> I've had #1823 for just over a year, and I still don't like > the sound of the receiver. That's the reason the K3 sat in a > box for months while my trusty FT-1000mkV sat on the > operating desk (until the MkV went on strike in the middle of > the SS CW :-(
I've read all the posts in this thread and have to say ... I just don't "get it". What noise?! If anything my two K3s are too quiet! It has occurred to me more than once that I might have an antenna disconnected or perhaps blew out the front-end to the radio. The most distinguishing characteristic of the K3 (for me) is how quiet it is when you slip on the headphones. The K3 is distinctively quiet compared all the Icom, Yaesu and Kenwood radios I own or have operated. I now realize that all the pre-K3 radios I've used were somehow amplifying or emphasizing the band noise, plus adding a bunch of digital artifacts, in the audio. I am completely stunned by the posts here that report "noisy K3 receiver" and escaping to a "quieter" Japanese radio. I've been using K3s 11 and 17 ever since the field test units first came out. I've kept current with all the updates and mods so despite the early serial numbers, these radios are equivalent to what is currently shipping. I always have the latest field test firmware in both radios. This is pre-Beta and pre-production firmware that has never interfered with my use of the radio. I use the radios primarily for CW, RTTY and (rarely) SSB contesting, plus a bit of DXing. It took me a full month of using the K3 to finally accept the fact that its receiver is so incredibly quiet compared to any other radio. I thought something was wrong! And yet with the greatly reduced band noise in the headphones, extremely weak signal are easy to copy. 80 and 160 are like new bands, more like the higher bands, with my K3s. And the pile-up/crowded band receive capability is far superior to any radio I've ever operated. I'm not doubting the reports here on the reflector about "noisy K3 receiver", but I have to say that either the specific radio has a major defect or the various gain and AGC controls are not setup correctly. W4ZV has posted on this reflector several excellent explanations on how to properly adjust the K3, or any radio for that matter. I would love to hear one of these "noisy K3 receivers" and see how they are configured. Ed - W0YK ----------------------------------------------- Ed Muns Muns Vineyard - www.munsvineyard.com FaceBook - www.facebook.com/munsvineyard ______________________________________________________________ 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
