Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving
Vernon, If your K3 is receiving static, I would tend to blame your problem on the antenna rather than the K3. However, there is a way to check the K3. Beg, borrow or purchase an Elecraft XG2 signal generator. That will give you a tool to produce a 50 uV signal (S-9) and also a tool to do MDS measurements on your K3. I do suspect your antenna. Verticals do not work well in all locations - good performance depends on your soil conditions, and 25 foot radials are likely not long enough. For a good ground screen with the 43 foot radial, you need at least 32 43 foot radial wires for it to be effective. A vertical works great right on the edge of salt water, but inland locations vary depending on the soil conditions. I have always been disappointed with verticals. Actually, I suggest a more simplistic approach - use horizontal dipoles. Use the 43 foot vertical as a mast to hold up the center of a dipole. Get a 1:1 balun and construct a dipole for 40 and 20 meters. 2 radiator wires 33 feet long and two 16 foot long these two antennas can run on a single feedline.. Run the center up to the top of your 43 foot mast and hang the ends of the dipole wires as high as you can using whatever supports are available. You want an angle between the wires to be at an angle greater than 45 degrees. The two wires for 40 meters (the 33 ft long ones) should be in the same vertical plane, and the two wires for 20 meters should be at right angles to the 40 meter wires to keep interaction to a minimum. You mentioned 10 meters. Propagation conditions may be a problem too. The higher HF bands do not have many signals during the hours of darkness, and 10 meters may not have many signals during the day. 20 meters during the daylight hours is usually reliable and 40 meters at night will typically have good signals. During periods of greater sunspot activity, the higher frequency bands will show more activity, but during the recent sunspot minimum, there were times when 20 meters was barely usable, but conditions are improving. 73, Don W3FPR On 3/8/2011 1:06 AM, Vernon Mauery wrote: At the risk of exposing what a n00b I am when it comes to HF, I really need some help. I recently (last month) purchased a K3. First HF radio I have owned. I got my license 2 years ago and have spent most of the time since playing with VHF. I have been trying to teach myself CW and decided that it was time to step into the HF waters. I studied, ogled, and dreamed of my ideal HF transceiver. I finally found the K3 and having looked (at least a cursory glance) at all the others, I was sold. I saved my pennies and purchased. I also got myself a 43' untuned vertical antenna, balun, and radial wires. My setup: K3/100 has 100 feet of low loss 400 coax out to the 43 foot vertical on the hill in my back yard. It has 8 25 foot radials and a 4:1 balun. The K3 has the KATU3, KPA3, KTCXO3-1, KFL3A-400, and default 2.8KHz filters. I assembled it and did followed the calibration instructions as well as I could. I think I got everything, but obviously I missed something. Or maybe I just need an elmer to tell me what to do. I cannot seem to find any signals that make the S meter go above a 3 or 4. I have the RF gain turned up a fair ways (mostly to the top), and I can hear static. As I tune up some of the bands on SSB, I can hear a tone that changes higher in pitch as I tune up in frequency. I have tried listening for CW, but I am hearing nothing as I scan through the bands. I had a 10m horizontal dipole taped to my wall for a while until I found time to run the coax out to the back yard. I had hoped that since it was resonant on the 10m band, maybe it would be able to pick up something, but it was no better (or worse) than my vertical. As far as I can tell, the radio seems to transmit. I can see the power meter moving and the SWR meter moving. The ATU seems to be able to find acceptable settings on most of the bands with the vertical. But I can't hear them. You can't work them if you can't hear them, right? This is a desperate plea for help. Is it the radio or me? Please have pity on the n00b and walk me through my first HF contact. --Vernon N7OH __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] rig control...
I just tried FLDIGI recently and liked it very much. I like that it is a truly cross-platform program so that no matter what type of computer I am using - Linux, Windows, etc.- I have a program with the same interface to use. I recommend the Belkin F5U409 USB to Serial adapter. I have used this for years without any problems. Unlike some USB to Serial adapters, this one provides all the serial lines and the full protocol. It usually can be found for $25 or less. On my Ubuntu 10.04 system, this adapter is picked up plug and play without having to install anything and presents itself as /dev/ttyUSB0. 73, Bill - WA5PB On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 01:13, John Ragle tpcj1...@crocker.com wrote: As has already been mentioned, SignaLink/USB has no provisions for rig frequency control. Also you should note that DigiPan itself has no provisions for rig control. If you are content to adjust frequency manually then DigiPan is a very nice, /simple(!),/ program, perfectly adequate for BPSK31 QSO's. DigiPan will run on almost any kind of Intel computer, from pencil sharpener to mainframe. If you want more control, I highly recommend FLDIGI over the several other available programs. Its interface is very straighforward, and the screen is not crowded. I've used almost every program available, whether free or not, and have settled on FLDIGI as the best, *no-compromises*, one to use. It is now in Ver. 3.21.4, installs easily, and is kept up-to-date. Google for the FLDIGI download site. The one downside to it (a minor one) is that the waterfall is not very high on the screen, so if you like a tall waterfall, you will be annoyed by this at first. You can always run Spectravue simultaneously with FLDIGI if you want more viewing turf. This quirk of FLDIGI is much more than offset by the variety of modes available! The one detail to which you will have to attend is making a serial connection from your computer to your transceiver. If your computer is an older model, it will have COM ports available. The K3 also has a matching COM port, and the problem devolves to finding a cable. IF, on the other hand, your computer is a newer model, it will probably NOT have COM ports built in. You then have two choices: (1) buy a simple, inexpensive card that fits inside the computer on the mother board, comes with drivers either already in Windows or on a CD or mini-CD, or (2) to use a USB-2.0 to Serial adapter. In this last case, beware! as many of the commercially available USB-to-serial adapters will NOT work, for various reasons. Be prepared to buy an industrial-strength USB-to-serial converter, or better stilll, buy the one that Elecraft offers (it comes with a guarantee to work!). Good luck. Feel free to email me if you have further questions. Everyone was a newbie at the beginning. John Ragle -- W1ZI __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving
You don't need a fancy antenna to receive lots of signals on HF. A random length of wire should yield plenty that are above S3. My main antenna is a simple 100 ft length of wire 30' high which can often work DX stations in a pileup, let alone receive them well; and this with only 10 watts output. As a simple test attach a length of wire to the other K3 antenna jack and tune in WWV 10 MHz or W1AW. At one time or another during the day you should definitely get some S9 or better signals. You can compare the reception of the simple wire to that of your vertical. Also, try tuning across some of the DX pileups such as for the CY0 DXpedition or 4A4A. (Google these or look for them on dxwatch.com) There will typically be many, many signals to hear in the pileup and some of them should be quite strong at your location, even with the simplest receiving antenna. 73, Drew AF2Z On Mon, 07 Mar 2011 22:06:19 -0800, you wrote: At the risk of exposing what a n00b I am when it comes to HF, I really need some help. I recently (last month) purchased a K3. First HF radio I have owned. I got my license 2 years ago and have spent most of the time since playing with VHF. I have been trying to teach myself CW and decided that it was time to step into the HF waters. I studied, ogled, and dreamed of my ideal HF transceiver. I finally found the K3 and having looked (at least a cursory glance) at all the others, I was sold. I saved my pennies and purchased. I also got myself a 43' untuned vertical antenna, balun, and radial wires. My setup: K3/100 has 100 feet of low loss 400 coax out to the 43 foot vertical on the hill in my back yard. It has 8 25 foot radials and a 4:1 balun. The K3 has the KATU3, KPA3, KTCXO3-1, KFL3A-400, and default 2.8KHz filters. I assembled it and did followed the calibration instructions as well as I could. I think I got everything, but obviously I missed something. Or maybe I just need an elmer to tell me what to do. I cannot seem to find any signals that make the S meter go above a 3 or 4. I have the RF gain turned up a fair ways (mostly to the top), and I can hear static. As I tune up some of the bands on SSB, I can hear a tone that changes higher in pitch as I tune up in frequency. I have tried listening for CW, but I am hearing nothing as I scan through the bands. I had a 10m horizontal dipole taped to my wall for a while until I found time to run the coax out to the back yard. I had hoped that since it was resonant on the 10m band, maybe it would be able to pick up something, but it was no better (or worse) than my vertical. As far as I can tell, the radio seems to transmit. I can see the power meter moving and the SWR meter moving. The ATU seems to be able to find acceptable settings on most of the bands with the vertical. But I can't hear them. You can't work them if you can't hear them, right? This is a desperate plea for help. Is it the radio or me? Please have pity on the n00b and walk me through my first HF contact. --Vernon N7OH __ __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] Why I won't purchase K3
Johnny, Because you like to build, please do not think that SMDs would be too difficult for you to handle. I, and no doubt other people, felt the same concern before starting to use SMDs in homebrew projects. Mounting multipin SMD ICs is not difficult after some practice. Tweezers of the locking type should not be used to hold SMDs because they can make very good SMD Launchers. If of any interest to you I think that I still have some notes and/or articles about SMD construction methods, which I could send to you if I still have them. The main problem that I have is our Temple Cat who would like to help with any build. Bribes does not work with her, and she takes an unhealthy interest in any multipin SMD - ignores resistors. 73, Geoff GM4ESD On March 06, 2011, at 14:44Z, Johnny Siu wrote: No worry, we often hear opinions from the opposite side in this mail reflector. I like to build as well and the building process will give me the chance to understand more about the architecture of modern radio. However, due to the wide use surface mount technology, it will be too difficult for an untrained amateur like myself to handle surface mount work for modern radio. The modular design of K3 is something that I can manage. I bought my latest K3 from the second hand market and I needed to do some upgrade modification myself. I find this minor soldering work is quite fun indeed. This is all I can handle. A basic K3 has already covered most of the functions of a fully fit K2 and in similar price range. Therefore, I would go for a basic K3 instead of a fully fit K2. cheers, Johnny VR2XMC __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
