®

Builder's Resource Page
February 24, 2009

(Are you staying up too late building your Elecraft kit?)

Need Parts?  See our Parts and Mod Kits Order Form, or eMail us at: parts@elecraft.com 

Main Topics:

Builder Alerts
KSB2 Defective Speech Processor (U3)
Installing the new style blue trimmer caps in our kits
Installing new type (slightly larger) size small chokes in our kits	Wiring The New Type of K2 External Speaker Jack
Recommended Solder and Where to Buy it	Soldering Tutorial (pdf): What to do, and what not to do, to get excellent solder joints. By Tom, N0SS
How to Build and Test Your Kit: Construction Notes, Filter Adjustment, Suggestions and Pictures	Summary of Available Soldering Stations (N0SS)
Troubleshooting Tips  Common K2 Problems and Solutions	Ask Dr. Solder
Application Notes Includes Filter Adjustment, PSK31, Quick Reference Cards, Ext. PA Keying. Screen Savers and more!	KSB2 SSB Adapter Notes
Mods: Official (and Un-official) Modifications and Enhancements for your K1 and K2	KAT2 Automatic Antenna Tuner (ATU) Notes
Mods Article Index  From LA3ZA	K160M 160M / 2nd RX Ant. Notes
Elecraft email List Web Readable Archives	Common K1/K2 questions   From the email list - 'Reflections From The Reflector', Organized by topic. (Courtesy of Doug, VE3MCF)
Elecraft Repair Service
Gary's Top 10 List of Kit Failures	K1 and K2 Screen Savers

What's New? 

K2 LCD and Backlight Pre-installation Notes (pdf file) KDSP2 PC Board silkscreen component placement image K2 PLL Range Test: A 9.8 to 18 kHz range is OK. (The manual is overly conservative at 13 kHz max.) If your range is less than 9.8 kHz you may have problems getting a good PLL lock on 160M. If you do have problems on 160M with a PLL Ref range less than 9.8 kHz contact parts@elecraft.com for a 12 uH shielded inductor for L31. Control Cable to Use a KAT100 w/o a KIO2W1SRB The W8KC Step by Step KX1 Photo Gallery   PCB SCANs from N0SS K2 Microphone  Pre-Amp (for Heil HC4/5) N0MF Frequency Calibrating the K2's 4 MHz Master Oscillator (C22) (pdf) Capacitor Identification and Marking Chart (updated) Simple K2 RX mod for extremely strong on-frequency signals K1 and K2 Cheap and Dirty Signal Tracing K2 Signal Tracing Pictures K2 Modifications for use at 100W (10M and VFO/ALC mod kit) KPA100 Assembly Note #1 (Mistaking the FT50-43 core for the T50-10 black core.) KPA100 Detailed Assembly Pictures from PA3CEV Pre Wound Toroids for the K1, K2 and accessories from AA3WF KPA100 Error Codes (Addendum to manual)   APP NOTE: Using the KFL1-4 over a wide temperature range Summary of Available Soldering Stations (N0SS) K2 AF Pot Application Note (html) K2 AF Pot Application Note(.pdf) KIO2 and PA FAQ

Application Note: K1 QSK Improvement in High QRM situations. New Screen Saver for the K1 Using the K1 with a 9.6-volt Battery Pack  N6KR K1 / K2 - Low Power on 20M? Try this.. K2 and PSK31 App. Notes K2 App. Note: Resolving 17m AGC / S-meter activation from huge signals on the 18m SW band. Download Spectrogram Software for your PC (Corrected link location) Spectrogram Filter Alignment Articles (Updated)  K1 Quick Reference Card New K2 Quick Reference Card (pdf)  by Van, NS6N Warning: Internal DC and RF Connector Confusion K2 EU 40 Meter Narrow Band-pass Filter Too busy to operate? Try SCANning! Using the K2 for General Coverage RX   Step by Step K2 Assembly pictures, by Eric, PA3CEV

Elecraft Builder Alerts

K2 Builder's Alert #24	November 2, 2006	KPA100 Blue 1.6 ohm 2 Watt resistors
K2 Builder's Alert #23	October 26, 2006	KPA100 Fuses Wrong Type
AF1 Builder's Alert #1	October 2, 2006	J1 & J3 Ring/Tip Connections
KX1 & KXB3080 Alert #1	April 10, 2006	TX on 80-m (L3 heating)
K2 Builder Alert #22a	Aug 1, 2005	KPA100 Low Power on 20M/17M
K2 Builder Alert #21	Oct 19, 2004	Internal freq. counter may fail on TP3
Builder's Alert Archives		Older Alerts for K1s and K2s

It's our goal to continuously improve our kits and to communicate updates to you as quickly as possible.

Email us at parts@elecraft.com if you need have missing or need spare parts.

Email us at support@elecraft.com to send in comments and corrections, and for technical support. 

Also, the Elecraft email reflector is a great place to ask questions of other K2 builders.

Please send parts requests ONLY to parts@elecraft.com   We may miss them if they are posted to the reflector or to our individual email addresses.

Above all, have fun building!

73,   Your Elecraft design and support crew.

Wayne, Eric, Bob, Lyle and Jack (Design) &  Scott, Brian and Gary (Support) 

If you have suggestions, corrections or additional articles you want added to this web page, please email: webmaster@elecraft.com 

Note: Many documents on these pages are presented in .PDF format. If your browser can not display .PDF formatted files you can download this free Adobe Acrobat Reader plug in. 

  Back to the Elecraft Home Page

Elecraft ® is a registered trademark of Elecraft, Inc.