Did you find about about APF in time to use it during FD? :)
Wayne
On Jun 24, 2012, at 10:50 PM, k3...@comcast.net wrote:
I received my KX3 about a week ahead of FD. Therefore, I hadn't much
experience with it. We were running 2A on solar power; the other rig
was a K2.
FWIW: The
I started construction at 1300 and took a break at 1515 to deliver
the wife's van to our local garage for oil change/lube tomorrow. I
fed the dogs after getting back home then supper and a movie. Got
back to working on the KX3 at 2030 and finished at 2300 (all local
times). This included
It would be helpful if you could write what steps need additional
instruction, and what parts are in the parts listing but aren't
needed.
Either someone could help you and say Oh, you probably forget step
XYZ ... or in case you didn't omit something, then Elecraft get's a
hint on what part of the
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*Many fine suggestions.
When it comes to straight keys, it all depends on your sending style:
American or European. Those sending American style will like keys such as
the J-38 or Speed-X, but will be unhappy with keys such as the Kent or the
Swedish Pump Key. The opposite is usually the case
Depends on your budget. IMO, the best are N3ZN and Begali. In my
experience, Bencher is one of the worst.
Barry W2UP
Ronald Nutter wrote
The next thing I am looking at is getting a CW key.
Would appreciate any suggestions in this area that anyone here has.
Thanks,
Ron
KA4KYI
You might find some information at: http://www.radiotelegraphy.net
Bill W2BLC
--
IN GOD I TRUST (but, NOT a single politician)
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Help:
I'm getting my KPA100 today and now I need to save up for a tuner. I'm
wondering if it would be better to get an external tuner that could be used for
other rigs, or get the KAT100. What are the pros and cons of the KAT100?
Anybody have a KAT 100 for sale out there?
Steve
I have two Begali keys, the camelback straight key and the magnetic classic.
Both are excellent and I use the magnetic classic all the time. But, I also
have a Bencher in the truck and I see no problems with it. It is fine for the
truck. Besides, it gets dropped on the floor or sometimes I
I have just ordered the Begali Expedition direct from Italy. It was a
rather rash moment I'm afraid, hope I don't regret it! It just looks so
cute in the photo on the Begali website! I love my Schurr Profi 2 but it's
too big and heavy to leave my desk!
73 Stephen G4SJP
On 25 June 2012 15:02,
Any key will do as long as you use it. Reduced CW receiving speed
generally has little to to do with the key. It does have a lot to do
with having CW QSO's.
Alternatively, skip the straight key and go straight to a bug or keyer.
Now I'm going to contradict the above.
Unlike conventional
I have an XV50 Transverter recently checked/calibrated by Don in Wake Forest.
The IF ports were reversed when built, but correctly labeled now. Works
perfectly with my K2. $250 shipped to lower 48. I use my K3 on 6 meters and
have found this unit excess to my needs. Please reply off-line. Thanks.
Any-other super key is the Chevron, They are hand built in the UK, they come in
either Solid Bronze, Gold plated, or Chrome.
Check out the chevron web site.
Cant give the web address, I'm on the River Kennet, Fly fishing.
Ken..G0ORH
Sent from my iPhone
On 25 Jun 2012, at 15:07,
Phil,
The trick used to keep the J38 in place without weights or screws was to
reverse it on the bakelite base, so the key knob fell over the base. You could
then key away without problems. I use some anti-skid tape to help.
Monty K2DLJ
On Jun 25, 2012, at 10:02 AM, Phil Hystad wrote:
I
I'm not sure what software N2BJ was using but there was a complaint that the
PC
software was doing something to the paddle.
The contest software sends a canned CW message thats stored as text and keys
the
K3 via the straight key input. The CW operator uses the paddle to send other
text.
I'm not
http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/file/n7558120/K3_TX_Birdies.bmp
http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/file/n7558120/K3_TX_Birdies.bmp I'm not
sure what software N2BJ was using but there was a complaint that the PC
software was doing something to the paddle.
