Dave,
Yes, the RTC is an "add-on convenience" item for the rig. It is a nice
thing to have for logging when operating portable (set it before the
outing).
As far as digital modes go, the Elecraft gear offers only PSK and FSK
internally and as far as I know, those are not time critical and logging
the contact as much as a minute off is not going to cause a big problem.
For those operating JT modes (which are time critical), a computer or
other 'smart' device is required and the timing is controlled by that
device and not by the K3(S), KX3 or KX2, so the RTC in the transceiver
does not control the transmission/receive timing.
Certainly, I have a $39 Timex watch on my wrist, and it has not been set
for the last many months. It does not sync to WWVB or anything else, it
just runs, and matches my atomic clock time if I ignore the seconds. I
consider that an accurate timepiece.
If Elecraft were to automate trimming the accuracy of the RTC, I suspect
it would add to the cost of the option that includes the RTC. With the
RTC in the K2's KAF2 and KDSP2 options, the builder is given
instructions on how to change the capacitor value to give more long term
accuracy to the clock, but I don't know of any builders who have done
that. It takes a long time to determine how much clock drift occurs and
it takes a bit of experimenting with the capacitor value to get it
'right on'. In other words, it is a lengthy process.
73,
Don W3FPR
On 8/28/2016 3:53 PM, w7aqk wrote:
Now Don, don't get testy! Hi. Actually, I think the critics may have
a good point--especially the ones using digital. For me, it is no big
deal, but the clock gets so far off so quickly I have stopped even
looking at it. However, the digital users do need some precision in
order to get their transmissions timed correctly for an exchange.
I don't know why the clock doesn't work so well, but there probably is
a good explanation for it. Still, in this day and age when a few
bucks can get you a clock that only loses/gains a second or two a
month, it's hard to understand why this clock performs so poorly. I
don't have a KX2 clock, but I do have one in my KX3. At this moment
it is 5 minutes fast, and I last set it to WWV about a month ago. The
specs for the KX2 clock say the deviation can be minimized to about 2
seconds per day, so apparently it is a lot better!
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