-221 are reasonably close to being in "cal", you will have no 
trouble.  Probably won't even need them. 


- Jim, KL7CC


Falls, Jim wrote:
>
> Do you need a lab to align these when you are done, or could I just 
> build one and use it?
>
>  
>
> That's the part that's off-putting. I have an analog VOM, old o-scope, 
> and a BC-211 as a frequency  generator I've used on GB rigs, but 
> that's it.
>
>  
>
> Jim Falls
>
> K6FWT
>
> Eureka, CA