[Elecraft] pacificon

[O. Johns]

Was at Pacificon today.  The KPA500 looks amazingly small.  About the same size 
as the K3, but 500 watts with a self-contained AC power supply.  The 
integration with the K3 is pretty impressive, also.  The delay in releasing it 
is rumored to be due, among other things, to waiting for FCC's seal of approval 
to work its way through the bureau.  

The 500 watt external antenna tuner (ANT500?) that Elecraft is rumored to be 
working on as a companion to the KPA500 sounds like a dynamite product -- when 
it ever sees the light of day.  It is rumored to be a remotable, rf-sensing, 
automatic, balanced, 500 watt tuner.  I think lots of people would buy it to 
run with a barefoot K3/100, even if they don't get a KPA500.  Would be great 
between your ladder line and your coax run.

Oliver  W6ODJ


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Re: [Elecraft] Elecraft at Pacificon, CA, Hamfest this weekend

[O. Johns]

Johnny,

Just back from Pacificon.  Heard (and an official looking sign said the same) 
that Pacificon will be in Santa Clara, CA, next year.  This is down the 
peninsula from San Francisco.  A rumor is that next year the ARRL National 
Convention will be combined with Pacificon.  So, yes, this might be a hamfest 
to attend, IMHO.

73,

Oliver  W6ODJ


On 16 Oct 2010, at 3:30 PM, Johnny Siu wrote:

> Thanks for all your replies.
> 
> Well, apparently there are  a number of hamfest in US.  Will there be any 
> schedules showing all the hamfest in a year round table?  Apart from timing, 
> the 
> availability of direct flight from Hong Kong is also my consideration.
> 
> 73
> 
> Johnny VR2XMC
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 寄件人﹕ Rick Tavan N6XI 
> 收件人﹕ Johnny Siu 
> 傳送日期﹕ 2010/10/17 (日) 1:58:34 AM
> 主題： Re: [Elecraft] Re： Elecraft at Pacificon, CA, Hamfest this weekend
> 
> Hi, Johnny. Pacificon is much smaller than Dayton. It is a good, regional 
> hamfest for general interest ham radio. I believe it attracts a few hundred 
> attendees. I go there occasionally. Performance operators (DXers and 
> contesters) 
> go to the Visalia (CA) International DX Convention in much larger numbers in 
> the 
> Spring. I go to Visalia almost every year to meet active operators from all 
> over 
> the world. It is in California's great Central Valley, about half way between 
> San Francisco and Los Angeles. Of course, most of the attendees are from the 
> US 
> but there is significant participation by non-US hams. Hope to see you next 
> year 
> at one or the other of these good, California conventions.
> 
> 73,
> 
> /Rick N6XI 
> 
> 
> On Sat, Oct 16, 2010 at 7:31 AM, Johnny Siu  wrote:
> 
> Hello Eric,
>> 
>> Is this hamfest held every year?  Comparing Dayton, is it in similar scale?  
>> I
>> am planning a trip to US next year.
>> 
>> cheers,
>> 
>> Johnny VR2XMC
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 寄件人﹕ Eric Swartz WA6HHQ - Elecraft 
>> 收件人﹕ Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
>> 傳送日期﹕ 2010/10/16 (六) 10:11:45 PM
>> 主題： [Elecraft] Elecraft at Pacificon, CA, Hamfest this weekend
>> 
>> 
>> Wayne and I, along with Lisa and our Elecraft crew, will be at the Pacificon
>> ARRL convention today and tomorrow in San Ramon, CA (SF Bay Area).
>> 
>> 
>> We will be showing all of our products, including the K3, P3 Panadapter and 
>> the
>> soon to be released KPA-500 160-6M solid state amp.
>> 
>> Wayne and I will also be giving several talks this morning, and Wayne will 
>> also
>> be at the HFpack session this afternoon.
>> 
>> We're looking forward to meeting with everyone. Hope to see you there!
>> 
>> 73,
>> Eric
>> 
>> www.elecraft.com
>> _..._
>> 
>> 
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> 
> -- 
> 
> Rick Tavan N6XI
> Truckee, CA
> 
> 
> 
> 
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Re: [Elecraft] Elecraft Hexkey Question

[O. Johns]

Have you seen ?  K6JPA compares them 
directly.

73,

Oliver
W6ODJ


On 2 Oct 2010, at 7:48 PM, stan levandowski wrote:

> Hello fellow listers.  Here I am once again soliciting opinions.  So 
> far, the advice received from this reflector has been 100% helpful. 
> Thanks everyone!
> 
> I operated a "real" N2DAN Mercury key at W1AW.  It was really something. 
> I've heard that Bencher's version (at around $600) is "almost" as good. 
> I've also heard that the Elecraft Hexkey has "the same feel as the 
> Bencher Mercury" (from eHAM reviews) and represents good value for the 
> money.
> 
> There's quite a difference between $200 and $600 so I'm trying to 
> understand what the extra $$$ might return with regard to performance.
> 
> 100% of my operating is CW and 95% of that is at 18 - 22 wpm which is a 
> nice, comfortable, copy-in-my-head ragchew speed - and I'm a slapper. 
> My present paddle is a Scheunemann-Morsetasten SP-1  (single lever and 
> springs).
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Stan Levandowski WB2LQF
> HF QRP CW -- Doing more with less for over 50 years!
> QCWA #35038   OOTC #4558   NAQCC #4740   SKCC #6488   FISTS #14992
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[Elecraft] P3 function buttons

[O. Johns]

Alan and Wayne,

I see you're busy fixing a bug at the moment, but ...

I wonder how high on the priority list is the ability to use the function 
buttons on the P3 to send macros to the K3?  

Right now I have MEM 0-9 set to BAND SEL.  I used V>M to set it up so that I 
press M>V and then
1 for 10 meters
2 for 20 meters
3 for 30 meters
4 for 40 meters
5 for 15 meters
6 for 6 meters
7 for 17 meters
8 for 80 meters
9 for 12 meters
0 for 160 meters
Then I have M1 to M4 set for CW, SSB, Data, WWV (when applicable), 
respectively.  

This is a pretty common trick, I think.  It works fine, but I'd sure like to 
have the first P3 function button be 40 CW tap and 40 SSB hold, etc., etc.  
Also, the P3 screen labels would have to be user definable for the buttons to 
be useful.

Any idea when that might be implemented?

73,

Oliver
W6ODJ
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Re: [Elecraft] OT: fixing antennas

[O. Johns]

It's up at , or at least 
it was about two minutes ago.  Vertigo City.

73,

Oliver W6ODJ
On 16 Sep 2010, at 4:35 PM, Don Wilhelm wrote:

>  It was recently available at
> http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/81100181/
> Maybe it is still up there.  From what I have read, this guy is nuts - 
> he was free-climbing - with no safety equipment.
> 
> If you want to know why these sites are being taken down, read the 
> information at
> http://www.theonlineengineer.org/TheOLEBLOG/
> 
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
> 
> On 9/16/2010 7:00 PM, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:
>> Aw, too bad. Worked for me half an hour ago but doesn't now. The comments
>> included one thanking the source for getting it back on line, so perhaps
>> there's some other issue that will be fixed soon.
>> 
>> Ron AC7AC
>> 
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Re: [Elecraft] [K2,K3] CW Skimmer with win 7?

[O. Johns]

Hi,

I think I've found a work-around for CW Skimmer on Win 7.  Not only should you 
(probably not necessary, but why not?) run the installer as the administrative 
user, you also have to run the programs that way.  After you do the install, 
the programs OmniRig.exe and CWSkimmer.exe will be in the directories \Program 
Files\Afreet\OmniRig and \Program Files\Afreet\CWSkimmer, respectively.  
Navigate to the program OmniRig.exe.  (This has to be the actual executable, 
not an alias or a menu entry).

Right click on the executable.
Navigate to Properties at the bottom of the list.
Click Compatibility tab
Click Change settings for all users  (at bottom of window)
Click to select the radio button Run this program as an administrator
Click OK

Now do the same thing for CWSkimmer.exe
Now it should work OK.  YMMV but this works on my eeePC 1001P with Windows 7 
Starter.

When CW Skimmer starts, it starts Omni Rig.  OmniRig talks to your radio via a 
serial port.  It is useful to start Omni Rig first and get the settings right 
before you start CW Skimmer.

Windows is growing up, getting almost Unix-like.  Permissions become an issue.

CW Skimmer does what it says it does.  If everyone sent perfect code, CW 
Skimmer would make perfect copy.  Unfortunately, ... .

73,

Oliver
W6ODJ




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[Elecraft] [K2,K3] CW Skimmer with win 7?

[O. Johns]

Hi,

I notice from the Afreet Software page  that 
CW Skimmer does not claim to support Windows 7.  And indeed it does not run on 
my new netbook that has Win7 pre-installed.  

Has anyone found a work-around to get CW Skimmer to play with Windows 7?  Has 
anyone heard any rumor that Alex VE3NEA is going to support Win7 on CW Skimmer 
in the future?

I've got the netbook dual booting Win7 and Ubuntu Linux.  Sort of a PITA to rip 
W7 out and put in XP.  But I will if that is the only way.

Tnx and 73,

Oliver
W6ODJ
K2 #6253, K3 #1741
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Re: [Elecraft] How to pronounce the "/"?

[O. Johns]

And don't forget the computer nerd web site /.   It is pronounced "slashdot"
 "News for Nerds.  Stuff that Matters."

Oliver
W6ODJ


On 2 Apr 2010, at 2:30 PM, gdaug...@stanford.edu wrote:

> David wrote...
> 
>> I don't see any mention of the word "slash".  That is an Americanism 
>> like center ;-)
> 
> This is just a guess.  Early in the 60's, IBM used the "slash" as part of 
> their control 
> language to their OS on the 650, the 360 series, etc.  Who amongst us doesn't 
> remember having to put a "slash star" [columns 1 and 2] as the last card in 
> the deck 
> to go into the reader?  Who wants to say "virgule askerisk"?!
> 
> As I recall, the USAF taught me to say "stroke" but I got out of the AF quite 
> a few 
> years ago... like 50!
> 
> 73, and godotsysin dd star
> 
> 
> 
> George T Daughters, K6GT
> CU in the California QSO Party (CQP)
> October 2-3, 2010
> 
> 
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[Elecraft] [OT] CW app

[O. Johns]

This is a CW-centric bunch of people, so maybe this is semi-topical.

A fairly large fraction of hams have either an iPhone or an iPod Touch.  I have 
the latter.

I've found a really good app for CW training.  Maybe some of you pros can pass 
it along to your less gifted friends.

It is "Ham Morse" by AA9PW.  It has a fairly hostile user interface until you 
figure out how to use it.  But, what it does is very useful.  Basically, there 
are little things that look like dials.  Once you stop trying to make them 
rotate, you realize that you just touch them to make them go to the next notch.

+  Speed adjustable from 5 to 50 wpm
+  Will send random five-letter groups, with the character-set user selectable.
+  Will send a fake QSO 
+  Will send the top 100 or top 500 most used words, in random order
+  Will send pseudo-call signs (3 to 6 character groups of numbers and letters)
+  Will send you the RSS feed from various newspapers, in Morse.

It is this last capability that is the kicker for me.  I can sit down to 
breakfast, and listen to the BBC RSS feed in Morse.  Below 15 WPM it uses 15 
WPM Farnsworth.  Tone is not adjustable.  Can be heard even without ear buds.  
Not great, but audible enough to learn Morse from.  Use earbuds to keep peace 
at the breakfast table.

You pros could actually use it as your primary news source.

Disclaimer:  I have no stake in this.  I don't know AA9PW, but do admire the 
cleverness of his app.  The app costs $4.99, which is high for apps, but worth 
it IMHO.

73,

Oliver
W6ODJ
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Re: [Elecraft] New MAC owner - dumb question about installing K3 utility

[O. Johns]

Just to chime in.  Many installation routines look only in the Application 
folder to see if there is a previous version installed.  If you put your apps 
in a random folder, these routines may be confused.  

BUT, it seems that they all look at the Applications folder AND all sub-folders 
of the Applications folder.  (Maybe that is why Utilities is a sub-folder of 
Applications?)

What I do is make a new folder called LocalApps that is a subfolder of 
Applications.  (So its address is /Applications/LocalApps).  I put all the 
user-added stuff in LocalApps to keep it segregated from the Apple standard 
files in Applications and /Applications/Utilities.

Shades of NeXTstep.

73,

Oliver
W6ODJ


On 8 Mar 2010, at 12:33 AM, DF7KHK wrote:

> Hi Paul,
> put the complete K3UtilityOSX-Folder in your Application-Folder. That's all!
> 
> vy 72/73 de
> Karl-Heinz, DF7KHK
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[Elecraft] P3 and RF in the shack

[O. Johns]

Dear Wayne, Eric, et al,

Please, in the final design of the P3, pay some serious attention to the CABLES 
connecting the P3 to the K3.  There are many of us who have an intractable 
problem of RF in the shack due to space restraints that require the shack and 
the radiating part of the antenna to be too close.  (Loops in the attic, 
dipoles on the roof, rain-gutter antennas, etc.)

