[Elecraft] K2 questions

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

Hello Bruce and welcome! 

Low rx on 15 meters suggests the input band pass filters might not be
properly aligned. 

I'd go through the whole alignment procedure just to be sure it's right,
starting with Alignment and Test Part II in the manual, then going on to
Part III (that's where you'll find the band pass filter alignment that
affects receive and transmit, including transmit current demand). 

The current demand of the K2 at full power varies from band to band. Also
the current required varies according to the SWR of the load (antenna or
dummy load). If realignment doesn't stop the HI CURR message, suggest you
try setting the current to 3.9.

For aligning the crystal filters, using Spectrogram is the simplest and most
accurate method. The procedure is described in

http://www.elecraft.com/Apps/new_fil_docs/k2_ssb_gram.pdf

There is a shareware (no cost) version of Spectrogram available at:

http://www.n0ss.net/index_k2.html

Scroll down near the bottom of the page. There are also some other docs
describing the process. 

NOTE: The owner of that web site, Tom, N0SS, was one of the earliest
Elecraft enthusiasts and contributed greatly to the development of the K2
and subsequent products. Sadly, Tom lost his battle with cancer and became a
silent key a few months ago but his web site is still up and running - for
now. 

Another very knowledgeable K2 "Guru" is Don, W3FPR, who would have answered
your question here by now but he is on vacation for a few days. 

Good luck, and just ask if you have any further concerns or questions. One
of us K2 owners will step in to fill the void as best we can, Hi! 

Have fun & 73

Ron AC7AC
K2 1289 


-----Original Message-----
From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of G. Bruce Robinson
Sent: Thursday, December 15, 2011 10:39 AM
To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [Elecraft] K2 questions

This is my first post to the reflector.  I did not build this K2  
(#3575). I do have all the manuals and have read them extensively  
trying to figure out what to do.  The radio  has most options  
installed and I have used it a good bit.  I have noticed a the Hi  
Curr, message on occasion.  This morning I checked it on all bands at   
various power settings.  I had previously increased the current  
setting from 3.5 to 3.8 to try and stop the message from appearing.

With the Current set to 3.8 the only bands where the HiCurr message  
appeared were on 20M when the power was 90W or higher and on 17M when  
power is 80W or greater.  I checked each band starting at 75W and  
going up in 5W steps. I did this while connected to a 50 ohm dummy  
load and in CW mode.   No message was seen at any power setting on any  
of the other bands.

I did notice a couple of other issues.  First, on the higher bands the  
radio was not putting out full power.  It was putting out more than  
110 W on some bands.
Here is what I found:
10m- 80W
12M-80W
15M-90W
20M-100W
40M-125W
80M-120W

As indicated on my external watt meter.

And finally,  the audio level was approximately the same on all bands  
except 15m which seemed to have only about 1/2 the volume as all the  
other bands.
Any advise on how to proceed will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Bruce R.
Oxford, MS
KF5IMA


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