In both the CQWWCW and RTTY Contests I found the K3 to be "too good".
In the zoo of 20 and 40m I could easily find a hole in which to CQ by
using the K3 filters and variable bandwidth controls, but in both
contests i often got pounced upon with QRL QSY. I asked myself why.
If I cant hear another station because I am using the filtration system
of the K3 - is it MY problem? If they cannot reduce their rx bandwidth
by the inclusion and usage of their filters - is that MY problem?
Perhaps we should all use a K3 then we could squeeze more stations into
the available bandwidth...
If I am bothering YOU, but you are not bothering ME - than that is
clearly YOUR problem.........
or am I just being bolshy??
Tom
GM4FDM
GM0ELP wrote:
Hi All,
I was active as MM3T at the weekend with K3 #1293 and K2 #4688, Acom 1000,
Doublet 160/80, 1/4 GP 40 and Cobweb 20,15 and 10m. The last 3 CQWW CW I've
been using an FT1000MP MkV with inrad 4K roof filter (fully loaded) so was
keen to give the K3 the try for the first time.
My K3 has 400/1k roofing filters installed. It needed the 400 engaged on all
but 15 and 10m which were quiet here in GM and so the 1k came in to good
use. I had intended to use Dual PB but forgot all about it.
I had one problem with the K3 on top band when the rx went quiet and tx
power disappeared in a kind of intermittent way just after transmitting. It
took me a while to realise it wasn't the tuner/coax/LPF/Linear connections
and seemed to be located in the back panel audio connections area. Putting
my hand down the back of the transceiver and giving the connections a wiggle
seemed to bring the radio back to life. At one stage I power cycled the K3
and got an ERR PLL message or something on the display. This only happened
when I was on top band.
I used fast AGC with AGC threshold 5 and AGC slope 10 for high bands and 8/8
for low bands respectively. I changed these settings a number of times
during the contest and ended up with several favourites dependant on
band/noise. I was raising the threshold in line with rising noise levels and
adjusting the slope downward when dealing with pile ups which helped my
brain separate the callers by adding sound level difference. Using the PF1
and PF2 keys for threshold and slope worked a treat.
I had been using a K1EL keyer with the MkV in the past and decided to
simplify things this year with the K3 by using DTR-RTS for key-ptt. This
coupled with WinTest contest software worked flawlessly (even with open wire
feeder in the shack).
I allowed condx to determine my sending speed, if things got hectic whilst
running, my speed went up and when trying to bag a weak one on a noisy band
my speed went down. I did miss the winkey variable pot when working slow
stations, but just had to hope they had been listening to me enough to get
the call right before calling. I get more angry with inefficient exchange
(mindlessly repeating things like my call) rather than slow speed callers.
The worst combo when working a pile up is a slow caller who thinks data type
exchanges are the norm, as 9/10 times this one station will cause someone
else to steal your frequency whilst you are waiting for his exchange to
finish.
The EU really is a zoo during CQWW CW and I've tried using lesser radios in
the past and given in. I did 24hrs with the K3 and still love it despite the
top band band failure. A fully loaded MkV is a hard act to follow, but I did
spend $6000 (ROB) on it and then had to install an inrad roof and do key
click mods to get it to work properly.
Thanks to all who worked me!
Doug GM0ELP (MM3T)
--
So I met the bloke who invented crosswords today. I can't remember his
name, it's P something T something R.
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