Re: [Elecraft] optimizing recorded audio
Jim Brown wrote: Finally, go to change tempo. This can make your recording play faster or slower without changing pitch. Don't change the beats, but rather trim the time length of your recording. A little bit goes a long way. For example, when I recorded my call the clip was about 3 seconds long. Cutting it to 2.6 seconds got rid of inter-syllabic pauses etc and made it sound urgent but didn't introduce any unnatural sound. Time compression tends to make voices sound artificial. Time compression, or talking too fast with poor articulation, can make it difficult for others to copy your call. That is confusing a problem with its solution. The problem, everyone agrees, is trying to talk too fast with poor articulation. But time compression isn't part of that problem - applied correctly, it is part of the CURE. Try this: record your messages (CQ and callsign) focusing 100% of your attention on speaking clearly. Don't worry at all about speed; speak as slowly as you find necessary to get good articulation. Then you can use the 'tempo' function to bring the recording up to a normal speed. Most people can improve articulation dramatically by slowing down only 10-20%, so it only requires a modest increase in the tempo setting to restore a normal brisk speed. Time compression is a re-sampling technique and it does introduce some artefacts, but these are minor compared with everything else that happens to a SSB voice signal. At this point, you can bring in a third factor: pacing. If the gaps between words or syllables don't sound quite right, you can experiment by cutting out (or pasting in) small segments of 'quiet time'. This is a very simple cut-copy-paste operation in Audacity, easy to follow on the scope trace. The golden rule is: listen to the results after every step in the editing process. If it doesn't sound good, then Undo that step and try something else. If it's done well (which really isn't hard, and quite fun to learn), you'll find that your voice sounds clearer, but still quite natural. In fact, you'll probably sound *more* natural than if you were straining for optimum articulation, speed and pacing, all at the same time. And after 24-48 hours of SSB contesting, your recorded voice is *guaranteed* to sound better than your natural self! -- 73 from Ian GM3SEK http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] KX1 strikes again - Cruise Ship Bootleg Operations (OT)
U.S. hams on their own US-flagged boats are governed by FCC rule 97.11, which effectively forbids using the boat's marine HF radio also as the boat's only amateur radio. If the vessel is voluntarily equipped with a marine radio (as private yachts of any reasonable size would be), you are permitted to share the antenna, between the marine radio and the amateur radio. Unfortunately, many yachties get ham licenses and ham radios as adjuncts to their boats, and then ignore this rule. I ordered my K3 to use as my boat's ham radio. When the time comes to head offshore, I will get a proper marine SSB radio, too. Jim K7KK K3 #5263 Baba 30 sailboat #4 On 2011-04-21 01:22 PM, Mike Morrow wrote: Many hams, even the the days of the commercial Maritime Morse radio officer (which ended July 12, 1999), exhibit a cavalier attitude towards SOLAS issues. In the Morse days, for example, it is NOT likely that most hams would have recognized an SOS (which is sent as one character ...---..., not three characters ... --- ..., quite radically different in sound). Disregarding issues of ham operation upon SOLAS communications, there are regulatory issues. At sea, the country of the ship's registry would have jurisdiction over any ham operations. Are ANY cruise ships of US registry? A few, especially those that cruise in American waters only. I think Matson line may still have some passenger cruise ships. And of course, you can book passage as a passenger on many cargo ships. When in port, the host country has jurisdiction. IIRC, back in the Morse radio officer era, operation of the ship's Morse station was prohibited in port. I don't know how MF/HF USB use is controlled today in the GMDSS era. Obviously use of a ship's VHF-FM is required in foreign ports for SOLAS, piloting, and docking operations. (The only foreign country radio operation that I've ever done has been on VHF-FM as a USN officer of the deck coming in and out of port.) Do hams who operate from foreign registry ships use a call sign indicating the country of ship's registry when at sea, and a call sign of the host country when in port? I'd be surprised. I would expect the ship's master, when granting permission for a ham to operate his station on the master's ship, to insist on it. Of course, when in American waters (e.g., Alaska inside passage), an American ham would use his American call sign. I'll ask my brother-in-law about this, He is an American ham who works on Holland America Line ships as the piano player in the piano bar. Jim K7KK Many will see such issues as mere technicalities from olden days that don't apply any more. That's why it's often so difficult to get permission to operate a Ham rig on a ship - they are depending upon clear QRM-free communications on frequencies very close to several Ham bands across the HF and VHF spectrums. Plus, many QRP rigs have marginal spurious radiation specs, a situation aggravated by use of a DDS frequency generation scheme without PLL. Were I ship's master, I'd be reluctant to grant permission, based on the jurisdictional issues alone. Ron AC7AC (Licensed GMDSS Maintainer and Operator). __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] KX1 strikes again - Cruise Ship Bootleg Operations (OT)
On 2011-04-21 01:53 PM, Chip Stratton wrote: Actual use of marine SSB frequencies by large commercial vessels seems to be exceedingly rare in this day of global satellite phone coverage, though there is still a requirement to carry MF/HF equipment depending on the operational distance from shore. While a ship's master may choose to prohibit your use of a QRP rig on board, the likelihood of it actually interfering with any ongoing communication at any given moment is exceedingly low to nonexistent, IMHO. If you are operating amateur maritime mobile (i.e. in international waters) I don't think there is a requirement to identify yourself with anything other than your amateur call sign. But Chip, your amateur call sign is different when on a ship of foreign registry. There *is* a requirement to be properly licensed as am amateur radio operator by the ship's country of registry (the country whose flag the ship is entitled to fly). While on the high seas on a Holland America Line ship, I would be sure to have permission (such as a reciprocal license) to show the ship's master, and would sign something like PA0/K7KK; in Canadian waters, something like K7KK/VE7 and in American waters, just K7KK or perhaps something like K7KK/KL7. On my own vessel, in international waters (outside the territorial waters of any country), I would sign something like K7KK/R2 or on phone, K7KK maritime mobile in ITU region 2. Jim K7KK K3 #5263 Baba 30 sailboat #4 Chip AE5KA GROL (but not GMDSS) __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] optimizing recorded audio
Is it possible to access and download the audio file of each stored M1-M4 memory, play with it in AUdicity, then upload it back to the radio? Barry W2UP -- View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/optimizing-recorded-audio-tp6295879p6296975.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.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
Re: [Elecraft] optimizing recorded audio
On Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 2:40 AM, Ian White GM3SEK gm3...@ifwtech.co.ukwrote: ...time compression isn't part of that problem - applied correctly, it is part of the CURE... Yeah, it's sort of obvious that more control is better than less. The idea that using software that can shape audio to what you want will automatically screw things up is easily disproved by a few minutes of experimentation. Of course it's possible to make a mess of things, just as it is with any power tool. Part of the confusion surrounding this topic comes from the fact that audio software is generally so opaque. A lot of audio software is hellaciously complex and has a gigantic learning curve (I'm thinking in particular of Cubase, but Pro Tools and others are similarly hard to master). But Audacity is easy to get into. It has a lot of pre-packaged goodies, written by some of the world's great FFT engineers, and the leveller and tempo changers are real jewels for our purposes; they give good results even if you're not Jay-Z. If you make a clip that's compressed to the max and then compress it again, you'll get a mess, but that's cockpit error. Guy's comment that he had tried it and didn't like it is fair enough, although I think if he fiddled some more he'd like it. The rest of the objections are pure conjecture and could easily be disproved by spending a few minutes trying it. The assertion that time compression always creates a bad sound results, as Ian sez, from confusion. Tony KT0NY __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] optimizing recorded audio
When doing audio processing, always keep a copy of the original file until you are done. Each step in the process does create some loss of quality. That means, the more you mess with it, there is potential for the result to end up bad. Keep notes on what is being done - how much leveling, how much tempo change, etc. Then after your experimentation is complete, start again with the original file and apply the full changes - the result will be better than the result obtained by incremental changes during your experimentation. I would also recommend using only the K3 to apply compression. You already have compression applied to the mic input, and that same compression will be added to the computer audio stream. In general, compressing an already compressed file will produce bad results. I have done only a moderate amount of audio editing work, so I consider the words of those experts (like Jim Brown) who have done a lot of it as sage guidance for me. 73, Don W3FPR On 4/22/2011 10:18 AM, Tony Estep wrote: On Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 2:40 AM, Ian White GM3SEKgm3...@ifwtech.co.ukwrote: ...time compression isn't part of that problem - applied correctly, it is part of the CURE... Yeah, it's sort of obvious that more control is better than less. The idea that using software that can shape audio to what you want will automatically screw things up is easily disproved by a few minutes of experimentation. Of course it's possible to make a mess of things, just as it is with any power tool. Part of the confusion surrounding this topic comes from the fact that audio software is generally so opaque. A lot of audio software is hellaciously complex and has a gigantic learning curve (I'm thinking in particular of Cubase, but Pro Tools and others are similarly hard to master). But Audacity is easy to get into. It has a lot of pre-packaged goodies, written by some of the world's great FFT engineers, and the leveller and tempo changers are real jewels for our purposes; they give good results even if you're not Jay-Z. If you make a clip that's compressed to the max and then compress it again, you'll get a mess, but that's cockpit error. Guy's comment that he had tried it and didn't like it is fair enough, although I think if he fiddled some more he'd like it. The rest of the objections are pure conjecture and could easily be disproved by spending a few minutes trying it. The assertion that time compression always creates a bad sound results, as Ian sez, from confusion. Tony KT0NY __ 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] K2/100 pwr out control problem
I'm running a K2/100 Ser# 5957, operational for about three years. Just now, control of pwr out has become intermittant. I can control pwr out in the basic K2 thru the range 0 -13w. Anything over that and the K2 meter sticks at about 13w, but the amp output jumps immediately and somewhat randomly to between 50-100w with no smooth control. Decreasing the K2 pwr out below 10w or so, and the overall pwr out drops accordingly, the K2 meter reads correctly, and the total unit pwr out (external meter) agrees with the K2 meter. I've tried cycling on/off, different bands, different modes. All the same. Any suggestions most welcome. ...robert -- Robert G. Strickland, PhD, ABPH - KE2WY rc...@verizon.net Syracuse, New York, USA __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] [K2] Kit Building Time ?