[Elecraft] K3 not recieving
Vernon. Try the recommended dipole to test your rig. A dipole for 20 M band is short (about 36 ft long) and easy to make, you will quickly hear whether there is an issue with your K3 hardware or setup. The 20 M band is reliable most daylight hours and shortly after sunset. You also mentioned that you are still new to HF although you have had your rig for two years. Have you considered trying digital modes such as RTTY and PSK31? Digital modes are able to communicate DX on barefoot and QRP rigs almost as effectively as CW without CW's learning curve. It is a lot easier for me to get through to DX using digital mode than when operating barefoot SSB. Although challenging to learn, no other mode gets DX QSOs through bad conditions as well as CW. I have logged approximately 10,000 mostly digital QSOs since becoming licensed in 2002. Most QSOs were made on a K2/100 transmitting into a dipole up about 30 feet. You may require a balun on the dipole feedline to keep RF off the coax shield and ferrites on audio cables between your rig and computer to keep RF out of the computer. There are usually lots of PSK31 signals around 14.070 MHz and 7.035 MHz (40M band). The 20M band is crowded with RTTY signals around 14.080 during every RTTY contest. Try listening for WWV signals and scheduled signals from the ARRL's W1AW. 73 de KB1IKD __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving
Vernon At risk of pointing out the obvious, with a short(ish) vertical you'll probably need to receive with the pre-amp switched on, and the attenuator switched off, on most bands. Even with, (quite literally) a screwdriver poked into the antenna socket, you should hear a good number of signals - and probably a lot of hash and qrm from local sources such as computers. Given the paucity of received signals, I don't think transmitting is a particularly good idea ! Regards John G4ZTR -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Vernon Mauery Sent: 08 March 2011 06:06 To: elecraft Subject: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving At the risk of exposing what a n00b I am when it comes to HF, I really need some help. I recently (last month) purchased a K3. First HF radio I have owned. I got my license 2 years ago and have spent most of the time since playing with VHF. I have been trying to teach myself CW and decided that it was time to step into the HF waters. I studied, ogled, and dreamed of my ideal HF transceiver. I finally found the K3 and having looked (at least a cursory glance) at all the others, I was sold. I saved my pennies and purchased. I also got myself a 43' untuned vertical antenna, balun, and radial wires. My setup: K3/100 has 100 feet of low loss 400 coax out to the 43 foot vertical on the hill in my back yard. It has 8 25 foot radials and a 4:1 balun. The K3 has the KATU3, KPA3, KTCXO3-1, KFL3A-400, and default 2.8KHz filters. I assembled it and did followed the calibration instructions as well as I could. I think I got everything, but obviously I missed something. Or maybe I just need an elmer to tell me what to do. I cannot seem to find any signals that make the S meter go above a 3 or 4. I have the RF gain turned up a fair ways (mostly to the top), and I can hear static. As I tune up some of the bands on SSB, I can hear a tone that changes higher in pitch as I tune up in frequency. I have tried listening for CW, but I am hearing nothing as I scan through the bands. I had a 10m horizontal dipole taped to my wall for a while until I found time to run the coax out to the back yard. I had hoped that since it was resonant on the 10m band, maybe it would be able to pick up something, but it was no better (or worse) than my vertical. As far as I can tell, the radio seems to transmit. I can see the power meter moving and the SWR meter moving. The ATU seems to be able to find acceptable settings on most of the bands with the vertical. But I can't hear them. You can't work them if you can't hear them, right? This is a desperate plea for help. Is it the radio or me? Please have pity on the n00b and walk me through my first HF contact. --Vernon N7OH __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html __ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 5934 (20110307) __ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com __ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 5936 (20110308) __ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving
Don, It looks like you and at least one other person have said that I need more radials. I will have to look into that. Thank you for your suggestion. --Vernon N7OH On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 4:59 AM, Don Wilhelm w3...@embarqmail.com wrote: Vernon, If your K3 is receiving static, I would tend to blame your problem on the antenna rather than the K3. However, there is a way to check the K3. Beg, borrow or purchase an Elecraft XG2 signal generator. That will give you a tool to produce a 50 uV signal (S-9) and also a tool to do MDS measurements on your K3. I do suspect your antenna. Verticals do not work well in all locations - good performance depends on your soil conditions, and 25 foot radials are likely not long enough. For a good ground screen with the 43 foot radial, you need at least 32 43 foot radial wires for it to be effective. A vertical works great right on the edge of salt water, but inland locations vary depending on the soil conditions. I have always been disappointed with verticals. Actually, I suggest a more simplistic approach - use horizontal dipoles. Use the 43 foot vertical as a mast to hold up the center of a dipole. Get a 1:1 balun and construct a dipole for 40 and 20 meters. 2 radiator wires 33 feet long and two 16 foot long these two antennas can run on a single feedline.. Run the center up to the top of your 43 foot mast and hang the ends of the dipole wires as high as you can using whatever supports are available. You want an angle between the wires to be at an angle greater than 45 degrees. The two wires for 40 meters (the 33 ft long ones) should be in the same vertical plane, and the two wires for 20 meters should be at right angles to the 40 meter wires to keep interaction to a minimum. You mentioned 10 meters. Propagation conditions may be a problem too. The higher HF bands do not have many signals during the hours of darkness, and 10 meters may not have many signals during the day. 20 meters during the daylight hours is usually reliable and 40 meters at night will typically have good signals. During periods of greater sunspot activity, the higher frequency bands will show more activity, but during the recent sunspot minimum, there were times when 20 meters was barely usable, but conditions are improving. 73, Don W3FPR On 3/8/2011 1:06 AM, Vernon Mauery wrote: At the risk of exposing what a n00b I am when it comes to HF, I really need some help. I recently (last month) purchased a K3. First HF radio I have owned. I got my license 2 years ago and have spent most of the time since playing with VHF. I have been trying to teach myself CW and decided that it was time to step into the HF waters. I studied, ogled, and dreamed of my ideal HF transceiver. I finally found the K3 and having looked (at least a cursory glance) at all the others, I was sold. I saved my pennies and purchased. I also got myself a 43' untuned vertical antenna, balun, and radial wires. My setup: K3/100 has 100 feet of low loss 400 coax out to the 43 foot vertical on the hill in my back yard. It has 8 25 foot radials and a 4:1 balun. The K3 has the KATU3, KPA3, KTCXO3-1, KFL3A-400, and default 2.8KHz filters. I assembled it and did followed the calibration instructions as well as I could. I think I got everything, but obviously I missed something. Or maybe I just need an elmer to tell me what to do. I cannot seem to find any signals that make the S meter go above a 3 or 4. I have the RF gain turned up a fair ways (mostly to the top), and I can hear static. As I tune up some of the bands on SSB, I can hear a tone that changes higher in pitch as I tune up in frequency. I have tried listening for CW, but I am hearing nothing as I scan through the bands. I had a 10m horizontal dipole taped to my wall for a while until I found time to run the coax out to the back yard. I had hoped that since it was resonant on the 10m band, maybe it would be able to pick up something, but it was no better (or worse) than my vertical. As far as I can tell, the radio seems to transmit. I can see the power meter moving and the SWR meter moving. The ATU seems to be able to find acceptable settings on most of the bands with the vertical. But I can't hear them. You can't work them if you can't hear them, right? This is a desperate plea for help. Is it the radio or me? Please have pity on the n00b and walk me through my first HF contact. --Vernon N7OH __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help:
Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving
Turn up the RF gain as well. Check your receive with it turned up all the way to the right. Reduce the audio before hand. Bill K9YEQ -Original Message- . I have the RF gain turned up a fair ways (mostly to the top), and I can hear static __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving
This is getting out of hand. Vernon can't receive anything and someone suggest more radials! Come on guys.He has 8 radials and another hundred might make a few DB difference but certainly not enough to overcome a dead receiver. A 10 ft. hank of hookup wire should yield plenty of good signals on 40 meters especially at night. Vernon needs something in his shack that he knows (works). The suggestion to buy the XG2 was a good one. Hooking up with another ham in the area would really help though. If someone lives close to Vernon they could probably be a big help. Steve N4LQ - Original Message - From: Vernon Mauery vmau...@gmail.com To: d...@w3fpr.com Cc: elecraft elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2011 10:33 AM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving Don, It looks like you and at least one other person have said that I need more radials. I will have to look into that. Thank you for your suggestion. --Vernon N7OH On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 4:59 AM, Don Wilhelm w3...@embarqmail.com wrote: Vernon, If your K3 is receiving static, I would tend to blame your problem on the antenna rather than the K3. However, there is a way to check the K3. Beg, borrow or purchase an Elecraft XG2 signal generator. That will give you a tool to produce a 50 uV signal (S-9) and also a tool to do MDS measurements on your K3. I do suspect your antenna. Verticals do not work well in all locations - good performance depends on your soil conditions, and 25 foot radials are likely not long enough. For a good ground screen with the 43 foot radial, you need at least 32 43 foot radial wires for it to be effective. A vertical works great right on the edge of salt water, but inland locations vary depending on the soil conditions. I have always been disappointed with verticals. Actually, I suggest a more simplistic approach - use horizontal dipoles. Use the 43 foot vertical as a mast to hold up the center of a dipole. Get a 1:1 balun and construct a dipole for 40 and 20 meters. 