Maybe you should offer optional special cables that are just barely long enough 
to reach between the two units with the P3 in its canonical position directly 
beside the K3.  And the cables themselves need to be of especially good quality 
and perhaps fitted with a choke or two.  

Please check the K3-P3 system out in a hostile RF environment.

Tnx and 73,

Oliver
W6ODJ
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Re: [Elecraft] W9OY on P3

[O. Johns]

One problem with radios like the Flex hasn't been mentioned much.  It is the RF 
feedback problem.  I have seen demos of the Flex in action, and practically 
every cable in sight had to be loaded down with chokes to keep the RF out of 
the transceiver control circuits. 

On the face of it, the P3 in its small metal box adjacent to the K3 should be 
better isolated against RF feedback.  I sure hope Elecraft is checking this 
aspect closely.  There are interconnects between K3 and P3.  Are they 
vulnerable?

73,

Oliver
W6ODJ


On 19 Feb 2010, at 1:46 PM, Jack Smith wrote:

> The  graphics processor makes a big difference. I have several Dell 
> SX-260 computers that run SDR programs painfully slow, despite 2 GB of 
> RAM and 2.5 GHz CPU.
> 
> It turns out that Dell's graphic processor has no dedicated memory but 
> rather shares normal  RAM. That creates a huge bottleneck when running a 
> graphics intensive program such as all the SDR software. Some is 
> slightly worse than other but they all bog way down on the SX-260 
> compared with a machine with a separate graphics card and memory. Same 
> SDR program on the SX-260 may run 70% CPU but only 10% on a computer 
> with a separate graphics card and memory, with similar CPU speed and RAM.
> 
> Jack K8ZOA
> 
> 
> On 2/19/2010 4:18 PM, ab2tc wrote:
>> I would have agreed if Windows had offered developers an easy way of
>> prioritizing threads and processes. But as far as I know it doesn't (or
>> developers don't know how to use it). In my experience the performance of a
>> PC with 90% CPU load is miserable for all processes running on it. With that
>> said, I don't see why PowerSDR should incur that kind of CPU load on a 3GHz
>> machine. I am running XP home edition on a dual core Dell at 2.9GHz and 2Gb
>> of RAM. My CPU utilization is hovering between 15 and 30% with all of the
>> following running:
>> 
>> LP-Bridge
>> HRD
>> PowerSDR with EMU-0202 sound card at 192ks/s
>> VE7CC cluster client (highly recommended)
>> Iexplore composing this message
>> Thunderbird mail client
>> DX Atlas
>> 
>> I can add more applications and the CPU barely nudges upwards. I think most
>> people would agree that a car that has to be driven always with the
>> accelerator nearly to the metal is underpowered and not much of a joy. I am
>> a firmware developer and we always worry whenever the CPU utilization
>> exceeds 50% even though we use OS's that allow intelligent prioritization of
>> tasks.
>> 
>> AB2TC - Knut
>> 
>> 
>> Al Lorona wrote:
>> 
>>> Just a minor point: There might be a misconception that high CPU
>>> utilization means your computer is inadequate for the task.
>>> 
>>> Actually, you want the CPU to work hard for you. It isn't only CPU you
>>> should worry about, it's what is called the 'run queue'. The run queue
>>> determines how long your job has to wait until it's serviced by the
>>> computer. It's okay to have 100% CPU (and in fact you want it) if you
>>> don't have to wait at all.
>>> 
>>> A person assessing the performance of a computer looks at several other
>>> things besides CPU when determining what to tune for better performance.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Don Wilhelm-4 wrote:
>>> 
 
>>> 
>>> 
 I am using a 3.0 GHz Pentium 4 with 1 GB of RAM, running
 WinXP Pro and the CPU utilization ranges from 50% to 90%, so anyone
 thinking of choosing this alternative with a lesser computer had better
 think about a new computer first.
 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>> 
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Re: [Elecraft] Is NR effective on ssb?

[O. Johns]

David,

This is exactly how I would describe all the audio A-B examples I've seen/heard 
posted on the web, including Hector's and the ones with the LINGUA audio 
processor posted by Juergen. 
 <http://www.ing-michels.de/audio_demonstrations.html>

Maybe that is all we can ask.  Oftentimes, when I'm tired and the band is 
disappointing, the noise begins to sound TO ME like speech.  If a human can't 
tell the difference reliably, how can we expect a DSP to do so?

For me, in my very high noise environment, even with the RF gain backed off, 
the noise interacts with the NR to give a hollow ringing cavern effect with the 
voices at the very back of the cavern.  Unless the ssb signal is pretty strong 
in the first place, the NR does not improve my experience.

But I'd still like to learn how to do it.  If someone in a similar high-noise 
environment has found the magic settings, please post them for the rest of us 
to try.

73,

Oliver
W6ODJ


On 16 Feb 2010, at 2:13 PM, David Woolley wrote:

> Research by the hearing aid industry suggests that noise reduction 
> reduces listener fatigue but does not increase speech intelligibility.
> 
> O. Johns wrote:
>> I wonder if anyone has an A-B comparison audio recording that shows a
>> SSB signal that is UNINTELLIGIBLE with NR off become INTELLIGIBLE with
>> NR on? (Note NR, not NB which is a different animal altogether.)
> 

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Re: [Elecraft] Is NR effective on ssb?

[O. Johns]

Hi Werner,

"Eine Halbinsel ist eine Insel, die noch nicht ganz fertig ist,"  has an 
immediate, personal meaning here in San Francisco.  Hi Hi -- Oops.

I may look for the ssb noise reducer in the used lists.  Too expensive for me 
to buy the "12" model new.

73,

Oliver
W6ODJ


On 16 Feb 2010, at 10:31 AM, Dr. Werner Furlan wrote:

> hi all,
> 
> juergen schrieb am 15 Feb 2010 um 15:32:
> 
>> If you like experimenting  try this product. I have been using it on the
>> low bands for a while now, and I am very impressed. I have not found a
>> radio with an inbuilt DSP that will beat it.
>> 
>> http://www.ing-michels.de/hamradio.html
> 
> I agree. I use a predecessor of this product, it was sold as a kit once.  
> I don't know if the algorithm has been improved in the meantime, but my 
> box works really good. The depth of noise reduction is adjustable with a 
> pot and it does not reduce the loudness of the signal but only the noise. 
> At the highest NR setting voices start to sound "spacey". I normally use a 
> medium setting for best S/N effect. 
> The noise reduction is only noticeable wih weak noisy signals. There is 
> nearly no effect on S9+20 signals without noise.
> My box has one disadvantage, I don't know if this has been changed with 
> the new product, there is only one channel, so the sub receiver has no NR.
> You might need two of them. ($$)
> 
> 73! de Werner OE9FWV
> 
> 
> -- 
> Eine Halbinsel ist eine Insel, die noch nicht ganz fertig ist.
> 
> 
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Re: [Elecraft] Is NR effective on ssb?

[O. Johns]

Hi John,

Yes, seems impressive.  Uses a the envelope shape of the speech waveform to 
distinguish it from noise.  The examples, however, do not meet the test I asked 
about:  Is something UNINTELLIGIBLE without the device and then INTELLIGIBLE 
with it?  Also, it is a bit pricey at some $300 to $400.  Otherwise, I might be 
tempted to try it.

Many thanks for the tip.  I'll keep my eye on that product.

Oliver
W6ODJ


On 15 Feb 2010, at 3:32 PM, juergen wrote:

> 
> Hi Oliver
> 
> If you like experimenting  try this product. I have been using it on the low 
> bands for a while now, and I am very impressed. I have not found a radio with 
> an inbuilt DSP that will beat it.
> 
> 
> http://www.ing-michels.de/hamradio.html
> 
> John
> 
> --- On Mon, 2/15/10, O. Johns  wrote:
> 
>> From: O. Johns 
>> Subject: [Elecraft] Is NR effective on ssb?
>> To: "Elecraft_List" 
>> Date: Monday, February 15, 2010, 2:49 PM
>> Folks,
>> 
>> I wonder if anyone has an A-B comparison audio recording
>> that shows a SSB signal that is UNINTELLIGIBLE with NR off
>> become INTELLIGIBLE with NR on?   (Note NR,
>> not NB which is a different animal altogether.)
>> 
>> Maybe it is my ultra-high-noise urban environment, but I
>> have not found any combination of settings of NR, RF gain,
>> AGC, etc., etc. that lets me copy a SSB signal that I can't
>> already copy without NR.  And I use the good Yamaha
>> headphones that have been discussed on the reflector. 
>> My theory is that S8 noise flummoxes the NR algorithm so
>> much that it actually becomes a hindrance.  Maybe it
>> can't really distinguish high noise from voice.
>> 
>> This is not to criticize Lyle or the K3.  I imagine
>> that these algorithms have their limits no matter what radio
>> they are run on.
>> 
>> 73,
>> 
>> Oliver Johns
>> W6ODJ
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> 
> 
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[Elecraft] Is NR effective on ssb?

[O. Johns]

Folks,

I wonder if anyone has an A-B comparison audio recording that shows a SSB 
signal that is UNINTELLIGIBLE with NR off become INTELLIGIBLE with NR on?   
(Note NR, not NB which is a different animal altogether.)

Maybe it is my ultra-high-noise urban environment, but I have not found any 
combination of settings of NR, RF gain, AGC, etc., etc. that lets me copy a SSB 
signal that I can't already copy without NR.  And I use the good Yamaha 
headphones that have been discussed on the reflector.  My theory is that S8 
noise flummoxes the NR algorithm so much that it actually becomes a hindrance.  
Maybe it can't really distinguish high noise from voice.

This is not to criticize Lyle or the K3.  I imagine that these algorithms have 
their limits no matter what radio they are run on.

73,

Oliver Johns
W6ODJ
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Re: [Elecraft] Isolation headphones

[O. Johns]

I'll repeat this in this thread:

I hope people do not make the mistake of using in-the-ear earbuds with ham 
radios, even the K3.  These in-the-ear phones like the etymotic or the shure 
have to be put pretty deep into the ear canal to seal and provide isolation.  
They are wonderful for hi-fi.  I use a pair by Shure to listen to Brahms on 
airplanes.  BUT, they take at least a few seconds to extract from your ears.  
If, as has been reported on this reflector several times, the radio 
mis-functions and puts out a very loud audio signal, your ears will be fried 
before you can react.  

DON'T DO IT

Oliver
W6ODJ



On 8 Feb 2010, at 6:20 PM, dw wrote:

> I think I've tried everything.
> I have the David Clark and another Sound studio set of over-the-ear
> headphones that are rated at around 24db isolation.  Both of them are
> not sufficient for my shack environment when its noisy.
> 
> I think the best I have are custom molded inner-ear units that I had
> made up at a motorcycle rally.
> There was a gal there custom making them for people.
> These are the kind you see people use on stage standing in front of
> killowatt guitar amps.  ;~]
> 
> To get the same but on the cheep, I got a pair of el-cheep-0 KOSS inner
> ear units with the black rubber foam.  Take the foam off and take a pair
> of sleep ear-plugs ( the kind that you shrink up and they expand in your
> ear).  Take a hot needle and boar a hole through the center.  Super glue
> them onto the ear-phones.
> 
> Best isolation I've ever had and cost is less than $25 bucks!
> Go figure :)
> 
> N1BBR
> -- 
> bw...@fastmail.net
> 
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Re: [Elecraft] K3 in a cw pileup - needs work

[O. Johns]

I hope people do not make the mistake of using in-the-ear earbuds with ham 
radios, even the K3.  These in-the-ear phones like the etymotic or the shure 
have to be put pretty deep into the ear canal to seal and provide isolation.  
They are wonderful for hi-fi.  I use a pair by Shure to listen to Brahms on 
airplanes.  BUT, they take at least a few seconds to extract from your ears.  
If, as has been reported on this reflector several times, the radio 
mis-functions and puts out a very loud audio signal, your ears will be fried 
before you can react.  