While I didn't log actual hours worked while building my K2, I did mark all dates worked in my K2 manual during construction. I went back and looked at my dates worked markings in the KPA100 manual and found that I built it in 20 (or maybe 21 ... my markings got a little fuzzy at the end) sessions from mid-December to mid-January. Estimated construction time somewhere between 30 and 40 hours (and, I'm guessing, closer to 40). Big chunk of time went into constructing the power cable ... I'd buy it pre-assembled next time. Regards - Bruce - Bruce Rosen K1FFX K2/100 6982 -- View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/K2-Kit-Building-Time-tp6293020p6297226.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.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
Re: [Elecraft] K2/100 pwr out control problem
Hi Robert, What happens if you try that into a dummy load instead of your antenna? How's your SWR? 73 - Ken --- On Fri, 4/22/11, Robert G. Strickland rc...@verizon.net wrote: From: Robert G. Strickland rc...@verizon.net Subject: [Elecraft] K2/100 pwr out control problem To: Elecraft elecraft@mailman.qth.net Date: Friday, April 22, 2011, 10:46 AM I'm running a K2/100 Ser# 5957, operational for about three years. Just now, control of pwr out has become intermittant. I can control pwr out in the basic K2 thru the range 0 -13w. Anything over that and the K2 meter sticks at about 13w, but the amp output jumps immediately and somewhat randomly to between 50-100w with no smooth control. Decreasing the K2 pwr out below 10w or so, and the overall pwr out drops accordingly, the K2 meter reads correctly, and the total unit pwr out (external meter) agrees with the K2 meter. I've tried cycling on/off, different bands, different modes. All the same. Any suggestions most welcome. ...robert -- Robert G. Strickland, PhD, ABPH - KE2WY rc...@verizon.net Syracuse, New York, USA __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] K2/100 pwr out control problem
Robert, Make the following setup and check into a dummy load with an external wattmeter between the K2 and the dummy load. Please follow the testing method given, there is a reason for that test methodology. 1) Remove the APP power cord from the KPA100 and power the K2 only from the coaxial power jack on the lower rear panel. Set the K2 to 40 meters. 2) Set the power requested knob to 5 watts and press TUNE - what is the power on the external meter? 3) Set the power to 2 watts and again press TUNE - what is the power on the external meter? If the actual power was 10 watts or more in both cases above, change diodes D16 and D17 in the KPA100. If the actual power tracked the requested power, then you have a different problem - power the KPA100 from the APP power cable and try again into a dummy load (not an antenna). Set the power requested to 50 watts and do a TUNE - the actual power should be near 20 watts. If it goes to a large value, then we need to investigate your KPA100 - remove it from the base K2 and take the shield off, and let us know the status of your results. 73, Don W3FPR On 4/22/2011 10:46 AM, Robert G. Strickland wrote: I'm running a K2/100 Ser# 5957, operational for about three years. Just now, control of pwr out has become intermittant. I can control pwr out in the basic K2 thru the range 0 -13w. Anything over that and the K2 meter sticks at about 13w, but the amp output jumps immediately and somewhat randomly to between 50-100w with no smooth control. Decreasing the K2 pwr out below 10w or so, and the overall pwr out drops accordingly, the K2 meter reads correctly, and the total unit pwr out (external meter) agrees with the K2 meter. I've tried cycling on/off, different bands, different modes. All the same. Any suggestions most welcome. ...robert __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] KX1 strikes again - Cruise Ship Bootleg Operations (OT) [Thread closed]
Folks, this thread was closed yesterday at 1604 PDT. 73, Eric WA6HHQ List Moderator === On 4/22/2011 12:55 AM, James Maynard wrote: U.S. hams on their own US-flagged boats are governed by FCC rule 97.11, which effectively forbids using the boat's marine HF radio also as the boat's only amateur radio. ... __ 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] K3 50 Mhz power out
I noticed today that the maximum output that I can set on 6 meters is 106 watts. Not sure if this has always been the case or if the 6 meter power out was reduced in a FW release. No a big deal, just curious Gregg W6IZT __ 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] N2CQ QRP Contest Calendar: Apr 23 - May 23, 2011
~ N2CQ QRP CONTEST CALENDAR April 23 to May 23, 2011 ~ Ten-Ten Spring QSO Party (Digital) ... QRP Category Apr 23, z to Apr 24, 2359z Rules: http://www.ten-ten.org/Forms/QSOPartyRules_082710.pdf ~ QRP To The Field (CW) ...QRP Contest!! Apr 23, 1500z to Apr 24,0300z Rules: http://www.zianet.com/QRP/ ~ SP DX RTTY Contest Apr 23, 1200z to Apr 24, 1200z Rules: http://www.pkrvg.org/zbior.html ~ South Dakota QSO Party (CW/PH/Dig) ... QRP Category Apr 23, 1700z to Apr 24, 1700z Rules: http://www.w0blk.org/2011%20sdqp%20rules.pdf ~ FISTS/EUCW CW QRS Contest (CW) ... QRP Category Apr 25, 0001z to Apr 29, 2359z Rules: http://www.agcw.org/eucw/euqrs.html ~ UBA Foxhunt (CW/PSK31/SSB) *** QRP Contest *** Apr 25, 1930z to 2030z Rules: http://www.on5ex.be/foxhunt/foxhunt.html ~ SKCC Sprint (Straight Key CW) ... QRP Awards Apr 27, z to 0200z Rules: http://www.skccgroup.com/sprint/sks/ ~ CWops Mini-CWT Test (CW) ... QRP Category Apr 27, 1300z to 1400z and Apr 27, 1900z to 2000z and Apr 28, 0300z to 0400z Rules: http://www.cwops.org/onair.html ~ Florida QSO Party (CW/Phone) ...QRP Category Apr 30, 1600z to May 1, 0159z and May 1, 1200z to 2159z Rules: http://www.floridaqsoparty.org/ ~ Nebraska QSO Party (CW/SSB/Digital) ... QRP Category Apr 30, 1100z to May 1, 1700z Rules: http://www.hdxa.net/neqso/index.htm ~ BARTG 75 Baud RTTY contest Apr 30, 1700z to 2100z Rules: http://www.bartg.org.uk/sprint75contest.asp?pageid=211017 ~ PORTUGUESE QRP CLUB CONTEST (CW) *** QRP Contest *** May 1, 0700z to 2300z Rules: http://ctqrpclub.bravehost.com/Contest.htm ~~ AGCW QRP/QRP Party (CW) *** QRP Contest *** May 1, 1300z to 1900z Rules: http://www.agcw.org/en/?Contests:QRP-QRP-Party ~ UBA Foxhunt (CW/PSK31/SSB) *** QRP Contest *** May 2, 1930z to 2030z Rules: http://www.on5ex.be/foxhunt/foxhunt.html ~ Adventure Radio Spartan Sprint (CW) ... QRP Event! May 3, 0100z to 0300z (First Monday 9 PM EDT) Info: http://adventure-radio.org/wiki/index.php?title=Spartan_Sprints ~ AGCW Activity Week (CW) ... QRP Category May 5, z to May 9, 2400z Rules: http://www.agcw.org/en/?Contests:Activity_Week ~ Ten-Ten International Spring Contest (CW)...QRP Category May 7, 0001z to May 8, 2359z Rules: http://www.ten-ten.org/Forms/QSOPartyRules_082710.pdf ~ VK/trans-Tasman Contests (80 M Ph) ... QRP Category May 7, 0800z to 1400z Rules: http://home.iprimus.com.au/vktasman/RULES.HTM ~ 7th Call Area QSO Party (Ph/CW/Dig) ... QRP Category May 7, 1300z to May 8, 0700z Rules: http://www.codxc.com/new/page.asp?content=dryland7s ~ Indiana QSO Party (All) ... QRP Category May 7, 1600z to May 8, 0400z Rules: http://www.hdxcc.org/inqp/ ~ New England QSO Party (Phone/CW) ... QRP Category May 7, 2000z to May 8, 0500z May 8, 1300z to May 8, 2400z Rules: http://www.neqp.org/ ~ A.R.I. International DX Contest (All) May 7, 2000z to May 8, 1059z Rules: http://www.qsl.net/contest_ari/DX_rul_ing_new.html ~ SKCC Weekend Sprintathon (Straight Key CW) ... QRP Category May 8, z to 2359z Rules: http://www.skccgroup.com/sprint/wes/ ~ NAQCC-EU Monthly Sprint (CW) *** QRP Contest *** May 9 1800z to 2000z Rules: http://naqcc-eu.org/sprints ~ UBA Foxhunt (CW/PSK31/SSB) *** QRP Contest *** May 9, 1930z to 2030z Rules: http://www.on5ex.be/foxhunt/foxhunt.html ~ CQM International DX Contest (CW/SSB) ... QRP Category May 14, 1200z to May 15, 1159z Rules: http://www.cq-m.andys.ru/
[Elecraft] UK Elecraft SSB net
Hi all, I will be running the UK net as usual on 3658 +/- QRM at 09:00 BST on Sunday. It would be great to hear you calling in :) 73 Ian -- Ian J Maude, G0VGS SysOp GB7MBC HB9DRV-9 DX Clusters Member RSGB, GQRP 9838, FISTS 14077 | K3 #455 http://www.m0scg.org.uk __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] optimizing recorded audio
On 4/22/2011 12:40 AM, Ian White GM3SEK wrote: Most people can improve articulation dramatically by slowing down only 10-20%, so it only requires a modest increase in the tempo setting to restore a normal brisk speed. Time compression is a re-sampling technique and it does introduce some artefacts, but these are minor compared with everything else that happens to a SSB voice signal. You're right, Ian. My advice is really directed at users who are not skilled in audio editing, and is part of a KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) philosophy. I do a few things with editing that I wouldn't dream of recommending that others try (and I won't even mention them) because they are so complex and easy to screw up. My experience with time compression goes back to the Lexicon D224 hardware product, a pro product that sold for about $7,000 in the early 1980s. I demoed and sold them to studios for the purpose of shortening radio spots (commercials). I heard them on a lot of material, all with very expensive voices. 5% compression sounded great, 10% was OK, but more than that was artificial sounding. Don suggested keeping a copy of the original file. Yes, a good idea, but all of the editing software mentioned has an undo function, so if you listen to each step as you go along, you can get away without that. And, of course, you can always re-record the message, which I do occasionally because I don't like the first attempt. In fact, I often record a message a half dozen time (or more) before I start editing it. A few other suggestions. When recording, make sure your shack is quiet -- close the door, turn off all the fans and air conditioners. Work with the mic not too close to your mouth so that you don't get breath pops and low end boost, and make sure that the audio levels are right as shown on the editing software's meter and waveform display. You should NEVER see any overload, and it's best to keep the peaks of the waveform at least 3dB below max (0dB on the display). If you do, throw out that recording and start over. You CANNOT fix it by turning it down after it's been recorded. After you've finished editing, use the EQ function to roll off the low end at about 100 Hz, and to roll off the high end at about 6 kHz. If you like to use VOX (I do), record a click at the beginning of each CQ to activate the VOX a few milliseconds before the message starts. This prevents losing the first syllable of the recording. Adjust the peak level of the click to be 15-20 dB below the peak level of the message. Use this click only on messages that will transmitted alone, like your call, a CQ, and the Thanks message at the end of QSO. Do NOT use it on an exchange -- you should activate the VOX with the live mic when you say the other guy's call. When all this is working well the click should not be transmitted. To get the timing and level right, play the track through the rig and listen to the result. Setting levels is VERY important. I like to keep the highest peaks of the final recording between about -6dB and -3dB as indicated on the Audacity waveform display. It's also important not to set the output gain of the computer too high. Most sound cards have greatly increased distortion when they get close to full output, so it's best to run their output a bit lower to keep that distortion low. You don't need to reduce it a lot -- 3-6 dB is enough. When setting levels at the K3, remember that you want to match the level of the live mic going straight into the K3 with the level of the playback from the computer. We use the Line Input control to set the level of the playback audio, and to do that, we must temporarily set the K3 for Line Input and use the front panel Mic Gain. I usually set the Line In gain so that I get the same indicated ALC and COMP indications on the K3 meter display with playback as I do with the live mic (about 10dB of COMP on the hottest voice peaks). 73, Jim K9YC __ 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] k3 Voice ID while in Data A mode
Att'n Wayne and Eric, I have my call sign stored in M1 both for cw, and phone with DVR. While doing some testing in Data A mode, I pressed the M1 key expecting to get a cw ID. Instead, I got a voice ID. I'd like to see that changed, or prevented as a safeguard. Or do I have something set wrong? 73, Richard Fjeld, n0ce rpfj...@embarqmail.com I'd rather be learning. __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] K3 50 Mhz power out
Max power out of the K3 has been 110 watts for quite awhile (firmware defined). Unless you have an extremely accurate wattmeter (better than about +/- 3.6%), sounds like you're good. Phil - AD5X __ 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] Problem loading XG3 firmware
Just got my XG3 and tested a few radios already. Very slick. Then I installed the XG3 Utility on a Windows 7 machine that all of my Elecraft Utilities are on. The XG3 Utility recognized the XG3 on Com port 5 and indicated it was communicating at 9600 baud. I then went to the firmware tab of the Utility and had it check for new files and it retrieved them. I then clicked on Send Firmware to XG3 and followed the instructions of turning off the XG3 and then holding the on/off button for 10 seconds at which time the 0 dBm light started blinking but not slowly -- it was blinking pretty fast. I then selected OK and a new screen came up indicating that it the firmware was being sent. However, after about ten minutes the 0 dBm light was still blinking very fast and no firmware was loaded and the loading indication bar showed nothing -- no progress in loading. I finally gave up and cancelled the firmware load. I'm lost -- probably stupid -- but still lost. To get the XG3 to shut down I tried holding the on/off button to no avail. I finally removed the battery to get it shut down. Any help would be deeply appreciated. 73, Greg K2UM __ 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] XG3 firmware load problem continued
