Re: [Elecraft] Advice on K3 versus KX3

[Carl Clawson]

Hi Phil

IMO the only reason to prefer the KX3 is compactness and light weight for
portable operations.

73, Carl WS7L

On Sat, May 22, 2021 at 1:59 PM Phil Hystad via Elecraft <
elecraft@mailman.qth.net> wrote:

> Looking for advice…
>
> I am considering which of my two rigs to keep, the K3+P3 or the
> KX3+PX3+KXPA100.  My K3 is serial number 3799 and it has not been upgraded
> with the new hardware developed for the K3S and I have no interest in
> upgrading the K3.
>
> Sherwood engineering ranks (with its default ordering) the KX3 above the
> K3 but as for me, those subtle differences in performance factors have
> never been meaningful to me so that does not matter.
>
> The question is:  If I sold off the K3+P3, what would I be missing with
> keeping just the KX3?
>
>
> 73, phil, K7PEH
>
> P.S. I almost put the K3 up for sale last year but covid changed my
> priorities.
> __
> 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
> Message delivered to clawso...@gmail.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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com 

[Elecraft] K2 #7997 is alive

[Carl Clawson]

I'm 20 years late to the game but I finally built a K2. What a satisfying
project to build, and a delightful rig to operate. It doesn't have all the
performance and features of my fully-updated K3, but it's a great little
radio nonetheless.

I finished the final alignment and test Tuesday and have used it a couple
evenings now.

Now to build the SSB adapter and the 100 W amp.

73, Carl WS7L
__
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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com 

Re: [Elecraft] Building a K2

[Carl Clawson]

Sorry to hear of your problem, Ted, but I bet the K2 was cheaper than
physical therapy. Hope it helps.

I’m in phase 2 of the RF board, and having a blast. I can’t wait to fire up
the synth and receiver.

73, Carl WS7L

On Fri, Apr 16, 2021 at 11:46 AM  wrote:

> Carl –
>
>
>
> Just saw your note on the reflector.  This morning I completed the RF
> board on one I’ve been building since early February.  Al the soldering is
> done.  The rest is the mechanical parts.
>
>
>
> It’s my fourth K2.  One I keep as a contest backup, two I’ve sold, and
> this one I am donating to a junior high school radio club.  I do them
> because the build is an extraordinary experience, made all the better by
> the excellence of Elecraft’s engineering, (and their support when I’ve
> needed it.)
>
>
>
> There was an additional reason for my doing this latest one.  Not long ago
> I suffered a hemorrhagic stroke that pretty well disabled both the sensory
> and the fine motor control of my left arm and hand. (I can’t feel it when I
> am holding a screw or nut in the fingers of my left hand, and trying to
> manipulate something that small is damn near impossible.)  I undertook this
> build as a home-made form of physical therapy.  It required some strange
> adaptations on my part and some of it was slow going.  We’ll see in another
> few days whether it went together at is should.
>
>
>
> Whatever the outcome, I greatly enjoyed the ride.  Nothing like it.
>
>
>
> Ted, KN1CBR
>
__
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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com 

[Elecraft] Another way to pass time waiting for my K4 - building a K2

[Carl Clawson]

I was late getting in the queue -- I ordered it after I flew home on the
Tuesday after Dayton 2019. It'll be interesting to see when it comes and
what serial number I get.

So I bought a K2 and am now building it. I was on the verge of doing that
in 2007 when the K3 was announced so I built the K3 instead. The K2's time
has finally come. I just got to the first test stage.

I don't know what I'll do with it once it's built. Sell it, keep it as a
loaner for new HF ops in one of my clubs, who knows?

I love the smell of rosin in the morning.

73 and thanks for listening -- Carl WS7L
__
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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com 

Re: [Elecraft] K3 cw rise time

[Carl Clawson]

Hi Tony. According to the K3 mod page, this was introduced at about s/n 280
so you're good to go.

You made me wonder why I hadn't heard of it! I have K3 #486 and I've done
almost every mod that they have come up with..

73, Carl WS7L

On Mon, Apr 12, 2021 at 11:35 AM Tony - KM0O  wrote:

> Hello,
>
> This subject came up in a recent conversation, and I had to admit that I do
> not know the cw rise time of my K3. It's s/n 444, and does not have the cw
> rise time mod that elecraft sells. The firmware is the current version.
>
> I read somewhere that the rise time was decreased in a previous firmware
> issue, but I don't know if that's true.
>
> It was originally 8ms, I think, which is unnecessarily long.
>
> Can anyone help?
>
> 73,
> Tony   KM0O
>
>
>
>
> --
> Sent from: http://elecraft.365791.n2.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
> Message delivered to clawso...@gmail.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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com 

Re: [Elecraft] KX3 with a straight key.

[Carl Clawson]

My spidey sense tells me to mention that you have to use a stereo plug into
the KX3.

73, Carl WS7L

On Sat, Aug 8, 2020 at 8:02 AM rich hurd WC3T  wrote:

> Either a very pithy post, or HTML.  :)
>
> On Sat, Aug 8, 2020 at 08:39 Ian Pryke  wrote:
>
> >
> > __
> > 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
> > Message delivered to r...@wc3t.us
> >
> --
> 72,
> Rich Hurd / WC3T / DMR: 3142737
> Northampton County RACES, EPA-ARRL Public Information Officer for Scouting
> Latitude: 40.761621 Longitude: -75.288988  (40°45.68' N 75°17.33' W) Grid:
> *FN20is*
> __
> 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
> Message delivered to clawso...@gmail.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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com 

Re: [Elecraft] KPA1500 power per frequency bin

[Carl Clawson]

Regardless of how it would have to be implemented, Hank hit the nail
squarely on  the head here. As I go up and down the band (especially low
bands where the antennas are skinny and every increment of power is to be
treasured) I have to either dial back my power when the KPA ATU is working
harder, or accept lowered power on those frequencies where the ATU is
loafing.

It may be too late for the K3, but Elecraft software guys, please figure
out how to make the K4 and KPA1500 talk to each other and make this happen.

Your customers will appreciate it!

73, Carl WS7L

On Tue, Jun 2, 2020 at 3:54 PM Jack Brindle via Elecraft <
elecraft@mailman.qth.net> wrote:

> It’s not a KPA1500 function, but rather a K3 function. And the K3 has no
> concept of KPA ATU bins.
>
> 73!
> Jack, W6FB
>
>
> > On Jun 2, 2020, at 3:39 PM, Hank Garretson  wrote:
> >
> > It sure would be nice if KPA1500 remembered K3 power for each frequency
> bin
> > instead of for each band.
> >
> > Is there a menu item to make this happen? Or is it a feature request.
> >
> > Contest, Cope Exuberantly,
> >
> > Hank, W6SX
> > __
> > 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
> > Message delivered to jackbrin...@me.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
> Message delivered to clawso...@gmail.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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com 

Re: [Elecraft] K4 RX routing?

[Carl Clawson]

Further on this:

Please include a comprehensive description of RX antenna routing in the K4
manual. I could never understand the K3 with much confidence until I read
Fred Cady's KE7X (SK) book, and sadly Fred will not be writing a K4 book.
Just try figuring out what "RX Ant Out" does by reading the K3 manual. You
can GUESS what it does but a manual shouldn't leave you guessing.

73 -- Carl WS7L

On Mon, Nov 18, 2019 at 8:54 AM Jim Miller  wrote:

> Like many I'd like to get the feed from my RX antenna to both the RX in and
> Aux in. Some just do a parallel connection while others use a splitter.
>
> Does the K4 have any tricks up its sleeve to do this without an external
> splitter?
>
> Thanks
>
> Jim ab3cv
> __
> 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
> Message delivered to clawso...@gmail.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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com 

Re: [Elecraft] More than you ever wanted to know about solar cycles

[Carl Clawson]

When the financial crisis hit in 2008 I stopped opening my 401(k)
statements for a couple years.

I think I might do the same with propagation forecasts.

Don't worry, be happy!