2 radiator wires 33 feet long and two 16 foot long these two antennas can run on a single feedline.. Run the center up to the top of your 43 foot mast and hang the ends of the dipole wires as high as you can using whatever supports are available. You want an angle between the wires to be at an angle greater than 45 degrees. The two wires for 40 meters (the 33 ft long ones) should be in the same vertical plane, and the two wires for 20 meters should be at right angles to the 40 meter wires to keep interaction to a minimum. You mentioned 10 meters. Propagation conditions may be a problem too. The higher HF bands do not have many signals during the hours of darkness, and 10 meters may not have many signals during the day. 20 meters during the daylight hours is usually reliable and 40 meters at night will typically have good signals. During periods of greater sunspot activity, the higher frequency bands will show more activity, but during the recent sunspot minimum, there were times when 20 meters was barely usable, but conditions are improving. 73, Don W3FPR On 3/8/2011 1:06 AM, Vernon Mauery wrote: At the risk of exposing what a n00b I am when it comes to HF, I really need some help. I recently (last month) purchased a K3. First HF radio I have owned. I got my license 2 years ago and have spent most of the time since playing with VHF. I have been trying to teach myself CW and decided that it was time to step into the HF waters. I studied, ogled, and dreamed of my ideal HF transceiver. I finally found the K3 and having looked (at least a cursory glance) at all the others, I was sold. I saved my pennies and purchased. I also got myself a 43' untuned vertical antenna, balun, and radial wires. My setup: K3/100 has 100 feet of low loss 400 coax out to the 43 foot vertical on the hill in my back yard. It has 8 25 foot radials and a 4:1 balun. The K3 has the KATU3, KPA3, KTCXO3-1, KFL3A-400, and default 2.8KHz filters. I assembled it and did followed the calibration instructions as well as I could. I think I got everything, but obviously I missed something. Or maybe I just need an elmer to tell me what to do. I cannot seem to find any signals that make the S meter go above a 3 or 4. I have the RF gain turned up a fair ways (mostly to the top), and I can hear static. As I tune up some of the bands on SSB, I can hear a tone that changes higher in pitch as I tune up in frequency. I have tried listening for CW, but I am hearing nothing as I scan through the bands. I had a 10m horizontal dipole taped to my wall for a while until I found time to run the coax out to the back yard. I had hoped that since it was resonant on the 10m band, maybe it would be able to pick up something, but it was no better (or worse) than my vertical. As far as I can tell, the radio seems to transmit. I can see the power meter moving and the SWR meter moving. The ATU seems to be able to find
Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving
Steve is right. It ain't the antenna. I can hear plenty of signals with the previously suggested screwdriver in the antenna jack. Vernon, turn up RF gain all the way, put the mode on USB, and tune in WWV at 10 mhz, and tune down from there through the loud broadcast stations Or tune 20M phone (14.200 - 14.300) or at night 40M phone (7.15 - 7.3). If you don't hear loud signals, something other than the antenna is wrong. Tony KT0NY On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 9:56 AM, Steve Ellington n...@carolina.rr.comwrote: This is getting out of hand. Vernon can't receive anything and someone suggest more radials! __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving
Personally, I doubt that adding radials will make any noticeable change in the number or strength of received signals. 73, Drew AF2Z On Tue, 08 Mar 2011 07:33:29 -0800, you wrote: Don, It looks like you and at least one other person have said that I need more radials. I will have to look into that. Thank you for your suggestion. --Vernon N7OH __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving
Does the received noise decrease when you disconnect the antenna? 73, Ross N4RP On 3/8/2011 1:06 AM, Vernon Mauery wrote: At the risk of exposing what a n00b I am when it comes to HF, I really need some help. I recently (last month) purchased a K3. First HF radio I have owned. I got my license 2 years ago and have spent most of the time since playing with VHF. I have been trying to teach myself CW and decided that it was time to step into the HF waters. I studied, ogled, and dreamed of my ideal HF transceiver. I finally found the K3 and having looked (at least a cursory glance) at all the others, I was sold. I saved my pennies and purchased. I also got myself a 43' untuned vertical antenna, balun, and radial wires. My setup: K3/100 has 100 feet of low loss 400 coax out to the 43 foot vertical on the hill in my back yard. It has 8 25 foot radials and a 4:1 balun. The K3 has the KATU3, KPA3, KTCXO3-1, KFL3A-400, and default 2.8KHz filters. I assembled it and did followed the calibration instructions as well as I could. I think I got everything, but obviously I missed something. Or maybe I just need an elmer to tell me what to do. I cannot seem to find any signals that make the S meter go above a 3 or 4. I have the RF gain turned up a fair ways (mostly to the top), and I can hear static. As I tune up some of the bands on SSB, I can hear a tone that changes higher in pitch as I tune up in frequency. I have tried listening for CW, but I am hearing nothing as I scan through the bands. I had a 10m horizontal dipole taped to my wall for a while until I found time to run the coax out to the back yard. I had hoped that since it was resonant on the 10m band, maybe it would be able to pick up something, but it was no better (or worse) than my vertical. As far as I can tell, the radio seems to transmit. I can see the power meter moving and the SWR meter moving. The ATU seems to be able to find acceptable settings on most of the bands with the vertical. But I can't hear them. You can't work them if you can't hear them, right? This is a desperate plea for help. Is it the radio or me? Please have pity on the n00b and walk me through my first HF contact. --Vernon N7OH __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html -- FCC Section 97.313(a) “At all times, an amateur station must use the minimum transmitter power necessary to carry out the desired communications.” __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving
Yes. I can see the S-meter go from 3-4 down with static down to nothing with quieter static. My best guess is that I am not trying the right times at the right places. Thanks to everyone for the help. --Vernon N7OH On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 8:12 AM, Ross Primrose N4RP n...@aiko.com wrote: Does the received noise decrease when you disconnect the antenna? 73, Ross N4RP On 3/8/2011 1:06 AM, Vernon Mauery wrote: At the risk of exposing what a n00b I am when it comes to HF, I really need some help. I recently (last month) purchased a K3. First HF radio I have owned. I got my license 2 years ago and have spent most of the time since playing with VHF. I have been trying to teach myself CW and decided that it was time to step into the HF waters. I studied, ogled, and dreamed of my ideal HF transceiver. I finally found the K3 and having looked (at least a cursory glance) at all the others, I was sold. I saved my pennies and purchased. I also got myself a 43' untuned vertical antenna, balun, and radial wires. My setup: K3/100 has 100 feet of low loss 400 coax out to the 43 foot vertical on the hill in my back yard. It has 8 25 foot radials and a 4:1 balun. The K3 has the KATU3, KPA3, KTCXO3-1, KFL3A-400, and default 2.8KHz filters. I assembled it and did followed the calibration instructions as well as I could. I think I got everything, but obviously I missed something. Or maybe I just need an elmer to tell me what to do. I cannot seem to find any signals that make the S meter go above a 3 or 4. I have the RF gain turned up a fair ways (mostly to the top), and I can hear static. As I tune up some of the bands on SSB, I can hear a tone that changes higher in pitch as I tune up in frequency. I have tried listening for CW, but I am hearing nothing as I scan through the bands. I had a 10m horizontal dipole taped to my wall for a while until I found time to run the coax out to the back yard. I had hoped that since it was resonant on the 10m band, maybe it would be able to pick up something, but it was no better (or worse) than my vertical. As far as I can tell, the radio seems to transmit. I can see the power meter moving and the SWR meter moving. The ATU seems to be able to find acceptable settings on most of the bands with the vertical. But I can't hear them. You can't work them if you can't hear them, right? This is a desperate plea for help. Is it the radio or me? Please have pity on the n00b and walk me through my first HF contact. --Vernon N7OH __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html -- FCC Section 97.313(a) “At all times, an amateur station must use the minimum transmitter power necessary to carry out the desired communications.” __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving
Vernon, Have you checked your coax , maybe open. Try hooking up just the center conductor of the coax to your rig , leave the shield unhooked. 73 Ken K5DNL - --- On Tue, 3/8/11, Vernon Mauery vmau...@gmail.com wrote: From: Vernon Mauery vmau...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving To: d...@w3fpr.com Cc: elecraft elecraft@mailman.qth.net Date: Tuesday, March 8, 2011, 9:33 AM Don, It looks like you and at least one other person have said that I need more radials. I will have to look into that. Thank you for your suggestion. --Vernon N7OH On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 4:59 AM, Don Wilhelm w3...@embarqmail.com wrote: Vernon, If your K3 is receiving static, I would tend to blame your problem on the antenna rather than the K3. However, there is a way to check the K3. Beg, borrow or purchase an Elecraft XG2 signal generator. That will give you a tool to produce a 50 uV signal (S-9) and also a tool to do MDS measurements on your K3. I do suspect your antenna. Verticals do not work well in all locations - good performance depends on your soil conditions, and 25 foot radials are likely not long enough. For a good ground screen with the 43 foot radial, you need at least 32 43 foot radial wires for it to be effective. A vertical works great right on the edge of salt water, but inland locations vary depending on the soil conditions. I have always been disappointed with verticals. Actually, I suggest a more simplistic approach - use horizontal dipoles. Use the 43 foot vertical as a mast to hold up the center of a dipole. Get a 1:1 balun and construct a dipole for 40 and 20 meters. 2 radiator wires 33 feet long and two 16 foot long these two antennas can run on a single feedline.. Run the center up to the top of your 43 foot mast and hang the ends of the dipole wires as high as you can using whatever supports are available. You want an angle between the wires to be at an angle greater than 45 degrees. The two wires for 40 meters (the 33 ft long ones) should be in the same vertical plane, and the two wires for 20 meters should be at right angles to the 40 meter wires to keep interaction to a minimum. You mentioned 10 meters. Propagation conditions may be a problem too. The higher HF bands do not have many signals during the hours of darkness, and 10 meters may not have many signals during the day. 20 meters during the daylight hours is usually reliable and 40 meters at night will typically have good signals. During periods of greater sunspot activity, the higher frequency bands will show more activity, but during the recent sunspot minimum, there were times when 20 meters was barely usable, but conditions are improving. 