The window for firmware loading is showing the last message line as XG3 firmware file checksum reconciliation word is x Also, none of the other tabs other than the initial screen and the firmware tab show anything other than grayed out text. Greg K2UM __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] XG3 firmware load problem continued
Not a solution Greg but I doubt you need a firmware update. Mine came with 1.04 installed which is the latest on the website. ftp://ftp.elecraft.com/XG3/firmware/ 73, Bill -- View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/XG3-firmware-load-problem-continued-tp6297577p6297589.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.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] Audio Processing
I designed the processing parameters of the Omnia ONE AM broadcast processor, and have spent almost a half century adjusting broadcast audio. My suggestion is to apply a sensible amount of compression and limiting to increase the perceived loudness level to the maximum amount the equipment is capable of and STOP THERE! Adding more just muddies up the sound. We should aim for a balance between ultimate loudness, as well as sensible EQ to enhance intelligibility, and depth of processing. Specifically, for speech processing on the ham bands, you MUST start with a good microphone. I have found that using about 7 - 10 db compression with a 3:1 compression curve, followed by 3 - 6 db of hard limiting, maximizes the perceived loudness, without reducing intelligibility. In broadcast, 1 or 2 db of clipping will add a little bit more punch, but cranking the clipping up more than that passes the point of usefulness quickly. Additionally, the transmitter should faithfully reproduce the audio sent to it. Any additional distortion or EQ applied AFTER processing usually results in a significant deterioration of the desired audio. We hear a LOT of that on the air these days. To my ear, a well controlled but not overblown audio signal is both the easiest to listen to for long QSO's, but also has the punch to get through in crowded and/or weas signal conditions. 73 Ted W8IXY __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] K3 50 Mhz power out
I think what he is referring to is the power control will only go to 106 watts on 6 meters, while on all other bands it goes to 110 watts, Try turning the power up (no transmit needed) on 6 meters and see what is displayed. Mine says 106 watts, all other bands says 110 watts. Newest firmware installed. Merv K9FD/KH6 Max power out of the K3 has been 110 watts for quite awhile (firmware defined). Unless you have an extremely accurate wattmeter (better than about +/- 3.6%), sounds like you're good. Phil - AD5X __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] k3 Voice ID while in Data A mode
DATA A is an audio mode, so it uses the DVR. If you want a CW ID, you must be in CW mode. If you are in DATA FSK (*not* AFSK) or DATA PSK-D modes, you'll get the text of the CW memory sent in the corresponding mode. 73, Lyle KK7P I have my call sign stored in M1 both for cw, and phone with DVR. While doing some testing in Data A mode, I pressed the M1 key expecting to get a cw ID. Instead, I got a voice ID... __ 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] KPA500
Is it fair to assume that (since no one has announced receipt of their factory assembled KPA500 and that inquiries regarding same have not been answered on the reflector) the shipping date has been changed/postponed? If so, will that impact shipment of the kit version starting 15 May? 73, Bob K5SM __ 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] XG3 firmware load problem continued
Thanks, Bill. I was simply testing the utility. And, the utility shows it is communicating with the XG3 and when I select the firmware tab it shows only dashes for the firmware version I have installed in the XG3 and that 1.04 is available. Also, none of the other pages selected by the tabs (e.g. Operate, Configuration, etc.) allow me to enter any data or change the scan and so forth. All of the content of those pages is grayed out. I am using a FTDI chipset serial to USB converter, 32 bit Windows 7 (has worked for all other Elecraft utilities -- K3 and P3 as well as utilities for other ham radio equipment I have here). Also, I checked COM devices in the Control Panel and all is fine and even checked for an updated driver --- there was one and I installed it and rebooted my computer and tried the connection again. Funny, everything shows that the computer on COM 5 is communicating with the XG3 but the Utility shows nothing, only dashes, for the firmware version I have and no other operations (via the tabs) are permitted (every thing is grayed out). I am at a loss. Usually, I am pretty good at figuring out computer communications problems (part of what I dealt with very often in my former life -- profession) and I am stumped. Thanks, again, for the note, Bill. 73, Greg K2UM __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Odd Question [Elecraft history]
I certainly agree that stock speculators have no interest in the long term outcome of a company. Being private does help large established companies avoid the whipsaw of investors who can do real damage when stock prices vary. An example of this is SAS Institute, the largest privately held software company in the world with two decades of double digit growth until 2010, including the two prior recessions, when the worst recession since the great depression held them back to only 8% growth. Their strategy in downturns is to pour on the research when competing companies are laying off and go cherry-pick talented people out of work. 3+ billion a year and over 20,000 employees worldwide is the result. SAS and it's owner have been on a cash basis for years, and having cash to spend in a downturn has proven very useful, allowing them to expand when acquisitions are cheap. They keep employees, with a ridiculously low turnover rate far below the industry norm, due to the owner's attitude that the employees are his main asset. They've taken the careful conservative path to a 3+ billion per year company. What SAS and Elecraft have in common is private ownership, running on a cash basis, staying within one's means, significant technological innovation, purposeful interaction through their technical support methods with a loyal customer base who know they have real input into what comes next, and real dedication to the purposes that uncovers. I'd say Elecraft is keeping damn good company. 73, Guy On Thu, Apr 21, 2011 at 9:06 AM, n...@n5ge.com wrote: Not being public may be one of the reasons they are so successfull. Outside stockholders can make life miserable for companies like Elecraft. Many privatly held businesses award uotstanding employees stock as rewards for their service. Tom, N5GE On Wed, 20 Apr 2011 21:08:45 -0500, Bill (K9YEQ) k9...@live.com wrote: Alan, I am still waiting on them to go public so I can get a few shares. :-) 73, Bill K9YEQ -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Alan Bloom Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 7:14 PM To: j...@audiosystemsgroup.com Cc: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Odd Question [Elecraft history] Elecraft reminds me of what Hewlett Packard company must have been like in the early days. Two engineering buddies start a company in their garage. One (Dave Packard in the case of HP, Eric in the case of Elecraft) gravitates toward the business end of the enterprise while the other (Bill Hewlett, Wayne) concentrates on the engineering. I wasn't around in the early days of HP, but maybe someday when Elecraft is a multi-billion-dollar corporation I'll be able to say that I knew Eric and Wayne way back when. :=) Alan N1AL On Wed, 2011-04-20 at 15:51 -0700, Jim Brown wrote: On 4/20/2011 2:44 PM, Wayne Burdick wrote: Here's my account. VERY interesting, Wayne. That fills in an important gap for me -- I had not realized that Eric had the serious EE background that he does. But that also makes another point that I've long felt about being a good chief executive -- to do it really well, you need not only a solid biz background, but also a solid technical understanding of every aspect of the business you're trying to run. Clearly, he has all of that -- one of the things that has impressed me the most about Elecraft is a near complete absence of dumb business or marketing decisions! 73, Jim K9YC __ 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 __ 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:
Re: [Elecraft] K3 50 Mhz power out
Correct Merv -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Merv Schweigert Sent: Friday, April 22, 2011 1:23 PM To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 50 Mhz power out I think what he is referring to is the power control will only go to 106 watts on 6 meters, while on all other bands it goes to 110 watts, Try turning the power up (no transmit needed) on 6 meters and see what is displayed. Mine says 106 watts, all other bands says 110 watts. Newest firmware installed. Merv K9FD/KH6 Max power out of the K3 has been 110 watts for quite awhile (firmware defined). Unless you have an extremely accurate wattmeter (better than about +/- 3.6%), sounds like you're good. Phil - AD5X __ 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
[Elecraft] XG3 firmware load problem continued -- more info
The manual says that when I click on TEST COMMUNICATIONS that it should indicate in a pop-up window the speed of the communications -- which it does -- 9600 baud -- and should show the firmware version installed in the XG32 -- which it does not -- instead it says XG3 boot loader is ready for firmware load. COM 5 RS-232 9600 bits. I won't beat this to death as I have given all the information I can. The unit still is working on the default frequencies and as received from Elecraft, but is useless for doing anything else right now -- changing the default frequencies, scanning, sending custom commands and so on. Either I or somebody smarter than me will figure it out, I have tried three different FTDI chipset based USB-Serial converters and three different computers XP and Windows. No joy. 73, Greg K2UM __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Audio Processing
Any additional distortion or EQ applied AFTER processing usually results in a significant deterioration of the desired audio. That may be (is) true in broadcast audio but not necessarily so in communications audio. The typical compressor and/or clipper increases the amount of power producing low frequency components at the expense of the intelligibility producing higher frequency components. For communications work it is generally worthwhile to equalize after clipping/compression to increase the relative level of high frequency components ... just like FM and (analog) TV transmitters used to apply pre-emphasis to the processed audio before it went to the modulator. For an SSB transmitter, the key is a proper balance in the clipping. Low frequency components should be clipped/compressed no more than 10 dB while high frequency components can often benefit from much higher levels of clipping/compression. In that regard, it is a shame that modern amateur transmitters don't use a split band DSP processor to allow balancing the 10 to 20 dB difference in levels between the low and high formats of the human voice. 73, ... Joe, W4TV On 4/22/2011 1:22 PM, amf...@aol.com wrote: I designed the processing parameters of the Omnia ONE AM broadcast processor, and have spent almost a half century adjusting broadcast audio. My suggestion is to apply a sensible amount of compression and limiting to increase the perceived loudness level to the maximum amount the equipment is capable of and STOP THERE! Adding more just muddies up the sound. We should aim for a balance between ultimate loudness, as well as sensible EQ to enhance intelligibility, and depth of processing. Specifically, for speech processing on the ham bands, you MUST start with a good microphone. I have found that using about 7 - 10 db compression with a 3:1 compression curve, followed by 3 - 6 db of hard limiting, maximizes the perceived loudness, without reducing intelligibility. In broadcast, 1 or 2 db of clipping will add a little bit more punch, but cranking the clipping up more than that passes the point of usefulness quickly. Additionally, the transmitter should faithfully reproduce the audio sent to it. Any additional distortion or EQ applied AFTER processing usually results in a significant deterioration of the desired audio. We hear a LOT of that on the air these days. To my ear, a well controlled but not overblown audio signal is both the easiest to listen to for long QSO's, but also has the punch to get through in crowded and/or weas signal conditions. 73 Ted W8IXY __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] XG3 firmware load problem continued
Is it possible that trying to install the first version of the software as an update has resulted in some kind of deadly embrace, where the outcome, installing a yet to be coded future version, has not had an opportunity to be tested? 73, Guy. On Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 1:18 PM, Bill W4ZV btipp...@alum.mit.edu wrote: Not a solution Greg but I doubt you need a firmware update. Mine came with 1.04 installed which is the latest on the website. ftp://ftp.elecraft.com/XG3/firmware/ 73, Bill -- View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/XG3-firmware-load-problem-continued-tp6297577p6297589.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.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] XG3 problem with Utility fixed!
