I'm glad to have both the K3 and Orion, not to be tacky. Orion for weak CW DXing and the K3 for all the digital modes with MixW, 6 meters and back-up. SSB, what little I do is a split. The K2 for QRP DXing is a keeper for the past 8+ years. The FT-450 is an outstanding rig too. BTW, some other fine rigs have only UCW and I like LCW far far better.
I never saw or used a rig I didn't like relative to at least one or two features over others. The Orion and K3 could use a good DMU, right? hi. I'd buy one for each in a heart beat. 73, lynn W4NL ----- Original Message ----- From: "Doug" <k...@comcast.net> To: "'Steve Ellington'" <n...@carolina.rr.com>; "'Gary Hinson'" <g...@isect.com>; <elecraft@mailman.qth.net> Sent: Sunday, April 19, 2009 10:31 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 #2887 - first impressions > And miss band stacking registers as well. > > Small price to pay though. > > -----Original Message----- > From: Steve Ellington [mailto:n...@carolina.rr.com] > Sent: Sunday, April 19, 2009 7:36 PM > To: Doug; 'Gary Hinson'; elecraft@mailman.qth.net > Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 #2887 - first impressions > > Doug > Having had the Orion II, what are the differences you have experienced? > Steve Ellington > n...@carolina.rr.com > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Doug" <k...@comcast.net> > To: "'Gary Hinson'" <g...@isect.com>; <elecraft@mailman.qth.net> > Sent: Sunday, April 19, 2009 8:09 PM > Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 #2887 - first impressions > > >> Just put sn:2950 together this weekend and would agree 100% with your >> comments Gary. Also I would add that a picture showing the sub assembly >> in >> expanded (blow-out)form would be nice. I am pretty sharp most of the time >> but I sat looking at both shells wondering what the hell I was supposed >> to >> do with them because I only ever saw one in the pictures. >> >> Having assembled a KX1 with options in the past I was worried that I >> would >> get the K3 3/4 assembled just to have to tear 1/2 of it back down to >> install >> something that could have been done earlier. Kudos to Elecraft for option >> breakouts in the manual preventing this from happening. >> >> More clarity on the J92 setup on the sub assembly would be nice. I hooked >> the aux RF port up and taped the tmp connector as instructed. Then it was >> never referenced again. Then you get to the sub rec assembly and it has >> j92 >> connecting to J63 on the KAT3. Left me wondering what the hell to do. In >> the >> end both got disconnected and taped up as I am not setup with two >> antennas >> at the moment and will just use the main for input for the time being. >> >> A Matrix up-front in the K3 assembly instructions showing the 3 options >> might not be a bad thing. >> >> >> What a bad ass little radio. Coming from an Orion II this is a real >> treat. >> >> Off to drink more Kool-Aid as they say. >> >> Cheers >> Doug K0ZU >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net >> [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Gary Hinson >> Sent: Saturday, April 18, 2009 4:54 AM >> To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net >> Subject: [Elecraft] K3 #2887 - first impressions >> >> Hi all. >> >> K3 #2887 lives! Config: K3/100, ATU, subRX, 250Hz + 400Hz filters (main >> and >> subRX), KXV3, DVR. >> >> The kit build was relatively painless, certainly easier than the K2. >> Package open to 1st QSO took me 1 fairly intense but enjoyable day >> (Wednesday just gone). While they are still fresh in my mind, these were >> the most significant problems I experienced with the build: >> >> 1. If I had realized I would need them, I would have bought the >> antistatic >> wrist-strap and desk pad between ordering the kit and it arriving in the >> post, instead of having to go shopping after opening the box! Perhaps a >> little reminder about which tools customers will need could be included >> in >> the "Thanks for ordering your K3" email? [Maybe it was and I missed it >> in >> the excitement!]