Have you tried adjusting AGC THR? Increasing the level increases the point at
which AGC starts to operate and should stop weak signals being reduced to
the level of noise.
It's puzzling that the S-meter decreases when AGC is off but I think that is
normal. My K3 does the same, but the audio out
I believe the external transverters have slightly better NF than the internal
one, which could be an additional advantage for the kind of things you seem
to be interested in. If you can't build it yourself then I believe that the
folks who advertise that they will build K2s for people will build
John - I'm sure everyone will have a different opinion.and if you include
rigs of the past, then what was once good really may not be comparable to
today's radios.but radios that I have enjoyed using in the past - that I
thought were good performers at the time I owned them -- include Signal/One
Hi folks
Many thanks to all and especially to Don who replied to my K2 problems,
Due to circumstances it is now in the hands of a fellow G ham who has
offered to sort it out for me,
any information I get regarding its stay in hospital and recovery, I will
pass on in due course as it may be of
And that is why it will be the radio that will stay forever at your shack once
it arrived.
AD4C
For a refined ham it is compulsory to own a k3
--- On Sun, 1/31/10, Rick Tavan N6XI rta...@gmail.com wrote:
From: Rick Tavan N6XI rta...@gmail.com
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 on the way
To:
Like you just said,everyone will have a different opinion but mine is that the
second best rig which is very close to our K3's in performance is the Tentec
Orion II that I owned as well in the past and sold because of been too big on
the desk.
AD4C
For a refined ham it is compulsory to
I confirm this behavior (apparent high level of noise) but I am afraid it is
not an issue of the K3 but an issued of the other radios while most other
radios are inaccurate. K3's smeter is accurate and shows the reality. You
may eventualy calibrate the smeter (especially Offset) but switching OFF
On Sun, 31 Jan 2010 01:34:52 -0800 (PST), Julian, G4ILO
julian.g4...@gmail.com wrote:
Yes.
Both 2m and 70cm using the Elecraft XVTRS. Both work very well.
Tom, N5GE
n...@n5ge.com
K3 #806 with SUB RX, K3 #1055, PR6,
XV144, XV432, KRC2,
W1, 2 W2's and other small kits
1 K144XV on order
On Sun, 31 Jan 2010 02:40:14 -0700, Greg n...@cableone.net wrote:
Drake C-Line Twins and Drake TR7/R7
Tom, N5GE
n...@n5ge.com
K3 #806 with SUB RX, K3 #1055, PR6,
XV144, XV432, KRC2,
W1, 2 W2's and other small kits
1 K144XV on order
http://www.n5ge.com
http://www.swotrc.net
John - I'm sure
Conway,
Does your counter probe report a frequency reading when plugged into
TP1? If so, the probe is working, if not, then your problem is with
either the probe itself or the Q9 and Q10 circuits on the Control Board.
If (and only if) the probe works in TP1, then do the following -
otherwise
I think you'll find that the FW card takes fewer resources than a USB card, at
least that's what I've found as a general rule. On my system anyway, the PCI
sound cards take the least resources, followed by FW, followed by USB. The same
is generally true of serial ports. If you have a desktop
It has started with complains of some of our contacts in the contest. They
told us that the weighting of out TX CW is not standard.
Two channel oscilloscope was brought into shack and 3 K3 tcvrs were checked:
SN 1651 SW ver 3.06
SN 2929 SW ver 3.68
SN 3553 SW ver. 3.41
On all 3 units series of
Hi all,
I just completed the control and front panel board builds yesterday. The kit
is really remarkable, even the mounting of the LCD and diffuser basically
went off without a hitch. I did have a capacitor left over at the end of the
front panel build. Went back through the manual and saw the
What I have noticed is that K3 internal keyer weight changes between VOX and
use of footswitch.
I tend to press footswitch time to time to prevent amplifier relay sound (
AL1200 relay is loud ) but noticed this bit annoying feature after trying K3
internal keyer instead of microkeyer.
The
LS,
You may want to add the header for the AUX RF before you mount the heat
sink on the K2 RF Board, and that part is included with the KPA100 kit.
All other changes or additions are easily accessible by removing the
bottom cover. Removing the heat sink is not a nasty chore, but is more
Lance,
Yes, switching OFF the AGC does lower smeter reading: I also confirm but
HERE by one or two units only maximum but it it also lowers reading for all
values of incoming signal and S9 becomes S8/S7... (here).
I think if I recalibrate with AGC OFF, I will have same readings.
Yours may be
K3.While barefoot and transmitting SSB, The power drops to zero. Start
over and only a few words before drop off. Turned off and on several times.