Bill, well, this over-educated, self described computer good computer handler, found the problem. I reseated everything -- the USB to serial cables were all seated well to begin with. But, I gave the 1/8 inch plug connected to the RS-232 an extra wiggle and then it seated down a tad more and all works as advertised. Maybe my stupidity in not checking the easy stuff first will help someone else. Then again, there in not likely a member here that is as dumb as I am. Thanks much, Bill, your note made me all the more intent on finding the problem. Have a good weekend and, I must say that XG3 is one neat piece of equipment and worth every penny even with the things I have done with it so far. Congratulations to Elecraft for another neat and flexible piece of equipment. I love my Elecraft equipment and thanks to all who develop, refine, service, support, assemble, ship and communicate with dumb hams like me. 73 Greg K2UM __ 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] XG3 Problem fixed -- Thanks, Guy
Guy, I thought maybe that was the problem as well. But since it originally showed that it needed a firmware update and that there was no firmware installed (the dashes where it should show the firmware version installed and the Pop-up window indicating that the boot loader was ready to install firmware) I assumed that possibly there was an update. The grayed out text in all of the tab windows threw me however, and that is when I really started to suspect either a lousy Serial to USB converter, driver needing an update, something flaky about the Utility and 32 bit Windows --- or taking a deep breath and walking away and and coming back to it with a fresh state of mind. Then my decades of ham radio experience paid off --- check the damn connectors! I don't post much here since I like to sit back, read and learn. I hate to publicly announce I am not the sharpest tool in the shed. I thank all of you who scratched their heads and thought about the problem and a thanks to those who wrote to me with suggestions. This is a fine group of people. 73, Greg K2UM __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Odd Question [Elecraft history]
There are a number of reasons why going public profoundly changes companies, often for the worse, but I would rank the influence of outside stockholders as fairly low among them. In fact, in the case of many privately-held startups, it's pressure from a handful of outside stockholders that keeps management on its toes. I think the most common problem for any growing company, public or private, is size. Once you get to about 100 employees, the management structure has to change in a big way. When that happens, the entrepreneurial spirit, everybody-knows-everybody camaraderie, focus on quality, focus on the customer, and can-do attitude tend to give way to approval hierarchies, competition for position within the hierarchy, focus on compensation versus job satisfaction, focus on numbers instead of quality, petty personal agendas, and so forth. Maintaining the positive aspects of the previous culture and hiring people who fit in with it become much more problematic. One reason this is a characteristic of public companies is that a company has to be relatively large to go public these days. This is not to say that there aren't other negative aspects to being a public company. First among them is the market's relentless focus on short-term results. Management is expected to generate ever-increasing returns and never miss their quarterly projections. This results in sacrificing long-term goals to please the market, and sometimes financial engineering or even cooking-the-books to make the numbers. This attitude filters down the org chart and infects the employees such that many of them are focused on the wrong things. I'll admit this is a somewhat exaggerated description, and some public companies have managed to figure out how to avoid these pitfalls to some extent. Some do it through brilliant management, some by hiring only the best and brightest, some by insisting that the long-term is more important than the short term. But even in those companies, something precious that smaller entrepreneurial enterprises have is lost. Having been through a complete startup-to-exit cycle with my own software company back in the '90s, and having spent 15 years coaching, managing and investing in other teams doing the same, I have to say that I much prefer the small company environment. The real trick is figuring out how grow while preserving the good things that made you successful. From my observations of the way Wayne and Eric conduct themselves and run Elecraft, I have great hopes that they will be among the few who figure it out. 73, Dick WC1M -Original Message- From: n...@n5ge.com [mailto:n...@n5ge.com] Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2011 9:06 AM To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Odd Question [Elecraft history] Not being public may be one of the reasons they are so successfull. Outside stockholders can make life miserable for companies like Elecraft. Many privatly held businesses award uotstanding employees stock as rewards for their service. Tom, N5GE On Wed, 20 Apr 2011 21:08:45 -0500, Bill (K9YEQ) k9...@live.com wrote: Alan, I am still waiting on them to go public so I can get a few shares. :-) 73, Bill K9YEQ -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Alan Bloom Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 7:14 PM To: j...@audiosystemsgroup.com Cc: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Odd Question [Elecraft history] Elecraft reminds me of what Hewlett Packard company must have been like in the early days. Two engineering buddies start a company in their garage. One (Dave Packard in the case of HP, Eric in the case of Elecraft) gravitates toward the business end of the enterprise while the other (Bill Hewlett, Wayne) concentrates on the engineering. I wasn't around in the early days of HP, but maybe someday when Elecraft is a multi-billion-dollar corporation I'll be able to say that I knew Eric and Wayne way back when. :=) Alan N1AL On Wed, 2011-04-20 at 15:51 -0700, Jim Brown wrote: On 4/20/2011 2:44 PM, Wayne Burdick wrote: Here's my account. VERY interesting, Wayne. That fills in an important gap for me -- I had not realized that Eric had the serious EE background that he does. But that also makes another point that I've long felt about being a good chief executive -- to do it really well, you need not only a solid biz background, but also a solid technical understanding of every aspect of the business you're trying to run. Clearly, he has all of that -- one of the things that has impressed me the most about Elecraft is a near complete absence of dumb business or marketing decisions! 73, Jim K9YC __ 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
[Elecraft] SWL question
I am an avid SWL'er and use the K3 to listen to SW broadcast stations and wefax. Somewhere posted are the curves or ranges that the general coverage receiver offers. Im looking for these posts - more info about the general coverage receive option. I hear that sometimes the general coverage option shares low pass filters with the ones that the option adds. Take 25mhz WWV for example or 6 mhz broadcast stations. My question is what filter scheme is employed for these frequencies I have mentioned and what should I expect rx wise in these ranges as a result of that. Marc, KE2BP __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] optimizing recorded audio
This is a subject close to my heart... I have a lot of tools at my disposal to mangle audio both here at work and also at home. Soundtrack Pro is one of my favorite weapons of mass destruction, and I have lots of plug ins to modify stuff with. Also, I have a lot of hardware compressor/limiter/preamp/leveler/phase rotator/exciters too to create audio mayhem with. Having said all that, I will tell you what I do for recording audio... I simply record my mic (almost exclusively the Yamaha CM500'ds electret capsule) completely flat through my MicroHam MicroKeyer 2's sound card into the N1MM computer DVK via the MicroHam record facility. Then, I apply all compression, equalization and gating within the K3 using its built in processing tools. That's it. Nothing else. Nada. Bupkis. Some of you have heard me on the air. I believe my canned sound is identical (discounting voice box fatigue) to my recorded sound. I cannot tell them apart off air. It has taken me a little while to get used to the tools available in K3 to have what I consider competitive contest audio punch. The digitalness of the radio is very different from my venerable TS850S that, with lots of outboard junk, provided me with 11 years worth of crackly punch that sliced and diced through piles like the Ginsu knife it was. You just have to keep in mind the Spinal Tap rule and not get carried away. A little goes a long way. Mic technique and placement is important. Equalization is important. Room acoustics is important. Voice technique is important. One thing I would love to have in the K3 audio chain is a fast attack medium decay AGC/Leveler of some sort, pre-RF compression/clipper, post gate. This would make the rig perfect from the audio perspective and with careful, judicious use, would help those with thin voices or poor mic placement, however, you could get into serious trouble if too much AGC was applied in a noisy environment, so maybe we should leave well enough alone... Never forget that we are transmitting into an extremely noisy medium where transmitted audio dynamic range and wideband frequency response is your enemy. If this was broadcast FM or TV, our priorities would be very different. But its not, its communications audio. The point is to be clearly understood and get the message through, not to sound like Orson Wells or Ernie Anastos. I dont know about time processing either. KT0NY mentions he time compressed his clips from 3 seconds to 2.6 seconds. 4 tenths of a second total shortening. Does that really buy you a lot? Yes, I can do the math, but does it REALLY buy you *THAT* much to risk inteligibility? Im in K9YC and W3FPR's corner on this discussion. And if anybody wants to make me a good offer on 6 rack units of Behringer, Symetrix, Aphex and London processing gear that the K3's processor/gate has obsoleted, let me know. -Lu-W4LT- K3 # 3192 --- Message: 26 Date: Fri, 22 Apr 2011 10:39:04 -0400 From: Don Wilhelm w3...@embarqmail.com Subject: Re: [Elecraft] optimizing recorded audio To: Tony Estep estept...@gmail.com Cc: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Message-ID: 4db19308.7010...@embarqmail.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed When doing audio processing, always keep a copy of the original file until you are done. Each step in the process does create some loss of quality. That means, the more you mess with it, there is potential for the result to end up bad. Keep notes on what is being done - how much leveling, how much tempo change, etc. Then after your experimentation is complete, start again with the original file and apply the full changes - the result will be better than the result obtained by incremental changes during your experimentation. I would also recommend using only the K3 to apply compression. You already have compression applied to the mic input, and that same compression will be added to the computer audio stream. In general, compressing an already compressed file will produce bad results. I have done only a moderate amount of audio editing work, so I consider the words of those experts (like Jim Brown) who have done a lot of it as sage guidance for me. 73, Don W3FPR __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] optimizing recorded audio