. Alternatively, could these be another option to buy >> from >> Elecraft? >> >> 2. It wasn't immediately obvious that most boards/options come with >> their >> own hardware in little envelopes, and several bits took a little while to >> find (e.g. the bits for the standoffs near the display, fig 37 in the kit >> assembly manual). I eventually got the hang of it but having a bunch of >> spare bits left over and constantly changing from bag to bag got me a bit >> confused at times. >> >> 3. It's not entirely clear what the display light blocker strips are >> meant >> to achieve, hence exactly where they should be fitted - should they stick >> to >> the main board, the edge of the display panel, or the strip of flexy foil >> sticking out of the LCD panel? The manual, even with a photo, didn't >> help. >> The finished K3 looks fine now so I guess I made the right choices by >> luck. >> >> 4. My LCD panel had some smudge marks. I very carefully and gently >> cleaned >> it as best I could with a cleaning cloth used for spectacles, and the few >> marks that remained are invisible now under the Perspex face ... But I >> wonder if perhaps it ought to have been shipped with a pull-off plastic >> film >> protector? >> >> 5. Fitting the chassis stiffener towards the end is tricky because the >> topmost screws are horizontally aligned with other boards or the rear >> panel >> edge. Maybe I should have found a slimmer Phillips #1 screwdriver? >> Maybe >> some other method of fixing it would help. >> >> 5. The step-by-step instructions kind of lost the plot towards the end >> in >> respect of fitting the 100W PA and subRX. Up til then, the "install >> option >> X now or move ahead to page Y" thing worked just fine. [I was getting >> tired >> by then: it was probably me losing the plot not the instructions!]. >> >> 6. The subRX is a tight squeeze, making it awkward to ensure the >> connectors >> are fully aligned and cables are out of the way. No easy solution there. >> >> 7. Every option, I think, came with an installation manual plus its own >> page/s of errata. It's annoying to have to go through and fix the >> manuals >> before starting. The odd correction/clarification I could understand but >> why so many? Could the base manuals be updated and printed more often?? >> >> 8. The Anderson Powerpole connectors refuse to snap fully home into the >> body of the connector, so the power lead sometimes slips out. I probably >> over-did the solder. I think I'm going to have to cut them off and buy >> some >> more, if I can even find them in ZL ... >> >> The manual was definitely up to expectations and extremely helpful, >> especially all those annotated photos that must have taken someone many >> hours to produce. BTW my "full inventory" consisted of checking that the >> requisite main parts and options were present - I didn't bother trying to >> count all of those little screws and washers (lesson learnt from the K2! >> Kudos to the little army of Elecrafty packers and checkers - fantastic!). >> >> There's a few minor niggles, queries or suggestions for the actual rig so >> far, some no doubt due to my obvious inexperience with it after just a >> few >> days behind the wheel: >> >> 1. At first the SubRX worked on every band *except* 40m ... until I >> re-checked it this evening and mysteriously it is now working fine on all >> bands. Don't know what happened there. It didn't seem to be anything as >> obvious as ATT on, wrong antenna selected, crazy filtering etc. There >> was >> audio hiss but no signals, not even very weak sigs as far as I could >> tell. >> I re-did the subRX synth calibration business this afternoon so maybe >> that >> fixed it (after a power cycle too)? >> >> 2. At first the S-meter was randomly flickering up to mid to full-scale, >> a >> bit like if there is static on the coax. This anomaly disappeared within >> an >> hour or two of running the rig and has not reappeared since. Maybe it >> *was* >> static?! >> >> 3. On semi-QSK, I've noticed occasional glitches with CW keying when I >> release the PTT foot-switch. The sidetone seems to indicate shortened >> characters sometimes when I release the switch while still sending, but I >> don't yet know if it affects the RF going out (it could just be a >> temporary >> mute of the sidetone). Although it's nice to be able to define the >> built-in >> CW memories from the PC using the K3 Utility program, I'm currently using >> my >> trusty old MM3 Morse Machine for keying, mostly because it has an >> external >> memory trigger unit on a flying lead sitting on the desk near my >> non-paddle >> hand (which would be a handy option for the K3 too!). The MM3 always >> sends >> complete characters so I know *that's* not the cause of this problem. >> >> 4. Is there a simple way to step through the memories, manually i.e. not >> using the scan and without doing the whole M>V + select-next-memory + M>V >> thing? I'd like to be able to select the memory bank, then tune up and >> down >> through the bank one memory at