Welcome to the Elecraft list, Steve!! To be sure your power indication is at all accurate, you need to use a known good dummy load. The K1 (like the low-power version of the K2) measures power using an RF voltmeter across the load attached to the RF output. For accurate readings, that load must be very, very close to 50 ohms non-reactive. If it is not, the voltage developed and so the power output reported may be quite different from what is actually being delivered.
An SWR meter simply isn't accurate enough to tell you if the load is actually close enough to 50 ohms to be of value in this situation. (SWR meters aren't very accurate for this sort of testing because they don't need to be.) Ron AC7AC -----Original Message----- I just put K1 #2177 on the air (after waiting almost a year to have the time to build it). It seems to work well overall, but a couple of problems are nagging at me: 1) The power output is good (5.5 - 7.5 w) on 15, 30, and 40 meters, but only about 4.5 watts max into a vertical with "flat" SWR. It just won't do more. Any ideas? Are there any of the toroids that especially should be checked? I must have missed something somewhere, but darned if I can find it. Is there any point in repeating the ENTIRE alignment process? 2) Getting the BFO offset exact on a K1 is a nightmare. Is there some method that works better than that specified in the manual? Does anyone EVER get it exactly right? IOW, do all K1 operators just leave the RIT on and "scan" nearby frequencies for replies to their CQ calls? Thanks... This is my first post to the reflector... Steve W9HC _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [email protected] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