Jim, If only all users followed your advice. Sadly the last contest showed they don't. I was amazed at the number of stations who happily went on and on with distorted, over driven or clipped audio. One such station called us on every 3 hour segment and the audio was nothing short of a joke. (I am being polite) I have tried several times over the past couple of years and I confess I was not happy with any of the attempts. The K3 M1-M4 does the job for me and this is reflected (I feel) in the low number of repeats I have to make. Conditions are improving on 15 and 10M so I guess I can expect to hear some great audio coming out of W land...:-) 73's Gary On 23 April 2011 02:33, Jim Brown j...@audiosystemsgroup.com wrote: On 4/22/2011 12:40 AM, Ian White GM3SEK wrote: Most people can improve articulation dramatically by slowing down only 10-20%, so it only requires a modest increase in the tempo setting to restore a normal brisk speed. Time compression is a re-sampling technique and it does introduce some artefacts, but these are minor compared with everything else that happens to a SSB voice signal. You're right, Ian. My advice is really directed at users who are not skilled in audio editing, and is part of a KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) philosophy. I do a few things with editing that I wouldn't dream of recommending that others try (and I won't even mention them) because they are so complex and easy to screw up. My experience with time compression goes back to the Lexicon D224 hardware product, a pro product that sold for about $7,000 in the early 1980s. I demoed and sold them to studios for the purpose of shortening radio spots (commercials). I heard them on a lot of material, all with very expensive voices. 5% compression sounded great, 10% was OK, but more than that was artificial sounding. Don suggested keeping a copy of the original file. Yes, a good idea, but all of the editing software mentioned has an undo function, so if you listen to each step as you go along, you can get away without that. And, of course, you can always re-record the message, which I do occasionally because I don't like the first attempt. In fact, I often record a message a half dozen time (or more) before I start editing it. A few other suggestions. When recording, make sure your shack is quiet -- close the door, turn off all the fans and air conditioners. Work with the mic not too close to your mouth so that you don't get breath pops and low end boost, and make sure that the audio levels are right as shown on the editing software's meter and waveform display. You should NEVER see any overload, and it's best to keep the peaks of the waveform at least 3dB below max (0dB on the display). If you do, throw out that recording and start over. You CANNOT fix it by turning it down after it's been recorded. After you've finished editing, use the EQ function to roll off the low end at about 100 Hz, and to roll off the high end at about 6 kHz. If you like to use VOX (I do), record a click at the beginning of each CQ to activate the VOX a few milliseconds before the message starts. This prevents losing the first syllable of the recording. Adjust the peak level of the click to be 15-20 dB below the peak level of the message. Use this click only on messages that will transmitted alone, like your call, a CQ, and the Thanks message at the end of QSO. Do NOT use it on an exchange -- you should activate the VOX with the live mic when you say the other guy's call. When all this is working well the click should not be transmitted. To get the timing and level right, play the track through the rig and listen to the result. Setting levels is VERY important. I like to keep the highest peaks of the final recording between about -6dB and -3dB as indicated on the Audacity waveform display. It's also important not to set the output gain of the computer too high. Most sound cards have greatly increased distortion when they get close to full output, so it's best to run their output a bit lower to keep that distortion low. You don't need to reduce it a lot -- 3-6 dB is enough. When setting levels at the K3, remember that you want to match the level of the live mic going straight into the K3 with the level of the playback from the computer. We use the Line Input control to set the level of the playback audio, and to do that, we must temporarily set the K3 for Line Input and use the front panel Mic Gain. I usually set the Line In gain so that I get the same indicated ALC and COMP indications on the K3 meter display with playback as I do with the live mic (about 10dB of COMP on the hottest voice peaks). 73, Jim K9YC __ 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:
Re: [Elecraft] optimizing recorded audio
Lu, I sincerely hope you don't get any offers...this from the receiving end...:-) I must add that some of the worse audio we hear in VK is poorly adjusted W1HY audio processed signals...aaagh!...some are so bad a lot of us simply QSY and pretend we didn't hear the call:-) 73's Gary On 23 April 2011 04:38, Lu Romero lrom...@ij.net wrote: This is a subject close to my heart... I have a lot of tools at my disposal to mangle audio both here at work and also at home. Soundtrack Pro is one of my favorite weapons of mass destruction, and I have lots of plug ins to modify stuff with. Also, I have a lot of hardware compressor/limiter/preamp/leveler/phase rotator/exciters too to create audio mayhem with. Having said all that, I will tell you what I do for recording audio... I simply record my mic (almost exclusively the Yamaha CM500'ds electret capsule) completely flat through my MicroHam MicroKeyer 2's sound card into the N1MM computer DVK via the MicroHam record facility. Then, I apply all compression, equalization and gating within the K3 using its built in processing tools. That's it. Nothing else. Nada. Bupkis. Some of you have heard me on the air. I believe my canned sound is identical (discounting voice box fatigue) to my recorded sound. I cannot tell them apart off air. It has taken me a little while to get used to the tools available in K3 to have what I consider competitive contest audio punch. The digitalness of the radio is very different from my venerable TS850S that, with lots of outboard junk, provided me with 11 years worth of crackly punch that sliced and diced through piles like the Ginsu knife it was. You just have to keep in mind the Spinal Tap rule and not get carried away. A little goes a long way. Mic technique and placement is important. Equalization is important. Room acoustics is important. Voice technique is important. One thing I would love to have in the K3 audio chain is a fast attack medium decay AGC/Leveler of some sort, pre-RF compression/clipper, post gate. This would make the rig perfect from the audio perspective and with careful, judicious use, would help those with thin voices or poor mic placement, however, you could get into serious trouble if too much AGC was applied in a noisy environment, so maybe we should leave well enough alone... Never forget that we are transmitting into an extremely noisy medium where transmitted audio dynamic range and wideband frequency response is your enemy. If this was broadcast FM or TV, our priorities would be very different. But its not, its communications audio. The point is to be clearly understood and get the message through, not to sound like Orson Wells or Ernie Anastos. I dont know about time processing either. KT0NY mentions he time compressed his clips from 3 seconds to 2.6 seconds. 4 tenths of a second total shortening. Does that really buy you a lot? Yes, I can do the math, but does it REALLY buy you *THAT* much to risk inteligibility? Im in K9YC and W3FPR's corner on this discussion. And if anybody wants to make me a good offer on 6 rack units of Behringer, Symetrix, Aphex and London processing gear that the K3's processor/gate has obsoleted, let me know. -Lu-W4LT- K3 # 3192 --- Message: 26 Date: Fri, 22 Apr 2011 10:39:04 -0400 From: Don Wilhelm w3...@embarqmail.com Subject: Re: [Elecraft] optimizing recorded audio To: Tony Estep estept...@gmail.com Cc: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Message-ID: 4db19308.7010...@embarqmail.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed When doing audio processing, always keep a copy of the original file until you are done. Each step in the process does create some loss of quality. That means, the more you mess with it, there is potential for the result to end up bad. Keep notes on what is being done - how much leveling, how much tempo change, etc. Then after your experimentation is complete, start again with the original file and apply the full changes - the result will be better than the result obtained by incremental changes during your experimentation. I would also recommend using only the K3 to apply compression. You already have compression applied to the mic input, and that same compression will be added to the computer audio stream. In general, compressing an already compressed file will produce bad results. I have done only a moderate amount of audio editing work, so I consider the words of those experts (like Jim Brown) who have done a lot of it as sage guidance for me. 73, Don W3FPR __ 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:
Re: [Elecraft] SWL question
If you have the KBPF3 optional (general coverage) input filter installed, you will have consistent reception from 500 kHz up through 30 MHz and again across the 6 meter band (48 to 54 MHz). Note that the KBPF3 is a filter at the antenna input (not the I.F.) to provide coverage in the gaps between the Ham bands. The K3 tunes the entire range with or without out it, but sensitivity will suffer once you tune well outside a Ham band without it since the 'stock' input filters are designed to provide optimum performance only across the Ham bands. Ron AC7AC -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Marc Sent: Friday, April 22, 2011 11:32 AM To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: [Elecraft] SWL question I am an avid SWL'er and use the K3 to listen to SW broadcast stations and wefax. Somewhere posted are the curves or ranges that the general coverage receiver offers. Im looking for these posts - more info about the general coverage receive option. I hear that sometimes the general coverage option shares low pass filters with the ones that the option adds. Take 25mhz WWV for example or 6 mhz broadcast stations. My question is what filter scheme is employed for these frequencies I have mentioned and what should I expect rx wise in these ranges as a result of that. Marc, KE2BP __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Audio Processing
KT0NY, Got'em here also...just keyed the CM-500 and dropped my call sign...seemed easy. They have varied from S2 to S5 which surprises me as we are used to hearing signals in this area of the pacific and to the north of us and a good deal louder. The audio from T31A sounds good here also...I believe they are all Icom's too! 73's Gary On 23 April 2011 03:37, Tony Estep estept...@gmail.com wrote: For those who haven't tried it but don't like it, here's a timely little anecdote: T31A, just on the air since late last night, is needed by nearly everybody, and hence is causing spectacular pileups. The west coast guys have a clear and easy shot, and on 15 phone he's been barely audible here, while he works them bing-bing-bing. This morning I finally heard him about S2, the loudest he'd been. Punched the button to send my call processed as previously described, and snagged him second try with my peanut whistle, right through the mob. I needed T31, too. Tony KT0NY __ 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 -- VK4FD - Motorhome Mobile Elecraft Equipment K3 #679, KPA-500 #018 Living the dream!!! __ 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] K3 sending ? instead of FA/FB when pressing REV
Hello, when the radio is in AI2 or AI3 mode, pressing REV on the front panel gets ? ? instead of FA and FB. Releasing REV reports the correct values of FA and FB. Transcript from k3util command tester: ai;AI3;?;?;FR0;FT0;FA00050082590;FB00050230130;FR0;FT0; --^REV pressed --^REV released K3 software as follows: DTBL0014.HEX haux0271.hex hdsp0271.hex hfpf0114.hex hmcu0425.hex tboot8.hex Also, what would be the difference between AI2 and AI3? Pf -- Pierfrancesco Caci, ik5pvx __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] XG3 problem with Utility fixed!