Any idea?
Phil
Philip LaMarche
LaMarche Enterprises, Inc.
www.w9dvm.com http://www.w9dvm.com/
727-944-3226
FAX 727-937-8834
K3
Julian:
Welcome to the world of computer planned obsolescence!
PCI-E cards are still expensive as PCI-E has not made much of an inroad in
PC architecture yet. More in Mac than PC. Also, the specs for PCI-E cards
have not shaken out yet. So there are quite a lot of variables in the
quality
I'm sure you're correct, but I went to the FW card because of problems with the
built-in sound card. Presumably that had the least overhead of all.
Wes N7WS
--- On Sun, 1/31/10, Larry Phipps n...@telepostinc.com wrote:
From: Larry Phipps n...@telepostinc.com
Subject: Re: [Elecraft]
Igor Sokolov wrote:
It has started with complains of some of our contacts in the contest. They
told us that the weighting of out TX CW is not standard.
Two channel oscilloscope was brought into shack and 3 K3 tcvrs were checked:
SN 1651 SW ver 3.06
SN 2929 SW ver 3.68
SN 3553 SW ver. 3.41
Phil:
Does anyone use an MFJ-998 IntelliTuner with their K3 that includes the
ATU?
Yes, I have one along with an ALS600.
If so, does the K3 interface to the MFJ-998 in a supported fashion where
the tune
button on the K3 would control the MFJ-998 instead of the internal tuner.
No, but I have
My comment didn't address built-in (integrated motherboard) sound cards.
I haven't had any trouble testing them, but don't actually use them
except for desktop PC sounds and such.
73,
Larry N8LP
Wes Stewart wrote:
I'm sure you're correct, but I went to the FW card because of problems with
I just posted this to the topband reflector thinking I might get some
help from the folks who know about beverages for low band Dxing.
Perhaps something in my K3 is not configured as well as it should be
and that's maybe a cause of my problems so I'm posting this here as
well. The answer lies
Here's what is possible from the West Coast USA using a K3's Diversity RX
with two DXE 4SQ RX antennas 800' apart.
CQ 160-Meter Contest, CW
Call: W7RN
Operator(s): K7NV
Station: W7RN
Class: Single Op Assisted HP
QTH: NV
Operating Time (hrs): 30
Summary:
Half way through the 160 contest I changed computers from an AMD Turion
dual-core Processor to an Intel Celeron single-core processor. The WinKey
malfunctioned only once in 4 hours of testing. I then turned off all PTT
functions in the Microham Router and in the WL setup and used the VOX in the
K5RC wrote:
Here's what is possible from the West Coast USA using a K3's Diversity RX
with two DXE 4SQ RX antennas 800' apart.
CQ 160-Meter Contest, CW
Call: W7RN
Operator(s): K7NV
Still you did TX better then RX. Called you many times Saturday
morning
I've recently installed the KAT3 in my K3. The instructions are quite
vague and I'm not sure mine is operating correctly.
First, the manual says there are 30 memories/band for the ATU settings.
These seem to change automatically as I tune around. The question is, does
the unit switch settings
I seem to have come late to the party on some things and been missing some
joy :)
Last Friday I bought a USB-Serial adapter so I could get ready for the
installation of the LP PAN outfit I will be getting going (after I open up and
get the KXV3A installed).
Anyhow, I thought I would first
After another interesting round of CQ 160 I would like to beat
the K3 drum a little also,
I found myself feeling guilty many times, I had the width set down
under 400HZ and tuning the band would work DX and not even
realize there was a 10 over 9 station less than a half KC up or
down from me.
Gang: Considering the purchase of a signal generator for
aligning the projects in the shack.
Looking on e-bay shows several low cost options. Most are pretty old and
likely in need of some work.
SO figure I would query the group to see what everyone else is using.
IF your using
This may be OS dependent, or it may be due to hidden sample rate conversions
in the drivers.
I use the EMU-0202 with Quisk for LP-PAN and Griffin iMic with fldigi
simultaneously on Linux and don't notice this level of CPU load at all.
Leigh/WA5ZNU
N8LP wrote:
I think you'll find that the
See more follow-ons in this thread:
http://n2.nabble.com/Re-Elecraft-Digest-Vol-69-Issue-53-td4489512.html#a4489512
--
View this message in context:
http://n2.nabble.com/OT-PCI-Express-sound-card-for-digimodes-tp4485694p4490532.html
Sent from the [HAM] mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
Lance,
Something I forgot. If your smeter is calibrated with preamp OFF (as
required), set CONFIG: SMTR MD = ABS so you have same reading with PRE ON.