DON'T DO IT

Oliver
W6ODJ


On 7 Feb 2010, at 3:21 AM, Bill W4ZV wrote:

> 
> "High isolation headphones" below means ~30 dB isolation from ambient noise. 
> Heil does not make any in this range and most active noise reduction
> headphones (e.g. Bose) only have 10-15 dB.  Here are some examples of what
> Barry meant:
> 
> http://www.extremeheadphones.com/ex-29.html
> http://www.sennheiserusa.com/private_headphones_dj-headphones_004974
> http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er6.aspx
> 
> These are all available in the $75-100 range.
> 
> 73,  Bill
> 
> 
> Doug Turnbull wrote:
>> 
>> Barry, Sorry but what do you mean by 'high isolation headphones'.   Would
>> the Heil Pro-Set Plus do?
>> 73 Doug EI2CN
>> 
>> -Original Message-
>> From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net
>> [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Barry N1EU
>> Sent: 07 February 2010 01:01
>> To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
>> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 in a cw pileup - needs work
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Barry N1EU wrote:
>>> 
>>> You need to maximize your rf/af dynamic range - that is what is going to
>>> turn that mush into a beautiful symphony of distinct signals of varying
>>> levels.  What has worked well for me is AGC off (although AGC on works
>>> fine as well), high isolation headphones, and the gain throttling
>>> techniques (most important) described by K3NA, W4ZV, myself, and others.
>>> 
>> Just to continue from previous post - I experienced only mush in pileup
>> reception until fully adopting this technique.  High isolation headphones
>> are critical because you want to set gain such that weak signals are
>> lightly
>> heard but clearly copiable.  You're maximizing the receive dynamic range
>> delivered to your ears and the high isolation means you can clearly hear
>> fainter signals without turning up the gain and squashing the dynamic
>> range
>> (and too frequently engaging AF Limiter with AGC Off).  
>> 
>> 73,
>> Barry N1EU
>> 
>> -- 
>> View this message in context:
>> http://n2.nabble.com/K3-in-a-cw-pileup-needs-work-tp4523884p4527626.html
>> Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>> __
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> 
> -- 
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> Sent from the [K3] mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
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[Elecraft] TX3A DXpedition

[O . Johns]

This is somewhat old news, but I was looking at the TX3A web site for their 
double half-delta loop receiving antenna when I noticed their choice of 
transceivers:


Oliver
W6ODJ
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Re: [Elecraft] K3 mods and methods: smt resistor/capacitor de-soldering

[O. Johns]

Dick,

You're right.  Operator error.  Sri.  Very well done videos.

Oliver
W6ODJ


On 2 Feb 2010, at 10:30 AM, Dick Dievendorff wrote:

> I didn't hear double audio.  Could you have started the player multiple
> times?
> 
> Excellent videos!
> 
> Dick
> 
> 
> -Original Message-
> From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net
> [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of O. Johns
> Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2010 10:01 AM
> To: David Lankshear
> Cc: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 mods and methods: smt resistor/capacitor
> de-soldering
> 
> Dave,
> 
> Their video showing surface-mount soldering techniques is double-recorded in
> the audio channel.  Pretty frustrating.  Do you know someone there you can
> tell?
> 
> --Oliver
> W6ODJ
> 
> 
> On 2 Feb 2010, at 3:42 AM, David Lankshear wrote:
> 
>> Simple two pole devices don't need much "engineering" to remove, but I
> would caution against the "cut in half with sharp cutters" method as it can
> lead to damaged pads.
>> 
>> I can't be bothered creating special tools for two pole devices, just a
> quick flip with a pair of soldering irons, then use a bit of desolder braid
> to clean up the pads. 
>> 
>> What can be quite exciting is the removal of multi-pin devices and for
> that, Chipquik is a wonderful friend.  It's not cheap, but then it's worth
> using an inch to remove a high pin density chip.  The flux they supply is
> great for cleaning off pads with cotton buds.  Chipquik is a great
> substitute for a hot air desoldering station, see here, (and get your free
> sample!).
>> 
>> http://www.chipquik.com/
>> 
>> 73 DaveL G3TJP
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Re: [Elecraft] K3 mods and methods: smt resistor/capacitor de-soldering

[O. Johns]

Dave,

Their video showing surface-mount soldering techniques is double-recorded in 
the audio channel.  Pretty frustrating.  Do you know someone there you can tell?

--Oliver
W6ODJ


On 2 Feb 2010, at 3:42 AM, David Lankshear wrote:

> Simple two pole devices don't need much "engineering" to remove, but I would 
> caution against the "cut in half with sharp cutters" method as it can lead to 
> damaged pads.
> 
> I can't be bothered creating special tools for two pole devices, just a quick 
> flip with a pair of soldering irons, then use a bit of desolder braid to 
> clean up the pads. 
> 
> What can be quite exciting is the removal of multi-pin devices and for that, 
> Chipquik is a wonderful friend.  It's not cheap, but then it's worth using an 
> inch to remove a high pin density chip.  The flux they supply is great for 
> cleaning off pads with cotton buds.  Chipquik is a great substitute for a hot 
> air desoldering station, see here, (and get your free sample!).
> 
> http://www.chipquik.com/
> 
> 73 DaveL G3TJP
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Re: [Elecraft] K3: transmitted RF feedback with condenser mics?

[O. Johns]

Brian,

I know a guy in Sonoma, CA,  whose porch lights come on (dimly) when he 
transmits on 160!!  Fortunately, my main problem (on 20 meters) seems not to 
touch the DSL, WiFi, etc. system.  Fingers crossed.  I think one of the hidden 
problems we all have is resonance with phone lines, household wiring, or metal 
weatherstripping, etc.  The RF may be coming directly from the antenna, and no 
amount of RF proofing in the shack is going to help much then.  Maybe move the 
antenna?

Maybe try putting 0.01 RF-bypass capacitors ACROSS the phone line at the jack 
where the DSL modem plugs in.  Probably wouldn't hurt the DSL or POTS signal 
much, and might bypass the RF.  Maybe it isn't even common mode.

Oliver
W6ODJ


On 25 Jan 2010, at 12:59 PM, Brian Machesney wrote:

> You are so right, Oliver. 
> 
> Now, if I could only figure out why 50W of RF on 160 kills my DSL line. Tried 
> wrapping all of the DSL and wireless router cords through a high-mu ferrite 
> toroid, but no joy. This has been a thorny problem; sensitivity depends on 
> where the modem and router are placed. May have to go back to "wired" and see 
> if that helps.
> 
> No end of "fun" things to do! The XYL will not be happy when I kill the DSL 
> during the CQ WW 160 contest this weekend!
> 
> -- 
> 73 -- Brian -- K1LI
> 
> On Mon, Jan 25, 2010 at 3:24 PM, O. Johns  wrote:
> Hi Brian,
> 
> Every solution is different, isn't it?  Very glad yours worked for you.
> 
> Oliver
> W6ODJ
> 
> 
> On 25 Jan 2010, at 9:25 AM, Brian Machesney wrote:
> 
>> Thanks for the suggestion, Olvier. In the process of trying to figure things 
>> out, they went from bad to worse, so that I even thought I had terrible 
>> distortion with just 100W.
>>  
>> Long story short, I think the problem was a bad shield connection in one of 
>> the current baluns that uses the small-diameter teflon coax; it's not 
>> mechanically robust because the coax doesn't fit snugly inside the PL259 
>> reducer meant for RG58. I re-cabled the RF path from rig to antenna and, 
>> voila!, all is well.
>>  
>> Brian
>> 
>> On Mon, Jan 25, 2010 at 12:12 PM, Oliver Johns  wrote:
>> Try putting a snap-on ferrite bead ON the actual boom of the electret 
>> headset microphone.  Put it right at the end, just before the microphone 
>> bulb.  Maybe the RF is getting into the electret or its FET and is being 
>> rectified there.
>> 
>> Oliver Johns
>> W6ODJ
>> 
>> 
>> On 24 Jan 2010, at 11:53, Brian Machesney wrote:
>> 
>> > I am getting transmitted RF feedback into the K3 when running high power
>> > with a headset that uses a condenser element. With an otherwise identical
>> > setup, I don't have any problems with either of my two headsets that have
>> > dynamic mic elements, using either the front- or the rear-panel mic jacks.
>> >
>> > I hear the distortion in the K3's own monitor, but I have confirmed the
>> > distortion using my K2 as a second receiver (1" wire in the ANT jack, RF
>> > gain near zero, ATT on to prevent front-end overload) and with on-the-air
>> > tests with stations hundreds to thousands of miles away.
>> >
>> > The problem headset is designed for aviation use and, as far as I can tell,
>> > uses a shielded mic cable.
>> >
>> > Has anyone else had and resolved this problem?
>> >
>> > --
>> > 73 -- Brian -- K1LI
>> > __
> 
> 
> 

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Re: [Elecraft] K3: transmitted RF feedback with condenser mics?

[O. Johns]

Hi Jim,

Well, the ferrite bead may not be self-resonant on 20 meters, but it still 
provides SOME impedance to the common-mode current.  I found experimentally 
that it did help.  And lots of people use these snap-on beads to good effect 
even in situations where multiple turns (which of course would be better) are 
not practical.

Oliver
W6ODJ


On 25 Jan 2010, at 9:31 AM, Jim Brown wrote:

> On Mon, 25 Jan 2010 09:14:21 -0800, Oliver Johns wrote:
> 
>> Try putting a snap-on ferrite bead ON the actual boom of the 
>> electret headset microphone.  Put it right at the end, just before
>> the microphone bulb.  Maybe the RF is getting into the electret or 
>> its FET and is being rectified there.
> 
> Ferrite beads are tuned to about 150 MHz. Clamping on onto a cable 
> simply adds that 150 MHz resonance to the common mode circuit. 
> That's great if the RFI is on 2M, but next to useless if it's on 
> 20M. To make a choke work on 20M, we must wind multiple turns 
> through the ferrite to more the resonance down to 20M. For a typical 
> ferrite clamp-on, that's about 5 turns. You can't do that on the 
> boom,  but you can do it on the cable. 
> 
> The original poster of this question emailed me this morning telling 
> me he had solved his problem by re-cabling the coax between his rig, 
> amp, and antenna switching, so the source of his RF was probably a 
> badly terminated coax connector. 
> 
> 73,
> 
> Jim K9YC
> 
> 
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Re: [Elecraft] K3 New DSP Replacing

[O. Johns]

Hi John,

No, they don't.  I used a suggestion made earlier on the reflector and looked 
at the instruction for adding a grounding wire to the front panel microphone 
jack.  It is "Front_Panel_Microphone_Grounding.pdf" and can be found on the 
Elecraft web site in the page named "K3 Alerts, Enhancements and Application 
Notes."   To do that mod, you have to remove the front panel and the DSP board, 
so it guided me.

73,
Oliver Johns
W6ODJ


On 8 Jan 2010, at 9:24 PM, N1JM wrote:

> 
> You mean they don't send you instructions on replacing it?
> 
> John N1JM
> 
> 
> 
> Steve Ellington wrote:
>> 
>> I got my new DSP-C board. Somewhere I saw a step by step on how how to 
>> replace it. Can someone locate it for me?
>> 
>> Steve
>> N4LQ
>> n...@carolina.rr.com 
>> 
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[Elecraft] Direct frequency readout with CocoaModem

[O. Johns]

Hi Chen,

I wrote you a while back about wanting direct frequency readout on CocoaModem.  
I have since then discovered a work-around that suits me fine.

(1)  I set the K3 transciever to 7034.5 kHz (and lock the VFO A)
(2)  I set the CocoaModem offset to 500
(3)  The frequencies on the CocoaModem screen now read 0 for 7035.0, 100 for 
7035.1, ..., 1000 for 7036.0, etc., etc.

So I just have to remember to add 7035 to the numbers I see.

Great program.  Use it all the time.  Thanks for putting it out for us to use.

73,

Oliver
W6ODJ
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Re: [Elecraft] K3: Strange SWR reading

[O. Johns]

Tnx Dick,

Then I guess it is the K3 MCU firmware code that is "ramping up the power" 
because I see it doing it on the K3 front panel display as the Calibrate 
routine is running.  It approaches 5 Watts from below, takes a fraction of a 
second to get there.  Until it gets there, the SWR reading on the K3 screen is 
1.1.  When it does get there (e.g., to 5 Watts), the SWR reading changes to 
1.0.  Then the K3 stays in transmit for about a second or two before moving on 
to the next frequency.  At 50 Watts, the ramp-up time (if any) is so quick that 
it doesn't have time to show up on the K3 front panel display.

I guess I was thinking that the K3 Utility was doing more than it was doing.  
Thanks for the description.

It must be a gas to write this stuff and have it work so well.  Wish the code 
were public so we could admire it.

