[ICOM] Mods for IC-2KL

Sun Jan 30 17:01:58 EST 2005

Bert,

The steel cover plate on the filter unit has tree cutouts on the bottom side 
and on the top side. The cutouts allow fresh air to enter and hot air to 
escape. There is no fan. This keeps the temperature at a lower lever in the 
filter unit and, by doing so, protects the part from frying.  In the IC PW1 
the Icom engineers allocated a dedicated fan for the filter unit only. I 
remember that I made a series of pictures of the filter unit after modding 
my last 2KL. If I find them I will send you a copy.

Concerning the caps in the DC-DC convertor: yes I did that too. The PSU caps 
are still the originals in both my 2KL PS units. The fuse is a good 
suggestion, I'll put one in on the next occasion.

Both amplifiers are in use (24/7) in my Winlink2000 PMBO, one runs on the 20 
meter port and one on the 40 meter port.  www.winlink.org

Cheers, Dick Knol
PA3DUV

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bert" <balmemo at sympatico.ca>
To: "'ICOM Reflector'" <icom at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Sunday, January 30, 2005 9:40 PM
Subject: RE: [ICOM] Mods for IC-2KL

> Hi Adam, Dick and Mike,
>
> Thanks for all your mod suggestions. I really appreciate all info and
> especially the pictures and info regarding the qsk mod on Dick's webpage.
>
> Priority is the fan mod. I will do it as soon as possible hoping to find 
> the
> right fans. I might as well do both the amp and the PS. I will also do the
> mod with the fuse in the 40V supply and maybe replace the caps (how to 
> check
> if they need replacing). The qsk mod will be done too but it may have to
> wait a while.
>
> FYI, the amp I bought is probably one of the oldest one alive. According 
> to
> the docs I have, it was originally bought Jan.29, 1982 and the serial no 
> is
> 01113. Still looking great and delivers well over 500w on all bands. I 
> have
> adjusted the ALC for an output around 500W.
>
> Adam, this is a US model, originally without 10/12 meters. It has been
> modified by ICOM in Bellevue and works great. The bandswitch has an empty
> position fully clockwise and I was wondering if I could connect the switch
> so I could switch to 10/12 manually? Suggestions appreciated. By the way, 
> I
> do have an AT-500 and it works great with the 2KL.
>
> Dick, I would appreciate some info how you fixed the ventilation for the
> filter unit. I assume my amp's filter unit doesn't have any ventilation
> being bulit in 1982.
>
> Thanks again to all of you and I'll keep you posted of the progress.
>
> 73s Bert, VE3OBU
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: icom-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:icom-bounces at mailman.qth.net] 
> On
> Behalf Of PA3DUV
> Sent: Friday, January 28, 2005 5:10 PM
> To: ICOM Reflector
> Subject: Re: [ICOM] Mods for IC-2KL
>
> Hi Bert, Adam,
>
> Check www.qsl.net/pa3duv for the qsk mod on the 2 KL. I actually own 2 
> IC2kl
> amps and did the qsk mod on both amps. It takes one evening to do the qsk
> mod. Basically  I used the QSK mod from Rich Measures (www.somis.org) and
> modified it for the 2KL with it 48 volt collector voltage.
> The qsk mod involves exchange of the input relay for a high speed 
> Matsusita
> reed relay and the sloow output relay for a Kilovac HC1 or similar. I made 
> a
> hot shot circuit consisting of a high voltage switching transistor and the
> bypass resistors and diodes on a small copper clad epoxy board, using
> ordinary hand tools. See the pictures on my webpages.
>
> I replaced the fan of one 2KL for a new compatibel axial Pabst fan which
> made the amp less noisy. Also I keep the fan running on low revs during
> receive and on high rev during transmit and receive when the temperature
> switch kicks in.
>
> The same fan mod was carried out on one of the IC2KL PS, also the 2 small
> fans in the power supply cooling the regulator were replaced by high 
> quality
> axial fans.
>
> I also changed the filter unit cover of my oldest IC2KL. The filter unit 
> of
> the older models is not ventilated, the cover completely seals off the
> filter unit. Consequently the parts in the unit heat up quite a bit, that
> sometimes  results in failure of the silver mica caps in the filter unit.
> The newer IC2KL models have a modified filter unit cover allowing air to
> enter and to escape at the top.
>
> Cheers, Dick Knol
> PA3DUV
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Adam Farson" <farson at shaw.ca>
> To: "'ICOM Reflector'" <icom at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Friday, January 28, 2005 7:17 PM
> Subject: RE: [ICOM] Mods for IC-2KL
>
>
>> Hi Bert,
>>
>> If the IC-2KL is the standard model with all bands active (as opposed to
>> the
>> US model minus 10/12m), no mods are required. If it is the US model, and
>> has
>> not had 10/12m enabled, the required parts kit is still available from
>> Icom
>> America in Bellevue WA. There is a complete set of IC-2KL and AT-500
>> documentation, including the 10/12m enabling procedure, here:
>>
>> http://www.qsl.net/icom/manuals.html
>>
>> The existing fan is usable, if rather noisy; it can be replaced with a 
>> 12V
>> muffin fan of identical dimensions.
>>
>> The QSK mod is very extensive, as it involves fitting vacuum relays to 
>> the
>> RF unit. I would tend to stay away from it.
>>
>> You may also wish to consider buying an AT-500 autotuner and teaming it 
>> up
>> with the IC-2KL. You will need an OPC-118 adapter cable to connect the
>> control cable to an Icom transceiver which has the DIN ACC(1) and ACC(2)
>> sockets.
>>
>> Cheers for now, 73,
>> Adam VA7OJ/AB4OJ
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: icom-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:icom-bounces at mailman.qth.net]
>> On
>> Behalf Of Bert
>> Sent: 28 January 2005 06:41
>> To: Icom reflector
>> Subject: [ICOM] Mods for IC-2KL
>>
>>
>> I've just bought a 2KL and I'm interested to know what mods I should
>> condsider. Last week I read a message on the reflector from a Dutch ham, 
>> I
>> can't remember his call, who mentioned about the fan, QSK and something
>> else.
>>
>> Looking forward to your suggestions. Thanks.
>>
>> Bert, VE3OBU
>>
>>
>>
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>> ----
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>
> ----
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>
> ----
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