73, Carl WS7L



On Mon, Jun 24, 2019 at 6:56 PM kevinr  wrote:

> I found this paper and thought some of you would be interested. Warning:
> things look grim from 2019 to 2055 since we'll be in a grand solar
> minimum.  Looks like the next three 11 year cycles will not be too
> good.  Better prepare space for your 160 m antennas.
>
>
>   Oscillations of the baseline of solar magnetic field and solar
>   irradiance on a millennial timescale
>
> https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-45584-3
>
> It does get a bit dry but the math is minimal.
>
> GL,
>
>Kevin.  KD5ONS
>
> -
>
> __
> 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
> Message delivered to clawso...@gmail.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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com 

Re: [Elecraft] (OT) CQWW CW band noise

[Carl Clawson]

I guess it depends on your location. Here in Oregon we had phenomenal low
bands at W7RM @ K2PO. We even had Europeans calling in while we were
running 160. This is a highly unusual experience from here!

Nothing to write home about above 20 meters though.
73 -- Carl WS7L

On Mon, Nov 26, 2018 at 3:47 PM Barry  wrote:

> Life was miserable on 80 Friday night and part of Sunday here. It was so
> bad 80 wasn't much fun. 40 and 20 were better, but still noisy.
>
> 73,
> Barry
> K3NDM
>
> -- Original Message --
> From: "Robert G Strickland" 
> To: "Elecraft" 
> Sent: 11/26/2018 6:33:50 PM
> Subject: [Elecraft] (OT) CQWW CW band noise
>
> >Was it me/here, or did others encounter high band noise conditions
> >during the CW WW?
> >...robert
> >-- Robert G Strickland, PhD ABPH - KE2WY
> >rc...@verizon.net.usa
> >Syracuse, New York, USA
> >__
> >Elecraft mailing list
> >Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> >Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> >Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
> >
> >This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> >Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> >Message delivered to barrylaz...@gmail.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
> Message delivered to clawso...@gmail.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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com

Re: [Elecraft] POWER LOCKED

[Carl Clawson]

Another thing to try:

Press and hold the Menu button for a second to enter the Config menu.

Rotate the VFO B knob until you see the PWR SET entry. Tap '1' and see if
it unlocks your power control.

This is a feature that was introduced to keep other ops from messing with
transmit settings. It locks power, compression, and mic gain.

Good luck!
73, Carl WS7L

On Wed, Feb 21, 2018 at 3:03 PM, Don Wilhelm  wrote:

> Bob,
>
> What do you mean by "Power Lock"?  Will the K3 not power on? or can you
> not move the POWER knob?
>
> In either case, I would suggest you first remove all cables from the K3
> except the power cable and a dummy load and see if it clears.
>
> Did you use the latest K3 Utility to download the firmware?  If not,
> download K3 Utility from the ELecraft website and re-load all firmware
> (you may have to "Force a Firmware Download" see manual.
>
> If all else fails, you may have to do an EEINIT (See Reset to Factory
> Defaults in the manual), and then reload the firmware.
>
> If you had the K3 set up as you like it, hopefully you saved a
> configuration (see K3 Utility).  If so, you can Restore Configuration
> using K3 Utility.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>
>
> On 2/21/2018 5:48 PM, Bob Gibson via Elecraft wrote:
>
>> I just bought a used K3 and I did a update on the rig..all seems to
>> go OK but I get a power lock and no output from the rig..What did I
>> do wrong? It was a early model and I do not believe it had a upgrade
>> at all. What do I need to do? 73s Bob W5RG
>>
> __
> 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
> Message delivered to clawso...@gmail.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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com

Re: [Elecraft] AF Balance

[Carl Clawson]

Yes, but...

I believe the original question was about L/R balance while listening to
the main Rx only. This got kicked around on the wish list years ago as
there are many of us with one weak ear. I don't recall hearing that it was
ever done. Don't need a knob for it ... it could go in a menu because I'd
never change it if I could just make my right ear about an S-Unit louder
when using phones.

Some headsets have a balance knob but my favorite ones don't.

73, Carl WS7L


On Sat, Jan 20, 2018 at 2:26 PM, Don Wilhelm  wrote:

> Ken,
>
> In addition, make sure you have Speakers set to 2.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>
> On 1/20/2018 4:00 PM, Ken Widelitz wrote:
>
>> Is there a way to balance AF volume on just the main RX. My left ear is
>> shot.
>>
>>
>> 73, Ken, K6LA / VY2TT
>>
>>
>>
>> __
>> 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
>> Message delivered to donw...@embarqmail.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
> Message delivered to clawso...@gmail.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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com

[Elecraft] K3 ERR 12V fix, not so bad

[Carl Clawson]

At the ripe old age of nine my K3 developed the ERR 12V problem (in the
middle of a contest, of course). I've seen posts here where owners had some
trepidation about the difficulty of the fix, which is to inspect and
replace some connectors using parts from KPA3CONMDKT.

Relax. It's a bit tedious but it's easy. If you've had any experience at
all with through-hole rework I wouldn't hesitate.

Have a beefy soldering iron handy just in case. Some of the pins were hard
to remove with a small iron. A 40 W iron with 1/4" tip made short work of
them. A circuit board vise or a helper to hold the  KPAIO3 board while you
work on it is also a big plus.

Radio and operator are both happy again.

73 and thanks for listening,
Carl WS7L
__
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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com

Re: [Elecraft] K3 and WSJT-X Split operation.

[Carl Clawson]

Hi Dany. This scared me a little bit too until I figured out what it was
for.

This is not just for expeditions. It's for everyone to use whose rig can
handle it.

Your TX frequency will still be as indicated on the FT8 screen. The
software will raise the audio tone frequency by the same amount that it
drops your VFO B so that your tone is in the right place. By doing this,
the audio tone frequency is kept high enough that its harmonics will be out
of your FT8 passband. This is good -- it helps keep the band clean.

See section 4.2 in the wsjt-x user guide.

73, Carl WS7L


On Mon, Dec 4, 2017 at 3:59 PM, Dany VE2EBK  wrote:

> Hi
>
> I would like to know if someone tried to run WSJT-X FT-8  in Split mode,
> not Split in the audio band but in real Split by activating the option in
> the radio tab of the configuration?
>
> Here, when I activate Split option, K3 change for Split, RX stay on VFO A,
> TX change to VFO B but TX frequency drop of 1 kHZ !  If I turn the VFO B
> (TX) 3 kHz up for example, the VFO B return 1 KHz down when a transmission
> start (TUNE is enough).
>
> This option seems to have been for the DX station rather than for use.
>
> It would be nice to check this before the 3Y0Z DXpedition  that during ...
>
> 73
>
> Dany VE2EBK
>
> __
> 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
> Message delivered to clawso...@gmail.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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com

Re: [Elecraft] NVIS HF vs VHF line-of-sight & CB

[Carl Clawson]

True dat. Once I accidentally worked Mexico on a dummy load from here in
the valley below Kevin's mountain in NW Oregon.

73 -- WS7L

On Sun, Apr 30, 2017 at 1:40 PM, kev...@coho.net  wrote:

> ... just remember any antenna can make contacts.
>
__
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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com

Re: [Elecraft] Data Received on Mac Transmitted by K3S

[Carl Clawson]

If you're running Windows 10, it might be the source of your problem. It
has a habit of changing the default audio device when it thinks it's trying
to "help" you.

My windows 10 PC has an internal sound adapter and I've always used an
external USB device for radio play. As soon as I unplug the speakers from
the internal card, Windows 10 decides that it's smarter than I am and
redirects the default audio device to my USB adapter. So I leave the
speakers plugged in to the PC, or even just an empty phone plug.

If there's a way to make Win10 stop doing this, I haven't found it yet and
would love to know.

73, Carl WS7L

On Wed, Apr 5, 2017 at 9:04 AM, Kevin - K4VD  wrote:

> ​If your default audio device in Sound --> Playback is the sound card
> associated with your radio then Windows sounds will be sent to your radio.
>
> Your web browser should be respecting the default audio device.
>
> 73,
> Kev K4VD
> __
> 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
> Message delivered to clawso...@gmail.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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com

[Elecraft] K3 sidetone puzzling malfunction

[Carl Clawson]

After years of using the same* station configuration, for the last couple
weeks I have a weird thing that I haven't been able to explain or isolate a
cause for.

