I sure envy those of you who live in a quiet enough environment to take
advantage of that much gain. Here in the city the noise level is so high
even on 6 meters that even the additional gain provided by the built-in
preamp on the KXV3B module usually only brings the noise level up; weak
signals are still buried in all the ambient crap. I previously used a
PR6 on my K3 and don't really see much difference between it and the
preamp in the Transverter module. I'm looking forward more and more to
retirement and a move out of the city.
73...
Randy, W8FN
On 12/1/2017 9:53 AM, Edward R Cole wrote:
Just my observations on 6m with only the internal PRE on my K3
(purchased circa 2010):
I noticed a lack of sensitivity on 6m. I had a ARR P50VDG preamp with
22-25 dB of gain which worked better than the internal PRE. That gave
me about 12 dB more gain compared with running the PRE. Also lower NF
(typ. 0.5 dB).
I then purchased a PR6-10 and that helps considerably over using the
PRE. I have used my K3+PR6-10 for copying 6m-eme signals with a
single yagi (6-element) so that speaks well of the PR6-10. I use the
ARR preamp mounted at tower top for eme and it is a little bit better
(has more gain) on very weak eme signals using JT65. I use DIGOUT-1
to control my PR6-10 and use the pass-thru connections for the ARR.
That adds nice convenience for using the two preamps.
I have a second smaller 6m yagi which I use the PR6-10, only. BTW
this is equal to my KX3 with preamp ON (which says a lot for the KX3).
My opinion is the PR6-10 makes the K3 better on higher bands than the
internal PRE (which I leave off). If you are considering getting one
its a good (if not essential) upgrade for the original K3 on 6m and
10m. Yes, you will see a small rise in the noise reading on the
s-meter (due to more gain), but sensitivity is improved more than that
(due to lower NF). I see about S3-4 noise floor on 6m with the PR6-10
and S5 with the ARR. PRE runs maybe S1 (a guess as I haven't used it
for some time).
73, Ed - KL7UW
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