The contest software sends a
That was a mistake! I have 50db of attenuation and the spectrum analyzer is
receiving 0dbm but the reference level was set wrong and I overloaded the
spectrum analyzer. In this screen shot the 2nd harmonic is about 30db down
but I think it should be greater than 45db down from the 1st harmonic.
I don't think I did, unless it was a default. I used my stereo headset
and used the audio trick, which I think is a default, worked pretty
well. Is that what you are speaking of?
I did come to really appreciate the way the tuner works. I won't give
away what we were using for antennas as we
I was the primary op at K6MI and worked N2BJ several times. Mostly the
signal was clean, but on one band it was fairly nasty, symptoms sounded
like RF getting into something, think it was Saturday afternoon my time.
Don't remember which band.
BTW -- K6MI was QRP, CW only, with solar power and
I use my K3 for RTTY all the time. I have a dual serial port card on my
desktop and use one side for rig control and the other for rtty.
I have a homebrew level converter for the K3 accy port.
I was going to use this setup for Field Day using usb-serial adapters.
The rig control to the K3
Can't figure out how to store the long arms when they're not in use with the
hardware provided and would appreciate some help.
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Help:
Hi,
Took my K3 to Field Day again this year and ran mostly RTTY. Made about 130
Q's which is about normal for Field Day. We operated on the dry, dusty and
hot plains east of Colorado Springs CO. Wondering if anyone has a good and
thorough cleaning scheme for the K3 and P3? They picked up a
Not to mention that the footprint is considerably smaller on the K3 -- a
serious blessing on cramped folding tables of Field Day.
In fact the small footprint sealed the deal for me on my K3. My whole house is
only 720 square feet and every square
inch of desk space is precious in my shack.
I'm not a key connoisseur. Pounding brass here and there as part of my
work and at home as a Ham, I learned to send with whatever came to hand
(literally:-). The appeal of a J-38 is strictly nostalgic and, for me, it
works as well as any other straight key that I've touched. I use it for any
QSO's
My arm was twisted enough so that I took the K3 and later the P3 for
their first field outing. I think they really enjoyed being out in an
RF quiet location for a change where the K3's noise blanker took a rest
and the P3's REF LVL had to be adjusted into the -140 dBm range as here
at the house
The new regulations for air travel:
http://safetravel.dot.gov/documents/airline_passengers_and_batteries.pdf
seem to be much more relaxed from the old ones. It seems that up to two 300W
batteries are allowed.
A battery below:
Lee I had exactly the same problem at FD this year. Before I illuminate the
problem a little background. We were running 2A with additional GOTA and VHF
stations. Last year the very noisy old 6KW generator puked a piston so it
was time to retire it. We wanted a new generator that could be carried
* On 2012 25 Jun 14:43 -0500, Fred Townsend wrote:
Conclusion: A little acoustical noise from the generator is a good thing.
Heh! I was actually proposing the idea of an EU2000 or another quiet
generator before next year's outing. Our current model is plenty loud
and we've used batteries
A few friends and I operated field day from a field near Charleston, SC.
Two of us operated the CW station inside a tent, with my K3/P3 combo, using
a small Honda generator. The power supply is the small PowerWerx SS-30DV.
On Sunday, the rig got plenty hot, as it was in the sun coming from
Rick I use Teflon wire for my battery leads. Teflon wire is silver plated.
The Anderson power poles are silver plated too. While I can not quote
chapter and verse most NASA applications require crimp (with certified
crimper). There are at least two reasons. Solder wets and runs within silver
braid
OK, now -- hijacking this topic to ask a question of KX1 users...
I bought the paddle key attachment for my KX1 but I have not installed it yet.
I seem to prefer using my Begali key with my KX1. The attached KX1 paddle
seems like a great feature for hiking in the mountains where the weight of
On Mon, Jun 25, 2012 at 3:10 PM, wb4...@knology.net wrote:
...Two of us operated the CW station inside a tentThe SSB
station was inside a nice air-conditioned building. ...
===
CW ops are more manly, of course.