Using one of my headsets, the sidetone decreases in volume by at least
about 10 dB during a transmission. Usually it happens quickly but sometimes
gradually. After a short rest it usually resumes its normal volume. It
happens regardless of monitor volume setting. The tone produced when you
adjust the volume is not affected. RX audio is not affected.

It's not 100% due to RFI because it happens even if I have transmit
disabled. It happens regardless of whether I use the rear panel or front
panel jack and regardless of CW/SSB/digital. It does seem to be more likely
to happen when I'm transmitting, though, which is why I say "not 100%" RFI.
Let's just say that the behavior seems to be aggravated by RF or the
fluctuating DC voltage that comes with it. I've checked my bonding and
connectors for tightness and everything seems OK.

The offending headset is a Koss SB/49 that I've used for more than three
years. It doesn't happen with any of my other headsets. One distinguishing
factor is that this set has a high impedance, 280 ohms DC. The other sets
are in the range of 40-120 ohms.

73, Carl WS7L

* Well not QUITE the same. Last summer I did several of the K3S upgrades
including the KIO3B.
__
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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com

Re: [Elecraft] K3 - communication failure after KIO3B upgrade

[Carl Clawson]

Steve AD7OG graciously permitted me to tear his K3 apart and swap boards.
KIO3B main board is bad and Elecraft is sending a replacement.

73 - WS7L, whose K3 #486 after 8 years of service just keeps getting better!

On Tuesday, July 19, 2016, Carl Clawson <clawso...@gmail.com> wrote:

> I've been in conversation with tech support but we have not yet found
> what's wrong.
> -- Carl
>
> On Tue, Jul 19, 2016 at 2:53 AM, Barry Simpson <vk...@optusnet.com.au
> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','vk...@optusnet.com.au');>> wrote:
>
>> Hi Carl
>>
>> Did you get the KIO3B problem resolved ?
>>
>> Barry  VK2BJ
>>
>>
>> -- Forwarded message --
>> From: Barry Simpson <vk...@optusnet.com.au
>> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','vk...@optusnet.com.au');>>
>> Date: 17 July 2016 at 13:03
>> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 - communication failure after KIO3B upgrade
>> To: Carl Clawson <clawso...@gmail.com
>> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','clawso...@gmail.com');>>
>> Cc: Lyle Johnson <kk7p4...@gmail.com
>> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','kk7p4...@gmail.com');>>, elecraft <
>> elecraft@mailman.qth.net
>> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','elecraft@mailman.qth.net');>>
>>
>>
>> Hi Carl
>>
>> Have you actually set RS232 to USB in the Config menu ?  Just a thought.
>>
>> Barry  VK2BJ
>>
>> On 17 July 2016 at 11:47, Carl Clawson <clawso...@gmail.com
>> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','clawso...@gmail.com');>> wrote:
>>
>>> Thanks Lyle. I tried those things. If it's a cable problem then I must
>>> have
>>> TWO defective cables, because feeding RS232 to the P3 and connecting the
>>> single-headed cable to the K3 also results in no communications to the
>>> K3.
>>> And yes, I put the K3 in RS232 mode at 38400 baud when I tried that.
>>>
>>> -- Carl
>>>
>>> On Sat, Jul 16, 2016 at 5:52 PM, Lyle Johnson <kk7p4...@gmail.com
>>> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','kk7p4...@gmail.com');>> wrote:
>>>
>>> > Carl,
>>> >
>>> > A couple of thoughts.
>>> >
>>> > 1) Losing communications with the Y cable plugged into the KIO3B but
>>> not
>>> > having BOTH DE-9 connectors attached to the P3 will result in no
>>> > communications.  The KIO3B senses the Y cable and routes the USB side
>>> > communications to the P3 which then routes signals to the K3.
>>> >
>>> > 2) Be sure the cable is fully seated into the jack on the KIO3B. The
>>> > plastic lock should "click" into place.  You can verify this with a
>>> gentle
>>> > tug on the cable after it is inserted to verify it is fully seated.
>>> >
>>> > 3) Be sure the P3 is set to 38,400 bps on its serial ports.
>>> >
>>> > 4) If the cable is fully seated and the P3 is set to 38,400 bps and you
>>> > still have the problem, I'd suspect the Y cable being defective.  I
>>> don;t
>>> > know if the schematics for the cable are on the website or supplied
>>> with
>>> > the cable to assist you in troubleshooting the cable if you so desire,
>>> so
>>> > it may require a call to support on Monday, or an email directly to
>>> them.
>>> >
>>> > 73,
>>> >
>>> > Lyle KK7P
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > Maybe the combined wisdom of the group will be able to help before I
>>> send
>>> >> this to Elecraft support.
>>> >>
>>> >> I installed the KIO3B upgrade in my K3. The USB interface from PC to
>>> K3
>>> >> works but only if you don't plug a cable in the RS232/P3 jack. The
>>> RS232
>>> >> connection to the P3 isn't happening...
>>> >>
>>> > __
>>> > Elecraft mailing list
>>> > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>>> > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>>> > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
>>> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','Elecraft@mailman.qth.net');>
>>> >
>>> > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>>> > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>>> > Message delivered to clawso...@gmail.com
>>> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','clawso...@gmail.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
>>> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','Elecraft@mailman.qth.net');>
>>>
>>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>>> Message delivered to vk...@optusnet.com.au
>>> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','vk...@optusnet.com.au');>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>
__
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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com

Re: [Elecraft] K3 - communication failure after KIO3B upgrade

[Carl Clawson]

I've been in conversation with tech support but we have not yet found
what's wrong.
-- Carl

On Tue, Jul 19, 2016 at 2:53 AM, Barry Simpson <vk...@optusnet.com.au>
wrote:

> Hi Carl
>
> Did you get the KIO3B problem resolved ?
>
> Barry  VK2BJ
>
>
> -- Forwarded message --
> From: Barry Simpson <vk...@optusnet.com.au>
> Date: 17 July 2016 at 13:03
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 - communication failure after KIO3B upgrade
> To: Carl Clawson <clawso...@gmail.com>
> Cc: Lyle Johnson <kk7p4...@gmail.com>, elecraft <elecraft@mailman.qth.net>
>
>
> Hi Carl
>
> Have you actually set RS232 to USB in the Config menu ?  Just a thought.
>
> Barry  VK2BJ
>
> On 17 July 2016 at 11:47, Carl Clawson <clawso...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Thanks Lyle. I tried those things. If it's a cable problem then I must
>> have
>> TWO defective cables, because feeding RS232 to the P3 and connecting the
>> single-headed cable to the K3 also results in no communications to the K3.
>> And yes, I put the K3 in RS232 mode at 38400 baud when I tried that.
>>
>> -- Carl
>>
>> On Sat, Jul 16, 2016 at 5:52 PM, Lyle Johnson <kk7p4...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > Carl,
>> >
>> > A couple of thoughts.
>> >
>> > 1) Losing communications with the Y cable plugged into the KIO3B but not
>> > having BOTH DE-9 connectors attached to the P3 will result in no
>> > communications.  The KIO3B senses the Y cable and routes the USB side
>> > communications to the P3 which then routes signals to the K3.
>> >
>> > 2) Be sure the cable is fully seated into the jack on the KIO3B. The
>> > plastic lock should "click" into place.  You can verify this with a
>> gentle
>> > tug on the cable after it is inserted to verify it is fully seated.
>> >
>> > 3) Be sure the P3 is set to 38,400 bps on its serial ports.
>> >
>> > 4) If the cable is fully seated and the P3 is set to 38,400 bps and you
>> > still have the problem, I'd suspect the Y cable being defective.  I
>> don;t
>> > know if the schematics for the cable are on the website or supplied with
>> > the cable to assist you in troubleshooting the cable if you so desire,
>> so
>> > it may require a call to support on Monday, or an email directly to
>> them.
>> >
>> > 73,
>> >
>> > Lyle KK7P
>> >
>> >
>> > Maybe the combined wisdom of the group will be able to help before I
>> send
>> >> this to Elecraft support.
>> >>
>> >> I installed the KIO3B upgrade in my K3. The USB interface from PC to K3
>> >> works but only if you don't plug a cable in the RS232/P3 jack. The
>> RS232
>> >> connection to the P3 isn't happening...
>> >>
>> > __
>> > 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
>> > Message delivered to clawso...@gmail.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
>> Message delivered to vk...@optusnet.com.au
>>
>
>
>
__
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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com

Re: [Elecraft] K3 - communication failure after KIO3B upgrade

[Carl Clawson]

Thanks Lyle. I tried those things. If it's a cable problem then I must have
TWO defective cables, because feeding RS232 to the P3 and connecting the
single-headed cable to the K3 also results in no communications to the K3.
And yes, I put the K3 in RS232 mode at 38400 baud when I tried that.