73,
Oliver Johns
W6ODJ


On 6 Jan 2010, at 1:16 PM, Dick Dievendorff wrote:

> The K3 Utility doesn't "ramp up the power" during the Tx Gain calibration.
> It sets the power to exactly 5 watts, and the K3 MCU firmware code performs
> calibration at that power level (and also at exactly 50 watts).
> 
> Tx Calibration also sets TUN PWR to "Normal" and restores your setting
> afterward.
> 
> Glad it's working for you now!
> 
> 73 d Dick, K6KR
> 
> 
> -Original Message-
> From: O. Johns [mailto:ojo...@metacosmos.org] 
> Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2010 12:04 PM
> To: Dick Dievendorff
> Cc: Elecraft; Gary Surrency
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3: Strange SWR reading
> 
> Gents,
> 
> Problem solved, or at least worked around.
> 
> I had the TUNE PWR set to 4 Watts.  But my K3 SWR reading is inaccurate
> below 5 Watts.  I set TUNE PWR to 7 Watts and now the problem is solved.
> With the DL1 connected to Ant 1, and KAT3 on BYPASS, pressing TUNE now gives
> 1.0 on all bands.
> 
> Here are the readings at various powers with my K3 in the 40 meter band:
> 1 Watt --->  no reading
> 2 Watt --->  1.2
> 3 Watt --->  1.1
> 4 Watt --->  1.1
> 5 Watt ---> 1.0
> 6 Watt and above ---> 1.0
> 
> 73,
> 
> Oliver Johns
> W6ODJ
> 
> P.S.  The reason the Elecraft K3 Utility seemed to be adjusting the SWR
> reading was that it was ramping up the power to 5 Watts.  As it passed 3 and
> 4 Watts, it showed 1.1;  when it reached 5 Watts it showed 1.0.
> 
> 
> On 5 Jan 2010, at 5:23 PM, O. Johns wrote:
> 
>> Dear Dick,
>> 
>> I posted this problem on the reflector some time back, but noone picked up
> on it, so I'll try again.  This is a before and after story and has me
> puzzled.
>> 
>> BEFORE:  I connected DL1 dummy load to Ant 1 using only a BNC-MtoM and a
> PL259-FtoF (no coax at all, just small straight-through adapters).  I set
> the KAT3 to BYPASS.  I pressed TUNE and saw 1.0, on all bands.  Fine, this
> is what I expect.  Also, using my link-coupled external tuner with the
> antenna connected (I seldom use the KAT3), I was able to adjust to 1.0 on
> all bands (except 6 meters).
>> 
>> AFTER:  After the first time I ran the "Calibrate Transmitter Gain"
> routine from the Elecraft K3 Utility, I pressed TUNE with the DL1 still
> connected and saw a SWR reading of 1.1 on all bands, not 1.0 as before.
> Also, when I use my external tuner, the lowest SWR I can obtain now is 1.1,
> not 1.0 as before.  
>> 
>> WHY?
>> 
>> I just upgraded the K3 (#1741) with all current mods and the new DSP
> board.  So, I re-calibrated everything.  Same result re the 1.1 SWR reading.
> 
>> 
>> Here is what happens:
>> 
>> I attach the DL1 and set KAT3 to BYPASS as per the instructions.  I run
> through the steps and click on Calibrate in the 5 Watt page.  The
> calibration routine runs to completion successfully.  At every frequency I
> see on the K3 front panel readout the following two-step sequence:
>> - The frequency to be used
>> - The numbers 1.1 which quickly change to 1.0
>> It seems as if the software is adjusting something to get to 1.0 for the
> SWR.  What?  I don't hear any clicks so doubt it is adjusting any toroids or
> capacitors the ATU.  Maybe it is adjusting the final transistor bias?  
>> 
>> After this calibration, pressing TUNE with the DL1 still connected and the
> KAT3 still in BYPASS, I see 1.1 SWR.
>> 
>> I then did the routine again, but this time doing the 5 watt and then the
> 50 Watt Calibration (the DL1 doesn't get very hot due to the short duty
> cycle).  At 5 Watts, the result is the same as above.  At 50 Watts, I see
> the following for each frequency step:
>> - The frequency to be used
>> - The number 1.0
>> This time it doesn't seem to be

Re: [Elecraft] K3: Strange SWR reading

[O. Johns]

Gents,

Problem solved, or at least worked around.

I had the TUNE PWR set to 4 Watts.  But my K3 SWR reading is inaccurate below 5 
Watts.  I set TUNE PWR to 7 Watts and now the problem is solved.  With the DL1 
connected to Ant 1, and KAT3 on BYPASS, pressing TUNE now gives 1.0 on all 
bands.

Here are the readings at various powers with my K3 in the 40 meter band:
1 Watt --->  no reading
2 Watt --->  1.2
3 Watt --->  1.1
4 Watt --->  1.1
5 Watt ---> 1.0
6 Watt and above ---> 1.0

73,

Oliver Johns
W6ODJ

P.S.  The reason the Elecraft K3 Utility seemed to be adjusting the SWR reading 
was that it was ramping up the power to 5 Watts.  As it passed 3 and 4 Watts, 
it showed 1.1;  when it reached 5 Watts it showed 1.0.


On 5 Jan 2010, at 5:23 PM, O. Johns wrote:

> Dear Dick,
> 
> I posted this problem on the reflector some time back, but noone picked up on 
> it, so I'll try again.  This is a before and after story and has me puzzled.
> 
> BEFORE:  I connected DL1 dummy load to Ant 1 using only a BNC-MtoM and a 
> PL259-FtoF (no coax at all, just small straight-through adapters).  I set the 
> KAT3 to BYPASS.  I pressed TUNE and saw 1.0, on all bands.  Fine, this is 
> what I expect.  Also, using my link-coupled external tuner with the antenna 
> connected (I seldom use the KAT3), I was able to adjust to 1.0 on all bands 
> (except 6 meters).
> 
> AFTER:  After the first time I ran the "Calibrate Transmitter Gain" routine 
> from the Elecraft K3 Utility, I pressed TUNE with the DL1 still connected and 
> saw a SWR reading of 1.1 on all bands, not 1.0 as before.  Also, when I use 
> my external tuner, the lowest SWR I can obtain now is 1.1, not 1.0 as before. 
>  
> 
> WHY?
> 
> I just upgraded the K3 (#1741) with all current mods and the new DSP board.  
> So, I re-calibrated everything.  Same result re the 1.1 SWR reading.  
> 
> Here is what happens:
> 
> I attach the DL1 and set KAT3 to BYPASS as per the instructions.  I run 
> through the steps and click on Calibrate in the 5 Watt page.  The calibration 
> routine runs to completion successfully.  At every frequency I see on the K3 
> front panel readout the following two-step sequence:
> - The frequency to be used
> - The numbers 1.1 which quickly change to 1.0
> It seems as if the software is adjusting something to get to 1.0 for the SWR. 
>  What?  I don't hear any clicks so doubt it is adjusting any toroids or 
> capacitors the ATU.  Maybe it is adjusting the final transistor bias?  
> 
> After this calibration, pressing TUNE with the DL1 still connected and the 
> KAT3 still in BYPASS, I see 1.1 SWR.
> 
> I then did the routine again, but this time doing the 5 watt and then the 50 
> Watt Calibration (the DL1 doesn't get very hot due to the short duty cycle).  
> At 5 Watts, the result is the same as above.  At 50 Watts, I see the 
> following for each frequency step:
> - The frequency to be used
> - The number 1.0
> This time it doesn't seem to be adjusting anything.  Maybe that was already 
> done at 5 Watts?  It just starts out at 1.0 and stays there.
> 
> After this calibration, pressing TUNE with the DL1 still connected and the 
> KAT3 still in BYPASS, I see 1.1 SWR.
> 
> So, what is going on?  It seems to me that if I adjust the transmitter using 
> DL1 as the reference for 1.0 SWR, then pressing TUNE with the DL1 attached 
> and KAT3 still in BYPASS should also give 1.0.
> 
> So, two question:
> (1)  What is the software adjusting that affects the SWR shown on the K3 
> front panel display?
> (2)  Why is the end result a lowest SWR of 1.1 instead of 1.0?
> 
> Thanks for any information.
> 
> Oliver Johns
> W6ODJ
> 
> PS:  Configuration information:
> K3 #1741, KPA3, KAT3, KBPF3, KTCXO3-1, KXV3, K3DSPUPGD upgrade, REMIOUPGD 
> upgrade, all Elecraft-recommended user mods up to 1 Jan 2010 done, and no 
> other mods done.  No KRX3.  No KXV3A upgrade.
> 
> 
> 
> 
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[Elecraft] K3: Strange SWR reading

[O . Johns]

Dear Dick,

I posted this problem on the reflector some time back, but noone picked up on 
it, so I'll try again.  This is a before and after story and has me puzzled.

BEFORE:  I connected DL1 dummy load to Ant 1 using only a BNC-MtoM and a 
PL259-FtoF (no coax at all, just small straight-through adapters).  I set the 
KAT3 to BYPASS.  I pressed TUNE and saw 1.0, on all bands.  Fine, this is what 
I expect.  Also, using my link-coupled external tuner with the antenna 
connected (I seldom use the KAT3), I was able to adjust to 1.0 on all bands 
(except 6 meters).

AFTER:  After the first time I ran the "Calibrate Transmitter Gain" routine 
from the Elecraft K3 Utility, I pressed TUNE with the DL1 still connected and 
saw a SWR reading of 1.1 on all bands, not 1.0 as before.  Also, when I use my 
external tuner, the lowest SWR I can obtain now is 1.1, not 1.0 as before.  

WHY?

I just upgraded the K3 (#1741) with all current mods and the new DSP board.  
So, I re-calibrated everything.  Same result re the 1.1 SWR reading.  

Here is what happens:

I attach the DL1 and set KAT3 to BYPASS as per the instructions.  I run through 
the steps and click on Calibrate in the 5 Watt page.  The calibration routine 
runs to completion successfully.  At every frequency I see on the K3 front 
panel readout the following two-step sequence:
- The frequency to be used
- The numbers 1.1 which quickly change to 1.0
It seems as if the software is adjusting something to get to 1.0 for the SWR.  
What?  I don't hear any clicks so doubt it is adjusting any toroids or 
capacitors the ATU.  Maybe it is adjusting the final transistor bias?  

After this calibration, pressing TUNE with the DL1 still connected and the KAT3 
still in BYPASS, I see 1.1 SWR.

I then did the routine again, but this time doing the 5 watt and then the 50 
Watt Calibration (the DL1 doesn't get very hot due to the short duty cycle).  
At 5 Watts, the result is the same as above.  At 50 Watts, I see the following 
for each frequency step:
- The frequency to be used
- The number 1.0
This time it doesn't seem to be adjusting anything.  Maybe that was already 
done at 5 Watts?  It just starts out at 1.0 and stays there.

After this calibration, pressing TUNE with the DL1 still connected and the KAT3 
still in BYPASS, I see 1.1 SWR.

So, what is going on?  It seems to me that if I adjust the transmitter using 
DL1 as the reference for 1.0 SWR, then pressing TUNE with the DL1 attached and 
KAT3 still in BYPASS should also give 1.0.

So, two question:
(1)  What is the software adjusting that affects the SWR shown on the K3 front 
panel display?
(2)  Why is the end result a lowest SWR of 1.1 instead of 1.0?

Thanks for any information.

Oliver Johns
W6ODJ

PS:  Configuration information:
K3 #1741, KPA3, KAT3, KBPF3, KTCXO3-1, KXV3, K3DSPUPGD upgrade, REMIOUPGD 
upgrade, all Elecraft-recommended user mods up to 1 Jan 2010 done, and no other 
mods done.  No KRX3.  No KXV3A upgrade.




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Re: [Elecraft] [HAM] Yamaha CM500 Headset is a WINNER (and a BARGAIN)

[O. Johns]

Ignacy,

I've found that it helps to put a small clip-on ferrite choke RIGHT AT the end 
of the CM500 mike boom, just before the actual electret element.  My problem is 
also 20 meters.

73,

Oliver
W6ODJ


On 23 Dec 2009, at 6:03 PM, Ignacy wrote:

> 
> I have one and the headphones are pretty good. However, there is RF pickup
> with high power on 20m. Probably KIO3 needs to be modified. There is no
> trace of RF pickup with Heil HC5. 
> Ignacy
> -- 
> View this message in context: 
> http://n2.nabble.com/Yamaha-CM500-Headset-is-a-WINNER-and-a-BARGAIN-tp4052975p4211513.html
> Sent from the [HAM] mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
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Re: [Elecraft] OT - Outlet Strips

[O. Johns]

Bet he did, one-forms at least.

Oliver
W6ODJ


On 8 Dec 2009, at 6:32 PM, Phil Hystad wrote:

> Even though it is OT, outlet strips are really boring.  Anyone up for a 
> discussion on whether Einstein even knew of the concept of 1-forms or 2-forms 
> when he developed his general theory of relativity.  Anything but outlet 
> strips.
> 
> On Dec 8, 2009, at 6:27 PM, Lee Buller wrote:
> 
>> Check out
>> 
>> www.cyberguys.com
>> 
>> ThenI do not have any interest in the above companyjust use them for 
>> a lot of stuff
>> 
>> Lee - K0Wa
>> 
>> 
>> In our day and age it seems that Common Sense is in short supply.  If you 
>> don't have any Common Sense - get some Common Sense and use it.  If you 
>> can't find any Common Sense, ask for help from somebody who has some Common 
>> Sense.  Is Common Sense divine?
>> 
>> Common Sense is the image of the Creator expressing revealed truth in my 
>> mind. -  J. Wolf
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> --- On Tue, 12/8/09, Edward Dickinson, III  wrote:
>> 
>> From: Edward Dickinson, III 
>> Subject: [Elecraft] OT - Outlet Strips
>> To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
>> Date: Tuesday, December 8, 2009, 3:40 PM
>> 
>> Wall warts are like Tribbles.
>> 
>> Has someone found the near perfect, readily available, budget outlet strip
>> for wall warts?
>> 
>> 
>> 73,
>> 
>> Dick - KA5KKT
>> 
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Re: [Elecraft] K3 Monitor feedback

[O. Johns]

Dear Mike,

Maybe you have solved this by now.  But, if not, my experience might be 
helpful.  I also noted a sort of rough feedback when listening to the monitor.  
In my case it was RF feedback.  Maybe you have had a rough SSB signal for some 
time and the monitor just revealed it to you?  

