Monthly Archives: December 2015

K1 Assembly Continuing

Posted on December 17, 2015 by robert

The K1 RF Board assembly continues to move forward.  Today, 24 components were installed in 70 minutes.  Only a third of the RF board remains, with a bit under 16 hours spent so far.

Posted in Gear, Projects, QRP | Leave a comment

K1 Assembly Burp #2

Posted on December 15, 2015 by robert

I had a chance to install a dozen components today, but it took about 50 minutes.  This was because the two adjustable caps (C13 & C20) as supplied do not match the manual description or silkscreen outline.  Elecraft specifies a particular … Continue reading →

Posted in From the OM, Gear, QRP | Leave a comment

K1 RF Assembly Continuing

Posted on December 13, 2015 by robert

After 2 hours 20 minutes of assembly time, there are 81 components on the RF board (a rate of about 1.75 minutes a component).  With 251 total components on the RF board, I’m about a third of the way away. … Continue reading →

Posted in Gear, Projects, QRP | Leave a comment

K1 RF Board Assembly Underway

Posted on December 10, 2015 by robert

It’s been about 5 days since I did any work on the K1.  This time of year it’s important to keep the family happy, and that means lots and lots of Christmas decorations.  I hate the thought of landfilling the … Continue reading →

Posted in From the OM, Gear, Projects | Leave a comment

SCS DR-7400 Modem and the Icom IC-9100

Posted on December 6, 2015 by robert

I haven’t been able to get my Icom IC-9100 and SCS DR-7400 P4 modem to play nicely together.  No matter what I’ve tried, the modulation level was too high, showing substantial ALC action, which would lead to a distorted transmit … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital Mode, From the OM, Gear | 4 Comments

A Surprise From the ARRL

Posted on December 6, 2015 by robert

A large envelope from the ARRL arrived this weekend.  It look suspiciously like the kind they send out awards for states or sections in various contests, but I didn’t recall submitting a log recently.  I was pleasantly surprised to find … Continue reading →

Posted in ECOMM, Education, Public Service | Leave a comment

K1 Front Panel Completed

Posted on December 5, 2015 by robert

The Front Panel assembly had 75 components and took 265 minutes of assembly and verification time.  That works out to 3.5 minutes per component and 4.4 hours. At this point, I feel that I’m about halfway finished with the build … Continue reading →

Posted in From the OM, Gear, Projects, QRP | Leave a comment

December Triple Play

Posted on December 4, 2015 by robert

I try to make at least one needed DX or stateside contact every month.  Some months are easier than others, mostly depending on how busy I am with other things.  Recognizing that I hadn’t made any December QSOs yet, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital Mode, DX, Operating, Propagation | Leave a comment

K1 Front Panel Board Started

Posted on December 3, 2015 by robert

I continued to test and evaluate the audio level issue with the SCS P4 Dragon Modem today, so I didn’t have much time for assembly.  But I did get a start on the K1 Front Panel Board.  14 components (front … Continue reading →

Posted in Gear, Projects | Leave a comment

Pactor Modem Arrives

Posted on December 3, 2015 by robert

I had ordered a P4 Dragon Pactor modem which finally arrived a few days ago.  My intent was to hook it up to my IC-9100 so I can use either Pactor III on HF (P4 is not legal in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital Mode, From the OM, Gear | Leave a comment