-- Carl

On Sat, Jul 16, 2016 at 5:52 PM, Lyle Johnson  wrote:

> Carl,
>
> A couple of thoughts.
>
> 1) Losing communications with the Y cable plugged into the KIO3B but not
> having BOTH DE-9 connectors attached to the P3 will result in no
> communications.  The KIO3B senses the Y cable and routes the USB side
> communications to the P3 which then routes signals to the K3.
>
> 2) Be sure the cable is fully seated into the jack on the KIO3B. The
> plastic lock should "click" into place.  You can verify this with a gentle
> tug on the cable after it is inserted to verify it is fully seated.
>
> 3) Be sure the P3 is set to 38,400 bps on its serial ports.
>
> 4) If the cable is fully seated and the P3 is set to 38,400 bps and you
> still have the problem, I'd suspect the Y cable being defective.  I don;t
> know if the schematics for the cable are on the website or supplied with
> the cable to assist you in troubleshooting the cable if you so desire, so
> it may require a call to support on Monday, or an email directly to them.
>
> 73,
>
> Lyle KK7P
>
>
> Maybe the combined wisdom of the group will be able to help before I send
>> this to Elecraft support.
>>
>> I installed the KIO3B upgrade in my K3. The USB interface from PC to K3
>> works but only if you don't plug a cable in the RS232/P3 jack. The RS232
>> connection to the P3 isn't happening...
>>
> __
> 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
> Message delivered to clawso...@gmail.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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com

[Elecraft] K3 - communication failure after KIO3B upgrade

[Carl Clawson]

Maybe the combined wisdom of the group will be able to help before I send
this to Elecraft support.

I installed the KIO3B upgrade in my K3. The USB interface from PC to K3
works but only if you don't plug a cable in the RS232/P3 jack. The RS232
connection to the P3 isn't happening -- no frequency info or VFO cursors
are displayed. Just hooking it up causes communication with the K3 to fail.
Even if the connectors to the P3 are left unplugged, simply plugging the
cable into the RS232/P3 jack causes communication to fail. If I try RS232
mode, the PC can talk to the P3 with the P3 utility, but cannot talk to the
K3.

There are some slightly different symptoms, depending, so here's more:

1. USB mode, CBLP3Y plugged into the K3 jack but not plugged into P3.
Starting the K3 utility yields the message "K3 waiting for firmware load."

2. If I plug the Y cable into the P3 and start the K3 Utility, it cycles
through baud rates and never sees the K3. The same happens if I use RS232
mode and connect the PC to the P3 and the P3 to the K3 with the
single-headed cable.

All firmware and utilities are up to date and I've double and triple
checked all the settings I can think of. I even re-opened the top to double
check the USB/RS232 switch on the KIO3B.

Any suggestions? I'm thinking that my digital IO board might be faulty.

Thanks,
Carl WS7L
__
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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com

[Elecraft] P3 (+SVGA) freeze update

[Carl Clawson]

One observation:

I too have found the newest firmware to be much better. But I had it freeze
once and it didn't seem like it was ever coming back. I didn't time it but
it must have been stuck for at least 10 or 15 seconds. I tapped my foot
switch to briefly flick the K3 in and out of transmit, and it started
updating right away.

HTH -- Carl
__
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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com

Re: [Elecraft] K3 Keyer to use with Tascam interface

[Carl Clawson]

There's one good reason that I know of. The VOX on/off setting is shared by
AFSK, DATA A, and SSB. Having VOX left unintentionally active on SSB is
very bad -- it leads to amp faults and unintended transmissions

I've asked a few times for this to be fixed and swore to myself that I
would never mention it again but oops there I went...

73 and thanks for listening,
Carl WS7L

On Tue, Jan 20, 2015 at 8:13 AM, Don Wilhelm w3...@embarqmail.com wrote:

 That sounds like you want to build effectively a VOX circuit (to recognize
 the keying tone) and drive the PTT input.

 I can think of no good reason to do that because the K3 has a very good
 VOX that works well for digital modes.


__
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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com

[Elecraft] K3 QRQ improvement suggestion

[Carl Clawson]

It would be nice if QRQ mode would engage when RIT is enabled with an
offset of 0.00. This is a common operating condition. My log software zeros
RIT after every contact and it stays there until someone calls me way off
frequency.

73 and thanks for listening,
Carl WS7L
__
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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com

Re: [Elecraft] KPA500 fan shut down problem

[Carl Clawson]

Todd:

Yes, I had that problem. It was solved by replacing a defective power
supply board after I contacted supp...@elecraft.com.

73, Carl WS7L
K3 #486 and more


On Sun, Jul 20, 2014 at 7:40 AM, T Gahagan wa7...@gmail.com wrote:

 I’m wondering if anyone else has had this problem?  When I shut down the
 KPA500 from the front panel the cooling fan turns on and instead of
 shutting down it continues to run until I turn the power off on the rear
 panel.
__
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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com

Re: [Elecraft] Experience with KXPA100

[Carl Clawson]

Really depends on the gauge and length of wire you're using. Find your wire
data, for instance at http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm. You'll be
shocked at how much voltage you can drop at 100 watts using a few feet of
what you thought was heavy gauge wire. Example: 12 gauge wire is 1.6
milli-ohm per foot. Two conductors - 3.2 milli ohms per foot. Six feet of
wire = 19 milli ohms. 19 milli ohms x 20 amps = 0.4 volts. So yeah, it's
easy to lose more then 0.2 volts.

73, Carl WS7L


On Tue, Jun 24, 2014 at 5:37 PM, K8JHR jricha...@k8jhr.com wrote:

 Er...  um...  is such a large voltage drop typical?   We don't see that
 happening on Brand X amps using good power supplies.  I understand the
 voltage drop when going from, say, 10 to 100 watts should be minimal, like
 no more than .2 volts.
__
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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com

Re: [Elecraft] [P3] Dead P3!

[Carl Clawson]

Hi Todd. Look up Parameter Initialization in the manual. That oughta
clear it.

73, Carl WS7L


On Tue, Jun 24, 2014 at 8:35 PM, Hisashi T Fujinaka ht...@twofifty.com
wrote:

 Sorry about the missing subject line.

 On Tue, 24 Jun 2014, Hisashi T Fujinaka wrote:

  Well that was pleasant. I was making a band change (chasing W1AW/3 and
 W1AW/9) and my P3 with P3SVGA went into a screen that said something
 like Ready to load Firmware. I tried to load the firmware but at the
 power-cycle I got the screen:

 =

   FATAL ERROR  
 In: ddc_set_coef()
 span=0

 Press any active key to escape

 =

 I tried again, and the same screen appeared.

 None of the keys did a thing. So I power cycled again and saw the same
 screen. I thought removing the P3SVGA might help but reloading and
 resetting gave the same error.

 What next?

 Thanks.



 --
 Hisashi T Fujinaka - ht...@twofifty.com
 BSEE(6/86) + BSChem(3/95) + BAEnglish(8/95) + MSCS(8/03) + $2.50 = latte
 __
 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
 Message delivered to clawso...@gmail.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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com

[Elecraft] W100AW/7 with Elecraft at Sea Pac

[Carl Clawson]

If you worked us on CW, that was my K-Line. K3 #486, still banging out the
QSOs after 6 years on the air.