Anyhow, as Don Wilhelm says, the best thing is to look at your antenna feed 
situation to try to minimize feedback.  In my case, this was effective except 
on 20 meters.  Due to physical constraints that I can't change, my dipole 
antenna passes about 15 feet above the table with my K3 on it.  As it happens, 
on that one band, there is lots of RF around.  Maybe one of the power lines is 
resonant, don't know.  Anyhow, I tried lots of ferrite beads on various lines, 
which reduced but didn't eliminate the problem.  Finally, and this is my 
suggestion to you, I put a ferrite bead right at the end of the mike boom, just 
before the mike itself.  This killed the RF feedback for me.  (This is using 
the Yamaha CM500 headset that was written about earlier on the reflector.)  
Evidently the mike element itself is sensitive to RF.

Hope you've solved your problem by now.

73,
Oliver, W6ODJ



On 25 Nov 2009, at 6:01 PM, Mike wrote:

> I was playing with ALC and compression settings tonight, and turned on 
> the monitor function. If I turn it up high enough to hear myself (around 
> 9), I get a loud BRR squeal, that has an echoic component. 
> Difficult to describe.
> 
> I don't recall hearing that when I first set up the mic. I have V3.63.
> 
> How can I regain use of the monitor?
> 
> Mike NF4L
> 
> To those who celebrate tomorrow, Happy Thanksgiving.
> 
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Re: [Elecraft] Special offer

[O. Johns]

Probably the 15 pound limit on book rate?

Oliver
W6ODJ


On 25 Nov 2009, at 1:23 PM, Mark n2qt wrote:

> when I selected 3 or more handbooks with the USPO Book rate shipping the 
> shipping cost went to $999.00!  
> 
> Mark n2qt
> - Original Message - 
> From: "Paul Kirley" 
> To: 
> Sent: Wednesday, November 25, 2009 4:00 PM
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Special offer
> 
> 
>> Because I had been considering a new Owner's Manual for some time, 
>> I chose to bundle that with a Handbook.  The combined shipping 
>> wasn't a lot more than the Manual alone, which is obviously available 
>> only from Elecraft.
>> 
>> 73, Paul W8TM
>> 
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[Elecraft] Rev C KPA3 ??

[O. Johns]

Dear Wayne and Eric,

The alert "K3/100 Rev C KPA3 Spurious TX"  has alerted me to the fact that 
there IS a Revision C of the KPA3.  Apparently, it began shipping sometime in 
the spring of 2009.  Maybe one of you could tell us in some detail about the 
differences between Rev C and Rev B.  In particular:

(1)  Do the two revisions use the same transistors?

(2)  Are the IMD numbers different?

(3)  How and why is the circuit diagram different?

(4)  Would it benefit a customer with Rev B or earlier if he upgraded to the 
Rev C?

Thank you for the fine product.

73,

Oliver Johns
W6ODJ



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[Elecraft] [K3] swr anomaly

[O. Johns]

Folks,

Did the Xmtr power alignment with utility version 1.2.9.30 and  
firmware version 3.44.  Used the BL2 balun connected directly to the  
Ant1 port of the K3, using only straight-through adapters and no  
cable.  The five watt calibration ran to completion and all was well.   
BUT, after the calibration, I find that pressing and holding TUNE with  
the ATU in bypass mode now gives a swr of 1.1.  Before the  
calibration, it always gave 1.0.  I know this is a small point, since  
1.1 and 1.0 are only negligibly different.  But it bothers me,  
aesthetically.

Anyone have any idea how to fine-tune the swr reading on the K3?  I  
recall that on the K2, you adjusted the balance to do this.  But on  
the K3?  Seems that since the K3 was aligned using the BL2 as its  
reference, the BL2 should show 1.0 swr.  Not so?

73,
Oliver Johns
W6ODJ
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[Elecraft] [K3] Strange 500 kHz signal

[O. Johns]

Folks,

I've been monitoring 500 kHz using the Rx Antenna port with a home  
made loop.  (Wayne suggested this in an earlier reflector email since  
the Rx Antenna port bypasses the bandpass filters.)  Works fine.  I  
can hear KSM and local liberty ships loud and clear.  But ...

There is a strange spurious signal at 500.000 kHz +/- 2Hz.  It seems  
to be coming FROM the K3 since I can null it out by turning the null  
of my loop towards the K3, and also peak it by tuning the loop to  
resonance.  But it is not audible on the K3 when all antennas are  
disconnected.  There are also identical signals at 490, 510, ..., and  
even at 1680 on the other side of the AM BCST swamp.

The strange thing is that this spurious signal is present ONLY when  
the NB is activated on the K3.  (And, yes, I do mean NB and not NR.)

Where in the K3 is there a 10 kHz oscillator that is turned on and off  
by the NB button?

73,

Oliver Johns
W6ODJ
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[Elecraft] S-meter calibration

[O. Johns]

Dear Wayne,

I was also puzzled by this.  After I finished the RX gain calibration  
on the main receiver (no sub-receiver installed), the XG-2 at 50 uV  
showed S8.  Maybe the "finish" page in the K3 Utility RX calibration  
routine should say what the user should do now:  Which CONFIG items to  
adjust and, if any, which ones NOT to adjust.

BTW, what should the CONFIG:SMTR MD be set to during this  
calibration?  NOR or ABS?  Or does it matter?

73,
Oliver Johns
W6ODJ


On 7 Oct 2009, at 1:13 PM, Wayne Burdick wrote:

> Mike,
>
> Now that you've done rf gain cal, you'll still need to adjust SMTR OF
> & SC so that you get S9 with 50 uV and S2-3 with 1 uV. RF gain cal
> linearizes the dsp's internal representation, while SMTR OF & SC set
> the actual meter indication.
>
> Try the factory defaults first.
>
> 73,
> Wayne
>
> 
> http://www.elecraft.com
>
> On Oct 7, 2009, at 10:59 AM, "Mike Harris" 
> wrote:
>
>> G'day,
>>
>> My results are:
>>
>> Source - XG1, RX gain calibration per the utility routine:
>>
>> Subsequently:
>>
>> Main RX only, pre amp OFF  - 50uV (S9), 1uV (S2)
>>
>> Sub-RX ON therefore splitter loss:
>>
>> Main RX S8 & S1
>> Sub-RX  S7 & S0
>>
>> No big deal but not identical.
>>
>> As a matter of interest, the S-meter on the main RX had been set up
>> a year ago or more as above.  When I checked it before doing the RX
>> gain calibration I discovered that the 1uV and 50uV figures were S5
>> & S9.  Little wonder I thought the local noise level had been
>> creeping up!  Maybe after playing with the AGC parameters a re-cal
>> of the S-meter is required, maybe not, but something altered it.  I
>> assume that given the 50uV S9 setting was correct then it isn't
>> associated with the XG1.
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Mike VP8NO
>>
>>
>> - Original Message -
>> From: "Ken K3IU" 
>> To: "N1JM" 
>> Cc: 
>> Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 12:22 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Sub RX S-meter cal
>>
>>
>>> The S-meter Cal procedure in the manual worked up until about
>>> v.3.15 or
>>> so. Now I am pretty sure that it was NOT separately adjusting the
>>> SubRx
>>> S-meter, but I never checked, so I'm not sure. It doesn't really
>>> matter now.
>>>
>>> I have determined that, at least on my K3 (#202) running v3.41 et
>>> al,
>>> after running the RF Gain Calibration procedure and setting the
>>> MAIN Rx
>>> S-meter, the Sub Rx S-meter is spot on. It actually follows the
>>> adjustment for the Main Rx S-meter, i.e., set Main Rx at an
>>> extreme and
>>> the Sub Rx shows the exact same extreme.
>>>
>>> So... it looks to me like there is no reason to have a separate
>>> adjustment for the SubRx S-meter. I'm sure the manual will catch
>>> up.
>>>
>>> 73,
>>> Ken K3IU
>>
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Re: [Elecraft] Any solution to the audio blast issue yet ?

[O. Johns]

If I may chime in here, I hope very strongly that nobody is using deep- 
in-the-ear type earbuds with the K3 or any other radio.  TO DO SO  
MIGHT RUIN YOUR EARS.

I have some Shure deep-in-the-ear earbuds that I use with my iPod on  
airplane flights.  They have wonderful fidelity and also almost  
completely shut out the roar of the jet engines.  BUT, they take about  
ten seconds minimum to get out of my ears.  If some radio produced an  
anomalously loud blast while using them, your ears could be ruined  
before you could react.

I read an article a while back about an engineer who lost his hearing  
in just such an accident.  In the old days, many soundcard  
manufacturers installed their soundcards with a default of full  
volume.  This guy was trying a new soundcard using deep-in-the-ear  
earbuds.  By the time he could get them out of his ears, he had  
permanent damage.

73,
Oliver Johns
W6ODJ




On 25 Sep 2009, at 12:07 AM, Enno J. Korma, PF5X wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I wonder what the status of the audio 'artifact' or blast is.  
> According to
> PA4N, who uses F/W 3.30, it still happens, be it rarely. As a  
> headphone
> user, such audio blast is quite unacceptable to me and therefore I  
> hope
> Elecraft is addressing this issue with some priority.
>
> Can Lyle or Wayne comment on this ?? Thanks !
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Enno Korma, PF5X
>
> Malden, The Netherlands
> _
>
>  c...@dx.nl
>  pf5x.wordpress.com
>
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Re: [Elecraft] Re： Re： [K3] K3 VS 7600 Sher wood List

[O. Johns]

On 5 Sep 2009, at 8:39 PM, Johnny Siu wrote:

>
> Fourthly, I had used the entire IC756 family (i.e. IC756 original to  
> latest IC7600).  I fully understand how this family has been  
> evolving.   Similarly, I notice improvements of K2 and K3 throughout  
> the years.  My first K2 is #1146.  My K3 is the first batch when I  
> paid half the price as deposit and waited for a couple of months to  
> get my K3.

One thing of note here is that the K3 evolves by progressive updates  
that can be end-user installed.  Most are firmware updates, but some  
quite easy hardware tweaks.  So the EXPENSE of this evolution of the  
K3 is nearly zero, compared to the Icom path of just spending another  
$10k for the next iteration.

73, Tnx for your comments.

Oliver Johns
W6ODJ

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[Elecraft] K3: Success running LP-Pan on dual booted MacBook Pro

[O. Johns]

Setup:  Early Macbook Pro (actually the model before they changed the  
name to "Pro" but no significant difference here) 13" laptop, running  
Windows XP Pro SP3 as a dual boot under Boot Camp.  E-mu 0202  
soundcard.  USB to Serial converter USBG-232MINI (From http://www.usbgear.com 
. Based on FTDI FT232BM High-Speed USB UART IC as recommended by  
Larry, N8LP.) LP-Bridge 0.0.85 and Power SDR-IF Stage 0.92.  Elecraft  
K3.

Tricks:  (1) Go to the Device Manager and click on View:Show hidden  
drivers.  Find and disable the driver "Apple HAL".  This may require a  
reboot.  (This is mandatory if you want audio.  This driver just about  
maxes out the latency measured by the dpclat.exe utility 
.)
(2) Right click on the WiFi icon in the taskbar and disable the WiFi.   
(The WiFi is not a very bad actor.  It causes the audio to drop out  
from time to time, but it returns if you restart PowerSDR.)

Results:  After these two drivers are disabled, the audio is clear  
with no dropouts and the panadapter works well at 192kHz.   The CPU  
usage shown by Power SDR-IF Stage is around 22%, maybe peaking to 25%  
when tuning rapidly.  It seems that one could also run CW Skimmer and  
several other programs simultaneously with no problem, although I have  
not tested this.

Caveats:  I dual boot the machine.  I would not advise trying this  
setup with Parallels.  I do not know what the function of the disabled  
driver "Apple HAL" is.  It means "hardware abstraction layer".  I  
haven't done a thorough test to see what functions are lost by  
disabling it.  The machine seems to continue running perfectly well  
under XP, however.  It would probably be best to re-enable that driver  
before doing other things on the machine under XP.  (But the disabled  
Windows driver should have NO effect on the machine when booted into  
OSX, so you could leave it disabled and use the XP boot exclusively  
for your radio work, as I do.)

Note:  The latest drivers for the USBG-232MINI are found at 
.  They are "CDM 2.04.16.exe" for Windows,  
"FTDIUSBSerialDriver_v2_2_10.dmg" for the MacOSX, and  
"ftdi_sio.tar.gz" for Linux.  If you also install the OSX driver, you  
can use the 232MINI to update your K3 in MacOSX using the update  
utility from Elecraft.

Note:  If you do not care about the audio, the two drivers above do  
not need to be disabled.  The panadapter works fine at 192kHz even  
with them enabled.

73,
Oliver Johns
W6ODJ
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Re: [Elecraft] P3 ?

[O. Johns]

Dear Larry,

Big question:  QUADRATURE OUTPUTS??

It seems to me that if Elecraft does provide quadrature outputs from  
the P3, then, besides being a stand alone panadapter, the P3 might   
also effectively replace the LP_PAN unit .  You could just plug those  
quadrature outputs into your sound card and then use PowerSDR-IF stage  
and LP_Bridge on your computer just as if you had an LP_PAN.

