Doug During contest work, I seldom use the preamp on bands 160-15M. I find the preamp is of use, at least in this point in the sunspot cycle, on 10M. Other than that, the K3 has plenty of gain. I want to keep the signal level as low as possible into the all the mixers of the radio. When I work someone, all I'm interested in is hearing the signal; I don't care if he's S0 or S9. By reducing the signal level into the mixers, I reduce the intermod created by the mixers.
I also use the ATT and RF Gain to assist in working a pileup. There are three things that distinguish a CW signal: Pitch, speed, and signal strength. If I use AGC, the signal strength of signals between S6 and S9+ all tend to equalize somewhat, so I lose one of the 3 variables that help me copy any one signal. If I use AGC Off, I can more clearly hear the difference between an S6 and an S8 signal. If I reduce RF gain and/or add ATT, I can now hear only the S8 signals. As I work the pileup down, I increase RF Gain and turn off the ATT. I use the same technique for any radio that I may be using. Nice to have worked you in many contests, and I hope to work you a bunch in the future. Dennis W1UE ______________________________________________________________ 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