Funny that the subject of hats came up on the reflector. Thanks to Lisa for
preserving my prized Tilley hat that I accidentally left at their booth
overnight. I removed it while I was showing them how I worked W100AW/7
using my KX3 and a dummy load with a clip lead hanging off it. Luckily it
was late in the day so I didn't sunburn my bald head before I could get it
back.

73, Carl WS7L
__
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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com

[Elecraft] K3 VOX per mode

[Carl Clawson]

OK, Elecraft staff, since you say you're not done with f/w updates to the
K3. This got kicked around on the reflector a couple years ago but I don't
see that it ever got a definite answer whether it will be taken care of:

The VOX setting is the same for SSB and for AFSK/DATA A. This is wrong. VOX
should be independent between phone and digital.

73,
Carl WS7L
__
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
Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com

[Elecraft] K3/KPA500/KAT500 revs 4.83/1.38/1.58

[Carl Clawson]

All working smoothly except:

On a couple occasions, after manually initiating a tune, the tune completed
satisfactorily and then the KPA500 indicated a fault right at the end of
the tune cycle. Pretty sure it was a soft fault but I habitually hit the
button to clear it ... will observe more carefully if it happens again.

73, Carl WS7L
__
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] Dual Pass Band

[Carl Clawson]

If a digimode decoder is good enough then it can only be hurt, not helped,
by additional pre-filtering. This is because in the presence of noise there
is a statistical limit (optimal detection) to how faithfully you can
extract the desired signal. Which is why I've said before: If the dual
filter were such a great idea, it would already be written into the
software for your RTTY decoder, at least as part of one of the decode
methods you can select. It's possible that some less capable decoders will
be helped by it, but if it doesn't help you then don't use it. I use MMTTY
and have not noticed it to help. Never hurts to try, though. There are so
many varied impairments to over-the-air signals that no simple collection
of decoders will have one that's optimal in every case.

73, Carl WS7L


On Monday, January 6, 2014, Joe Subich, W4TV wrote:


 That information is based on input from K7AY (cocoaModem) and G3YYD
 (2-Tone).  The software decoders do a better job when supplied with
 audio at least 400 Hz wide without frequency shaping from the IF (DSP)
 filter.  The Dual Band Pass filters in general introduce significant
 phase delays and amplitude inequality which results in poorer decoding
 accuracy in modern FFT based demodulators - although the frequency
 shaping may be of value in older amplitude (filter/detector) style
 demodulators.


 73,

... Joe, W4TV
__
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 Filters for digital work

[Carl Clawson]

My first thought on seeing that was If that filter is such a great idea,
wouldn't it be built into the RTTY demodulator to begin with?

73, Carl WS7L

On Friday, November 29, 2013, Jim Brown wrote:

 Thus, I was quite wary of using the double humped response provided by
 the K3.

__
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] OT: Crimped PL-259s, recommendations?

[Carl Clawson]

Several posters have mentioned proper connectors and tools for crimping
PL-259s but I am lacking specifics. Do you have recommendations for
brands/models of connectors and tools? If it's affordable, I'd consider
trying it.

Unlike 90% of hams, I don't worship solder. I'm prepared to believe that
crimped connectors can work just fine if done properly. The world is full
of crimped connections of all kinds, and they work fine unless they're done
with a crummy tool. The hardware store cutter/stripper/crimper that uses an
oval shaped recess to mash the connector to a flattish shape is a very good
example of a very bad tool.

73, Carl WS7L
__
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] Importance of good coaxial jumpers

[Carl Clawson]

I guess I'm contrary, but I find that a 40 watt Weller iron with a 1/4 inch
tip does just fine. If your tip is too big you just make a mess trying to
get it down into the holes. I filed down the tip on a 100 watt iron so that
it fits, but it doesn't work any better than the 40 watt iron and it's
harder to handle. And I do them by the book. Strip, twist, and solder. I
never found that any of the published helpful hints and tricks did anything
but make the job harder.

73, Carl WS7L
__
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] New KPA500/KAT500 with my old K3)

[Carl Clawson]

Hi Bruce. Check CONFIG:PWR SET on the K3. I'm pretty sure that you need to
have it set PER BAND.

The KPA500 manual should say this, but I didn't see it in there when I
looked.

GL/enjoy
73, Carl WS7L



On Wed, Sep 4, 2013 at 7:32 PM, WILLIAM DAVIS bruceda...@me.com wrote:



 However, for the life of me I can't seem to make the K3 power level change
 with the OPER / STBY mode change ...

 What am I doing wrong?  Is there a setting somewhere that needs to be
 toggled?

 Puzzled.

 Bruce
 AC8BT

__
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 RX Audio

[Carl Clawson]

Yes, please! Irritating when I've been on speaker and then put on
headphones and blast myself with my own sidetone.

A fixed L-R balance adjustment somewhere in a menu would be great too, for
guys like me who have one weak ear. Can't find a headset that I like that
also has individual volume controls.

73 -- Carl WS7L


On Fri, Jul 19, 2013 at 3:49 PM, Ralph Parker ve...@dccnet.com wrote:

 Only one thing left to do to make me ecstatic -
 separate audio gain menu settings for headset and speakers.
 Lo gain setting is best for my headset, but nowhere near loud enough for
 a speaker (I've tried many external speakers).
 High gain setting hurts my ears inside my headset, but has good level for
 speaker monitoring while I'm in the shack.


__
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] Seeting digital RX levels - was: ARRL Field Day

[Carl Clawson]

Indeed. For instance, my neighbor Ernie, K7EAJ, showed up on 80 m with a
PSK31 signal so horrible that I could not copy it at all. Splattered all
across the band. Why? He's too close! Once I turned my RF gain way down,
his signal was fine.

73, Carl WS7L


On Thu, Jun 27, 2013 at 1:03 PM, Bill Frantz fra...@pwpconsult.com wrote:


 Measuring IMD on a PSK signal is not as easy as it seems.
__
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 Keyer vs. Winkeyer

[Carl Clawson]

Another great advantage of the WinKeyer is that it integrates the paddles
nicely with the computer. You have one speed control for the computer and
the paddles, and if you don't like what the computer is sending (which
happens) just hit the paddles and take over by hand and it'll cancel the
programmed message. As a bonus you don't get spurious keying while
rebooting the computer. This is an absolute deal breaker for me with RS232
keying.

I wish the K3 had a Winkeyer built in. It is the ONLY external accessory on
my desk apart from the K-line, key and headphones.

73, Carl WS7L


On Thu, Jun 27, 2013 at 4:07 PM, Jim Brown j...@audiosystemsgroup.comwrote:

 On 6/27/2013 3:56 PM, Joel Black wrote:

 Any real reason to spend the $60 or so for the Winkeyer?


 Most serious CW contesters use WinKey to take the CW keying load off of
 the computer.  While serial port keying often works just fine, it's also
 common for other programs running on the logging computer to interfere with
 serial port keying and make it choppy.
__
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] KAT-500 Antenna Tuner question

[Carl Clawson]

I'll second Dick's request ... was figuring to post the request myself
until I saw him pipe up.

I have multiple antennas on some bands, switched outside the shack. They
don't need the tuner, but with it on auto their tunes are different enough
that I do in fact need to run a tune or manually put the tuner in bypass
every time I switch between them. Otherwise I will fault on SWR.
Remembering the bypass setting seems an obvious answer.

73 and thanks for listening,
Carl WS7L


On Wed, Feb 27, 2013 at 9:06 PM, r...@aol.com wrote:

 Hi Guys,


 I'm using a KAT-500 and am surprised that when I change bands it doesn't
 remember whether it was in Automatic or By-Pass the last time it was on
 that band.

 Thanks!


