Better Music Builder DX-211 Spezifikationen PDF herunterladen (Seite 7)

From March 2000 QST © ARRL

Like most transceivers these days, the

K2 uses a series of menu options to control

other less-used functions. For example, by

tapping the

button and then turning

the tuning knob until “ST L” is shown, you

can adjust the sidetone level. Dial up

“ST P” and you can adjust the sidetone/

receive offset pitch. The “INP” setting

allows you to select either a straight key

or the normal or reversed input from

paddles, and “IAB” selects either Iambic

A or Iambic B type keying. Iambic A is

similar to Curtis Iambic A mode; Iambic B

is similar to Super CMOS Keyer III mode.

You adjust the keyer speed by turning

the KEYER knob. When you do, the display

changes to show the speed in words per

minute. The keyer speed adjusts between

about 9 and 40 WPM. A second after you

stop adjusting the keyer speed, the display

changes back to show the operating

frequency. Turning the POWER knob also

brings up a display of the approximate

output power setting. If you hold the TUNE

button to activate this feature, the power

measuring circuit displays the output

power.

If you decide to install the SSB feature,

you can configure the front panel

microphone 8-pin mike connector to match

those of several of the common commercial

manufacturers. Pin-out tables are provided

to make this easy. Both the microphone gain

and the level of SSB processing can be

varied in menu settings. VOX operation is

also included.

Operating Impressions

Anytime I begin to operate a new radio

I feel a certain excitement. There is the thrill

of checking out the features on the newest

equipment, along with the knowledge that

what gets reported in a QST Product Review

will help readers decide if this radio suits

their needs. There is also a certain amount

of trepidation that I will miss some feature

or overlook some shortcoming, and that my

omissions will mislead someone. I normally

spend time carefully reading the operating

manual, and spend a LOT of time listening

to the receiver before I try transmitting.

With the K2, however, I just wanted to

get on the air and make contacts! Here is a

radio that I built almost entirely with my

own hands. For a ham, there is no

anticipation sweeter than that of making

the first contact using something you

assembled—an antenna, a station or a

transceiver. You feel as if you installed a

little piece of your heart and soul during

the assembly process.

It was the Saturday morning of the

Michigan QRP Contest. I rolled the power

back to just under 5 W and went searching

for activity on 40 meters. In a few minutes

I had Maine, Maryland and Michigan in the

log. Since this was a QRP contest, I guess

those contestors were listening for weak

stations, but this was much easier than I

expected.

I decided to load the exchange in one of

the keyer memories. The nine memories

each have 153 bytes of storage, which is

equivalent to about 100 to 150 Morse

characters.

Later that day I tuned across a small

pileup on 20 meters. Martti, OG2R was

running stations from Finland. Several of

the stations he worked told him about their

amplifiers and antenna farms. Would the K2

and my tri-bander be able to make it? I had

my doubts, but I cranked the power up to

10 W and tried a couple of calls anyway.

On the third call he asked for “the station

ending in Bravo!” Maybe there is

something to this “K2 mojo” thing they are

always referring to on the e-mail reflector.

During the week I checked into the 3905

Century Club net on 75 meters. The SSB

receive audio was crisp and clear. I found

it very easy to tune in stations for clear

voice reception. While awaiting my turn to

trasnsmit on the net, a station in Ohio called

Josephine, VE7JMC, in British Columbia.

I was hearing her weak signals with some

difficulty—about a 3 × 3. The station in

Ohio could not copy his 3 × 3 report from

Josephine, even though he announced that

he was running 1 kW. No contact. When it

came my turn to transmit, I decided to try

VE7JMC. I sent Josephine a 3 × 3 report.

When I copied my 2 × 2 report from her, I

was grinning from ear to ear. Several other

stations called me on their turn—they

wanted my QRP contact!

I also checked into the Radio Amateur

Society of Norwich (Connecticut) 10-meter

net. Most of these local operators know my

real voice, so I thought they would be a

good source of transmit audio reports. They

all reported good sounding transmit audio.

A Few Minor Complaints

Surely there must be some shortcomings

to the K2 operation? I found a few points

where I might wish for something different.

The RIT/XIT frequency control does not

have a center detent or other convenient

way to zero the frequency. You have to

adjust the knob so the frequency display

shows no change when you toggle between

RIT on and off. RIT clear would be a handy

feature, especially for contest operation.

If you hit the AGC button the display

shows either “FAST” or “SLOW,” and

toggles between these two indications even

when the AGC is turned off. It took me a

while to notice that there is a flashing

decimal point to the right of the last digit

on the display when the AGC is deactivated.

While there is a considerable amount of

frequency coverage outside of the ham

bands, true “general coverage” receive is

not included.

The main tuning knob on the review unit

exhibits a very slight eccentricity. I may

need to adjust the tension or spacing

between the cabinet front and the knob.

Repositioning the knob a quarter or half

turn on the shaft may reduce this effect or

eliminate it altogether.

I don’t consider any of these nits major

problems.

Conclusion

The Elecraft K2 is probably not a good

choice for a “first kit,” but several first-time

builders have successfully completed it.

Without some component handling and

soldering skills though, you could easily

damage a circuit board or make some other

costly mistake. If you do decide to tackle

this as a first kit, work carefully!

The camaraderie of the individuals

participating in the e-mail reflector, the

information available on Elecraft’s Web site

and the level of technical support provided

by the company all combine to form a

recipe for success.

Once you’ve completed the kit, you’ll

end up with a modern amateur transceiver

that possesses a good variety of the most

desirable bells and whistles and exhibits an

overall level of performance that compares

very favorably with factory-built trans-

ceivers that cost several times as much (see

the sidebar on page 72).

Should the time come to make a repair

or to try a circuit modification to further

improve the performance, you’ll have the

confidence to remove the covers, study the

schematic diagram, and give it a go. You

may not understand all of the design details

nor know why a certain component was

used in a particular location, but you

assembled this radio yourself, and that can

make it a little easier dive in.

I would like to thank Zack Lau, W1VT,

for his help completing the kit. Thanks also

to Mike Tracy, KC1SX, for his help with

the lab testing and to Joe Bottiglieri,

AA1GW; Rick Lindquist, N1RL; and Jean

Wolfgang, WB3IOS, for their assistance

with this review.

Manufacturer: Elecraft, Box 69, Aptos,

CA 95001; 831-662-8345; fax 831-662-

0830; http://www.elecraft.com/.

Price: K2 Kit (CW), $549; SSB Option,

$79; Noise Blanker, $35; 160-meter/2nd

receive antenna input, $29; Internal 2.9 Ah

battery, $79; Internal automatic antenna

tuner, $139.

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