Hi Matt, Wow, you've really thought this through, and I appreciate the ideas.
I didn't mean to infer that this is a big deal to me. I probably venture out of the ham bands maybe once every 2 or 3 years for about 15 minutes, usually trying to determine the character of a neighborhood noise source. However, after ordering a pair of the new KSYN3A boards, it occurred to me that it might be interesting to explore some of the VLF frequencies using the Pixel loop, and in playing around I re-discovered this scenario. I actually do use the M>V+# memory band switching method, along with the per-band M>V+M[1-4] memories to provide some band-stacking functionality within bands, and all of that works extremely well and is very fast. The only time there's a problem is when I tap the Band buttons on the KPA500 or use the Band up/down button on the K3. So, none of this is really an issue. I just wanted to be sure that I wasn't missing a simple or obvious-to-someone-else solution. Thank you again! 73, Dale WA8SRA > Hi again Dale, > > I'm not taking a position, just reporting how the K3 works now. Maybe > that was obvious, maybe not. > > With many Amateur transceivers that allow receive outside the ham > bands, the VFO always initializes to the last frequency dialed in. The > only non-Elecraft example I have here is an old 1996-era JRC-245, but > I've observed that same behavior with many others. The K3 is > consistent in its behavior with most other transceivers. > > From what you've written, it looks like the BAND up/down control is > really the problem. This is the reason I used (to myself) for the M>V > switch and using memories to control initial ham band entry after > tuning around outside. I do a lot of this, being a Curious George > type, and also a MARS op and doing occasional SWLing. > > Being objective, I've thought up a few corner cases. For whatever > reason, I've become pretty good at this lately. Try these on: > > 1. The op dials past the ham band edge into g/c territory. In this > case, make the band edge persistent? I'm not sure that would be > correct. Most ops do not operate near the band edges. Maybe I'm just > biased in this way. > > 2. The last direct frequency entry was 15.000 MHz. Would you preserve > the previous direct frequency entry that was inside the Amateur 20m > band? Or the last VFO A frequency? Or something else (I'm trying to > use a little imagination, not something I'm great at). > > 3. This one would probably work for you. The op dials into the ham > band from g/c territory. I'm pretty sure that what most ops would > want to persist on VFO A is this last dwell frequency. That would > also be consistent with most transceivers' behavior, and what many ops > would expect. > > 4. For MARS operators, SWLers, and other legitimate ops that > habitually operate outside the ham bands, their K3s would constantly > revert to a previous dwell frequency, but only one from inside the > nearest ham band (hm, the one to which that dwell frequency range is > assigned). I think this would tick off the ops wanting to preserve > the last frequency dialed or keyed in. > > I guess it's a conundrum, or a bit of one at least. From memory, I > think there was a Field Tester discussion on this topic long ago. This > and some hard decisions on the part of Elecraft gave the K3 its > present behavior. > > Hey - at least the K3's behavior in this regard is 100% consistent! > > :) > > 73, > matt > W6NIA > > > > > > > > On Sat, 14 Feb 2015 23:08:29 -0500 (EST), you wrote: > >>Hi Matt, >> >>Thanks for your response. I see that using the memories will tune to the >>stored frequency -- but it still hijacks a ham band. I like using the >>'Band' button on the KPA500 to band-select the K3, but after selecting a >>non-ham band memory, that gets screwed up as well. I don't see a way to >>access a G/C frequency without this being the result. >> >>It seems to me that if the ham band slots disallowed frequency >> assignments >>outside of their respective bands, that would keep this from happening, >>and would be consistent with the K3 being first and foremost a ham-band >>receiver. >> >>73, Dale >>WA8SRA >> >> >>> Hi Dale, >>> >>> When you're tuning around outside the hand bands, your last "dwell" >>> frequency will be set in the appropriate ham band For example, >>> listening to WWV on 15 MHz, 15.000 will become your VFO A's 20m >>> frequency. That VFO A frequency will persist across a power off / on >>> cycle. This behavior is consistent whether or not your K3 was last >>> left in the ham bands. >>> >>> I don't know all the frequency limits for which non-ham frequency >>> ranges are assigned to which ham bands, but in terms of being >>> reasonable they make sense (imho). >>> >>> If you combine SWL / general purpose and ham use, I'd suggest using >>> memories to keep your common-use frequencies in. That way, when you >>> tap the M>V button and dial the memory in, you always get a known >>> frequency (either inside or out of the ham bands). I use this method >>> for ham, SWL, and MARS operation and it does seem to work well. >>> >>> 73, >>> matt >>> W6NIA >>> >>> > Matt Zilmer, W6NIA > -- > "Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will > spend the first four sharpening the axe." -A. Lincoln > ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [email protected]