Why do that?  If you just want a panadapter, then there is no reason  
to.  But if you want to use other features of PowerSDR like an  
alternate set of DSP implementations, maybe better audio, maybe more  
resolution on the screen, etc., then you can use those quadrature  
outputs with your computer and Power SDR to get that.  You'll  
effectively have a FlexRadio receiver on your desktop (K3 front end,  
PowerSDR back end) along with your K3 and its panadapter.

One benefit of the P3 is likely to be important only to people who  
have problems with RF in the shack.  The LP_PAN setup can be a rat's  
nest of cables and adapters.  It is very vulnerable to RF, and hard to  
get clean.  The P3, however, is all in one metal box, and is  
presumably tested by Elecraft to play well with the K3 when  
connected.  This could be an important benefit.  Of course, you might  
lose that benefit if you then connect things to the quadrature  
outputs.  :-)

Hope this is some food for thought.

73,
Oliver Johns
W6ODJ

On 11 Aug 2009, at 5:20 PM, telegrap...@att.net wrote:

> Now i guess what i have to ask is how will this affect up with the  
> LP Pan program and adapter?  I've got a brand new unit here not yet  
> implemented so not sure if i should go ahead and get it installed or  
> not.
>
> Larry
> W0OGH
>
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Re: [Elecraft] K3 Birdies: firmware-based fix in progress

[O. Johns]

Wayne,

Won't the birdies still show up on a panadapter?  They'll be  
mysterious blips that disappear when you click on them to tune them in?

--Oliver Johns,  W6ODJ


On 10 Feb 2009, at 9:09 AM, wayne burdick wrote:

> The K3 is a down-conversion superhet that uses high-level signal
> injection to achieve its excellent dynamic range. Short of adding many
> more pounds of shielding and elaborate cable dressing, there's no way
> to completely eliminate the few spurious signals that rise above the
> noise floor.
>
> These "Fast-tuning" birdies result from UHF harmonics of the signal
> sources that leak back into the main mixer. In some cases they combine
> and end up in either the I.F. or R.F./image range of the receiver.
> Typically, they involve 9th-order or higher harmonics of the VFO.
> That's what makes them "fast": if you move the VFO 100 Hz, the pitch  
> of
> the birdie will shift on the order of 1 to 2 kHz.
>
> While it is possible to attenuate some spurious responses by moving
> coax cables around, there is a firmware-based approach that we're
> working on. The general idea is to shift the 1st LO and BFO a small
> amount, simultaneously, when the VFO is tuned to specific frequencies.
> If the shift is small relative to the communications bandwidth in use,
> it will hardly be noticeable when the VFO is tuned over a "mapped out"
> spot in the tuning range.
>
> I have this new firmware nearly completed, and in early tests, it
> appears to work very well. Fast-tuning birdies that are mapped out
> pretty much disappear as the VFO is tuned over them. The upshot is  
> that
> you can have your cake (outstanding dynamic range in a rig that weighs
> less than 10 pounds) and eat it, too (no annoying birdies).
>
> If you'd like to try a field-test version of K3 firmware that includes
> this new feature, please e-mail me directly.
>
> 73,
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
> ---
>
> http://www.elecraft.com
>
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[Elecraft] K2 builders have company

[O. Johns]

This should be some comfort to K2 builders who have problems due to a  
bad solder joint.  There are problems and then there are PROBLEMS.



73,

Oliver Johns, W6ODJ
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Re: [Elecraft] OT-USB Serial Adapter

[O. Johns]

Dear Dave,

I'm using exactly that unit with my K3.  Works flawlessly.  You'll  
need a straight-through serial cable to connect it to your K3.  Be  
sure you have the latest driver for your OS.  (I use OSX here)  Get  
the driver at .


--Oliver W6ODJ


On 30 Dec 2008, at 4:05 AM, Dave Yarnes wrote:


Hi All,

For what it's worth, Buy.com currently has a Keyspan USB Serial  
Adapter on sale for $25 (reg. price $40).  It's the model USA-19HS.   
I don't have one of these (I use a couple of Belkin adapters), but  
I've seen other posts by folks who are using some Keyspan model  
successfully to connect their K3 to their laptops.  I can't attest  
as to whether or not this model works with a K3, but perhaps others  
can.  Anyway, if you are looking for such an adapter, this might be  
of interest.  These Buy.com specials tend to be good only for a day  
or two.


Dave W7AQK


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Re: [Elecraft] Woke Up With A Headache--No K3 ATU

[O. Johns]

Dear Bruce,

The K3 is, among other things, a computer.  So the computer rules  
apply:  First turn it off, unplug it, count to 20, and turn it back  
on.  If that fails, reset it.  The reset routine is on page 61 of the  
Owner's Manual (it's called Parameter Initialization).


Before trouble occurs (i.e. NOW),  be sure to back it up (another  
computer rule) by saving the configuration using the K3 Utility and  
your computer.  Then after you reset it, you can restore the  
configuration you worked so hard to get right.


--Oliver Johns, W6ODJ


On 30 Dec 2008, at 6:33 AM, Bruce McLaughlin wrote:

I believe the digital gods like to toy with us.  My K-3 has largely  
behaved
itself but several weeks ago it suddenly stopped producing RF when  
tune was

pressed.  Turning it on and off, etc., did not entice it to work.  It
however was working in all other respects, including producing RF  
when keyed
with the paddle.  I finally gave up and called Elecraft.  After a  
bit of
inquiry it was determined that somehow a "bit flipped in the code."   
After a
reset and a manual reentry of the various menu settings everything  
worked
fine and has continued to do so.  As far as I know, nothing unusual  
had
occurred before that situation developed.  In any event, I am glad  
your K-3

is working again.

Bruce-W8FU

-Original Message-
From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net
[mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Dave Yarnes
Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2008 6:44 AM
To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: [Elecraft] Woke Up With A Headache--No K3 ATU

Hi All,

When I went to bed last night, everything was A O K.  This morning,  
I turned


on the K3, and got an error message--no ATU!  Sure enough, the ATU  
would not


trigger.  K3 menu is set for ATU, and cycling the power on and off a  
few
times didn't seem to help.  However, perserverance wins, and finally  
a cycle


of power on and off restored the ATU!  Go figure!  ATU now seems to be
functioning O.K.

These microprocessors are indeed confounding devices.  I don't know  
if I
have something to worry about or not, but it concerns me since I've  
never

received an error message like that--at least not since I got the K3
properly up and running.  I hope this radio isn't going to get cranky!

Dave W7AQK


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Re: [Elecraft] Re: K3 Panadaptor/Bandscope

[O. Johns]

Another vote for a Mac OSX version when it appears.

--Oliver Johns
   W6ODJ


On 29 Dec 2008, at 3:34 PM, Joe Planisky wrote:


Yes, I'll second the desire for an OS X version of the Panadapter.

It's fantastic that there's an OS X version of the K3 Utility.  I  
hope it's a trend that Elecraft will continue with all future  
software products.


73
--
Joe KB8AP


On Dec 29, 2008, at 2:48 PM, David Ferrington, M0XDF wrote:


I hope if at all possible, it will work with a Mac and OSX

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[Elecraft] happy holidays to Wayne and Eric and tnx for the K3

[O. Johns]

Dear guys, and all the cast of supporting actors,

Happy Holidays to all of you!  May you get 20 or 30 minutes of well- 
deserved rest!  Hi, hi.


Just finished assembling K3 #1741.  What a great kit!  The fit and  
finish are extraordinary.  Tolerances are close, but it is a great  
pleasure to find that the last screw goes in as cleanly and easily as  
the first one did.


Also want to praise you guys on the ergonomics.  It is a pleasure to  
use this radio.  Lots of thought in that design.  It is designed by  
knob-twiddlers for knob-twiddlers.  What a joy!  So much to adjust,  
and all of it actually seems to make a difference.  I'm about 3/4 of  
the way up the learning curve.  Just played with NB and NR and now on  
to adjusting the fine points of AGC.


And, lo and behold, the NR and NB actually do something.  I am in the  
center of a city with about S8 RFI/QRM most evenings.  I find that NB  
and NR actually let me copy things that I can only hear dimly on my  
K2.  (Which is itself no slouch, BTW.)


So, happy holidays to all from a happy camper.

Oliver Johns
W6ODJ
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Re: [Elecraft] Re: K3 feeling of knobs and switches

[O. Johns]

Is this thread maybe related to the following problem?  The tap of the  
SPOT key is very goosey on my K3.  If I just tap it very briefly, the  
SPOT tone fails to come on.  I have to press it for just a fraction  
longer, but not long enough to register as a HOLD (which triggers the  
PITCH function).  Takes a delicate touch.


As a test, I turned on the audible switch-press feedback (CONFIG:SW  
TONE).  I find that even a very brief tap of the SPOT switch always  
makes the small feedback beep sound.  But only some of the time does  
it turn on the SPOT sidetone correctly.


Anyone else?

Oliver Johns
W6ODJ


On 18 Dec 2008, at 9:30 PM, wayne burdick wrote:


ab2tc wrote:

For the record, my readings are perfectly stable on one number even  
if I do

my best to "tease" the button press.


Not relevant to Hank's problem, though. The A-to-D converter has an  
inherent +/- 0.5 count ambiguity, and you just got lucky  :)


73,
Wayne
N6KR

---

http://www.elecraft.com

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Re: [K3] [Elecraft] Initial Settings

[O. Johns]

Dave,

Ah, my god, are you lucky if you don't need NB.  I live in the center  
of San Francisco, CA, and every tom dick and harry and every  
restaurant pizza oven and every cell phone tower (one block away) and  
every neighbor's numerous wall warts are spewing out RFI.  S-meter  
readings mean nothing.  It is S units (if any) above the man-made  
noise that matter.  When I finish my current project, a balanced  
antenna tuner, then I will assemble my new K3 and we'll start on the  
NB and NR and AGC and AFX merry-go-round.  The K2 noise reduction is  
almost useless against all this stuff, so I hope the K3 does better.


--73 Oliver W6ODJ


On 22 Nov 2008, at 6:03 AM, Dave G4AON wrote:


I don't need NB here, so can't comment. Noise reduction doesn't do
anything for me, no matter what I adjust it detracts from the signals.

73 Dave, G4AON
K3/100 #80 (Nov 2007 vintage)
===


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[Elecraft] [K3] K3AFMDKT

[O. Johns]

The K3AFMDKT mod kit for the K3 AF stage is listed in the Spare Parts  
and Mod Kits page, for $10.  But it is not yet listed on the  
Enhancements and Application Notes Page.  So there is no manual or  
descriptive pdf file that would let us judge whether a late K3 does or  
does not already have the mod installed.  Coming?


Oliver
W6ODJ
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Re: [Elecraft] sidetone range

[O. Johns]

Dear Joe,

I do use 740Hz as a work-around.  But, for me, the higher the better.   
From F#5 to A5 makes a difference.  I'd go even higher than 880Hz if  
there were available consonant tones between 880 and 1000.  But 880 is  
the highest possible with 10Hz increments, provided of course that  
Wayne and Lyle can be convinced to raise the bar above 800.


73,
Oliver Johns
W6ODJ


On 30 Sep 2008, at 9:31 PM, Joe Subich, W4TV wrote:





Why not use 700 Hz - it's less that 2 Hz from F4 (698.45 Hz) ...
or 740 Hz (F#5 - 739.99 Hz)?   780 Hz is only 3.99 Hz from G5.







-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of O. Johns
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2008 9:34 PM
To: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Cc: wayne burdick
Subject: [Elecraft] sidetone range


Dear Wayne and Lyle,

In the original specs for the K3
(and even now in the Tech Specs page:
<http://www.elecraft.com/K3/K3_specs.htm

)

the sidetone range was, quote, "CW Offset/Sidetone: 300-1000 Hz,
adjustable."

But the newer manuals, and the K3 itself I presume, have the range
limited to 300-800Hz.  I wonder why this was changed?  Was
there some
hardware or software reason, or did you just decide that no
one would
want a sidetone up to 1000Hz?

Now most people may not need a sidetone above 800Hz, but I do.  Here
are my reasons:

(1)  I have a hearing loss at low frequencies.  I know this is
unusual, but it is so.  It is hard for me to hear low pitches
clearly.  (I know the arguments about lower tones being easier to
separate in a QRM situation, but, alas, that is of no use to me.)
(2)  I will be listening to that sidetone a lot, and would
like to set
it at some exact musical pitch so as to preserve what remains of my
musical pitch sense.  Now 440 is a perfect A4.  But it is too
low for
me to hear.  What I need is 880, a perfect A5.  But this is above  
800.


Is there any chance that the upper limit could be moved back to
1000Hz, or at least to 900Hz so that it would include 880Hz?

Thanks and 73,
Oliver Johns
W6ODJ



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[Elecraft] multiple posts re: sidetone range

[O. Johns]

Sorry for the duplicates.  Evidently emails to Wayne and Lyle get  
forwarded automatically to the reflector.


73,
Oliver Johns
W6ODJ
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[Elecraft] sidetone range

[O. Johns]

Dear Wayne and Lyle,

In the original specs for the K3
(and even now in the Tech Specs page: )
the sidetone range was, quote, "CW Offset/Sidetone: 300-1000 Hz,  
adjustable."