Tony KT0NY
--
You guys are describing problems that relate to a foot switch as well (I
know - crossed fingers held high and all about something other than CW). I
had the problems with the key as well and just sit my Kent on some of the
non-skid shelf bumpy stuff, helps a lot.
My foot switch is mounted on a
Congrats on success at field day with the K3. My K3 ran phone, CW and
PSK31 for the duration as the GOTA and a great shot of me and the K3
even made the local paper :)
Dust and junk. We were fortunate to have low dust this year at FD
but here is what I do with dust.
I do lots of
Sounds like you need to get an extended gas cap and tank for your EU2000 --
I have a 6-gallon boat tank hooked up to mine and it will run at full power
output for well over 24 hours. With that setup you would fill it with gas
at the start of the contest and just turn it off when you were done.
I find the KX1 paddle nice to use, but as I said I am *not* picky about the
sort of key I use.
That said, the feel of any paddles I use is actually more important than
the feel of a mechanical key, probably because paddles are operated with the
fingers (instead or rolling one's whole hand on a
Ron wrote:
The appeal of a J-38 is strictly nostalgic and, for me, it
works as well as any other straight key that I've touched.
These keys have some military historical value as well.
The J-38 was never in operational/combat theater use...it was
used only for US Army radio operator Morse
Every one should have one of these or another brand in their toolbox:
http://www.amazon.com/GE-50542-Receptacle-Improper-Indicator/dp/B002LZTKIA/ref=pd_cp_hi_0
Aside from monitoring that AC is present it is a check that all the wiring and
extensions were wired correctly.
73,
Bob
K2TK ex
Yes,
IT packs into the Case much smaller and lighter than any Begali. I have
both, and only take the KXPD1 in my suitcase.
73,
Bill
K9YEQ
-Original Message-
From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net
[mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Phil Hystad
Sent: Monday, June
The XV50 is no longer available. Thank you. Ron KM4VX
--
View this message in context:
http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/FS-K2-XV50-Transverter-tp7558116p7558139.html
Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
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As far as I know Teflon is a good insulator, capable of high
temperatures and pressures. If you say teflon wire, you give it the
false interpretation of being a conductor., like the guy that said
solder was a poor conductor, really?
I did volt drop tests , I have professional crimp sets and
I ran the same test using my Icom IC-7000 as the CW transmitter on 7.065. No
birdies were heard on 14.060. In both test I was able to copy the 2nd
harmonic with an S9 at 10 watts out but there were no birdies across the
lower Charlie Whisky portion using the Icom 7K. There was an increase in
Ron,
Instead of making your own dashes, for which the timing can become
critical, I would suggest you help lobby Wayne to include Ultimatic mode
into the Elecraft keyers. It is the only way I can use dual lever
paddles - the last paddle closed gets priority - for instance to send a
P, first
Ron wrote:
My *only* complaint about the KX1 paddles is the same complaint I have
about
every Elecraft rig - there's no keyer mode that lets me make my own
dashes.
I would greatly enjoy a keyer mode that spits out dits automatically
with
one paddle and then allows me to make dashes with
I agree with Don about the HexKey from Elecraft. Among other
things, it complements my K1, K2, K3 and (soon) KX3.
My previous favorite is the Mercury paddle that I bought at
Pacificon in the late 90s. It was custom-made by the person
who acquired the rights to reproduce the original N2DAN
One of the three overhead lines coming into the
house (cable TV) is superfluous at this point
since we have ATT U-Verse. I doubt that I
could get them to remove it, even if I found
a contractor that would bury the electric line.
I think the phone line is still needed for U-Verse.
72/73 de Jim -
Jim,
I recently acquired an ZN-SLR single lever paddle from Tony N3ZN - it is
a work of art and has a very smooth action. For straight keys, I have 3
- one is an original J-38 that sits in the shack as a nostalgia
generating decoration. The other is a J-37 whose original base has been
lost
Stephen, I can vouch for the excellent customer service
from Begali. I ordered a Sculpture on June 15th, too
late in the day for business hours in Italy. When I
checked my e-mail the following Monday I had a note
from Bruna Begali that it would be shipped by the end
of the week.
