N7NB commented on the K3 as an MW rx as follows: "The K3 makes an excellent BCB DX radio if you have the KXV3. This is important, as the PIN diode T/R switch diodes have a high insertion loss at 1.5 MHz, and it's even higher yet at 0.5 MHz. I measured 18 dB of attenuation at 0.5 MHz. If you have the KXV3, the PIN diodes are bypassed, and you'll experience full sensitivity, below 1.8 MHz
The K3 does not have an AM synchronous detector. However, it really doesn't need it. In the SSB mode with the 6 kHz filter, it's a simple matter to tune to zero-beat, and this is every bit as effective as a true phase-coherent synchronous detector. Because the demodulation is implemented in DSP, I've found that, even if you're off zero-beat slightly, there's no where near the amount of intermodulation distortion that you would notice in an analog product detector. The AM quality is truly phenomenal with a 6 kHz passband. To give you an idea how effective the K3 is as a BCB DX receiver, I live in the main beam of a local station on 880 kHz(KIXI), the transmitter is only about 8 miles away, and their nighttime signal strength (when running 10 kW output power) is 60 dB over S-9. Even with this signal on 880 kHz, I can easily listen to WWL in New Orleans at night with no sideband splash to speak of (I have a recording of this). During the day when KIXI is running 50 kW non-directional, I can listen to a station in eastern Washington state on 870 kHz with minimal sideband splash. This is a real credit to the low sideband noise of the K3 synthesizer, as well as the steep skirts of the IF filters." Gil _______________________________________________ IRCA mailing list [email protected] http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: [email protected]