Greg, I'm with you. I feel confident I can order my XG-3 now knowing even I will be able to get it to work...:-) Guess I better dive into my 'donation to Eric's retirement account' now and let a few more moths out..(Grin) 73's Gary On 23 April 2011 04:11, Greg Buhyoff greg.k...@gmail.com wrote: Bill, well, this over-educated, self described computer good computer handler, found the problem. I reseated everything -- the USB to serial cables were all seated well to begin with. But, I gave the 1/8 inch plug connected to the RS-232 an extra wiggle and then it seated down a tad more and all works as advertised. Maybe my stupidity in not checking the easy stuff first will help someone else. Then again, there in not likely a member here that is as dumb as I am. Thanks much, Bill, your note made me all the more intent on finding the problem. Have a good weekend and, I must say that XG3 is one neat piece of equipment and worth every penny even with the things I have done with it so far. Congratulations to Elecraft for another neat and flexible piece of equipment. I love my Elecraft equipment and thanks to all who develop, refine, service, support, assemble, ship and communicate with dumb hams like me. 73 Greg K2UM __ 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 -- VK4FD - Motorhome Mobile Elecraft Equipment K3 #679, KPA-500 #018 Living the dream!!! __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] SWL question
Hi all How good is the K3 as a general coverage receiver? I know that's a ridiculously broad question but... with the KBPF3 is it fair to say that the receiver performance is similar to what it is on the ham bands? I'm looking at choices right now but very likely to be buying a K3 in a couple of months after I've moved house. I may have some other questions but the KBPF3 is likely to be one of my first extra modules because I enjoy listening around. 73 Ross KT1F __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] K3 50 Mhz power out
Hello all, Same here only 106 watts on 6 meter. Ken K5DNL - --- On Fri, 4/22/11, Gregg W6IZT w6...@bellsouth.net wrote: From: Gregg W6IZT w6...@bellsouth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 50 Mhz power out To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Date: Friday, April 22, 2011, 12:55 PM Correct Merv -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Merv Schweigert Sent: Friday, April 22, 2011 1:23 PM To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 50 Mhz power out I think what he is referring to is the power control will only go to 106 watts on 6 meters, while on all other bands it goes to 110 watts, Try turning the power up (no transmit needed) on 6 meters and see what is displayed. Mine says 106 watts, all other bands says 110 watts. Newest firmware installed. Merv K9FD/KH6 Max power out of the K3 has been 110 watts for quite awhile (firmware defined). Unless you have an extremely accurate wattmeter (better than about +/- 3.6%), sounds like you're good. Phil - AD5X __ 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 __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] K3 50 Mhz power out
Here too...I never noticed that before. Must not have been paying attention. I normally have 90w dialled up on all bands other than those I use the KPA-500 on of course so this explains why, but that was not always the case and I never noticed the difference before this question arose. 73's. Gary On 23 April 2011 05:07, Ken Roberson kwrober...@yahoo.com wrote: Hello all, Same here only 106 watts on 6 meter. Ken K5DNL - --- On Fri, 4/22/11, Gregg W6IZT w6...@bellsouth.net wrote: From: Gregg W6IZT w6...@bellsouth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 50 Mhz power out To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Date: Friday, April 22, 2011, 12:55 PM Correct Merv -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Merv Schweigert Sent: Friday, April 22, 2011 1:23 PM To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 50 Mhz power out I think what he is referring to is the power control will only go to 106 watts on 6 meters, while on all other bands it goes to 110 watts, Try turning the power up (no transmit needed) on 6 meters and see what is displayed. Mine says 106 watts, all other bands says 110 watts. Newest firmware installed. Merv K9FD/KH6 Max power out of the K3 has been 110 watts for quite awhile (firmware defined). Unless you have an extremely accurate wattmeter (better than about +/- 3.6%), sounds like you're good. Phil - AD5X __ 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 __ 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 -- VK4FD - Motorhome Mobile Elecraft Equipment K3 #679, KPA-500 #018 Living the dream!!! __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] SWL question
The answer is yes. The stock input filters cover the Ham bands. The KBPF3 fills in with similar coverage for the frequencies outside the Ham bands across the tuning range. Ron AC7AC -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Ross Sent: Friday, April 22, 2011 12:07 PM To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] SWL question Hi all How good is the K3 as a general coverage receiver? I know that's a ridiculously broad question but... with the KBPF3 is it fair to say that the receiver performance is similar to what it is on the ham bands? I'm looking at choices right now but very likely to be buying a K3 in a couple of months after I've moved house. I may have some other questions but the KBPF3 is likely to be one of my first extra modules because I enjoy listening around. 73 Ross KT1F __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] SWL question
Hi Ross, I'm sure you'll get opinions from those less biased than me :) But here's some basic info regarding the K3 and short-wave listening: The K3's receive specs are generally the same for the SWL bands as for the ham bands, assuming you have a KBPF3 installed. The sub receiver also has a slot for a KBPF3, and its own antenna jack, allowing diversity receive from 0.5 to 30 MHz (as well as on 6 m). This is a great way to improve copy in fading conditions. If you're using the lower-frequency bands, you might consider using a low-noise loop for one of the antennas. Below about 1.5 MHz, the main receive antenna path gradually introduces some loss via a high-pass filter. This is intended to protect the T/R PIN diodes. Once you get to 500 kHz, attenuation is roughly 20 dB. However, you can bypass the main path if you have a KXV3 module installed; just run your broadcast-band antenna into RX ANT. The KXV3 also allows you to patch filters in-line with the receive antenna path. Such filters would be installed between RX ANT IN and OUT. (Note that the sub's aux antenna can also be used to get around the high-pass filter.) If you have a lot of favorite SWL stations, you can store them in the K3's 100 general-purpose memories. We have an excellent K3 memory management PC program written by Dick, K6KR. One other feature you'll probably like is AM synchronous detection. The K3 can receive AM-S in either upper or lower sideband, selectable from the front panel (SHIFT control). It can optionally auto-lock onto the signal carrier. If you're on 75 meter AM listening to a roundtable, the K3 will auto-lock onto each station in turn, displaying their frequency to the nearest Hz if desired. Or you can manually force lock by tapping SPOT. 73, Wayne N6KR On Apr 22, 2011, at 12:06 PM, Ross wrote: Hi all How good is the K3 as a general coverage receiver? I know that's a ridiculously broad question but... with the KBPF3 is it fair to say that the receiver performance is similar to what it is on the ham bands? I'm looking at choices right now but very likely to be buying a K3 in a couple of months after I've moved house. I may have some other questions but the KBPF3 is likely to be one of my first extra modules because I enjoy listening around. 73 Ross KT1F __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] SWL question
Thanks Wayne I didn't know that about the synchronous AM detection. That sounds very cool. Cheers Ross __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] SWL question
Hi Marc, The K3 automatically selects the lowest-frequency low-pass filter available based on the VFO frequency. It also automatically chooses the optimum ham-band filter or KBPF3 filter. The list of frequency boundaries is quite long. Suffice to say that we carefully optimize filter selection to preserve the K3's excellent IMD characteristics, especially IP2. (This refers to the radio's ability to reject images resulting from incoming signal sum/difference products; this is very important for SWL use.) 73, Wayne N6KR On Apr 22, 2011, at 11:31 AM, Marc wrote: I am an avid SWL'er and use the K3 to listen to SW broadcast stations and wefax. Somewhere posted are the curves or ranges that the general coverage receiver offers. Im looking for these posts - more info about the general coverage receive option. I hear that sometimes the general coverage option shares low pass filters with the ones that the option adds. Take 25mhz WWV for example or 6 mhz broadcast stations. My question is what filter scheme is employed for these frequencies I have mentioned and what should I expect rx wise in these ranges as a result of that. Marc, KE2BP __ 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] Fwd: Re: K2/100 pwr out control problem
Original Message Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K2/100 pwr out control problem Date: Fri, 22 Apr 2011 20:33:40 + From: Robert G. Strickland rc...@verizon.net To: d...@w3fpr.com Hello, Don and others.. Thanks for everyone's suggestions. Much appeciated. The problem persists regardless of using an antenna or a dummy load. I carried out Don's suggestions as described below. I don't have a watt meter, so I used the RF probe on a 50ohm resistive load and calculated the Vrms for the various power levels. Calculated and observed readings are as follows: Power Vrms [cal] Vrms [observed] 10w 22.36v 18.0v 5w15.8v 18.0v 2w10.0v 18.0v Computed power out at 18.0Vrms is 6.48w In addition, I notice the following LCD readings at all three power levels: the moment the TUNE button is pressed a HI CUR reading appears that immediately changes to a power out reading is 2.1w and an SWR reading 9.9:1. Again these reading occur at all three power settings. Don, I'm going to assume that your first suggestion to change D16 and D17 still holds. Yes? ...robert On 4/22/2011 15:47, Don Wilhelm wrote: Robert, Make the following setup and check into a dummy load with an external wattmeter between the K2 and the dummy load. Please follow the testing method given, there is a reason for that test methodology. 1) Remove the APP power cord from the KPA100 and power the K2 only from the coaxial power jack on the lower rear panel. Set the K2 to 40 meters. 2) Set the power requested knob to 5 watts and press TUNE - what is the power on the external meter? 3) Set the power to 2 watts and again press TUNE - what is the power on the external meter? If the actual power was 10 watts or more in both cases above, change diodes D16 and D17 in the KPA100. If the actual power tracked the requested power, then you have a different problem - power the KPA100 from the APP power cable and try again into a dummy load (not an antenna). Set the power requested to 50 watts and do a TUNE - the actual power should be near 20 watts. If it goes to a large value, then we need to investigate your KPA100 - remove it from the base K2 and take the shield off, and let us know the status of your results. 73, Don W3FPR On 4/22/2011 10:46 AM, Robert G. Strickland wrote: I'm running a K2/100 Ser# 5957, operational for about three years. Just now, control of pwr out has become intermittant. I can control pwr out in the basic K2 thru the range 0 -13w. Anything over that and the K2 meter sticks at about 13w, but the amp output jumps immediately and somewhat randomly to between 50-100w with no smooth control. Decreasing the K2 pwr out below 10w or so, and the overall pwr out drops accordingly, the K2 meter reads correctly, and the total unit pwr out (external meter) agrees with the K2 meter. I've tried cycling on/off, different bands, different modes. All the same. Any suggestions most welcome. ...robert -- Robert G. Strickland, PhD, ABPH - KE2WY rc...@verizon.net Syracuse, New York, USA __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] SWL question