Actually, it
Jim,
Can only second that, I love my Begali Sculpture. It replaced my first
paddles, a Bencher, which fades rather in comparison.
Incidentally, I took it with me on a trip to Denmark with my FT817, but
only that one time, after that I've travelled lighter :) When I get the KX3
I will take that
Gee, and I can remember in about 1958 riding the train from the 'burbs into
Chicago for about $ .50, walking down to the surplus store, and buying new,
in the box J-38s for $ 1.95 each. They had hundreds, but short-sighted
teenager that I was, I only bought what I thought I needed at the time.
Steve...
I'm sure others will tell you that the 100w amp and the tuner can't go
in the same radio. There isn't enough space for them both. So, you have
to balance your priorities and operating preferences to determine which
you would like to build/install.
...robert
On 6/25/2012 14:27,
Check out Larry's paddles at:
http://n0sa.com/
Beautiful machine work with highly efficient low-mass arms; a real bargain
for the price he charges. There is also a single-lever version available.
--Ed--
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Hi Folks,
I thought I might see a few more e-mails on the KX3 AGC pumping issue
briefly talked about earlier, especially with some Field Day conditions in
the mix. I used my KX3 at home, so was not real near any active stations,
but still noticed some thumping with stronger signals. I kept
My experience is that my K2 and K1 both hear better on CW than my TS2000.
Enjoy the K2. I have one I purchased used, but am getting the itch to build
my own!
73
Joe
--
View this message in context:
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Sent from the
My J-38 also came from Chicago in 1954 (still have it!!). Allied radio. I
would order parts from them about 2 to 3 times a month. Usually less than
$5.00 per order. Paper boys did not make much back then.
73 Joe K2UF
No trees were harmed in the sending of this e-mail; however, many
Hi Ed,
I know of no other such reports. The latest KX3 firmware has very well-
behaved AGC. We're getting close to a new field-test release that I
could send you.
The present noise blanker may be susceptible to pumping from nearby
signals and it, too, is due for an upgrade. Also, the
OK, so we are swapping old stories. I walked down the streets of
Cleveland, Ohio from Case Institute of Technology to the surplus store
somewhere near the 200 block of Carnegie Ave. to the local surplus
emporium. I was a student at Case Institute of Technology at the time.
I bought a
These look nice -- does anyone here own one? I am probably weak on
understanding the terminology though. Does single-lever imply that it is not
an iambic squeeze type paddle. I noticed that the single-lever version appears
to have two levers but guessing that these do not offer the Squeeze
Teflon is not a conductor in any sense and cannot be silver plated,
please stop this wrong information.
http://www.druflon.com/ptfeprop.html
http://webphysics.davidson.edu/faculty/dmb/PY430/Friction/teflon.html
PFTE or teflon wire in layman terms refers to the insulation insulating
the wire
One of my most enjoyable experiences as a HAM was building K2 #35 back in
'99.Go for it! I have a TS2000. I hardly use it... but for 440. Seems
like a waste, but it can serve as a backup for any of my equipment.
73,
Bill
K9YEQ
-Original Message-
From:
I have an N0SA SP1, predecessor to the current SP2, both single lever paddles.
I love the way it operates and looks. Excellent workmanship! Its really pretty
small. Not sure what's different between my SP1 and the newer SP2. These
single lever paddles won't do iambic, which I never could
My K3 got in its 4th Field Day here in Russellville, Arkansas at K5PXP.
I had some issues late into the night when the K3 totally wigged out
while we were working 40M. First the CW sidetone went away. A restart
fixed it. Then the audio went away, then the rig would stick in
transmit with or
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the K8RA paddles...beautiful work and
great price! I also own a ZN-SLR. I enjoy them both as well as two old
chrome plated EL Keys that still are really nice but can't compete with
either of the aforementioned paddles. 73 de Greg-N4CC
Just a quick suggestion that may have already been covered...