73, Don W3FPR On 3/8/2011 1:06 AM, Vernon Mauery wrote: At the risk of exposing what a n00b I am when it comes to HF, I really need some help. I recently (last month) purchased a K3. First HF radio I have owned. I got my license 2 years ago and have spent most of the time since playing with VHF. I have been trying to teach myself CW and decided that it was time to step into the HF waters. I studied, ogled, and dreamed of my ideal HF transceiver. I finally found the K3 and having looked (at least a cursory glance) at all the others, I was sold. I saved my pennies and purchased. I also got myself a 43' untuned vertical antenna, balun, and radial wires. My setup: K3/100 has 100 feet of low loss 400 coax out to the 43 foot vertical on the hill in my back yard. It has 8 25 foot radials and a 4:1 balun. The K3 has the KATU3, KPA3, KTCXO3-1, KFL3A-400, and default 2.8KHz filters. I assembled it and did followed the calibration instructions as well as I could. I think I got everything, but obviously I missed something. Or maybe I just need an elmer to tell me what to do. I cannot seem to find any signals that make the S meter go above a 3 or 4. I have the RF gain turned up a fair ways (mostly to the top), and I can hear static. As I tune up some of the bands on SSB, I can hear a tone that changes higher in pitch as I tune up in frequency. I have tried listening for CW, but I am hearing nothing as I scan through the bands. I had a 10m horizontal dipole taped to my wall for a while until I found time to run the coax out to the back yard. I had hoped that since it was resonant on the 10m band, maybe it would be able to pick up something, but it was no better (or worse) than my vertical. As far as I can tell, the radio seems to transmit. I can see the power meter moving and the SWR meter moving. The ATU seems to be able to find acceptable settings on most of the bands with the vertical. But I can't hear them. You can't work them if you can't hear them, right? This is a
Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving
Forget radials for receiving. You don't need them to hear many, many signals. The suggestion to throw out a hank of wire (or just tie the center and shield of the coax to your vertical together and connect them both to the center pin of the antenna connector - assuming your coax isn't buried) for an impromptu receive antenna is a good one. That should bring in a lot of HF signals. One thing about your SWR readings -- If your antenna system is very lossy for some reason often the SWR will look excellent. All the SWR says is that there's little reflected power and even a short or open circuit at the end of a very long piece of coax will show a fairly low SWR while preventing reception (or transmission!). Do you have the correct antenna selected? You have ANT1 and ANT2 selectable from the front panel. There's enough leakage between the two that a tiny amount of signal will be audible if you have the wrong antenna. And if you are so equipped, you have the option of the RX antenna on a separate connector at the rear that is completely independent of the KAT2 an it's two antenna selections. Choosing that one will produce your symptoms too. Ron AC7AC __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
[Elecraft] K3 not receiving
A friend of mine had a problem very similar to yours; his K3 couldn't hear anything. He brought it to my QTH for testing and comparison to my K3. It turned out that he had not correctly set up his receive crystal filters. Be sure that you have done the crystal filter setup, on page 46 of the Owner's Manual (not the Assembly Manual). Pay special attention to the receive portion of the setup instructions. Be sure to do the setup for each filter you have installed. Verify the numbers of the slots where you installed the filters. Also make sure that the K3's display is showing a filter slot where you have a filter installed. If you get the filter numbers out of sync (as my friend did), the result can be a deaf receiver. My friend is now quite happy with his K3. 73, Paul W8TM __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] K3/P3 and Palstar Auto-tuner
Tommy Alderman wrote: There is also a problem if you use any type of PC control for your radio. RS-232 is designed to operate ONE device at a time. 73, Tom - W4BQF There's another way to get around this problem. I use DXLab for logging and its Commander application (the app that communicates with your rig(s) ) offers the ability to define a secondary CAT device on a serial port. Your primary CAT port might have your K3 attached and the secondary might have a Yaesu, Icom, Kenwood, etc. (anything that uses one of the supported interfaces in Commander). You can specify that frequency changes in either (or both) devices will cause the other to track the changes. With things set up that way, I can tune my K3 and have my Icom Pro III track the changes, or vice versa. The delay in responding to frequency changes is extremely small on my system. Your PalStar could be the secondary CAT device and thus track the K3 just fine. 73, Floyd - K8AC -- View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/K3-P3-and-Palstar-Auto-tuner-tp6097972p6130117.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving
The best thing you can do at this point is to get an experienced local ham who knows what to expect to listen to your setup. I bet that if you posted the name of your town on the list there would be someone nearby that could help you. Or you could contact a local radio club. Yes, you need more radials for an efficient antenna, but I don't think that's the problem. It's also the case that 100' of coax is a lot for a 43' vertical which you are matching at the transceiver. The KAT3 will make the rig see a matched antenna, but the SWR along the line will be quite high on some bands, which will cause significant loss. Having said that, I still don't think that's the problem. It may just be that you are listening at the wrong times. 40 meters in the early evening should be good. On 3/8/2011 7:33 AM, Vernon Mauery wrote: Don, It looks like you and at least one other person have said that I need more radials. I will have to look into that. Thank you for your suggestion. --Vernon N7OH On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 4:59 AM, Don Wilhelmw3...@embarqmail.com wrote: Vernon, If your K3 is receiving static, I would tend to blame your problem on the antenna rather than the K3. However, there is a way to check the K3. Beg, borrow or purchase an Elecraft XG2 signal generator. That will give you a tool to produce a 50 uV signal (S-9) and also a tool to do MDS measurements on your K3. I do suspect your antenna. Verticals do not work well in all locations - good performance depends on your soil conditions, and 25 foot radials are likely not long enough. For a good ground screen with the 43 foot radial, you need at least 32 43 foot radial wires for it to be effective. A vertical works great right on the edge of salt water, but inland locations vary depending on the soil conditions. I have always been disappointed with verticals. Actually, I suggest a more simplistic approach - use horizontal dipoles. Use the 43 foot vertical as a mast to hold up the center of a dipole. Get a 1:1 balun and construct a dipole for 40 and 20 meters. 2 radiator wires 33 feet long and two 16 foot long these two antennas can run on a single feedline.. Run the center up to the top of your 43 foot mast and hang the ends of the dipole wires as high as you can using whatever supports are available. You want an angle between the wires to be at an angle greater than 45 degrees. The two wires for 40 meters (the 33 ft long ones) should be in the same vertical plane, and the two wires for 20 meters should be at right angles to the 40 meter wires to keep interaction to a minimum. You mentioned 10 meters. Propagation conditions may be a problem too. The higher HF bands do not have many signals during the hours of darkness, and 10 meters may not have many signals during the day. 20 meters during the daylight hours is usually reliable and 40 meters at night will typically have good signals. During periods of greater sunspot activity, the higher frequency bands will show more activity, but during the recent sunspot minimum, there were times when 20 meters was barely usable, but conditions are improving. 73, Don W3FPR On 3/8/2011 1:06 AM, Vernon Mauery wrote: At the risk of exposing what a n00b I am when it comes to HF, I really need some help. I recently (last month) purchased a K3. First HF radio I have owned. I got my license 2 years ago and have spent most of the time since playing with VHF. I have been trying to teach myself CW and decided that it was time to step into the HF waters. I studied, ogled, and dreamed of my ideal HF transceiver. I finally found the K3 and having looked (at least a cursory glance) at all the others, I was sold. I saved my pennies and purchased. I also got myself a 43' untuned vertical antenna, balun, and radial wires. My setup: K3/100 has 100 feet of low loss 400 coax out to the 43 foot vertical on the hill in my back yard. It has 8 25 foot radials and a 4:1 balun. The K3 has the KATU3, KPA3, KTCXO3-1, KFL3A-400, and default 2.8KHz filters. I assembled it and did followed the calibration instructions as well as I could. I think I got everything, but obviously I missed something. Or maybe I just need an elmer to tell me what to do. I cannot seem to find any signals that make the S meter go above a 3 or 4. I have the RF gain turned up a fair ways (mostly to the top), and I can hear static. As I tune up some of the bands on SSB, I can hear a tone that changes higher in pitch as I tune up in frequency. I have tried listening for CW, but I am hearing nothing as I scan through the bands. I had a 10m horizontal dipole taped to my wall for a while until I found time to run the coax out to the back yard. I had hoped that since it was resonant on the 10m band, maybe it would be able to pick up something, but it was no better (or worse) than my vertical. As far as I can tell, the radio seems to transmit. I can see
[Elecraft] Elecraft K-3 not for sale
Hi One of the potential buyers for my K-3 checked with Elecraft and my K-3 does not have the 2.8 khz8 pole crystal filter but the 2.7 khz 5pole crystal filter. The error is totally mine and I did not mean to deceive anyone. I am very embarrassed and am withdrawing the K-3 from availability at this time. Lance Elliott, KF0HC __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] Elecraft K-3 not for sale
No biggie. We **all** make mistakes... If you still need/want to sell it, just adjust the price accordingly... 73 gene K1NR On Tue, 08 Mar 2011 10:36:32 -0700 Lance sleddogp...@cnetco.com wrote: Hi One of the potential buyers for my K-3 checked with Elecraft and my K-3 does not have the 2.8 khz8 pole crystal filter but the 2.7 khz 5pole crystal filter. The error is totally mine and I did not mean to deceive anyone. I am very embarrassed and am withdrawing the K-3 from availability at this time. Lance Elliott, KF0HC __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html - Web mail provided by NuNet, Inc. The Premier National provider. http://www.nni.com/ __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] Elecraft K-3 not for sale
On 3/8/2011 9:41 AM, Eugene Balinski wrote: If you still need/want to sell it, just adjust the price accordingly.. Right. I strongly suspect that most K3s are bought with the 2.7kHz filter. Both of mine were, and I'm happy as a clam. 73, Jim K9YC __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
[Elecraft] Nope My K3 is NOT for sale
Nope. Not. Never... well maybe if there is K4 Boy I wonder what that will be like K4... hell, it will do the dishes too!!! __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] Fw: Re: Maxwell's Equations.