Oops! In response to my post below, Eric dropped me this note: Ron - you forgot about the hole around 8.215. He's quite right, of course. The K3's first I.F. is at 8.215 MHz has some tremendous advantages over receivers with a higher I.F. but it does mean that receiver coverage does not cover the area near that frequency. See Theory of Operation in the K3 Owner's manual (available on the Elecraft WEB site for more details about the advantages of the K3's I.F. schema). Ron AC7AC If you have the KBPF3 optional (general coverage) input filter installed, you will have consistent reception from 500 kHz up through 30 MHz and again across the 6 meter band (48 to 54 MHz). Note that the KBPF3 is a filter at the antenna input (not the I.F.) to provide coverage in the gaps between the Ham bands. The K3 tunes the entire range with or without out it, but sensitivity will suffer once you tune well outside a Ham band without it since the 'stock' input filters are designed to provide optimum performance only across the Ham bands. Ron AC7AC -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Marc Sent: Friday, April 22, 2011 11:32 AM To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: [Elecraft] SWL question I am an avid SWL'er and use the K3 to listen to SW broadcast stations and wefax. Somewhere posted are the curves or ranges that the general coverage receiver offers. Im looking for these posts - more info about the general coverage receive option. I hear that sometimes the general coverage option shares low pass filters with the ones that the option adds. Take 25mhz WWV for example or 6 mhz broadcast stations. My question is what filter scheme is employed for these frequencies I have mentioned and what should I expect rx wise in these ranges as a result of that. Marc, KE2BP __ 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] Fwd: Re: K2/100 pwr out control problem
Original Message Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K2/100 pwr out control problem Date: Fri, 22 Apr 2011 21:22:17 + From: Robert G. Strickland rc...@verizon.net To: d...@w3fpr.com Don... The base K2's power is continuously adjustable from low to over 10w as measured by the RF probe. However, the Vrms readings don't jibe w/ the power out as indicated on the K2 lcd. I did run the bare K2 through my antenna tuner that has a cross needle forward/reflected meter [yes, they're barely accurate at best] and that showed continuously variable power from nil to quite a bit over 10w indicated. The exact power reading at this point is indeterminate, but I'm pretty sure that it's up there. When this problem started, I noticed it by not being able to control the power out from the amp; it was being driven to around 700w out [too much]. To do this would require a drive level of around 50w from the K100 which would, in turn, require something from the base K2. I'll get some diodes and report back. Thanks. ...robert On 4/22/2011 20:55, Don Wilhelm wrote: Robert, Yes, that is the first step. The K2s attempt to drive the power higher (the microprocessor thinks the power output is low) may have damaged one of the base K2 PA transistors, but replace the diodes first and then that check can be made. If you have to order the diodes from Elecraft, you may want to check on the health of the base PA first. To do that, remove the KPA100 and check the maximum power output available from the base K2. If you cannot get at least 10 watts out of it on most bands (all exxcept for possibly 10 meters), then it is likely the PA transistors must be replaced - order K2PAKIT from Elecraft. 73, Don W3FPR On 4/22/2011 4:33 PM, Robert G. Strickland wrote: Hello, Don and others.. Thanks for everyone's suggestions. Much appeciated. The problem persists regardless of using an antenna or a dummy load. I carried out Don's suggestions as described below. I don't have a watt meter, so I used the RF probe on a 50ohm resistive load and calculated the Vrms for the various power levels. Calculated and observed readings are as follows: Power Vrms [cal] Vrms [observed] 10w 22.36v 18.0v 5w 15.8v 18.0v 2w 10.0v 18.0v Computed power out at 18.0Vrms is 6.48w In addition, I notice the following LCD readings at all three power levels: the moment the TUNE button is pressed a HI CUR reading appears that immediately changes to a power out reading is 2.1w and an SWR reading 9.9:1. Again these reading occur at all three power settings. Don, I'm going to assume that your first suggestion to change D16 and D17 still holds. Yes? ...robert On 4/22/2011 15:47, Don Wilhelm wrote: Robert, Make the following setup and check into a dummy load with an external wattmeter between the K2 and the dummy load. Please follow the testing method given, there is a reason for that test methodology. 1) Remove the APP power cord from the KPA100 and power the K2 only from the coaxial power jack on the lower rear panel. Set the K2 to 40 meters. 2) Set the power requested knob to 5 watts and press TUNE - what is the power on the external meter? 3) Set the power to 2 watts and again press TUNE - what is the power on the external meter? If the actual power was 10 watts or more in both cases above, change diodes D16 and D17 in the KPA100. If the actual power tracked the requested power, then you have a different problem - power the KPA100 from the APP power cable and try again into a dummy load (not an antenna). Set the power requested to 50 watts and do a TUNE - the actual power should be near 20 watts. If it goes to a large value, then we need to investigate your KPA100 - remove it from the base K2 and take the shield off, and let us know the status of your results. 73, Don W3FPR On 4/22/2011 10:46 AM, Robert G. Strickland wrote: I'm running a K2/100 Ser# 5957, operational for about three years. Just now, control of pwr out has become intermittant. I can control pwr out in the basic K2 thru the range 0 -13w. Anything over that and the K2 meter sticks at about 13w, but the amp output jumps immediately and somewhat randomly to between 50-100w with no smooth control. Decreasing the K2 pwr out below 10w or so, and the overall pwr out drops accordingly, the K2 meter reads correctly, and the total unit pwr out (external meter) agrees with the K2 meter. I've tried cycling on/off, different bands, different modes. All the same. Any suggestions most welcome. ...robert -- Robert G. Strickland, PhD, ABPH - KE2WY rc...@verizon.net Syracuse, New York, USA __ 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] J-38 Key
Looking for one (or two) of the thumbscrews that go into the terminals in the rear of the key, mounted to the base. One got lost somewhere along the line. Anyone have a source or an extra one that they are willing to part with? If so, Please reply off-list and let me know how much you need. My info in QRZ is correct. -- 73, Dick / KC9GSM Sebastian, FL K-3 - #4019 FISTS #12648 SKCC #6955 __ 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] Relay noises??
Gday everyone, Iv noticed over the last few days when the K3 is just turned on (from cold for the first 30sec. or so) turning the tuning dial causes relay chatter type noises in the transceiver!! Has anyone had any experiences with this? The radio is only a couple of months old. Ive also seen flashes in one of the gaseous arrestors on TX soon after installing the atu board (it seemed the k3 was in a confussed fault condition (swr was ok)) cheers, Graham VK3XDK -- View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/Relay-noises-tp6298266p6298266.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.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
Re: [Elecraft] SO2V with WriteLog and the K3
Hi, Ed, I just found your message and can't wait to give SO2V a try with Writelog. Thanks for taking the time to post this. 73, John, WA6L -- View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/SO2V-with-WriteLog-and-the-K3-tp6003489p6298435.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.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] K2 Initial Test
I have been testing my K2 serial 7059 on receive only today. It has a SSB adaptor, KAT-100 tuner, and 100 watt adaptor. All just recently built. I hung an 80 meter dipole with each leg 66 feet long for a start (not trimmed yet). The 165 feet of ladder line feeds into a 1:1/1:4 Elecraft balun. The only test I have not done on all the units, to my knowledge, is the Transmit Tests, and that is because the necessary dummy load is on backorder. I only have a 15 watt and it calls for a 100 watt. FYI: I have the antenna grounded with rods, but my equipment is not grounded yet. Not sure if that would make a difference in the receive test that follows in the next paragraph. On receive, the bands that were open were 80, 40 and 20 meters. I could hear voices on all three bands. On 40 and 20 meters, they sounded human. On 80 meters, the voices sounded more high pitched. I could not tune them in. This was odd to me, as the antenna is cut to that band, and it would seem that the antenna tuner would not have to do any work to hear 80 meters clearly. I am guessing that those voices should have been heard clearly? Any suggestions? 73 de WN2K Paul Agoglia __ 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] Re k3 50mhz power out
Are you guys actually getting 106 watts out and is that blessed by elecraft? I was thinking it was supposed to be around 80 watts? Do tell. 73 Mike R Sent from my spy ring __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] KX1 strikes again - Cruise Ship Bootleg Operations (OT)
On 4/21/2011 3:33 PM, Mike Morrow wrote: Chip wrote: While a ship's master may choose to prohibit your use of a QRP rig on board, He *definitely* has that authority. In fact, what is very questionable is his authority to *allow* ham operation. It doesn't matter that QRP is to be used. I did this once on Princess Lines. My experience is logged at www.foothill.net/~andreaj/Ham.43.htm Mike is right on just about all counts. Since I had the 'Master's Approval', with conditions, I signed K6DGW/MM. So far as I know, my KX1 did not interfere with the ship's navigation ... they found the mouth of the canal and all the ports ... there was no fire ... and I followed the rules I was given. Not sure now about what would have happened if something had gone wrong. Given my experience, which was great but maybe only a little fun in the ham sense, unless you can be sure of hanging a clear antenna with the boat on the side of the antenna you don't care about [despite all the wood moulding and decks, the boat is made of steel], I'd concentrate on enjoying the ports, ship, food, and whatever else you paid for. That I made any Q's at all is a testament to the KX1, rest assured it wasn't my skill or perseverance. 73, Fred K6DGW - Northern California Contest Club - CU in the 2011 Cal QSO Party 1-2 Oct 2011 - www.cqp.org __ 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] k3 50mhz power out
I get something slightly over 100 watt under my LP100A. However, a pre-amp is necessary for more sensitivity. TNX 73, Johnny VR2XMC 從︰ Mike Rodgers mikerodgerske5...@yahoo.com 收件人︰ Elecraft@mailman.qth.net Elecraft@mailman.qth.net 傳送日期︰ 2011年04月23日 (週六) 8:37 AM 主題︰ Re︰ [Elecraft] Re k3 50mhz power out Are you guys actually getting 106 watts out and is that blessed by elecraft? I was thinking it was supposed to be around 80 watts? Do tell. 73 Mike R __ 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] New KPA500 and XG3 info pages up on the website
We're finally catching up. We have new info pages for the KPA500 and the XG3 signal source up on the Elecraft web page. We've also added these products to our products page etc. See: http://www.elecraft.com/KPA500/KPA500.htm http://www.elecraft.com/XG3/xg3.htm and http://www.elecraft.com/elecraft_products_page.htm 73, Eric www.elecraft.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
Re: [Elecraft] Fwd: Re: K2/100 pwr out control problem