On the P3, it appears by default that the SELECT knob has no use
unless you are in a menu. How about giving it a 'cursor' so when it is
turned the user can place the cursor on a signal on the screen and
press the SELECT knob to QSY the
I do not own one of these products but perhaps I can help with the
terminology.
An iambic paddle *always* has two levers, each with a separate
fingerpiece. A non-iambic paddle *always* has a single lever but *may*
sport a dual fingerpiece to increase the spacing between the thumb and
I used my K3 as the 15M CW/SSB, 80M PSK and 20M PSK station for FD. It was
worked hard and ran flawlessly. I had the K3's PA temperature up to 50C for
long periods of time without an issue. We had over 2100 QSO's.
73,
John
N2HMM
__
I have been following this thread with much interest but I have not seen a
mention of magnets or springs. Springs may weaken with time but then again I
believe magnets can degrade with time as well. Within limits, I would expect
springs to be linear but magnets would be piecewise linear too.
On Mon, Jun 25, 2012 at 9:34 PM, Fred Townsend ftowns...@sbcglobal.netwrote:
...magnets or springs...?
Ya know, Fred, it seems as if magnets ought to be the preferred choice.
However, I have a Schurr Profi that uses springs, and the action is IMHO
absolutely perfect, the best of
Don wrote:
I eventually acquired a BC-348 receiver that gave me all ham
band coverage plusa lot of extra frequencies.
At least, all ham bands that could be found within the 200 to
600 kHz and 1500 to 18100 kHz coverage of the BC-348 (aka
AN/ARR-11). This was the best military MF/HF aircraft
On 6/25/2012 7:53 PM, Mike Morrow wrote:
I doubt *many* Elecrafters remember these sets
I do. It was a cheap way to get a receiver at the time [very young
teenagerhood] down at Surplus Sams on Pico Blvd in LAX. I had one,
thought myself fortunate when I later inherited an SA-28 to replace
I grew up with an attic full of ARC 5s. My dad was the radar/radioman
on B-24s and the radioman on B-17s so he kept them all in fine shape.
When I opened one I found perfect solder joints with each resistor lined
up EXACTLY with the next one. Each was a piece of art which I admired.
As far
When I'm not using my J-38 or Speed-X bug, I use a pair of original Scotia
paddles that I picked up at a Club meeting auction years ago.
They use magnets, not springs so the feel is reversed compared to a spring
loaded paddle. The magnet pulls the strongest when the key is at rest, and
that
I have a Shurr with stiff and longer finger pieces, and it compare well to any
of the other paddles I have. This was one of the paddles that was being
completed, when Mr. Shurr passed on.
Have a great day,
Dale - WC7S
-Original Message-
From: kevinr kev...@coho.net
Date: Tue, 26 Jun
I think how the key is made is more important than springs or magnets. My key
at home is a Hex Key (like the Elecraft Key but with a Bencher label) and I
used a Kent magnet key at field day. They have a similar feel. I had a
Bencher with a spring that I dropped when moving and it broke into
On Mon, 2012-06-25 at 21:12 -0500, Scott Graham wrote:
...
On the P3, it appears by default that the SELECT knob has no use
unless you are in a menu. How about giving it a 'cursor' so when it is
turned the user can place the cursor on a signal on the screen and
press the SELECT knob to QSY the
Apparently, based on the input here, I'm doing it all wrong by crimp and
solder. But since I started that, I've not had a failure (back when Molex
was king). Most times the actual connection is secured from motion (not
vibration) while the tails are allowed to move, if needed. Yes, I use the
I have a K8RA paddle. In fact it was my first paddle and the one that I
learned paddle on. But, it has taken a back seat after I got my Begali. I
have it connected to my backup rig, an Icom 756 Pro III, so whenever I fire
that up and go CW I am using the K8RA. The key is engineered with
So, a question...
With the dual levers of a single lever (non-iambic) SP2 paddle, when you press
one paddle, does the opposite paddle move in concert or is it actually
disconnected from the lever action of the other paddle. In other words, do the
paddles swing like an old Vibroplex Original
78 matches
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