But the newer manuals, and the K3 itself I presume, have the range  
limited to 300-800Hz.  I wonder why this was changed?  Was there some  
hardware or software reason, or did you just decide that no one would  
want a sidetone up to 1000Hz?


Now most people may not need a sidetone above 800Hz, but I do.  Here  
are my reasons:


(1)  I have a hearing loss at low frequencies.  I know this is  
unusual, but it is so.  It is hard for me to hear low pitches  
clearly.  (I know the arguments about lower tones being easier to  
separate in a QRM situation, but, alas, that is of no use to me.)
(2)  I will be listening to that sidetone a lot, and would like to set  
it at some exact musical pitch so as to preserve what remains of my  
musical pitch sense.  Now 440 is a perfect A4.  But it is too low for  
me to hear.  What I need is 880, a perfect A5.  But this is above 800.


Is there any chance that the upper limit could be moved back to  
1000Hz, or at least to 900Hz so that it would include 880Hz?


Thanks and 73,
Oliver Johns
W6ODJ



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[Elecraft] K3 #1741 arrives

[O. Johns]

For the record --  K3/100 kit serial number 1741

Ordered 20 May 2008
Shipped from Aptos 17 September 2008
Arrived in SF 18 September 2008

Thanks to all at Elecraft, including the efficient Katie.

Oliver Johns
W6ODJ
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Re: [Elecraft] K3 - Numeric SWR Display

[O. Johns]

An adequate and not too expensive vector analyzer is the VA1 by Autek  
Research.  It reads resistance and reactance (including its sign)  
directly and also has a function that automatically calculates the Z  
at your antenna even though you are measuring at the rig end of your  
transmission line.  It is tiny and and battery operated and hence can  
be used on balanced lines without unbalancing things very much.
I have no connection with the company, just a satisfied customer.  Use  
google to find them.


--Oliver Johns
   W6ODJ

On 17 Sep 2008, at 3:52 PM, Bill W5WVO wrote:


I should add that you CAN adjust an antenna for minimum SWR at the
transmitter, but when you do that, you are in all likehood
including some non-zero feedpoint reactance in the net impedance,
and this is being observed through the length of your transmission
line, which then becomes part of the overall load the transmitter
sees. If you subsequently change the length of the transmission
line, you will no longer have Z=50 ohms at the transmitter. If you
tune the antenna for TRUE resonance (zero reactance, R=50), then
you can put any length of transmission line on it that you want
to, and it will behave just the same.

I know we all got along without the MFJ-259B for years, just going
by guess and by gosh (or sweating over Smith charts), but now that
we can actually tell what is happening in an antenna so easily,
it's crazy not to use one. Beg, borrow, steal, or if necessary buy
one, and learn how to use it. You won't regret it! Greatest thing
since CW killed King Spark. :-)

Bill W5WVO

- Original Message -
From: "Bill W5WVO" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Cranz Nichols" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "LIST - elecraft"

Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 4:39 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 - Numeric SWR Display



Actually, looking at transmission line SWR at the transmitter is

a

poor way to adjust an antenna. To get it right, you need to use

a

complex impedance analyzer like the now-ubiquitous MFJ-259B (or
equivalant instrument), and put it as close to the antenna
feedpoint as possible. Adjust as close as you can get for Xc=0,
Xl=0, R=50. You can't do that with an SWR bridge! :-)

Bill W5WVO

- Original Message -
From: "Cranz Nichols" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "LIST - elecraft" 
Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 3:53 PM
Subject: [Elecraft] K3 - Numeric SWR Display



I need to adjust the gamma matches on my 10/15M delta loop.

Is there a way to bypass the internal ATU and have the K3

display the SWR it

sees numerically?

Should dig out my old SWR bridge?

cln
WB5BKL
K3 #231


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Re: [Elecraft] Antenna Tuner versus Antenna Analizer ?

[O. Johns]

Paul,

As an addendum to the excellent summary by Bruce - W8FU, let me add  
that the Buddipole antennas are designed to match a 50 ohm coax feeder  
pretty well.  They are off-center fed to get near to the correct 50  
ohm impedance.  So if you use the K3 antenna tuner and the Buddipole  
you won't have too much loss in the coax line.  However, the Buddipole  
is a short dipole and as such not a particularly efficient radiator.   
You may find that with the 100 watts output of the K3 you will do very  
well with the Buddipole.  But at some later stage of your career you  
may want to have a longer piece of wire.  A non-resonant doublet of  
66ft or more fed at the center with 450 ohm ladder line is a good  
minimum.  BUT, don't get rid of your Buddipole.  It is great for Field  
Day.


Good luck and 73,

Oliver Johns - W6ODJ


On 10 Sep 2008, at 3:46 PM, Paul Maruna wrote:

I bought a buddipole antenna system and I want to get one of the  
subject units but I don't know the difference between them, and what  
each one does, and which one will help me with the setup with my K3  
and my antenna system ?


When I bought my K3 I also bought a KAT3 which I believe is an  
antenna tuner for the K3 -- Will this do the same thing to match the  
antenna to the K3, or am I better off getting another unit like a  
LDG Z-100 or an LDG AT-200 Pro or something else like one of the MFJ  
units ?


Where does the "baluns" come into this play with either unit ?

I am just a Technician class and am studying for the General class  
and I have not built the K3 that I have yet, and all this antenna  
stuff is pretty confusing.


Can anyone help please ?

Thank you,
Paul
(73)
KD8HWP
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Re: [Elecraft] RE: balanced tuner

[O. Johns]

Ron,

Very pretty job!  Do you recall the (approx) capacitance range of the  
split-stator and link capacitors?  Also, your pdf file says 3" acrylic  
tubing for main coil.  Is it 3" or 2" ?  How many turns on your 10  
meter and 160 meter coil and link?  (I assume the pictures show the  
80-10 version.)


I'm becoming more and more convinced that a current balun either at  
input or output of even a true BALANCED-L tuner will NOT insure a  
balanced system, even if the ladder line and antenna are balanced  
(which they seldom are).  The brute fact is that, with or without a  
balun, you're connecting one side of the line to ground at the rig,  
making it unbalanced by construction.  Current baluns will impede  
common-mode current, true.  That will keep RF off of the rig.  But  
they will not give the other benefit of a balanced system, that the  
ladder line to the antenna won't radiate, or pick up noise on  
receive.  So your kind of tuner is very appealing.  Old ideas  
sometimes work.  Now all you need is an electrostatic shield between  
the link and the main windings, hi hi.


73,
Oliver W6ODJ


On 16 Aug 2008, at 8:21 PM, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:


Very nice, Steve!

You can see my homebrew balanced tuner in the picture with my  
listing on

www.QRZ.com/ac7ac.

The alligator clips attached to the wires above the coil are for the  
antenna
feeder connections. There are two alligator clips nearer the bottom  
that

short out turns as needed. The knob on the end operates a split stator
capacitor directly under the coil. The knob on the front operates the
variable in series with the link to control the coupling. That coil  
actually

plugs in. It works FB from 80 through 10. I have a larger coil for 160
meters. The coil form is a 2" acrylic tube with four 1/4" tubes  
glued to it

to space the turns away for easy tapping with the alligator clips.

The "case" is 1/8" hardened masonite (a pressed wood product) with a  
1/2"

wood base and uses aluminum angle for the corner fittings. The top is
acrylic sheet to handle whatever RF voltages might appear between the
fittings. The variable has 1/4" plate spacing for high voltages. It  
works

very well.

A PDF file with close-up photos and more details is available at
www.cobi.biz/ac7ac.pdf

Ron AC7AC

-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of list1
Sent: Saturday, August 16, 2008 3:43 PM
To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: [Elecraft] RE: balanced tuner


Hi All,
Just finished mine.
Works Well so far.
I have some pictures here:
http://www.pituch.net/Steve%27s%20Page/Radio/Link%20Coupled%20Tuner/tuner1.h
tml
or just drill down from:
http://www.pituch.net/
No documentation yet..later.

Elecraft should make it a kit... hi  hi.

Steve, W2MY

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[Elecraft] HamSphere

[O. Johns]

Folks,

If you have a Mac and download the zip file from the HamSphere web  
page, note that simply double-clicking that zip file will NOT produce  
the jar file you need.  The Mac will unzip and then go ahead and un- 
jar the jar file, resulting in a collection of class files in a nest  
of directories.  I found that does not work.


So, to use HamSphere on the Mac, first download the zip file and put  
it in some new folder you make for that purpose.  Then open Terminal  
and cd to that folder.  Now, in Terminal, do "unzip .zip" where  
the  is the prefix of the zip file.  That will do what you want.   
A jar file will appear, and that jar file will run correctly.


Now close Terminal and double click on the jar file you just created.   
Should work unless something is wrong with your java setup.


73,
Oliver W6ODJ
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Re: [Elecraft] Virtual Elecraft Users Net anyone?

[O. Johns]

Julian,

I had a laminectomy once, after a couple of years of agony.  I  
sympathise with you being consigned to bed with disk damage.  Hope  
rest cures you.  The good news is that it usually does, although it  
seems to take forever when you are the one forced to stay horizontal.


Do you know how to FORM a net on Hamsphere?  If you do, I'd be willing  
to join a bunch of people to chat with you about Elecraft radios.


Oliver  W6ODJ


On 15 Aug 2008, at 12:32 PM, Julian, G4ILO wrote:



Would any Elecraft users be interested in getting together for an  
online chat

using HamSphere (www.hamsphere.com)?

Don't scoff. I've heard all the arguments about what is the point of  
a VOIP
simulation of amateur radio. I've made most of them myself.  
Unfortunately,
due to injuring my back while trying to improve my antenna for 80m  
in order

to participate in the real UK Elecraft net, I find myself horizontally
polarized, unable to access the shack, bored, and fed up with what I  
can

hear on my bedside table FT-817 and Miracle Whip.

I came across this virtual ionosphere and thought that it is a  
rather clever
piece of programming that gives a real feel of radio, unlike QSONet  
which

you may of heard of. Unfortunately, there is hardly any activity on it
(perhaps the simulation is really too good) and the developer has even
threatened to shut it down, which would be a shame after so much work.

There is a precedent for having a VOIP based ham radio net.  
FlexRadio users
apparently have a net on the commercial QSONet service. I would have  
found

that ironic...

HamSphere is free, and is written in Java so it runs on Windows,  
Linux and

Mac (I'm using it on Linux at the moment.)

I'm open to suggestions as to what would be the best time for a net.  
For
starters I'd suggest 2230 UTC, not too late for Europeans and not  
too early

for those in the US. What evening to try? Saturday? For the sake of a
frequency I'll suggest virtual 7.065 +/- QRM, but as the system has a
virtual DX cluster we should be easy enough to find.

Even if no-one is interested in the idea of a net, if you are  
intrigued
enough to install the HamSphere software and you see me on, I'm  
probably

bored and would appreciate a chat.

-
Julian, G4ILO
http://www.g4ilo.com/ G4ILO's Shack
http://www.ham-directory.com/ Ham Directory
--
View this message in context: 
http://n2.nabble.com/Virtual-Elecraft-Users-Net-anyone--tp726815p726815.html
Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com.

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Re: [Elecraft] K3: Voice pitch adjustment on SSB

[O. Johns]

Jim,

Does conjure up a picture, doesn't it?  Of course, only net control  
would transmit.  The others would just blow and listen.  And, of  
course, actual pitch pipes are not the way to go.  Too spectrally  
impure.


73,

Oliver W6ODJ


On 14 Aug 2008, at 5:14 PM, Jim Cox wrote:

Would love to hear a bunch of hams with pitch pipes.   I think we  
have enough qrm as it is.  Thanks goodness I stay away from nets.
Jim K4JAF



- Original Message - From: "O. Johns" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Jim Cox" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2008 7:00 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3: Voice pitch adjustment on SSB



Nope.  Not kidding.  Not at all.

73,
W6ODJ

On 14 Aug 2008, at 4:54 PM, Jim Cox wrote:

I think your a bit ahead of Aprils Fools day!  You must be kidding  
OM


----- Original Message - From: "O. Johns"  
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

To: 
Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2008 6:41 PM
Subject: [Elecraft] K3: Voice pitch adjustment on SSB



Folks,
I read the web pages about ESSB, after seeing on the reflector   
that the K3 now supports it.  It struck me that even ESSB  
doesn't  solve one big issue with voice transmission: PITCH.   
Tuning the  SSB receiver changes the overall pitch of the  
received voice.   Unless you have met the sending ham or at least  
talked to him/her  on the phone (or on AM!!), you have no real  
idea how high- or low- pitched the voice really is.  One can only  
guess, and get a sort  of feel for what a reasonable tuning is.
One way to solve this may seem a joke, but it isn't.  Everyone   
should buy a little 440 Hz pitch pipe, the kind used to tune   
musical instruments.  Then, say, the net control could blow his   
pitch pipe at the start of the net and all the listeners could   
blow their little pitch pipes while listening to net control.
They would all then adjust their receiver tunings until the   
pitches matched.  Like a shortwave orchestra tuning up.  (Of   
course, this might violate the FCC rule against music on ham   
radio, but maybe not if the pitch pipe was near a pure sine  
wave.   Then the signal transmitted by net control would be just  
an  ordinary CW signal, but at 440 Hz from the net control's   
suppressed carrier.)
A refinement would be to build a pure 440 Hz tone generator into   
the microphone preamps of radios.  Net control pushes a button   
while transmitting and it goes out over the air.  The net  
members  push another button while receiving to produce a 440 Hz  
tone in  their speakers along with the received signal from net  
control.   Then the receiving operators adjust their receiver  
tuning until  the pitches coincide.  For the tone challenged  
among us, the  receiver tuning could even be automated, much like  
the K3 already  does for sidetone on CW.
This scheme came to me when I was adjusting the audio parameters  
on  my K2.  I had the K2 running into a dummy load, and was  
listening  to it on headphones plugged into a TenTec RX320D  
across the room.   Since the K2 was on a dummy load, I tried  
whistling and was  surprised and pleased to find that the PITCH  
of my whistle didn't  match the one I was hearing on the phones.   
But I could adjust the  RX320D tuning until they did match.   
Guarantee of zero beat and  realistic pitch in voice reception.
Doesn't seem that this would be too hard to do.  Maybe the K3   
could even do it in firmware?