The answer is 42. John, WA6L -- View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/Fw-Re-Maxwell-s-Equations-tp6096008p6137677.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
[Elecraft] K2 K3 Rig Control
Does the K3 have a port like the KIO on the K2? Are the settings to connect and the rig commands the same? 73, Bill - WA5PB __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] K2 K3 Rig Control
Bill. The K3 connects to a computer thru a DB9 connector for RS-232 communication. The K3 and K2 share some of the commands. Take a look at the K3 programmers manual at http://www.elecraft.com/manual/K3_Pgmrs_Reference_Rev_C14.pdf. 73, Mike NF4L On 3/8/2011 2:40 PM, Bill Allen wrote: Does the K3 have a port like the KIO on the K2? Are the settings to connect and the rig commands the same? 73, Bill - WA5PB __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] K2 K3 Rig Control
* On 2011 08 Mar 13:43 -0600, Bill Allen wrote: Does the K3 have a port like the KIO on the K2? Are the settings to connect and the rig commands the same? Yes. The K3 supports the K2 command set and adds more or enhances certain K2 commands. Complete details are documented via the relevant programmers guides available for download on the Elecraft web site. 73, de Nate -- The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears this is true. Ham radio, Linux, bikes, and more: http://www.n0nb.us __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] K2 K3 Rig Control
Thanks for the info. I am writing some code to read and control the K2, but thought it would be good to also handle the K3 while at it. 73, Bill - WA5PV On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 13:56, Mike n...@nf4l.com wrote: Bill. The K3 connects to a computer thru a DB9 connector for RS-232 communication. The K3 and K2 share some of the commands. Take a look at the K3 programmers manual at http://www.elecraft.com/manual/K3_Pgmrs_Reference_Rev_C14.pdf. 73, Mike NF4L On 3/8/2011 2:40 PM, Bill Allen wrote: Does the K3 have a port like the KIO on the K2? Are the settings to connect and the rig commands the same? 73, Bill - WA5PB __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] Fw: Why I won't purchase K3
I have a different opinion. I like kits. The stereo I used in college was a Heathkit I built myself. I built the K2 and learned a great deal from the experience. I had at least as much fun building the radio as using it. Building the K3 is indeed much less of a kit experience. This is inevitable because technology has moved forward. High end equipment now extensively uses surface mount parts. It is impossible to practically market a kit requiring extensive assembly of boards using surface mount parts. The equipment and skills needed for that type of work is beyond the casual amateur. That does not mean there is no advantage to having built the K3 as a kit. Recently I had a problem with the B VFO. After a call to the factory I was able to do a test and determine the B VFO encoder was going bad. They sent out a replacement and I was able to swap the parts in about fifteen minutes. No charge and no radio down time. If this had not been a kit I would have had to return the radio for service. That would have meant a multi week delay and considerable expense and frustration. -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Alexey Kats Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2011 6:45 AM To: VE3GAM Allen McRorie Cc: Elecraft List Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Fw: Why I won't purchase K3 Allen, you misunderstood me. I have no problem with using owning K3 - it the best radio I around, no matter which day you ask it. My problem is with K3 in its kit form. I don't have a problem buying it as an assembled radio. But I have a problem with buying it as a kit and then claiming that I built it. All this kit form does is saving some money. It does not make me proud of achieving anything - that's what I was griping about. I don't mind bying K3. I don't like building it, that's all Actually, I think I should apologize to everybody - the subject of my original post was probably misleading. The better way to phrase it would be why I won't purchase K3 KIT. On Sun, Mar 6, 2011 at 6:29 AM, VE3GAM Allen McRorie ve3...@rogers.comwrote: interesting comment! if you want to use one of the best radios around, I really don't get why it is so important that you BUILD the rig. Hopefully the END product is more important than the process used to get there. if not, then I guess you will miss out on using one of the best radios around. that is why I don't consider the BUILD question important at all . Al ve3gam -- Alexey Kats (neko) __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving
Here's a follow-on question to the reflector... Vernon's set-up brings a question to mind. He says he's using a 4:1 balun on his vertical. At first brush that seems counterintuitive, doesn't it? Isn't a vertical unbalanced? Certainly the coax is unbalanced. When you're mating an unbalanced feedline with an unbalanced antenna, wouldn't one be better off using an unun rather than a 4:1 balun? In further support of my line of questioning, I've read numerous, albeit anecdotal, reports of people being displeased with the performance of their vertical, particularly the untuned ones like Zero-Five for example. But when they add an unun they are then amazed at how the antenna allegedly sprung to life. 73, Dave AH6TD On Mar 8, 2011, at 6:20 AM, Vernon Mauery wrote: Yes. I can see the S-meter go from 3-4 down with static down to nothing with quieter static. My best guess is that I am not trying the right times at the right places. Thanks to everyone for the help. --Vernon N7OH On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 8:12 AM, Ross Primrose N4RP n...@aiko.com wrote: Does the received noise decrease when you disconnect the antenna? 73, Ross N4RP On 3/8/2011 1:06 AM, Vernon Mauery wrote: At the risk of exposing what a n00b I am when it comes to HF, I really need some help. I recently (last month) purchased a K3. First HF radio I have owned. I got my license 2 years ago and have spent most of the time since playing with VHF. I have been trying to teach myself CW and decided that it was time to step into the HF waters. I studied, ogled, and dreamed of my ideal HF transceiver. I finally found the K3 and having looked (at least a cursory glance) at all the others, I was sold. I saved my pennies and purchased. I also got myself a 43' untuned vertical antenna, balun, and radial wires. My setup: K3/100 has 100 feet of low loss 400 coax out to the 43 foot vertical on the hill in my back yard. It has 8 25 foot radials and a 4:1 balun. The K3 has the KATU3, KPA3, KTCXO3-1, KFL3A-400, and default 2.8KHz filters. I assembled it and did followed the calibration instructions as well as I could. I think I got everything, but obviously I missed something. Or maybe I just need an elmer to tell me what to do. I cannot seem to find any signals that make the S meter go above a 3 or 4. I have the RF gain turned up a fair ways (mostly to the top), and I can hear static. As I tune up some of the bands on SSB, I can hear a tone that changes higher in pitch as I tune up in frequency. I have tried listening for CW, but I am hearing nothing as I scan through the bands. I had a 10m horizontal dipole taped to my wall for a while until I found time to run the coax out to the back yard. I had hoped that since it was resonant on the 10m band, maybe it would be able to pick up something, but it was no better (or worse) than my vertical. As far as I can tell, the radio seems to transmit. I can see the power meter moving and the SWR meter moving. The ATU seems to be able to find acceptable settings on most of the bands with the vertical. But I can't hear them. You can't work them if you can't hear them, right? This is a desperate plea for help. Is it the radio or me? Please have pity on the n00b and walk me through my first HF contact. --Vernon N7OH __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html -- FCC Section 97.313(a) “At all times, an amateur station must use the minimum transmitter power necessary to carry out the desired communications.” __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving
The only possible reason I can think of for using a Unun or Balun with any end-fed (Marconi) antenna is to minimize RF on the outside of the coaxial cable shield. But that seldom works because much of that RF is induced by the field around the radiator itself, not caused by RF flowing around the end of the shield at the antenna. The only scenario that comes to mind for an antenna springing to life when a Unun is added is that it was set up according to the manufacturer's specs without an SWR check at the feed point and the coax is detuning it. In that case decoupling the outside of the coax might bring the system closer to resonance and provide a better match to the feedline. The only time I've considered a balun (or unun) is when I'm feeding a balanced radiator that is at least 1/2 wavelength above the ground and I particularly want to preserve its pattern. For example, the driven element in a Yagi antenna. If the antenna isn't close to at least 1/2 wavelength above the earth, its pattern is heavily influenced by the earth and structures within a few wavelengths, and a balun or unun won't correct for that. Ron AC7AC -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of David Herring Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2011 2:30 PM To: Vernon Mauery Cc: Elecraft Mailing List Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving Here's a follow-on question to the reflector... Vernon's set-up brings a question to mind. He says he's using a 4:1 balun on his vertical. At first brush that seems counterintuitive, doesn't it? Isn't a vertical unbalanced? Certainly the coax is unbalanced. When you're mating an unbalanced feedline with an unbalanced antenna, wouldn't one be better off using an unun rather than a 4:1 balun? In further support of my line of questioning, I've read numerous, albeit anecdotal, reports of people being displeased with the performance of their vertical, particularly the untuned ones like Zero-Five for example. But when they add an unun they are then amazed at how the antenna allegedly sprung to life. 73, Dave AH6TD On Mar 8, 2011, at 6:20 AM, Vernon Mauery wrote: Yes. I can see the S-meter go from 3-4 down with static down to nothing with quieter static. My best guess is that I am not trying the right times at the right places. Thanks to everyone for the help. --Vernon N7OH On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 8:12 AM, Ross Primrose N4RP n...