a time, perhaps using the clarifier knob >> (not >> the VFO as it's useful to be able to tune away from a memory), to listen >> to >> the memorized channels as I step through them. >> >> 5. The memory label function is handy but has too few characters for the >> callsigns for many of the 10m beacons I watch. How about making it >> scroll >> to the left, just like the power-up banner function, if I input more than >> 5 >> characters? >> >> 6. I miss the dedicated "Quick Memory" function from my TS850 already. >> I'd >> really like to program PF1 and PF2 or two other buttons for this function >> i.e. press one button to store the current freq etc. in a dedicated Quick >> Memo Last-In-First-Out bank, press another button to recall the info to >> the >> VFO (optionally using the clarifier knob to select previously-stored >> values). [This is an easy way to store and later recall interesting but >> temporary frequencies when tuning around the bands, without all the >> button-pressing needed to store them in a main memory]. >> >> 7. On the TS850, I've got used to using LSB for CW reception but the K3 >> uses USB. Short of changing my ways, I know I can hold the ALT-mode >> button >> to change to CW REV, and this setting is remembered on each band, but I'd >> prefer to be able to select LSB as my default, particularly as the K3 now >> automatically reverts to USB for CW when I click an interesting spot in >> Logger32. >> >> 8. The auto-spot function works OK but tends to search a bit widely, and >> is >> not consistent on the stop frequency, sometimes tuning some way off (even >> on >> seemingly reasonable strength 20+WPM sigs). It would be handy to have an >> instant "undo-auto-spot" function a bit like the "undo-RIT-cancel" thing >> to >> reset the VFO to the pre-auto-spot frequency if it fails to spot >> accurately. >> >> 9. The maximum tuning rate on CW is not fast enough for my liking e.g. >> scooting between the CW end and beacon sub-band on 10m. I know I can use >> the memories to go directly to a stored channel but it suits me to QSY >> quickly through the band on the VFO. I'm confused by the FINE and RATE >> controls. I'm not keen to change modes to change QSY rates. I'd prefer >> just to be able to set the clarifier-QSY function to step in, say, 5 or >> 10kHz or 12.5kHz steps, ideally with the first step being to the nearest >> "round value" (e.g. if I'm on 28003, the first step would be 3kHz to >> 28005 >> then 5kHz to 28010 etc.). [This is another idea borrowed from the TS850. >> I >> know I know, I'll get over it! I've had 15 years of it!]. >> Alternatively, >> how about an optional VFO accelerator go-faster function to speed up the >> QSY >> rate if I 'spin' the main knob? >> >> 10. I discovered by trial-and-error that sending from the internal CW >> memories can be cancelled by clicking the REC button in the middle. Not >> entirely obvious (why not screen-print CNCL or CANCEL under or around the >> REC button?). >> >> 11. I haven't figured out what the type I and II filtering is all about >> yet, nor how to manually tune the notch filter, but I'm confident it's >> all >> in the manual somewhere ... >> >> 12. There's a noticeable delay between putting in the headphones and >> muting >> the speakers. >> >> Those minor issues aside, the stereocode CW and NR functions are good, >> the >> subRX is extremely helpful (I've already bagged S04R on 2 more bands much >> more easily than otherwise thanks to being able to listen in the pileup >> and >> to the S0 at the same time) and the no-ring filtering down to a few Hz is >> great. Overall the K3 RX sounds fantastic and I'm definitely looking >> forward to the next big contest! >> >> 73 >> Gary ZL2iFB www.g4ifb.com >> >> ______________________________________________________________ >> Elecraft mailing list >> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft >> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm >> Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net >> >> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net >> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html >> >> ______________________________________________________________ >> Elecraft mailing list >> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft >> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm >> Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net >> >> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net >> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. 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