Eventually, this may help...
73, Laurent
--
View this message in context:
Merv,
I noticed some of the raspy or buzzy quality you heard, but for me it
was not on all signals. I have also noted that quality on signals for the
past week or so; perhaps it is atmospheric.
For the first time, I turned on the K3's ATT and found that I was even
better able to separate
this morning I was trying a new antenna for portable use and therefore I
turned my K2 on. When I was first listening I thought I had not connected
the antenna because no sound came out of the radio. I switched it on and
off and suddenly it worked.
Then I listened to a station on 80m and
SO figure I would query the group to see what everyone else is using. IF
your using a signal / RF generator, what brand, model and options are you
using ???
I've been using antenna analyzers as signal generators. The output levels
are normally AGC controlled and are pretty accurate. I
Igor Sokolov wrote:
It has started with complains of some of our contacts in the contest.
They told us that the weighting of out TX CW is not standard.
Two channel oscilloscope was brought into shack and 3 K3 tcvrs were
checked:
SN 1651 SW ver 3.06
SN 2929 SW ver 3.68
SN 3553 SW ver.
Werner,
My best guess - a bad solder connection that responds to thermal changes.
It could be either in the VFO or the BFO. The first thing to determine
is which of the two is causing the drift, then track it down to the
component that is causing the problem.
Because it does not fail after a
Here is the picture to illustrate the problem.
http://forum.qrz.ru/attachment.php?attachmentid=29596d=1264954098
again, QSK is not used. This shows one of the long series of dots sent with
external PTT.
73, Igor UA9CDC
Igor Sokolov wrote:
It has started with complains of some of our contacts
Merv, I agree with all that except feeling guilty. I think some of the
raspyness comes from a very loud signal with the audio gain set too high. I
notice it in contests when the heat is on, but not so much otherwise. I turn
the gain up to pick out a weak one then don't turn it back down
One question I have, when the band is wall to wall with strong signals
the CW note seems to have a raspy quality on receive,
Please see the firmware release notes for MCU 3.03/DSP 2.10 from 17
March 2009. Especially the topic New AGC features especially for use
in pileups
73,
Lyle KK7P
I had a similar problem last week Phil. I decided that the KPA3 was toast, so
I pulled it out, inspected it with a magnifier for burns, cracks and other. I
also took a close look at the tuner and tried the QRP transmitter. When I
could find nothing wrong, I reinstalled the KPA3 and
Igor, before I did anything else I would have a good friend whose judgment you
trust listen to the Morse you generate with a critical ear and give you an
honest opinion. Preferably someone who can hear you quite well and on a clear
band. Contest comments can be accurate with the best of good
The most often used signal generator here is also an AIM4170 from Array
Solutions. Indeed, it is the most useful single piece of test equipment I
have. Great for component measurements in addition to being a superb
antenna analyzer.
For more $$, their new 2 port VNA also offers higher output
On Jan 31, 2010, at 1/3110:34 AM, Roger D Johnson wrote:
I started on this topic because the tuner failed to find a good
match at
1800.
To see the approximate range of the internal K3 antenna tuner at 1800
kc, take a look here
Pair of HP 8657A synthesized generators 100 KHz - 1024 MHz
Pair of HP 8640B analog w/ lock generators, one with internal doubler
(1024 MHz) and reverse power protection
Panasonic VP8191A synthesized 100 KHz - 135 MHz
8640B is quite plentiful, and when properly working is very hard to
beat for
We did that Willis. With 3 of the K3s it was easy to send on one and listen on
the other. Still the best friend was the instrument that clearly revealed the
problem. Here is the picture again
http://forum.qrz.ru/attachment.php?attachmentid=29596d=1264954098
Please have a look and tell me
I just noted that my noise blanker has an S-unit of insertion loss.
Anyone else see this?
Wes N7WS
__
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post:
Since the question was about what signal generators we have, I thought I
would add the list of what I have here - some have specific purposes
while others are general purpose.
I have several signal generators. The two most important properties of
a signal generator (for me) are frequency
I thought I had my power problem fixed because on 20 metes it worked fine.
Went back to 75 and using push to talk the power would show 90 watts while
talking but I could see instability in the meter and after 45 seconds it
would drop to zero. Everything checked out with mike cord etc. Proper
After successfully completing Part II of the receiver alignment and test I
look back and see where I skipped R29 (10k) on the RF board bottom side. I
installed R29's resistor at R19 instead. So R29 was empty and R19 held a
10k instead of 2.7k. Your most excellent method of orienting the
Yes...