@aiko.com wrote: Does the received noise decrease when you disconnect the antenna? 73, Ross N4RP On 3/8/2011 1:06 AM, Vernon Mauery wrote: At the risk of exposing what a n00b I am when it comes to HF, I really need some help. I recently (last month) purchased a K3. First HF radio I have owned. I got my license 2 years ago and have spent most of the time since playing with VHF. I have been trying to teach myself CW and decided that it was time to step into the HF waters. I studied, ogled, and dreamed of my ideal HF transceiver. I finally found the K3 and having looked (at least a cursory glance) at all the others, I was sold. I saved my pennies and purchased. I also got myself a 43' untuned vertical antenna, balun, and radial wires. My setup: K3/100 has 100 feet of low loss 400 coax out to the 43 foot vertical on the hill in my back yard. It has 8 25 foot radials and a 4:1 balun. The K3 has the KATU3, KPA3, KTCXO3-1, KFL3A-400, and default 2.8KHz filters. I assembled it and did followed the calibration instructions as well as I could. I think I got everything, but obviously I missed something. Or maybe I just need an elmer to tell me what to do. I cannot seem to find any signals that make the S meter go above a 3 or 4. I have the RF gain turned up a fair ways (mostly to the top), and I can hear static. As I tune up some of the bands on SSB, I can hear a tone that changes higher in pitch as I tune up in frequency. I have tried listening for CW, but I am hearing nothing as I scan through the bands. I had a 10m horizontal dipole taped to my wall for a while until I found time to run the coax out to the back yard. I had hoped that since it was resonant on the 10m band, maybe it would be able to pick up something, but it was no better (or worse) than my vertical. As far as I can tell, the radio seems to transmit. I can see the power meter moving and the SWR meter moving. The ATU seems to be able to find acceptable settings on most of the bands with the vertical. But I can't hear them. You can't work them if you can't hear them, right? This is a desperate plea for help. Is it the radio or me? Please have pity on the n00b and walk me through my first HF contact. --Vernon N7OH __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by:
Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving
I've heard quite a few people use balun, when they meant impedence transformer or unun. I heard somewhere (and the tapes have been erased) that the 43' length came about because it was the most economical length for a manufacturer to cut stock with the least waste to meet shipping limitations. 73, Mike NF4L On 3/8/2011 5:29 PM, David Herring wrote: Here's a follow-on question to the reflector... Vernon's set-up brings a question to mind. He says he's using a 4:1 balun on his vertical. At first brush that seems counterintuitive, doesn't it? Isn't a vertical unbalanced? Certainly the coax is unbalanced. When you're mating an unbalanced feedline with an unbalanced antenna, wouldn't one be better off using an unun rather than a 4:1 balun? In further support of my line of questioning, I've read numerous, albeit anecdotal, reports of people being displeased with the performance of their vertical, particularly the untuned ones like Zero-Five for example. But when they add an unun they are then amazed at how the antenna allegedly sprung to life. 73, Dave AH6TD On Mar 8, 2011, at 6:20 AM, Vernon Mauery wrote: Yes. I can see the S-meter go from 3-4 down with static down to nothing with quieter static. My best guess is that I am not trying the right times at the right places. Thanks to everyone for the help. --Vernon N7OH On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 8:12 AM, Ross Primrose N4RPn...@aiko.com wrote: Does the received noise decrease when you disconnect the antenna? 73, Ross N4RP On 3/8/2011 1:06 AM, Vernon Mauery wrote: At the risk of exposing what a n00b I am when it comes to HF, I really need some help. I recently (last month) purchased a K3. First HF radio I have owned. I got my license 2 years ago and have spent most of the time since playing with VHF. I have been trying to teach myself CW and decided that it was time to step into the HF waters. I studied, ogled, and dreamed of my ideal HF transceiver. I finally found the K3 and having looked (at least a cursory glance) at all the others, I was sold. I saved my pennies and purchased. I also got myself a 43' untuned vertical antenna, balun, and radial wires. My setup: K3/100 has 100 feet of low loss 400 coax out to the 43 foot vertical on the hill in my back yard. It has 8 25 foot radials and a 4:1 balun. The K3 has the KATU3, KPA3, KTCXO3-1, KFL3A-400, and default 2.8KHz filters. I assembled it and did followed the calibration instructions as well as I could. I think I got everything, but obviously I missed something. Or maybe I just need an elmer to tell me what to do. I cannot seem to find any signals that make the S meter go above a 3 or 4. I have the RF gain turned up a fair ways (mostly to the top), and I can hear static. As I tune up some of the bands on SSB, I can hear a tone that changes higher in pitch as I tune up in frequency. I have tried listening for CW, but I am hearing nothing as I scan through the bands. I had a 10m horizontal dipole taped to my wall for a while until I found time to run the coax out to the back yard. I had hoped that since it was resonant on the 10m band, maybe it would be able to pick up something, but it was no better (or worse) than my vertical. As far as I can tell, the radio seems to transmit. I can see the power meter moving and the SWR meter moving. The ATU seems to be able to find acceptable settings on most of the bands with the vertical. But I can't hear them. You can't work them if you can't hear them, right? This is a desperate plea for help. Is it the radio or me? Please have pity on the n00b and walk me through my first HF contact. --Vernon N7OH __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html -- FCC Section 97.313(a) “At all times, an amateur station must use the minimum transmitter power necessary to carry out the desired communications.” __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html __ Elecraft mailing list Home:
Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving
The 43 foot length is the optimum length for low angle radiation on 20 meters (5/8 wavelength). It is also not an even half wave on the other bands so will match reasonably well with a proper coupler and a 4:1 unun. It is a vertical equivalent of a G5RV. Willis 'Cookie' Cooke K5EWJ From: Mike n...@nf4l.com To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Tue, March 8, 2011 4:44:33 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving I've heard quite a few people use balun, when they meant impedence transformer or unun. I heard somewhere (and the tapes have been erased) that the 43' length came about because it was the most economical length for a manufacturer to cut stock with the least waste to meet shipping limitations. 73, Mike NF4L On 3/8/2011 5:29 PM, David Herring wrote: Here's a follow-on question to the reflector... Vernon's set-up brings a question to mind. He says he's using a 4:1 balun on his vertical. At first brush that seems counterintuitive, doesn't it? Isn't a vertical unbalanced? Certainly the coax is unbalanced. When you're mating an unbalanced feedline with an unbalanced antenna, wouldn't one be better off using an unun rather than a 4:1 balun? In further support of my line of questioning, I've read numerous, albeit anecdotal, reports of people being displeased with the performance of their vertical, particularly the untuned ones like Zero-Five for example. But when they add an unun they are then amazed at how the antenna allegedly sprung to life. 73, Dave AH6TD On Mar 8, 2011, at 6:20 AM, Vernon Mauery wrote: Yes. I can see the S-meter go from 3-4 down with static down to nothing with quieter static. My best guess is that I am not trying the right times at the right places. Thanks to everyone for the help. --Vernon N7OH On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 8:12 AM, Ross Primrose N4RPn...@aiko.com wrote: Does the received noise decrease when you disconnect the antenna? 73, Ross N4RP On 3/8/2011 1:06 AM, Vernon Mauery wrote: At the risk of exposing what a n00b I am when it comes to HF, I really need some help. I recently (last month) purchased a K3. First HF radio I have owned. I got my license 2 years ago and have spent most of the time since playing with VHF. I have been trying to teach myself CW and decided that it was time to step into the HF waters. I studied, ogled, and dreamed of my ideal HF transceiver. I finally found the K3 and having looked (at least a cursory glance) at all the others, I was sold. I saved my pennies and purchased. I also got myself a 43' untuned vertical antenna, balun, and radial wires. My setup: K3/100 has 100 feet of low loss 400 coax out to the 43 foot vertical on the hill in my back yard. It has 8 25 foot radials and a 4:1 balun. The K3 has the KATU3, KPA3, KTCXO3-1, KFL3A-400, and default 2.8KHz filters. I assembled it and did followed the calibration instructions as well as I could. I think I got everything, but obviously I missed something. Or maybe I just need an elmer to tell me what to do. I cannot seem to find any signals that make the S meter go above a 3 or 4. I have the RF gain turned up a fair ways (mostly to the top), and I can hear static. As I tune up some of the bands on SSB, I can hear a tone that changes higher in pitch as I tune up in frequency. I have tried listening for CW, but I am hearing nothing as I scan through the bands. I had a 10m horizontal dipole taped to my wall for a while until I found time to run the coax out to the back yard. I had hoped that since it was resonant on the 10m band, maybe it would be able to pick up something, but it was no better (or worse) than my vertical. As far as I can tell, the radio seems to transmit. I can see the power meter moving and the SWR meter moving. The ATU seems to be able to find acceptable settings on most of the bands with the vertical. But I can't hear them. You can't work them if you can't hear them, right? This is a desperate plea for help. Is it the radio or me? Please have pity on the n00b and walk me through my first HF contact. --Vernon N7OH __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html -- FCC Section 97.313(a) “At all times, an amateur station must use the minimum transmitter power necessary to carry out the desired communications.” __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving
