KX2 repaired / 5mhz

Hi Adrian,glad you sorted the problem ok.
Good choice to include 60mtrs.Yes the most used freq for sota was 5.398.5 usb but quite a lot more activity on the band now and others have other preferred frequencies like Rod M0JLA
would be found around 5.371.5 also 5.395 can be ok.
5.363usb is compatible with other EU ops and good for your s2s with them. 73 Don.

2 Likes

Hi Adrian

From the beginning I did away with the internal battery on my KX2 and opted for external LiPo…far easier for me.

My problem with KX2 at the moment is that it is drifting downwards…many chasers will know this. I’m working with Elecraft to solve the problem and will test possible solutions on a summit next week.

5.3715 popular with many of us. Then 5.395 as well as 5.3985 and 5.4035 to name a few.

I see that G0RQL is busy typing as I do this so let’s see what Don has to say :grinning:

73 Allan GW4VPX

1 Like

Add to the list of frequencies 5.354 or 5.355 and you will get access to the continentals limited to the new WRC band.

1 Like

And Walter too! :rofl:

1 Like

Mine drifts too, not sure if in the same way. Nearly every time i press PTT on the mic it will lower my frequency. Ie. Start at say 14.300, a few qso later and I’m now on 14.299.95. Not a huge issue but still a pain.
I emailed Wayne at Elecraft and he said a software update should fix it.

“Into every life a little rain must fall!”

1 Like

Hi Adrian

My KX2 is stable in the warmth of my home but on a mountain it starts to drift. Vic at Elecraft has sent me instructions and a file to reset the temp control within the rig. Also I may need to turn off the Up/Down facility on the microphone. I am using the Elecraft MH3 mic but the downward drift he tells me usually happens with other makes of mic. I’m going to do one alteration at a time and test possibly starting with the up/down configuration in the menu…easiest option first although maybe not the obvious :grinning::grinning:

73 Allan

Hi Adrian,
as Don has said, if you want to work outside of the UK to the multitude of countries that have now adopted the WRC15 5MHz band, the frequencies in the UK “bandlets” that are within the WRC15 band are

SSB 5355 and 5363
CW Unfortunately none of the UK bandlets overlap with the CW Only section of the WRC15 bandplan but as the rest of the bandblan up to 5366 is all mode you can use anywhere in the 5354-5358 UK bandlet #7 and 5362-5366 within UK bandlet #8 (of course it would be nice if you could avoid the SSB spot frequencies).
DIG anywhere between 5366 and 5366.5 in UK bandlet #8.

Some people still work split but this need sto be arranged either beforehand or through clear information in your sellf-spot and is more complex to do.

Don’t forget however that those operating under the ITU/WRC15 bandplan are only allowed to run 15w EIRP - that effectively means 5 watts from the rig to a dipole, so they can be weak signals, make sure you have a good receiver set up on 60m (I believe the Elecraft is rather good).

73 Ed.

Hi Ed thanks for the info. In my short and sporadic radio ‘career’ I’ve never had much luck working split. More so I guess with rare DX stations. I think it’s probably to complex to think about for SOTA activations, for me at least. When 5mhz was channelised so to speak I found it easier to get my head around, but the current band plan again for me is rather complex. I’ll certainly be giving 5mhz a better attempt now with the new dipole, and sticking to one or two spot frequencies. I didn’t feel like it worked particularly well with the EFHW that I used last time, didnt appear to be being heard as well as I was hearing the other stations. Time will tell. 4 activations this coming week if all goes to plan.

Adrian
MM0TAI

2 Likes

My solution was to program in to the memories all our legal frequencies at one kHz intervals, with a nod to the now traditional “Fox” channels by interpolating them where they end in half a kHz. This means that I can use the “select” knob on my 817 and 857 to tune all our bandlets. I don’t know how practicable that would be on the KX2 but it is worth considering.

I wish people would refrain from using SSB on 5355 kHz because it causes severe interference to the FT8 traffic between 5356 and 5358 kHz, which is the only practicable slot in which UK stations can use the mode to communicate with stations elsewhere in Europe and farther afield. CW between 5354 and 5356 kHz is not a problem.

73,
Walt (G3NYY)

1 Like

That’s tough, Walt. So where would you like to see UK SSB stations trying to work WRC15 SOTA stations operate? The thing is that we are limited for options, too, and much of the WRC15 SOTA traffic is on channels outside our allocations or too near the edge, so if we hear a SOTA SSB station on 5354 or 5355 you want us to ignore it? I don’t see that happening, the WRC15 band is small but busy, you will just have to tolerate occasional QRM. It isn’t as if it was all the time.

Hi Walt,
Why can’t you run FT8 in the digital modes section of the WRC15 band (5366-5366.5) - is it not a weak signal narrowband digital mode, which is what this section is RESERVED for (no CW and no SSB here).

Is there something in the UK Bandlet bandplan that contradicts the WRC15 bandplan in this part of your Bandlet #8?

Ed.

For the simple reason: there is nobody there to work. All European FT8/JT9/JT65 activity is between 5356 and 5360 kHz. It’s a fact of life. Deal with it.

Weak signal is not the same thing as QRP.

Yes. The RSGB UK bandplan (which is not recognised by anyone else) recommends the use of SSB on 5354 kHz, not 5355 kHz. Even this is a slight improvement, because at least it avoids spreading above 5357 kHz.

73,
Walt (G3NYY)

What WRC15 SOTA traffic? I cannot recall ever having heard a WRC15 SSB SOTA station on the 5 MHz band. Is portable operation even allowed under WRC15 rules?

73,
Walt (G3NYY)

No need to be rude!! It was a valid question !!!

By the way the decision made at WRC 15 to allocate a 5MHz (60m) band does not restrict itself as regards portable operation. There have been several 60m SOTA and park operations in Germany in the band. Perhaps you are confusing 5MHz with 50MHz - where portable operation in Germany is not allowed on 6 metres.

I will stand corrected. It was a valid question !!!

73,
Walt (G3NYY)

Absolutely! And I wasn’t rude in my reply

There have been several activations that I could copy with good signal strength but not work due to them either being in our gap or too close to its edge so that part of my signal would have been out of bounds, but I have twice had the pleasure of working DL1CR, once on 5363 and once on 5354. Other UK stations also worked him.

A search of my log reveals that I have worked 329 different German stations on 60m, including one portable station, but not including DL1CR.
:slight_smile:
73,
Walt (G3NYY)