Robert, Well, I am not so sure now - so the answer is Maybe. Completely remove the KPA100 and its cables, connect the dummy load to the BNC antenna jack and repeat the test. I would predict that you now have power control (you will see something other than 18 volts RMS across the dummy load). If indeed that is true, then yes, KPA100 diodes D16 and D17 need to be replaced. Also, if during your base K2 only tests, you find that you cannot get the actual power up to 10 watts or more, you have a base K2 power problem too. The most likely cause is that one of the PA transistors was smoked because of the heavy load placed on them trying to get the power level increased. 73, Don W3FPR On 4/22/2011 4:42 PM, Robert G. Strickland wrote: Original Message Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K2/100 pwr out control problem Date: Fri, 22 Apr 2011 20:33:40 + From: Robert G. Stricklandrc...@verizon.net To: d...@w3fpr.com Hello, Don and others.. Thanks for everyone's suggestions. Much appeciated. The problem persists regardless of using an antenna or a dummy load. I carried out Don's suggestions as described below. I don't have a watt meter, so I used the RF probe on a 50ohm resistive load and calculated the Vrms for the various power levels. Calculated and observed readings are as follows: Power Vrms [cal] Vrms [observed] 10w 22.36v 18.0v 5w15.8v 18.0v 2w10.0v 18.0v Computed power out at 18.0Vrms is 6.48w In addition, I notice the following LCD readings at all three power levels: the moment the TUNE button is pressed a HI CUR reading appears that immediately changes to a power out reading is 2.1w and an SWR reading 9.9:1. Again these reading occur at all three power settings. Don, I'm going to assume that your first suggestion to change D16 and D17 still holds. Yes? ...robert On 4/22/2011 15:47, Don Wilhelm wrote: Robert, Make the following setup and check into a dummy load with an external wattmeter between the K2 and the dummy load. Please follow the testing method given, there is a reason for that test methodology. 1) Remove the APP power cord from the KPA100 and power the K2 only from the coaxial power jack on the lower rear panel. Set the K2 to 40 meters. 2) Set the power requested knob to 5 watts and press TUNE - what is the power on the external meter? 3) Set the power to 2 watts and again press TUNE - what is the power on the external meter? If the actual power was 10 watts or more in both cases above, change diodes D16 and D17 in the KPA100. If the actual power tracked the requested power, then you have a different problem - power the KPA100 from the APP power cable and try again into a dummy load (not an antenna). Set the power requested to 50 watts and do a TUNE - the actual power should be near 20 watts. If it goes to a large value, then we need to investigate your KPA100 - remove it from the base K2 and take the shield off, and let us know the status of your results. 73, Don W3FPR On 4/22/2011 10:46 AM, Robert G. Strickland wrote: I'm running a K2/100 Ser# 5957, operational for about three years. Just now, control of pwr out has become intermittant. I can control pwr out in the basic K2 thru the range 0 -13w. Anything over that and the K2 meter sticks at about 13w, but the amp output jumps immediately and somewhat randomly to between 50-100w with no smooth control. Decreasing the K2 pwr out below 10w or so, and the overall pwr out drops accordingly, the K2 meter reads correctly, and the total unit pwr out (external meter) agrees with the K2 meter. I've tried cycling on/off, different bands, different modes. All the same. Any suggestions most welcome. ...robert __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Fwd: Re: K2/100 pwr out control problem
Robert, If you can get 10 watts or more out, the base K2 PA transistors are likely OK. The power discrepancy between your RF probe and the K2 display could be caused by a dummy load that is not right on 50 ohms or has some reactance. In using RF voltage to measure the power, the value of the dummy load is critical. Once you get the KPA100 wattmeter going again, you can calibrate it using any external wattmeter that you trust. I would advise calibration at 80 to 100 watts - there is some non-linearity in any wattmeter, so you want to calibrate it near full scale. 73, Don W3FPR On 4/22/2011 5:22 PM, Robert G. Strickland wrote: Original Message Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K2/100 pwr out control problem Date: Fri, 22 Apr 2011 21:22:17 + From: Robert G. Stricklandrc...@verizon.net To: d...@w3fpr.com Don... The base K2's power is continuously adjustable from low to over 10w as measured by the RF probe. However, the Vrms readings don't jibe w/ the power out as indicated on the K2 lcd. I did run the bare K2 through my antenna tuner that has a cross needle forward/reflected meter [yes, they're barely accurate at best] and that showed continuously variable power from nil to quite a bit over 10w indicated. The exact power reading at this point is indeterminate, but I'm pretty sure that it's up there. When this problem started, I noticed it by not being able to control the power out from the amp; it was being driven to around 700w out [too much]. To do this would require a drive level of around 50w from the K100 which would, in turn, require something from the base K2. I'll get some diodes and report back. Thanks. ...robert On 4/22/2011 20:55, Don Wilhelm wrote: Robert, Yes, that is the first step. The K2s attempt to drive the power higher (the microprocessor thinks the power output is low) may have damaged one of the base K2 PA transistors, but replace the diodes first and then that check can be made. If you have to order the diodes from Elecraft, you may want to check on the health of the base PA first. To do that, remove the KPA100 and check the maximum power output available from the base K2. If you cannot get at least 10 watts out of it on most bands (all exxcept for possibly 10 meters), then it is likely the PA transistors must be replaced - order K2PAKIT from Elecraft. 73, Don W3FPR On 4/22/2011 4:33 PM, Robert G. Strickland wrote: Hello, Don and others.. Thanks for everyone's suggestions. Much appeciated. The problem persists regardless of using an antenna or a dummy load. I carried out Don's suggestions as described below. I don't have a watt meter, so I used the RF probe on a 50ohm resistive load and calculated the Vrms for the various power levels. Calculated and observed readings are as follows: Power Vrms [cal] Vrms [observed] 10w 22.36v 18.0v 5w 15.8v 18.0v 2w 10.0v 18.0v Computed power out at 18.0Vrms is 6.48w In addition, I notice the following LCD readings at all three power levels: the moment the TUNE button is pressed a HI CUR reading appears that immediately changes to a power out reading is 2.1w and an SWR reading 9.9:1. Again these reading occur at all three power settings. Don, I'm going to assume that your first suggestion to change D16 and D17 still holds. Yes? ...robert On 4/22/2011 15:47, Don Wilhelm wrote: Robert, Make the following setup and check into a dummy load with an external wattmeter between the K2 and the dummy load. Please follow the testing method given, there is a reason for that test methodology. 1) Remove the APP power cord from the KPA100 and power the K2 only from the coaxial power jack on the lower rear panel. Set the K2 to 40 meters. 2) Set the power requested knob to 5 watts and press TUNE - what is the power on the external meter? 3) Set the power to 2 watts and again press TUNE - what is the power on the external meter? If the actual power was 10 watts or more in both cases above, change diodes D16 and D17 in the KPA100. If the actual power tracked the requested power, then you have a different problem - power the KPA100 from the APP power cable and try again into a dummy load (not an antenna). Set the power requested to 50 watts and do a TUNE - the actual power should be near 20 watts. If it goes to a large value, then we need to investigate your KPA100 - remove it from the base K2 and take the shield off, and let us know the status of your results. 73, Don W3FPR On 4/22/2011 10:46 AM, Robert G. Strickland wrote: I'm running a K2/100 Ser# 5957, operational for about three years. Just now, control of pwr out has become intermittant. I can control pwr out in the basic K2 thru the range 0 -13w. Anything over that and the K2 meter sticks at about 13w, but the amp output jumps immediately and somewhat randomly to between 50-100w with no smooth control. Decreasing the K2 pwr out below 10w or so, and the overall pwr out drops
Re: [Elecraft] K2 Initial Test
Paul, I would have a hard time blaming something like that on the antenna. Furthermore, if signals are intelligible on 40 meters, they should also be intelligible on 80 meters - the same sideband is used. Similarly on 20 and 17. The only thing I can think of is that your your SSB filter settings are not optimized. I encourage you to use Spectrogram or a similar FFT audio spectrum analyzer running on the computer to set your SSB filters. Take a look at part 3 of the K2 Dial Calibration article on my website www.w3fpr.com for information on how to accomplish that - you might want to go through the whole process and come out with a correct dial calibration as well. The only other thing I can think of (other than filter alignment) is that you were listening to some lousy SSB signals (or AM signals) on 80 meters - some of them are almost unintelligible even with a properly adjusted receiver - but then many of them are very good too. 73, Don W3FPR On 4/22/2011 8:16 PM, Paul Agoglia wrote: I have been testing my K2 serial 7059 on receive only today. It has a SSB adaptor, KAT-100 tuner, and 100 watt adaptor. All just recently built. I hung an 80 meter dipole with each leg 66 feet long for a start (not trimmed yet). The 165 feet of ladder line feeds into a 1:1/1:4 Elecraft balun. The only test I have not done on all the units, to my knowledge, is the Transmit Tests, and that is because the necessary dummy load is on backorder. I only have a 15 watt and it calls for a 100 watt. FYI: I have the antenna grounded with rods, but my equipment is not grounded yet. Not sure if that would make a difference in the receive test that follows in the next paragraph. On receive, the bands that were open were 80, 40 and 20 meters. I could hear voices on all three bands. On 40 and 20 meters, they sounded human. On 80 meters, the voices sounded more high pitched. I could not tune them in. This was odd to me, as the antenna is cut to that band, and it would seem that the antenna tuner would not have to do any work to hear 80 meters clearly. I am guessing that those voices should have been heard clearly? Any suggestions? 73 de WN2K Paul Agoglia __ 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] K3/100 for sale
I am selling my beloved K3/100 which I carefully assembled using a static mat and wrist strap. The radio is less than one year old and does not even have the smallest scratch or scuff. It has never been out of the house and has not seen tobacco smoke. The radio works perfectly and has been very lightly used. Included: K3/100 KBPF3 General Coverage RX Module KFL3B-FM 13 kHz, 8-pole Roofing Filter (excellent for SWL'ing) MH2 Handheld Microphone Power Cord All assembly and operation manuals Serial Number 4267 I paid $2,257.12 and am asking $1790. If you are interested, please contact me at:fowler9001 at msn dot com Thank you, Matthew Fowler K7BE __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] [K2]- For sale or trade - KAF2
KAF2 has been spoken for. David AJ4TF -- View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/K2-For-sale-or-trade-KAF2-tp6296032p6298709.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.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] KPA500 AUX Button Serial cabling
I don't see the AUX band button mentioned anywhere in the KPA500 manual. Whatzit do? :-) Also, I think I saw a post regarding the KPA500 needing it's own serial port, true? Is it just for firmware install? And the XCVR serial port is just for Kenwoods? Would be nice (*) for a K-Line to simply daisy chain the K's together: PC - KPA500 - P3 - K3 (* = simpler for 1-port PCs, no cable thrashing) Patiently waiting for my April 6 ordered KP500/K 73, Bill N2BC __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] KPA500 AUX Button Serial cabling
Hi Bill, The AUX button is for future expansion. Not determined at this time. The computer RS-232 is for firmware downloads and remote control, if desired. It does not need to be connected for regular AMP operation. You do not daisy chain the KPA500 at all. The second RS-232 is for monitoring Kenwood band info, since those rigs do not have dedicated band data outputs. 73, Eric www.elecraft.com _..._ On Apr 22, 2011, at 8:07 PM, Bill Coleman n...@stny.rr.com wrote: I don't see the AUX band button mentioned anywhere in the KPA500 manual. Whatzit do? :-) Also, I think I saw a post regarding the KPA500 needing it's own serial port, true? Is it just for firmware install? And the XCVR serial port is just for Kenwoods? Would be nice (*) for a K-Line to simply daisy chain the K's together: PC - KPA500 - P3 - K3 (* = simpler for 1-port PCs, no cable thrashing) Patiently waiting for my April 6 ordered KP500/K 73, Bill N2BC __ 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