 Dick- K9OM
 __

__
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] SO2V?

[Carl Clawson]

Great tips, John and Rich! I've used SO2V quite a bit but can't add
anything to what you said, except:

The one thing that would make it PERFECT would be for the P3 to have a VFO
B tracking mode. Because sometimes there's life in between the spots, and
even if not it's good to know what the neighborhood's like.

Swapping VFOs to run on B and S+P on A makes the audio come out wrong --
you can't quickly cut your S+P audio and put the run frequency in both
ears, which you need when a weak one calls you. Unless there's a trick I've
missed.

73, Carl WS7L
__
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

Re: [Elecraft] KPA500 REFL HI Message - With Dummy Load

[Carl Clawson]

Do I understand right that high power is the key. In other words, you can
run low power through the amp with the amp in bypass? The first thing I
look for when this happens is something arcing under high power. Check your
connectors. Once you arc a connector it will often have a carbon trace on
it that will make it keep arcing even without the stress of trying to run
to a high SWR load through a tuner.

HTH, 73, Carl WS7L

On Tue, Oct 16, 2012 at 1:47 PM, KD4NUE dalit...@bellsouth.net wrote:


 Through tuner (Manual Palstar) to antenna, through tuner to dummy load,
 dummy load direct to KPA500.  Makes no difference.

 Amp tries to make power, SWR LEDS peg out.  REFL HI error and amp goes to
 standby.

 Same thing with drive from 10 watts up.

 Tuner shows 1:1, rig shows 1:1.  Amp sees it as Reflected Power too high.

 Suggestions?

 David
 KD4NUE






 --
 View this message in context:
 http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/KPA500-REFL-HI-Message-With-Dummy-Load-tp7564209.html
 Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
 __
 Elecraft mailing list
 Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
 Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
 Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net

 This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
 Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

__
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

Re: [Elecraft] K3 Headphone audio.

[Carl Clawson]

I hate to belabor this rather minor issue but since there have been a couple
I don't get it responses, here's why you haven't noticed it:

Speakers vary widely in their drive requirements. If you have speakers that
match your phones, lucky you. Mine don't. I use a set of bookshelf size hi
fi speakers that take many dB more drive than my phones.

It's not so bad having to turn the volume down but the monitor, since it
(rightly, IMO) does not adjust with the volume, also needs to go down. This
is a minor pain when you don't realize until you've already started
transmitting that you forgot to change it.

Another issue is that Speakers + Phones mode won't work well. If you're
comfortable with the phones, your guests can barely hear the speakers.

I very seldom use speakers any more.

73 -- Carl WS7L

__
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 headphone audio

[Carl Clawson]

Please do as Jerry asks and implement a headphone volume reduction in a
menu. In addition to saving eardrums it keeps the CW monitor level correct.
A left-right balance would also be great for those of us who have one ear
that's much worse than the other.

73 and thanks for listening,
Carl WS7L 

 Is there any way to make the audio level using speakers to be at
compatible
 levels with headphones.  Any ideas sure would be appreciated.

__
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] Fusing the K3 Power Line

[Carl Clawson]

A better way to say it would be A good fuse is one that meets its written
specifications. They aren't all guaranteed to ever blow at their rated
current. Some are, some aren't. Looking one up at random on littelfuse.com
just now, I found time to open specified as:

150% of rating, max 30 minutes
300% of rating, max 10 seconds

Another one says

100% of rating, min 4 hours
135% of rating, max 1 hour
200% of rating, max 1 second

Circuit breakers are rated similarly. Remember, nothing is 100% accurate or
100% perfect, so there has to be some slop somewhere.

73 and thanks for listening,
Carl WS7L
Mr Pedantic

 -Original Message-
A good fuse is one that fuses at its rated current. No wonder there
is so much confusion about fuses. 

__
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] KPA500/K3 software suggestion

[Carl Clawson]

When the KPA500 enters Operate mode, shouldn't it do the following?

1) Set the K3 to PWR SET = PER BAND, so that the remembered KPA500 drive
settings take effect.

2) Turn off the ATU in the K3

73, Carl WS7L
K3 #486

__
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] KPA500 glitch - firmware bug?

[Carl Clawson]

The other morning I powered up the station to have a listen but left the
KPA500 off. The rear panel power switch was left on and I had powered the
amp off the night before by the front panel switch.

There was no signal getting from the antenna to the K3, evidenced by absence
of band noise on 160 m. I turned on the amp with the front panel switch and
then it connected the antenna. (Why did I turn the amp on, you ask? I was
going to poke a band button and try a different antenna.) Somehow the KPA500
had powered down with its T/R switch in the wrong state. I put powered
down in quotes because it's a software state, not an actual physical
disconnection of power.

I suspect that if I'd powered down at the rear panel, I would have had an
antenna. But I'll never know unless it happens again.

73, Carl WS7L
K3 #486 S/W V4.48
KPA500 #750 S/W V1.11

__
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] KPA500 glitch - firmware bug?

[Carl Clawson]

I had not intentionally been using other antenna ports on the K3. When I
shut the system off the night before, I had been receiving on the transmit
antenna just fine. It's possible that I inadvertently hit some button on the
K3, but whatever state I got into, it got fixed when I turned on the amp. It
surprised me ... I was expecting to be chasing down an antenna switch
problem or bad feedline.

I have an accessory DC supply that powers up and down with the same power
strip that runs the K3's DC supply. I turn that strip off after shutting off
the K3 by its front panel. One item powered by the accessory supply is a
remote antenna switch that grounds all the feedlines when it gets powered
off. But it's not interfaced to any band outputs or anything, just a rotary
switch on the desk that I didn't touch. That switch feeds 12 VDC directly to
relays in the switch box. No logic or other sensitive electronics is in that
circuit. The selected antenna is always connected as soon as the K3 gets
powered up. The KPA500 is not on a power strip. It's always plugged into a
live 240 VAC outlet.

That pretty well describes my antenna selection.

-- Carl

 It sounds like the bypass relay either was not contacting on 
 the receive side properly or the antenna was somehow 
 otherwise disconnected from the amplifier receive path to the 
 K3. Are you sure the K3 was set for the antenna port the 
 amplifier was connected to? When the KPA powers up, it sends 
 a KPA powered on message to the K3 which can cause the K3 
 to make changes. Perhaps this is what caused the antenna to 
 be connected?
 
 More details, please.
 
 Jack Brindle, W6FB

__
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 - Minor question

[Carl Clawson]

Fred, did you happen to tune across a frequency where you had earlier
removed a birdie with SIG RMV? That causes the passband to jog a bit and you
can hear it in the sound of the noise, especially at narrow bandwidths. Tune
across it again slowly and watch the P3 carefully. Sometimes you can see the
birdie come flying across the P3 at you and tunnel through your passband.
It's pretty cool when you see it.

73, Carl WS7L

 -Original Message-
 The No Cal NTS net is on 3533.000  As I tuned the rx up, at 
 that exact 
 frequency, the background noise changed ... I sounded like 
 some of the 
 highs went away.  Continuing up in freq, at 3533.100, it reverted to 
 what it sounds like below 3533.000  There is nothing on the P3 that 
 looks different.  P3 is in fixed tune mode.  FW version is 4.39.
 
 Just curious, it's not a problem.
 
 73,
 
 Fred K6DGW

__
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] Subject: KX3 CW from computer

[Carl Clawson]

It looks like there's a good opportunity here for a KX3 accessory that
Elecraft or some third party could make: a custom serial cable that plugs
into a serial port at the PC and terminates in plugs for PTT and key at the
KX3. The required circuitry could be built into the connector shell. You
should be able to steal enough juice from the RS232 port to power it all.

It'd be really neat if SMT versions of the K1EL chips were available. Then a
WinKeyer could be built into a cable.

Cheers
Carl WS7L
K3 #486 + P3
KPA500 kit in UPS delivery van as I type.

__
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] Amazing!

[Carl Clawson]

Not apropos to transmitting, but no discussion of receiving loop antennas is
complete without reference to N6RK's illuminating paper from Pacificon 2008:

http://www.n6rk.com/loopantennas/pacificon.pdf

Cheers,
Carl WS7L
K3 #486

__
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] Speaker Plug

[Carl Clawson]

I could infer from this discussion that 3.5 mm and 1/8 inch are two
different types of connector but I find no evidence of that.

