Most of our customers choose the K3 for its contesting or DX performance. But with all the world-wide flooding, earthquakes, and heat waves and power-outages we've seen this year, I'm reflecting on how the K3 can serve as a flexible station for emergency communications.
Here's a brief list of K3 features that could help in such situations: - Only about 9 pounds, and sized so it's easy to carry to any location. - Bulletproof receiver--important for multi-transmitter environments. (If you have to set up more than one HF/VHF station in a small area, you'll want them not to interfere with each other.) - Coverage of HF and SW broadcast, as well as two local/emergency bands (6 and 2 meters). - Low receive-mode current drain (about 1 amp) for extended operating time when using batteries, solar panels, etc. Most radios with comparable performance have current drain three times higher, and even garden-variety radios are usually in the 2-amp-plus range. In transmit mode, current drain can be very low at QRP power levels (12 watts or less) because the PA is completely turned off. - Runs from up to a 15-V supply, but usable down to as low as about 10 V in a pinch, thanks to the use of low-dropout voltage regulators. Also, we selected the APP power connector specifically because it is as close to a standard as exists in the portable-comms world; you'll be able to "borrow" power when you need to. - Wide-range ATU matches nearly any ad-hoc field antenna. Many built- in ATUs cover only a very small range, while the KAT3 can easily match loads with SWRs of 10:1, and in some cases (at QRP levels) far higher. The two antenna jacks allow instant A/B testing on individual signals. - High-performance sub receiver with true diversity receive; could help copy traffic in difficult conditions. - Built-ins that reduce the need for other equipment: real time clock (with alarm), calendar, digital metering (current, voltage, temperature, SWR, power). - DVR and CW/DATA auto-repeating messages for beacon or net use, and built-in text decode/display for copying bulletins (PSK31, RTTY, CW). - And if you have room for a P3 at your emergency operating position, you'll be able to find weak signals calling without endless tuning of the VFO :) 73, Wayne N6KR ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