73,
Dick - KA5KKT
I just noted that my noise blanker has an S-unit of insertion loss.
Anyone else see this?
Wes N7WS
Bob,
Those 2 resistors are not likely to change any of the alignments
significantly, but do swap them because they could change the stability
of the VFO.
With respect to the 4 MHz Reference alignment, I would encourage you to
re-do that anyway after the K2 is complete. Your attempts to set
I have a Singer CE-6 (also known as Gerch or Gurch). The best sig gen
I have here is an HP8656B with the high accuracy TCXO, followed by a
Kay 0-100 dB step attenuator. The CE-6 is really a service monitor,
and has a sig gen from 10 MHz through 1.2 GHz. The HP sig gen goes up
to 990 MHz, but
Jerry,
I answered on the Elecraft reflector, but will repeat it here for those
interested.
Since the question was about what signal generators we have, I thought I
would add the list of what I have here - some have specific purposes
while others are general purpose.
I have several signal
On 1/31/2010 1:55 PM, Don Wilhelm wrote:
Since the question was about what signal generators we have, I thought I
would add the list of what I have here - some have specific purposes
while others are general purpose.
I have several signal generators. The two most important properties of
a
On all 3 units series of dots were sent using external keyer with 50%
weight. While on the monitor output the weight remained to be 50% the RF
output showed shortening of dots (and therefore lengthening of spaces) by
7
or 8 msec. This effect does not depend on WPM speed and therefore less
WOW! I think I will sell mine at Amazon.com and with the proceeds buy 9
from ARRL - sell 8 of them at Amazon and I will have the price of a
fully loaded K3 in the profit! :-)- so I can have a 2nd K3 after
all! Really don't need it, but what the heck.
As a sidenote there was a similar
On Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:23:33 -0500, Brian Machesney wrote:
For the first time, I turned on the K3's ATT and found that I was even
better able to separate callers, particularly when trying to pick out
relatively weaker EU signals from stronger NA signals responding to my CQ.
Those of us with lots
Hi Julian and fellow elecrafters,
Sorry for the late response, but I'am a slow digest reader.
I am at the exact same spot, also looking for a internal PCI-e soundcard
to put in my new pc-assembly. My mainboard does have PCI slots, but I need
them for other stuff.
Creative, the manufacturer of
I have not used by K2/100 - KAT2 in quite some time. If I set the power
control to 80 watts...the unit jumps to 112...then to 101...then to 90 and then
to 82 watts and it seems to stabilize there. Then I key it again at it goes to
around 40 watts...jumps to 55 watts and then goes to 82
The Asus Xonar PCI Express 7.1 seems to have a good specification (24bit, up
to 192KHz sample rate) and is widely available for well under $100 on eBay.
There is a review here: http://xaddr.com/a1hg that gives the spec.
I have ordered one so you will be able to read of my experiences with it in
Tom,
Which version of WriteLog?
What PTT settings in WriteLog?
Comm PTT checked for the K3?
On LPT pin 16/COM RTS in CW PTT Setup?
Any PTT ports defined in microHAM Router?
Steer serial CW/PTT checked?
Steer WinKey CW/PTT checked?
What control method for MK2R - LPT
From what I calculate, 22 +j8 ought to be relatively easy to match, if the
KAT3 schematic is correct. A low-pass L with series L = 1.48 uH, C = 1967 pF
gets it to 1.009:1, assuming no strays and Qc = 1000, Ql = 200.
If my paper and pencil addition is correct, the available C ~ 2600 pF allows
Lee,
That would seem to be the Power Stability problem with the K2 - it is
caused by too much gain in the RF chain with the KPA100 added in-line.
The cure is to increase the value of R98 on the bottom of the RF Board.
Follow the instructions in the Optional K2 Power Control Mod in the
Builder's
Thanks. Too bad.
--- On Sun, 1/31/10, Edward Dickinson, III softb...@windstream.net wrote:
From: Edward Dickinson, III softb...@windstream.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Noise blanker insertion loss
To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Date: Sunday, January 31, 2010, 2:27 PM
Yes...
73,
Dick -
I just noted that my noise blanker has an S-unit of insertion loss.
I measure 2.0 dB (AGC OFF, using AFV/dBV internal functions and
monitoring a steady nominal S5 carrier on 6 meters).
73,
Lyle KK7P
__
Elecraft mailing list
Home:
I just got done using that feature to measure filter flatness for
someone... Gotta admit thats a VERY handy feature!