That's quite possible Mike, but there's an electrical reason for the 42' 10-80 meter vertical height. 42 feet is 5/8 wavelength on 10 meters. Above that length, the pattern shifts skyward quickly which greatly reduces DX performance on 10. It's still long enough to be very efficient on either 40 or 80 with a good ground system. Ron AC7AC -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Mike Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2011 2:45 PM To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving I've heard quite a few people use balun, when they meant impedence transformer or unun. I heard somewhere (and the tapes have been erased) that the 43' length came about because it was the most economical length for a manufacturer to cut stock with the least waste to meet shipping limitations. 73, Mike NF4L On 3/8/2011 5:29 PM, David Herring wrote: Here's a follow-on question to the reflector... Vernon's set-up brings a question to mind. He says he's using a 4:1 balun on his vertical. At first brush that seems counterintuitive, doesn't it? Isn't a vertical unbalanced? Certainly the coax is unbalanced. When you're mating an unbalanced feedline with an unbalanced antenna, wouldn't one be better off using an unun rather than a 4:1 balun? In further support of my line of questioning, I've read numerous, albeit anecdotal, reports of people being displeased with the performance of their vertical, particularly the untuned ones like Zero-Five for example. But when they add an unun they are then amazed at how the antenna allegedly sprung to life. 73, Dave AH6TD On Mar 8, 2011, at 6:20 AM, Vernon Mauery wrote: Yes. I can see the S-meter go from 3-4 down with static down to nothing with quieter static. My best guess is that I am not trying the right times at the right places. Thanks to everyone for the help. --Vernon N7OH On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 8:12 AM, Ross Primrose N4RPn...@aiko.com wrote: Does the received noise decrease when you disconnect the antenna? 73, Ross N4RP On 3/8/2011 1:06 AM, Vernon Mauery wrote: At the risk of exposing what a n00b I am when it comes to HF, I really need some help. I recently (last month) purchased a K3. First HF radio I have owned. I got my license 2 years ago and have spent most of the time since playing with VHF. I have been trying to teach myself CW and decided that it was time to step into the HF waters. I studied, ogled, and dreamed of my ideal HF transceiver. I finally found the K3 and having looked (at least a cursory glance) at all the others, I was sold. I saved my pennies and purchased. I also got myself a 43' untuned vertical antenna, balun, and radial wires. My setup: K3/100 has 100 feet of low loss 400 coax out to the 43 foot vertical on the hill in my back yard. It has 8 25 foot radials and a 4:1 balun. The K3 has the KATU3, KPA3, KTCXO3-1, KFL3A-400, and default 2.8KHz filters. I assembled it and did followed the calibration instructions as well as I could. I think I got everything, but obviously I missed something. Or maybe I just need an elmer to tell me what to do. I cannot seem to find any signals that make the S meter go above a 3 or 4. I have the RF gain turned up a fair ways (mostly to the top), and I can hear static. As I tune up some of the bands on SSB, I can hear a tone that changes higher in pitch as I tune up in frequency. I have tried listening for CW, but I am hearing nothing as I scan through the bands. I had a 10m horizontal dipole taped to my wall for a while until I found time to run the coax out to the back yard. I had hoped that since it was resonant on the 10m band, maybe it would be able to pick up something, but it was no better (or worse) than my vertical. As far as I can tell, the radio seems to transmit. I can see the power meter moving and the SWR meter moving. The ATU seems to be able to find acceptable settings on most of the bands with the vertical. But I can't hear them. You can't work them if you can't hear them, right? This is a desperate plea for help. Is it the radio or me? Please have pity on the n00b and walk me through my first HF contact. --Vernon N7OH __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html -- FCC Section 97.313(a) At all times, an amateur station must use the minimum transmitter power necessary to carry out the desired communications. __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list
Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving
Good point Cookie. I was not considering a Unun that is also an impedance transformer. They really are two different things, although in some special cases such as you describe they can be combined. Another very common one is the 4:1 Balun used to feed a folded 1/2 wave radiator. Ron AC7AC - From: WILLIS COOKE [mailto:wrco...@yahoo.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2011 3:18 PM To: Ron D'Eau Claire; David Herring; Vernon Mauery Cc: Elecraft Mailing List Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving I uses a 4:1 UnUn to feed a 105 ft. Marconi strung horizontally from the sail of a submarine to a mast on the stern because EZNEC tells me that the radiation resistance in near 200 ohms on the frequencies of interest and it allows me to ground the braid where the coax exits the sail in effort to minimize the radiation inside the metallic sail and the hull. BalUns and UnUns look a lot alike and are made from the same materials, but they are not wound the same and are not interchangable. Hopefully if you buy a 43 foot vertical and it comes with a transformer they will give you the right thing, but if you home brew an antenna system you need to know the difference. Willis 'Cookie' Cooke K5EWJ __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving
None of these old wive's tales are true. The 43' length is a convenient non-resonant length - nothing else. The balun was chosen originally because the 43' vertical was originally planned to have one or two elevated radials only (making it balanced), and it would load fine with a balun. The problems came to be when full-blown radial systems were attached and station grounds were connected to the radials, which again, were originally intended to be elevated - i.e.; not grounded. What this did was to short one side of the output of the balun to ground. So, when you ground the radials, an UN-UN is preferable and works very well. I have a 43' vertical with one of AD5X's 160 and 80 matching systems at the base fed with an UN-UN and it works great. I use it on all bands - 160 through 10m. Check out the ZL8X online log with my call to see how well it works. 73, Bob W5OV I've heard quite a few people use balun, when they meant impedence transformer or unun. I heard somewhere (and the tapes have been erased) that the 43' length came about because it was the most economical length for a manufacturer to cut stock with the least waste to meet shipping limitations. 73, Mike NF4L On 3/8/2011 5:29 PM, David Herring wrote: Here's a follow-on question to the reflector... Vernon's set-up brings a question to mind. He says he's using a 4:1 balun on his vertical. At first brush that seems counterintuitive, doesn't it? Isn't a vertical unbalanced? Certainly the coax is unbalanced. When you're mating an unbalanced feedline with an unbalanced antenna, wouldn't one be better off using an unun rather than a 4:1 balun? In further support of my line of questioning, I've read numerous, albeit anecdotal, reports of people being displeased with the performance of their vertical, particularly the untuned ones like Zero-Five for example. But when they add an unun they are then amazed at how the antenna allegedly sprung to life. 73, Dave AH6TD On Mar 8, 2011, at 6:20 AM, Vernon Mauery wrote: Yes. I can see the S-meter go from 3-4 down with static down to nothing with quieter static. My best guess is that I am not trying the right times at the right places. Thanks to everyone for the help. --Vernon N7OH On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 8:12 AM, Ross Primrose N4RPn...@aiko.com wrote: Does the received noise decrease when you disconnect the antenna? 73, Ross N4RP On 3/8/2011 1:06 AM, Vernon Mauery wrote: At the risk of exposing what a n00b I am when it comes to HF, I really need some help. I recently (last month) purchased a K3. First HF radio I have owned. I got my license 2 years ago and have spent most of the time since playing with VHF. I have been trying to teach myself CW and decided that it was time to step into the HF waters. I studied, ogled, and dreamed of my ideal HF transceiver. I finally found the K3 and having looked (at least a cursory glance) at all the others, I was sold. I saved my pennies and purchased. I also got myself a 43' untuned vertical antenna, balun, and radial wires. My setup: K3/100 has 100 feet of low loss 400 coax out to the 43 foot vertical on the hill in my back yard. It has 8 25 foot radials and a 4:1 balun. The K3 has the KATU3, KPA3, KTCXO3-1, KFL3A-400, and default 2.8KHz filters. I assembled it and did followed the calibration instructions as well as I could. I think I got everything, but obviously I missed something. Or maybe I just need an elmer to tell me what to do. I cannot seem to find any signals that make the S meter go above a 3 or 4. I have the RF gain turned up a fair ways (mostly to the top), and I can hear static. As I tune up some of the bands on SSB, I can hear a tone that changes higher in pitch as I tune up in frequency. I have tried listening for CW, but I am hearing nothing as I scan through the bands. I had a 10m horizontal dipole taped to my wall for a while until I found time to run the coax out to the back yard. I had hoped that since it was resonant on the 10m band, maybe it would be able to pick up something, but it was no better (or worse) than my vertical. As far as I can tell, the radio seems to transmit. I can see the power meter moving and the SWR meter moving. The ATU seems to be able to find acceptable settings on most of the bands with the vertical. But I can't hear them. You can't work them if you can't hear them, right? This is a desperate plea for help. Is it the radio or me? Please have pity on the n00b and walk me through my first HF contact. --Vernon N7OH __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html -- FCC Section 97.313(a) At all times, an amateur station
