[Elecraft] Is K1 re-alignment worthwhile?

[Don Wilhelm]

Doug,

The answer is "maybe".  If all is working fine and you have good power 
output, then I would suggest 'leave it alone'.
In any case, you will only have to peak the bandpass filters on the band 
board(s) very slightly with a TUNE at a power level between 1.5 and 2 
watts.  Make certain it has been powered on for at least 1/2 hour before 
aligning to allow things to come up to temperature.

You do not have to do the receive alignment of the bandpass filters 
first unless you have changed a band on the band board.

If you have the KNB1 installed, you will want to peak its trimmer 
capacitor for a maximum response in receive mode.

After aligning the bandpass filters, you can proceed to the BFO 
frequency (set it to center the FL3 passband at your desired sidetone 
pitch), and set the Transmit Offset to the same pitch.

You might also want to check the frequency of the VFO when the VFO knob 
is turned full counterclockwise, and also do the CAL OPF to get the VFO 
Display on frequency just in case the crystals on the band board have 
drifted over time.

If you are having a severe receive or transmit problem, then you may 
want to resort to Receive Signal Tracing or Transmit Signal Tracing to 
find the troublesome stage, but that is not usually necessary except in 
problem cases.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 6/3/2018 2:36 PM, Douglas Hagerman wrote:
> I have a K1 that I built several years ago. It seems to work fine, but I am wondering if it is worthwhile going back and doing a re-alignment. Do they drift out of adjustment over time?