The KAT2 is finished and installed; and it works like a charm! Even though the installation instructions looked a little daunting in the manual; taking it step by step made the process a piece of cake. No problems - no smoke - no disasters!
The few flubs I commited and subsequently caught and corrected proved to be of no consequence. The real "nail biter" for me was when I connected the KAT2 for its intial check out and ran through all the settings that would test each individual latching relay. I was wondering whether or not I had destroyed that relay where I had slightly melted the housing with my soldering iron. No worries! Each relay clicked in turn just as they all should have.
Again, however, I cannot overstress the importance of not working on these kits while you're tired. All the errors I made were from being a bit ragged and not having my powers of concentration up to snuff. I missed things in the instructions that I would otherwise would not have if I had worked when I was in a more alert frame of mind. Fortunately I do electronic repairs for a living, so fixing mistakes is second nature to me. If you're newer and not quite as experienced a kit builder, then these common mistakes can be avoided by taking your time, working slowly and working only when you feel fresh.
The next project will be to resume and finish my ATS-3 transceiver. I had just installed the very first parts when I had put it aside. I think perhaps I was a bit intimidated by the prospect of building a kit that is totally surface mount technology. Building and finishing the KAT2 has put me back in a building groove.
73 de Larry W2LJ
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