[Elecraft] K2: PSK-31 Power Settings

[Robert Mcgraw]

Don etc.

May I suggest setting the K-2 to maximum output power, say on CW, and
then adjust the TX level from the Signalink to produce about 30 watts
output.  Do not change the power level on the K-2.  FYI - This should
work very satisfactorly for any radio.

With a PSK signal there will be some variation in output level depending
on if one is looking at idle data or text data.

73
Bob, K4TAX

> Don,
>
> I'm having trouble with this approach on 40 meters.
>
> I set the power on the K2 to 30 watts and then adjusted
>  the TX volume on the SignaLink as high as I could without getting any
> ALC reading. 
>
> When I do that, I essentially have zero power output.  There's no
> deflection on the
>  K2's RF meter and someone who was monitoring my signal said that my
> signal just dropped off the waterfall.  I have a KAT100 and with these
> settings the SWR light would not light, indicating that there isn't even
> enough power out for the KAT100 to measure SWR).
>
> When I increased the SignaLink TX volume to get a 30 watt reading on the
> K2's RF indicator, I was getting 2-4 bars of ALC.
>
> On my FT-897, the power display when I'm transmitting PSK is fairly
> steady.  On the K2 on 40 meters, it was bouncing all over the place, but
> that may be a function of how the K2 measures RF power out??
>
> I had no trouble using the suggested technique on 20 meters.
>
> Any ideas as to why I'm having problems on 40?
>
> Jon
> KB1QBZ
>
>
>
> I had no problem using this approach on 20 meters, so I'
>
> --- On Wed, 4/28/10, Don Wilhelm <w3fpr at embarqmail.com> wrote:
> I would recommend setting the power to 30 watts.  Then hold DISPLAY to
> change the metering to ALC - adjust the audio up just to the point where
> there is no ALC indication (adjust until you see ALC bars and then back
> off until there are none).  That should give you a cleaner signal and
> better control of the output level.  Since the gain of the K2 transmit
> chain varies from band to band, you may have to check the audio drive
> level again when changing to a different band.  For further explanation,
> read on.
>
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