~Brett
On Sun, 2010-01-31 at 16:31 -0800, Lyle Johnson wrote:
I just noted that my noise blanker has an S-unit of insertion loss.
I measure 2.0 dB (AGC OFF, using AFV/dBV
Igor Sokolov wrote:
On all 3 units series of dots were sent using external keyer with 50%
weight. While on the monitor output the weight remained to be 50% the
RF output showed shortening of dots (and therefore lengthening of
spaces) by 7 or 8 msec. This effect does not depend on WPM speed
Hi,
This may not help you much but I use a very simple crystal-can
oscillator which is set at a fixed frequency of 7,328.00 Mhz which I
purchased from mouser.
It is rock solid stable and only cost me $25 with the rest of the parts.
I use it primarily to align my K2 filters and the main display.
I
Igor Sokolov wrote:
Here is the picture to illustrate the problem.
http://forum.qrz.ru/attachment.php?attachmentid=29596d=1264954098
again, QSK is not used. This shows one of the long series of dots sent
with external PTT.
73, Igor UA9CDC
This is probably caused by advancing the TX DLY.
Nearly the same here (-2.2dB), but only when the IF NB is used. No
loss at all with just the DSP NB engaged.
73
--
Joe KB8AP
On Jan 31, 2010, at 4:31 PM, Lyle Johnson wrote:
I just noted that my noise blanker has an S-unit of insertion loss.
I measure 2.0 dB (AGC OFF, using AFV/dBV
Thanks Lyle,
I put my stepped attenuator in the line between the K3 and the XG2 and checked
the S-meter. The way I had it calibrated, a 3dB step took it from S9 down to
S8. I re-calibrated the S-meter offset until the meter read S9 and a 6dB step
was required to take it to S8. (Offset value
Correct. You can turn blanking on with the front panel switch and go to the
setup function and dial it in and out with the knob and listen for the relay
click.
--- On Sun, 1/31/10, Joe Planisky jp...@jeffnet.org wrote:
From: Joe Planisky jp...@jeffnet.org
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Noise
My system is a 5-year old single processor P4. I think that has a lot to do
with it. Plus, I'm running the latest PowerSDR and CW Skimmer to get to these
numbers. Still, the USB sound card produces double the load of my PCI sound
cards.
Larry N8LP
Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2010 11:02:03 -0800
This has absolutely nothing to do with your K3. Normally, well
constructed beverages will outperform a K9AY, and Gary does not claim
that his design will outperform good beverages.
Using a house ground for a signal ground on a beverage will IMPOSE
house noise on the beverage, rendering it useless
I have the following for sale.
K3/100-FK3 100W transceiver factory assembled. Serial # 2571
KAT3-F K3 ATU factory installed
KBPF3General coverage RX module
KFL3A-200 K3 200HZ,5 pole filter
KFL3A-1.8k1.8 kHz, 8 pole roofing filter
KFL3A-6K AM K3 6
When I double tap A-B to send all settings to B, the ATT and PRE settings
are transported from the main to the subreceiver when in diversity mode.
This is not appropriate because the subreceiver is NOT using VFO B settings.
It should be independent of the main and stay put where it's set by BSET.
We had a very good net today. Signals were generally strong, and we had 38
participants over the 35 minute net. The discussions centered on shipment
status/dates for the upgraded DSP PCB and the P3. Here is the list of the
group:
Station NameQTH Rig S/N
W4RKS Jim
Good Evening,
Both nets ran fairly well. A little QSB on each but the noise levels were
much lower than they have been in quite a while, especially on forty meters.
It was pleasant not having to worry about digging under the noise by cranking
the gain levels to where it hurts. I did go
Hi Ian,
I listened for you at 0900Z (1:00 PST) at 3658 kHz. All I heard was some
very faint SSB ops about 2 kHz up. Was that possibly you? Did you have any
NA ops check in?
73, Fred, AE6IC in southern California. hamkt...@att.net
I will need to make some audio cables for the new K3 for the LP-PAN to the
audio box, and also to the other soundcard.
I think I read somewhere in one of the K3 manuals that it is best to use
small coax, as it has better shielding.
Makes sense to me, and LMR100 seems to fit the bill, but at
On Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:36:46 -0800 (PST), Bob - W0GI wrote:
I will need to make some audio cables for the new K3 for the
LP-PAN to the audio box, and also to the other soundcard.
The only important thing about unbalanced audio cable is that
it the shield has low DC resistance. The calls for a
83 matches
Mail list logo