[Elecraft] K3 not recieving
All this has nothing to do with his K3 but what about a Choke Balun? Is it really a balun or is it a unun? We use the same device to feed a ground mounted vertical to reduce RF on the coax and to feed a balanced dipole with coax. It's both a balun and unun depending on how it's used. Steve N4LQ - Original Message - From: Mike n...@nf4l.com To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2011 5:44 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving I've heard quite a few people use balun, when they meant impedence transformer or unun. I heard somewhere (and the tapes have been erased) that the 43' length came about because it was the most economical length for a manufacturer to cut stock with the least waste to meet shipping limitations. 73, Mike NF4L On 3/8/2011 5:29 PM, David Herring wrote: Here's a follow-on question to the reflector... Vernon's set-up brings a question to mind. He says he's using a 4:1 balun on his vertical. At first brush that seems counterintuitive, doesn't it? Isn't a vertical unbalanced? Certainly the coax is unbalanced. When you're mating an unbalanced feedline with an unbalanced antenna, wouldn't one be better off using an unun rather than a 4:1 balun? In further support of my line of questioning, I've read numerous, albeit anecdotal, reports of people being displeased with the performance of their vertical, particularly the untuned ones like Zero-Five for example. But when they add an unun they are then amazed at how the antenna allegedly sprung to life. 73, Dave AH6TD On Mar 8, 2011, at 6:20 AM, Vernon Mauery wrote: Yes. I can see the S-meter go from 3-4 down with static down to nothing with quieter static. My best guess is that I am not trying the right times at the right places. Thanks to everyone for the help. --Vernon N7OH On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 8:12 AM, Ross Primrose N4RPn...@aiko.com wrote: Does the received noise decrease when you disconnect the antenna? 73, Ross N4RP On 3/8/2011 1:06 AM, Vernon Mauery wrote: At the risk of exposing what a n00b I am when it comes to HF, I really need some help. I recently (last month) purchased a K3. First HF radio I have owned. I got my license 2 years ago and have spent most of the time since playing with VHF. I have been trying to teach myself CW and decided that it was time to step into the HF waters. I studied, ogled, and dreamed of my ideal HF transceiver. I finally found the K3 and having looked (at least a cursory glance) at all the others, I was sold. I saved my pennies and purchased. I also got myself a 43' untuned vertical antenna, balun, and radial wires. My setup: K3/100 has 100 feet of low loss 400 coax out to the 43 foot vertical on the hill in my back yard. It has 8 25 foot radials and a 4:1 balun. The K3 has the KATU3, KPA3, KTCXO3-1, KFL3A-400, and default 2.8KHz filters. I assembled it and did followed the calibration instructions as well as I could. I think I got everything, but obviously I missed something. Or maybe I just need an elmer to tell me what to do. I cannot seem to find any signals that make the S meter go above a 3 or 4. I have the RF gain turned up a fair ways (mostly to the top), and I can hear static. As I tune up some of the bands on SSB, I can hear a tone that changes higher in pitch as I tune up in frequency. I have tried listening for CW, but I am hearing nothing as I scan through the bands. I had a 10m horizontal dipole taped to my wall for a while until I found time to run the coax out to the back yard. I had hoped that since it was resonant on the 10m band, maybe it would be able to pick up something, but it was no better (or worse) than my vertical. As far as I can tell, the radio seems to transmit. I can see the power meter moving and the SWR meter moving. The ATU seems to be able to find acceptable settings on most of the bands with the vertical. But I can't hear them. You can't work them if you can't hear them, right? This is a desperate plea for help. Is it the radio or me? Please have pity on the n00b and walk me through my first HF contact. --Vernon N7OH __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html -- FCC Section 97.313(a) “At all times, an amateur station must use the minimum transmitter power necessary to carry out the desired communications.” __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list:
Re: [Elecraft] K3 not recieving
Quite right, Dave! I see Cookie has the right number. I'll cc the elecraft list to prevent any confusion, Hi! Ron -Original Message- Ron, 43' is actually 5/8 on 20 meters, so the vertical is not so hot on 15 and 10. Dave Hachadorian, K6LL Yuma, AZ __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
[Elecraft] K2 7109 initial power on test
Well I'm happy to say that the initial power on test went well. I have only finished up to page 44 where it says RF Probe assembly, but I was happy to see that it everything worked as advertised. I have to say that I'm delighted that I did not smell smoke or had any other problems sending me to the trouble shooting section, so far. Excited 73, Ed KE7HGA -- View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/K2-7109-initial-power-on-test-tp615p615.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] K2 7109 initial power on test
Ed, Congratulations! Continue to have fun building the K2 - it gets better as it goes on. Actually, that probe is the internal counter probe rather than an RF Probe. The package does contain the parts for an RF Probe that you can assemble on the remains of the switch spacing tool, but no explicit instructions are provided. The RF probe schematic is on page 9 of Appendix E. Be watchful of the soldering, and leave no leads unsoldered - especially watch for the pin 1 problem - the solder pads for the ICs are round for the pin 1 location and rectangular for the others, so pin 1 is easily overlooked. Do not work when you are tired - that is when mistakes happen, and be careful - some of those components have a habit of jumping out of the proper holes and getting into holes of their own desires. 73, Don W3FPR On 3/8/2011 8:21 PM, EMD wrote: Well I'm happy to say that the initial power on test went well. I have only finished up to page 44 where it says RF Probe assembly, but I was happy to see that it everything worked as advertised. I have to say that I'm delighted that I did not smell smoke or had any other problems sending me to the trouble shooting section, so far. Excited 73, Ed KE7HGA __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
[Elecraft] CW to DATA question
I see how the IM prosign is used to quickly terminate a transmission when sending via the key to keyer connection but I can't find how that IM can be implemented using the K3 Terminal program. I've searched archive messages and through the documentation but I'm not having any luck finding an answer. I've tried to just append the prosign characters at the end of what I'm sending but, of course, it sends IM instead of stopping. Are there some characters required to enclose the IM or how is it actually done? Any help is appreciated. 73, Jim - K5LAD It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it. -- Sam Levenson = My Web Page - http://www.hayseed.net/~jpk5lad __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] standard vs stainless steel screws
Hi Doug, I had the Stainless Steel kit in installed into my K3 when it was factory built and I swear by them. (I reckon that if it had standard screws in it I would be swearing AT them!) I live right on the east coast of Australia in the tropics where we get salt spray, floods, cyclones (hurricanes) and all manner of other weather delights. I am sure that if my K3 had the standard screws in it that it would have rust stains all over the radio by now. (And the radio is not yet 1 year old!) My $0.02c worth, keep the change! Jeff Cochrane - VK4BOF Innisfail, QLD, Australia Elecraft K3# 4257 + PR6 - K144XV = multiband goodness! - Original Message - From: Doug Faunt N6TQS 510-655-8604 To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2011 4:08 AM Subject: [Elecraft] standard vs stainless steel screws This was discussed in depth a while back, but I though I'd report my experience. I took my K3 to Niue and Norfolk Island for a couple of weeks each in their spring. In both cases, we were high over the ocean, not close but it was visible, and humidity was often high. My K3 now has a dozen screws that now have rusty heads- the 8 fan mounting screws and the 4 speaker mounting screws. I have the SS screw kit in hand, but haven't gotten to installing them. I also had a minor KAT3 failure, I think due to the amount of transportation, about which I'll report later. 73, doug __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] standard vs stainless steel screws
*Hey Jeff, Your K3 got floaties yet?...:-) Gary * On 9 March 2011 15:10, Jeff Cochrane - VK4BOF vk4bof.elecr...@gmail.comwrote: Hi Doug, I had the Stainless Steel kit in installed into my K3 when it was factory built and I swear by them. (I reckon that if it had standard screws in it I would be swearing AT them!) I live right on the east coast of Australia in the tropics where we get salt spray, floods, cyclones (hurricanes) and all manner of other weather delights. I am sure that if my K3 had the standard screws in it that it would have rust stains all over the radio by now. (And the radio is not yet 1 year old!) My $0.02c worth, keep the change! Jeff Cochrane - VK4BOF Innisfail, QLD, Australia Elecraft K3# 4257 + PR6 - K144XV = multiband goodness! - Original Message - From: Doug Faunt N6TQS 510-655-8604 To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2011 4:08 AM Subject: [Elecraft] standard vs stainless steel screws This was discussed in depth a while back, but I though I'd report my experience. I took my K3 to Niue and Norfolk Island for a couple of weeks each in their spring. In both cases, we were high over the ocean, not close but it was visible, and humidity was often high. My K3 now has a dozen screws that now have rusty heads- the 8 fan mounting screws and the 4 speaker mounting screws. I have the SS screw kit in hand, but haven't gotten to installing them. I also had a minor KAT3 failure, I think due to the amount of transportation, about which I'll report later. 73, doug __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html -- *VK4FD - Motorhome Mobile Elecraft Equipment K3 #679, KPA-500 #018 Living the dream!!!* __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