The terms are used interchangeably by manufacturers. Switchcraft, for
instance, titles their products as 3.5 mm but goes on to say all products
are 1/8 inch. On their drawing you'll see the plug diameter given as 0.14
inch +/- 0.01. That's 3.56 mm +/- 0.25. They're also not cheap, but I
recently bought some to try as I too have found this type of connector to be
generally unreliable. The one that I went to the trouble of measuring showed
poor sleeve contact. Maybe it's a corrosion problem. Lightly polishing the
sleeve has helped with some of mine. Others remain incorrigible.

I have not been able to find any industry standard for these connectors.

73, Carl WS7L
K3 #486

__
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] Macro enhancement suggestion

[Carl Clawson]

I set out to make four macros so that I could select either of two mics
(CM500  HC4) in either of two modes (contest/DX  net/ragchew). This
involves setting mic HI/LO and bias ON/OFF that toggle by a keypress, so you
can't be sure whether you need to do a keypress unless you know the initial
state. In other words, you can't write a macro that's guaranteed to work. In
practice, you'll have about a 50% failure rate.

Am I missing something?

If not, I have a suggestion: In addition to the UP and DN commands, have a
command to reset the menu entry to a known ground state. This could possible
be a press of the CLR button, or maybe a new command. One could then proceed
with confidence to set up the desired parameters. Adding commands to cover
specific menu items would be another approach.

This would also cover the case of not knowing how many DN commands to send
if in the future more knob-selectable menu entries were added. Elecraft
could add more selections and your macros wouldn't break.

73 and thanks for listening
Carl WS7L
K3 #486

__
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] [OT] KPA500 screw math

[Carl Clawson]

Heh. My high school algebra teacher was mainly a sports coach. Whenever a
hard question came up in class, his gaze would drift over toward my
direction, seeking for a little help...

 In California, mathematics is used as punishment for failing 
 teachers. They
 are forced to teach math classes, for which they have no 
 background or
 education themselves, in order to get them to fail completely 
 so they can be
 fired or encourage them to leave the profession voluntarily, a faster
 process that still takes a few years.

__
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] Iambic Keying (WAS: Straight key first?)

[Carl Clawson]

Another advantage of iambic keying is that it's easy to send with your
non-dominant hand, leaving the other hand free to write without juggling the
pencil. Think about stringed instruments -- CW is music, after all. One of
my elmers suggested this decades ago and I've been sending left-handed ever
since. Dunno about single-lever keying as I haven't progressed to that yet.

Only problem is in multi-op situations when you have to remember to swap the
paddles in the software before turning it over to the next op.

73 -- Carl WS7L

__
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] What made you decide on purchasing an Elecraft transceiver?

[Carl Clawson]

It was love it first sight.

Kevin, KD5ONS, dragged me over to the Elecraft booth at the 2007 Sea Pac
convention after I mentioned that I was looking for a new HF rig and was
considering a K2, among other choices. This was shortly after the K3 had
been announced and I hadn't heard of it yet.

Oh, I read the specs, knew about the K2's fantastic performance, etc., etc.,
and all the other reasons you've heard. But really, I was hooked the moment
I saw it. I ordered mine a few weeks later and waited eight ... long ...
months ... for it to arrive.

During the wait, I auctioned off 20 years worth of unused gear in the shack
and raised enough to pay for it!

Thanks, Kevin!

73, Carl WS7L
K3 #486
P3 # uh, don't have one yet but I'm weakening...

__
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] reverse CW quirk (bug?)

[Carl Clawson]

Firmware version 4.25

I find that when I switch to reverse CW by holding ALT, it copies the
current filter settings to VFO B. This is odd and really not desirable...I
frequently use different filter widths in the two VFOs and I switch between
reverse and normal depending on which direction I'm tuning the band. But I
usually want different filters in the two VFOs when attacking a pileup.

73 and thanks for listening,
Carl WS7L
K3 #486

__
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] Diversity quirk (bug?) with A-B

[Carl Clawson]

Firmware version 4.25.

If I'm using the subreceiver in diversity mode I can set its PRE and ATT
settings indpendently of the main receiver using BSET. But if I double-tap
A-B to copy all to VFO B, the main receiver PRE and ATT settings get copied
to the subreceiver. This is very weird. These are per-receiver settings, not
per-VFO settings. In diversity mode, the subreceiver has nothing to do with
VFO B. It is perhaps a confusing terminology that BSET is used to set up
the subreceiver in diversity. The thing to keep clear is that there are
THREE sets of receiver settings in diversity mode: VFO A, VFO B, plus those
subreceiver settings that are independent of the main receiver, which are
shoehorned into the inaptly named BSET. One does not expect that third
parameter set to be altered by an A-B operation. Only BSET should be
allowed to change them.

73 and thanks for listening,
Carl WS7L
K3 #486

__
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] Mods missing from web page

[Carl Clawson]

I'll provide a little more of an answer to my own question:

Having browsed through the mod kits order page, I was reminded of the DSP
upgrades K3DSPUPGD/K3DSPLPF. These are also missing from the app notes page.
That's all I can come up with.

Thanks  73,
Carl WS7L
K3 #486


 I'll get it fixed on the page.

 73, Eric


__
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] Mods missing from web page

[Carl Clawson]

I'm preparing to go into my K3 and do some mods while I have it open to
install new filters.

I see mods listed at http://www.elecraft.com/K3/mods/ but the list is not
complete.

One that I notice to be missing is the KSYN3 stiffener mod. The app note is
stored near the manual but is not linked anywhere that I can find. This is
one that I probably wouldn't bother with, but are there other mods that
somehow never made it to the mod page?

Thanks for your help.

73, Carl WS7L
K3 #486

__
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] Thought for possible feature - Do you want to updatethis setting Y/N?

[Carl Clawson]

Make that a triple no.

And let me point out that it really wouldn't help with the problem. Haven't
you noticed with things that always ask for a confirmation, that you get so
used to hitting the confirmation every time that it becomes automatic? And
you only realize after hitting the fatal Yes that you just deleted
something you wanted to keep?

My DVD player has TWO levels of confirmation to delete a recording and my
thumb just does them automatically. It has never prevented me from
accidentally deleting something I wanted to keep.

73, Carl WS7L
K3 #486

 -Original Message-
 From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net 
 [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Radio 
 Amateur N5GE
 On Sat, 23 Oct 2010 12:27:46 -0700, David Gilbert 
 xda...@cis-broadband.com wrote:
 
 Put me down for a double resounding NO! too.
 
 
 
 My vote would be a resounding no.  That would practically 
 double the 
 nuisance factor of an already deep and broad menu system.
 
 Dave   AB7E
 

__
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] New antenna (Definitely OT)

[Carl Clawson]

There's another warning sign in the text accompanying the video. My
pseudoscience alarm went off when I read the following:

SPAWAR Systems Center Pacific has developed a technology that uses the
magnetic induction properties of sodium chloride (salt) in sea water to
create UHF/VHF/HF antenna.

This is meaningless jargon...magnetic properties of salt or salt water have
nothing to do with it.

The aforementioned alarm is always triggered by magnetic being used in
conjunction with antenna.

73 and thanks for listening,
Carl WS7L
K3 #486

 -Original Message-
 
  This will go nicely with my K3
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tIZUhu21sQ
 
 Seawater has electrical conductivity of seven *orders* of 
 magnitude lower than copper!
 ...
 ...
 This could make a good water heater.  All that power has to go
 *somewhere* :-).

__
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 AGC THR doesn't go low enough

[Carl Clawson]

Nice writeup, Don. Thanks!

But the one thing I haven't seen mentioned in this month's installment of
the noisy K3 discussion is setting the RF gain control. I got into the
habit long ago of using the RF gain to quiet the band noise to a reasonable
level -- after setting pre-amp, attenuator, and AF gain appropriately. We
didn't have AGC parameters to play with back then except maybe
Fast/Slow/Off.

