I think the only way to get enough drive for the Herc II from a K2 will
be to buy the K2 add-on final, when it becomes available. The Herc II
is designed around a transceiver that is capable of at least 40-50 watts
output. The K2 may be pushed to 15 w, but according to Elecraft, that
is at the expense of IMD performance. At the recommended K2 output
level (10 w) the Herc II is not going to churn out all that much RF, if
mine is any guide. If I reduce the drive, the output drops very fast.
Yes, I have exactly the same thoughts for my K2, (currently under
clandestine construction, when no-one is in the kitchen), but I believe
that 10 w will simply not kick the Herc II into serious action. And I
do not see any sensible modification that will overcome this.
But on the bright side, at that low power level, its not going to need a
battery the size of a brick outhouse to power it ... I did consider the
battery option when I got the Herc II, and if I'd not been lucky enough
to get the TT supply in a fire sale, I would have been looking at large
batteries. They make humongous submarine battteries at a plant near my
home, but on the ones I have seen, the voltage is barely 12. The cost
is also humongous, but those babies are designed to deliver serious
power for long periods.
I use the standard TT supply for the Herc II; its been OK since I found
a long-standing dry joint in a connector and did some fairly minor
modifications. But having studied the TT supply, I reckon I could build
a functionally similar supply (four 25 amp analogue supplies, and
steering diodes) for what it would cost for a big battery and charger
over here. In fact I collected the parts to do it in case I could not
fix the TT supply, or in case it suffers a terminal failure.
The thought of lugging it to Tennessee (and then back) from here was
too much .... I made that trip with the Herc II, but no way with the
power supply !! Incidentally, I run the TT supply on 240v AC and the
switch-on surge sometimes trips a 30 A breaker (it is on its own
breaker, as well as its own, completely separate line back to the house
distribution box). I simply cannot imagine running it on 117v.
John G3JAG
On 26-Dec-99 Vic Rosenthal wrote:
>
> I'm new to this reflector, so forgive me if this has been asked
> before: I'm
> thinking of getting a Hercules II, and I'd like to use it with my
> Elecraft K2,
> which puts out about 15 watts CW. I presume I could get a couple of
> hundred
> watts out of it at this drive level. My question is, has anyone
> modified a
> Hercules to produce more output with low drive?
>
> 73,
> Vic, K2VCO
> Fresno CA
>
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E-Mail: John - G3JAG <patents@dx0man.prestel.co.uk>
To: <tentec@contesting.com>
Date: 26-Dec-99
Time: 23:19:14
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