73,
Oliver Johns W6ODJ
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[Elecraft] K3: Voice pitch adjustment on SSB

[O. Johns]

Folks,

I read the web pages about ESSB, after seeing on the reflector that  
the K3 now supports it.  It struck me that even ESSB doesn't solve one  
big issue with voice transmission: PITCH.  Tuning the SSB receiver  
changes the overall pitch of the received voice.  Unless you have met  
the sending ham or at least talked to him/her on the phone (or on  
AM!!), you have no real idea how high- or low-pitched the voice really  
is.  One can only guess, and get a sort of feel for what a reasonable  
tuning is.


One way to solve this may seem a joke, but it isn't.  Everyone should  
buy a little 440 Hz pitch pipe, the kind used to tune musical  
instruments.  Then, say, the net control could blow his pitch pipe at  
the start of the net and all the listeners could blow their little  
pitch pipes while listening to net control.  They would all then  
adjust their receiver tunings until the pitches matched.  Like a  
shortwave orchestra tuning up.  (Of course, this might violate the FCC  
rule against music on ham radio, but maybe not if the pitch pipe was  
near a pure sine wave.  Then the signal transmitted by net control  
would be just an ordinary CW signal, but at 440 Hz from the net  
control's suppressed carrier.)


A refinement would be to build a pure 440 Hz tone generator into the  
microphone preamps of radios.  Net control pushes a button while  
transmitting and it goes out over the air.  The net members push  
another button while receiving to produce a 440 Hz tone in their  
speakers along with the received signal from net control.  Then the  
receiving operators adjust their receiver tuning until the pitches  
coincide.  For the tone challenged among us, the receiver tuning could  
even be automated, much like the K3 already does for sidetone on CW.


This scheme came to me when I was adjusting the audio parameters on my  
K2.  I had the K2 running into a dummy load, and was listening to it  
on headphones plugged into a TenTec RX320D across the room.  Since the  
K2 was on a dummy load, I tried whistling and was surprised and  
pleased to find that the PITCH of my whistle didn't match the one I  
was hearing on the phones.  But I could adjust the RX320D tuning until  
they did match.  Guarantee of zero beat and realistic pitch in voice  
reception.


Doesn't seem that this would be too hard to do.  Maybe the K3 could  
even do it in firmware?



73,

Oliver Johns W6ODJ
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[Elecraft] K2 tuning question

[O. Johns]

Folks,

I noticed recently that when I set my K2 to .00 and then press the  
RATE  button to change the display to .0, the following happens:


When I tune one way (can't remember if it's up or down) to .y and  
then press the RATE button again, I see something like .y0  This  
is what I'd expect.


But when I tune the other way to .z and then press the RATE button  
again, I see something like .z5


It seems that the K2 is adding a 5 in the last digit when tuning in  
one direction (and not the other) with the last digit hidden.  This I  
do not expect.


Is this normal?  Sure is annoying.

73,

Oliver Johns
W6ODJ
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[Elecraft] K3: will sidetone ever go from 300 to 1000 by 10 Hz increments?

[O. Johns]

Can Lyle or someone tell me if there are plans to have the sidetone  
run from 300 to 1000 by 10 Hz increments in some future firmware  
version?  Is there some basic reason it can't be done?  I note that  
page 9 of the K3 Owners Manual C1 says that the sidetone is adjustable  
from 300 to 1000 Hz.  Is that / will that be / so?


Sorry for the nonsense below.  I wrote before thinking.  Actually, a  
serial number specifying one of the 15 different pitches in the range  
from 300 to 1000 Hz by 50 Hz increments can be saved in ONE four-bit  
register (2 to the 4th = 16).  And a serial number specifying one of  
the 71 different pitches in the range from 300 to 1000 by 10 Hz  
increments can be saved, with lots of room to spare, in TWO four-bit  
registers (2 to the 8th = 256).  So at worst, the storage used would  
be one byte, not nine.


***
Incorrect information posted earlier is:
I wonder if the problem here is memory register space.  From 300 to  
1000 with 50 Hz increments  would be 15 different pitches, just shy of  
two bytes of memory space to record.  The same range with 10 Hz  
increments, it would be 71 different pitches, requiring nine bytes of  
memory space to record.



73,
Oliver Johns
W6ODJ
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Re: [Elecraft] Re: Zero beat hint and why 800 hz maximum?

[O. Johns]

David,

The well-tempered scale is logarithmic, in a sense.  Each semitone  
frequency is gotten from the just-lower one by multiplying by the  
twelfth root of 2.  That way 12 semitone steps automatically make a  
perfect octave (factor of 2 in frequency).  If you're gonna have  
twelve notes in a chromatic scale, and gonna have all the musical keys  
sound more or less the same (all equally bad according to the purists)  
then you pretty much are stuck with this irrational ratio.


Hey, I just RTFM.  On page 9 of the K3 Owners Manual C1 it says that  
the sidetone is adjustable from 300 to 1000 Hz.  Is that really so?  I  
can't find anything in the manual about increments.  I haven't ordered  
a K3 yet, so can't check.  Is the increment really 50 Hz, anyone?


I'd be happy if the K3 sidetone/offset just went up to 880 instead of  
stopping at 800.  Of course, 880 requires 10 Hz increments.  I wonder  
if the problem here is memory register space.  From 300 to 1000 with  
50 Hz increments  would be 15 different pitches, just shy of two bytes  
of memory space to record.  The same range with 10 Hz increments, it  
would be 71 different pitches, requiring nine bytes of memory space to  
record.


73,
Oliver Johns
W6ODJ


On 17 May 2008, at 4:36 AM, David Woolley (E.L) wrote:


O. Johns wrote:

Also, 740.0 is within a fraction of a Hertz of a correctly tuned  
(well-tempered tuning) F#.  So there is good reason to have the  
increments of sidetone pitch be 10 Hz rather than 50 Hz.


Might it not be better to use a logarithmic scale (e.g. equal  
tempered semi-tones) or a near logarithmic scale, with rational  
frequency ratios (natural (is this "well tempered"?) semitones).


--
David Woolley
"The Elecraft list is a forum for the discussion of topics related  
to Elecraft products and more general topics related ham radio"

List Guidelines <http://www.elecraft.com/elecraft_list_guidelines.htm>
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Re: [Elecraft] Re: Zero beat hint and why 800hz maximum?

[O. Johns]

Dear Lexa,

I'm glad to hear that 10 Hz increments are at least being considered.   
That would be a big help.  Even the K2 has 10 Hz increments.


But there is still the issue of the highest pitch allowed.  Different  
people have very different ears.  For me, the higher tones are much  
easier to hear, probably because of some hearing loss at midrange  
frequencies.  It seems that an 800 Hz top is just too low.  A top of  
1000 Hz or more would be much better for some of us.


Wayne, is a raising of the top from 800 to 1000 or higher being  
considered?  Is it even possible?


73,
Oliver Johns
W6ODJ


On 15 May 2008, at 10:33 AM, Alexandr Kobranov wrote:




O. Johns napsal(a):
I'd suggest that, if the hardware registers permit it, the firmware  
on the K3 should allow a sidetone from 200 Hz to 1000 Hz by 10 Hz  
increments.

Increment of 10Hz is also listed on wish-list on
http://www.zerobeat.net/smf/index.php/board,25.0.html

will be very useful,
73!
Lexa, OK1DST
K3/10 #727

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Re: [Elecraft] Re: Zero beat hint and why 800hz maximum?

[O. Johns]

Dear Wayne,

A pitch of 880 Hz is an exactly tuned A, twice the canonical 440 that  
orchestras are tuned to.  Musical people might like to use 880 to  
avoid upsetting their sense of pitch by hearing an off-key sidetone  
all day.  Also, 740.0 is within a fraction of a Hertz of a correctly  
tuned (well-tempered tuning) F#.  So there is good reason to have the  
increments of sidetone pitch be 10 Hz rather than 50 Hz.


I'd suggest that, if the hardware registers permit it, the firmware on  
the K3 should allow a sidetone from 200 Hz to 1000 Hz by 10 Hz  
increments.


By the way, I find on my K2 that setting the sidetone readout to 730  
actually gives an audio pitch of 740 Hz.  But setting to 440 actually  
gives 440.  This is the result of granularity in the registers, I  
assume.  On the K3, the actual pitches should be within 1Hz of their  
settings, or so I hope.


73,
Oliver Johns
W6ODJ


On 14 May 2008, at 9:36 AM, wayne burdick wrote:

800 Hz is the highest pitch you can select for your sidetone. But  
this has no effect on auto-spot. It will search the same amount  
above/below any selected pitch.


On May 14, 2008, at 9:27 AM, G4ILO wrote:




K4IA wrote:


On another note, I have to question why a  pitch of 800hz is the  
maximum

the
K3 will allow.



---

http://www.elecraft.com

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Re: [Elecraft] K2/KPA100 40M SSB ALC Problem?

[O. Johns]

Dear Don,

Nice tip.  Thank you.  Do you or does anyone have a pointer to the  
place where Gary Surrency describes this mod and what in detail it  
does?  If one does the KI6WX "Increased RF Gain" mod, and also puts a  
2.2K resistor across R1 as described in KI6WX's "KSB2 Reduced  
Intermodulation Distortion Modification", is the mod you describe  
below still a good idea?  Or at least not a bad one?  I have a 10 watt  
K2 that may or may not ever have the 100 watt amplifier.


And welcome back.

73,
Oliver Johns W6ODJ

On 25 Feb 2008, at 5:31 AM, Don Wilhelm wrote:

The conditions you describe are almost identical to the behavior  
experienced when the KI6WX SSB Increased RF Gain mod is added to the  
KSB2 board, *and* the KPA100 is also in-line.  The result of that  
combination is that there is more overall RF gain than the KSB2 ALC  
circuits can handle.  Your K2/100 may have a bit more available RF  
gain on 40 meters than the average K2.


The fix for the above is to change the KSB2 board ALC.  1) Cut the  
trace on the top of the board between P1 pin 6 and the base of Q1.   
2) Install a 1k resistor over the previous cut (between P1 pin 6 and  
the base of Q1).  3) Change the value of R9 to 1.5k.  These changes  
were first suggested by Gary Surrency of Elecraft support.


You gentlemen may wish to try this even if you do not have the KI6WX  
mod installed.  I do not believe it will cause any other difficulties.


It is a mystery to me why the situation is not present with the  
display in ALC mode, but then I am not familiar with all the  
internal workings of the KSB2 firmware.  My guess is that the slight  
additional load provided when monitoring the ALC level is sufficient  
to control the overdrive.


73,
Don W3FPR

[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

Hi All,
My K2 ser no. 4688 and KPA100 bought 11/07 work FB on cw.
On 40m SSB I have noticed a fault condition with my KPA100. On  
power cycle or mode change, if the power control is not set to  
maximum, but set so the KPA100 is 'in-line' say 20w. The power  
output by the KPA100 will be the full power output i.e. 100w and  
not 20w. This is correctly indicated on the K2 power meter  
accompanied with voice peaks coming through the speaker.

You can imagine the problems this causes if driving an amplifier.
This fault condition can be cured by doing either of the following:
1) Select ALC function on the K2 meter.
2) Whilst talking into the microphone vary the power ctrl to full  
then back down to the required power level.
In both cases the ALC suddenly wakes up and brings the power down  
to 20w.
The worrying thing is that I described this fault condition to  
another similar ser no K2 owner and he tried and found the same  
thing happening on his. It's early days yet and we have yet to get  
together and really nail down the similarities, but I ask you what  
hardware problem could be sorted by a simple front panel key press?  
I hesitate before suggesting this is a firmware problem as so many  
owners have not noticed this before. Please could any K2 owners of  
a similar ser no try this simple test and post their findings?

Doug GM0ELP
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[Elecraft] bjork

[O. Johns]

Bjork's new video Wanderlust has that name in morse sent just at the  
end of the video.





Media penetration!!

73,
Oliver Johns
W6ODJ
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