If the K3's RF (actually IF) gain control works the way most rigs' do, it
is providing a bias to the AGC control voltage. In other words, it is
providing a maximum gain that will not be exceeded by the AGC's feedback
action. Is that not an equally valid way to control the level of band noise?
Apart from it being manual instead of automatic, is there any drawback to
it? I can imagine that it could interact with AGC dynamics in some
unpleasant way, but if so I haven't noticed it yet.

The K3 is only the second HF rig I've owned in 23 years as a ham. My first
was an Icom 735, and it is quite noisy on the low bands if the RF gain is
all the way up. I've heard quieter rigs, but it never occurred to me to
think of them as better just because of that.

73, Carl WS7L
K3 #486 

 -Original Message-
 Go to www.w3fpr.com and click on the link in the left column 
 referring to K3 noise and AGC settings.
 It is an expansion of the post I offered earlier today 
 dealing with AGC settings and their relationship to K3 noise.
 
 73,
 Don W3FPR

__
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

Re: [Elecraft] K3 AGC THR doesn't go low enough

[Carl Clawson]

Note that my post referenced below sat in limbo for 4 days before showing up
on the list. It's a bit stale.

In the interim, one contributor gave some quantitative info about the noise
measured between CW elements when running full QSK with the RF gain control
set appropriately. If the noise between elements is rising above the level
you had set with the gain control, that seems to be a malfunction.

Is it maybe the case that some other rigs actually suppress the gain a bit
between QSK elements, and are therefore perceived as having quieter QSK? I
could imagine a good argument for a bit of gain suppression in that
circumstance...but then my imagination runs amok quite frequently.

73 and thanks for listening,
Carl WS7L
K3 #486

 -Original Message-
 [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Carl Clawson
 Sent: Friday, October 08, 2010 8:54 PM

 Nice writeup, Don. Thanks!


__
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] Why do they still use 1/4 inch phone jacks?

[Carl Clawson]

Absolutely. The real question ought to be: Why do we put up with the crummy
little ones?

Almost every radio I've had, including the K3, has had trouble with
connections at the 3.5 mm jacks. I have come to think that the choice of
plug matters. Some just seem to work better than others. In the cases where
I went to the trouble to diagnose it, the fault was a failure of the sleeve
to make a good connection to the the jack. I suspect inferior plating and/or
corrosion on the sleeve. Buffing the sleeve with a bit of paper seems to
have helped some of them.

It's been suggested here that the problem is that there are two types of
this plug, 1/8 and 3.5 mm, the latter being slightly larger. I measured all
of mine with a dial caliper and they are all 3.5 mm. So that doesn't explain
why some of mine give me trouble and some don't. I checked a few data sheets
and all the drawings show 3.5 mm so maybe the 1/8 standard is a thing of
the past.

I'd suggest buying a good brand of plug and using it to replace the crummy
ones. I'll be trying that to see if it makes a difference. Here's hoping
that Switchcraft hasn't been bought out by some gang of quality-wrecking
sharks. Maybe I'll lay in a lifetime supply while I'm at it...

73 and thanks for listening,
Carl WS7L


 I like the 1/4 jacks. They are more durable generally.

__
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] Problem with my K3

[Carl Clawson]

A fairly common occurrence.

Those of us with cats or small children get in the habit of clicking off the
VOX any time we walk away from the radio. But it's not a bad idea for
everyone.

Kids are grown up now, still got the cat.

73 -- Carl WS7L

 Assuming I don't get written up for transmitting 
 20 or 30 minutes of 25 wpm dots at 14.001 MHz (hi).

__
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] Bad COM port made K3 not work

[Carl Clawson]

I was not talking about K2LE. I did not mention a name or call sign in my
little anecdote.

73, Carl

 -Original Message-
 From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net 
 [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Jan Erik Holm
 Sent: Monday, May 03, 2010 9:16 PM
 To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
 Subject: Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Bad COM port made K3 not work
 
 Strange! How can K2LE be a nice guy when he acts like he does?
 / Jim
 ---
 On 2010-05-03 22:14, Carl Clawson wrote:
  groaner! I don't know if my Yaesu friend - who's a really great guy 
  BTW - has done the click mods to his FT-1000MPs (3 of `em at last 
  count). I'll remember to needle him about it...
 
  73 -- Carl WS7L
 

__
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] Bad COM port made K3 not work

[Carl Clawson]

I had suspected something like what you suggest, Ed,  but I double checked
that no S/W was running -- although with N1MM there's a separate executable
for keying the CW and I did not check for that. What was weird was that the
rig powered up fine with no error message (except the ERR BP, which was
probably human error) and only went nuts when you touched a button. If PTT
or a key closure were asserted at power up, we should have seen ERR KEY or
ERR PTT and we did not.

And to whoever it was who pointed out Tom's click pun, thanks! I have
trained myself so thoroughly to not complain about spelling and grammar
errors on the Internet that I completely failed to notice. And I love a good
groaner! I don't know if my Yaesu friend - who's a really great guy BTW -
has done the click mods to his FT-1000MPs (3 of `em at last count). I'll
remember to needle him about it...

73 -- Carl WS7L

 -Original Message-
 From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net 
 [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Edward R Cole
 Sent: Monday, May 03, 2010 10:18 AM
 To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
 Subject: [Elecraft] [K3] Bad COM port made K3 not work
 
 I had a similar incident where my K3 locked up in transmit.  
 I had been using WSPR sw that controls PTT via the com port 
 (RS-232).  I believe I was on 20m and it did transmit a 
 carrier.  I quickly deduced that it was keyed from the 
 computer and unplugged the RS-232 cable and cycled power and 
 it was fine afterward.  I would suspect this is more a case 
 of computer confusion than a K3 bug.  (I probably forgot to 
 stop WSPR).
 
 73, Ed - KL7UW
 
 --
 
 Message: 14
 Date: Sun, 02 May 2010 11:24:33 -0700
 From: Carl Clawson carlclaw...@verizon.net
 Subject: [Elecraft] [K3] Bad COM port made K3 not work
 To: 'Elecraft' elecraft@mailman.qth.net
 Message-ID: 2e525a629436496d87dfd9543a4f3...@thumbelina
 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
 
 I arrived at a friend's station for the 7th area QSO party at 
 the crack of dark yesterday morning and they were pulling 
 hairs out over a misbehaving K3. F/W V3.79. None of them knew 
 the K3, whose owner hadn't arrived yet. It had been working 
 fine the previous evening as they were prepping for the contest.
 
 It would power up but as soon as you hit any button it would 
 send a continuous side tone. I don't know if it was actually 
 transmitting but the user interface would become mostly non 
 responsive. You could turn it off with the power button and 
 that was about it. There was no ERR KEY or ERR PTT display, 
 so it doesn't seem like it was just a problem with the radio 
 keying up. We were using VOX and not the COM port for PTT, 
 but I forget if VOX was on. We couldn't have turned if off if 
 it had been. There was one of the ERR BP# codes showing 
 because the CONFIG menu wrongly had the KPBF3 installed. I 
 don't know how that happened but I suspect someone got into 
 the CONFIG menu and did that by mistake. Likely that's an 
 unrelated fact. Also, this was a real COM port, not a USB 
 adapter. There wasn't any radio control software running on 
 the PC, although N1MM had been running OK with the K3 earlier.
 
 The Yaesu guy in the crowd loudly gloated that this was yet 
 more evidence that the K3 is a flaky radio. I tried to ignore 
 him while I worked on it. I unplugged it from its COM port 
 and suddenly the radio was fine. Something with the port was 
 seriously disrupting the radio firmware. We proceeded to use 
 a different port.
 
 No problem now, just a war story and something rather odd 
 that I don't think I've heard before. I'd be interested if 
 anyone had a clue what might have caused it. Details are 
 sketchy and/or missing because I was doing this under 
 pressure to get up and running in the contest, with a Yaesu 
 guy yelling in my ear.
 
 73, Carl WS7L
 K3 #486
 
 
 
 73, Ed - KL7UW, WD2XSH/45
 ==
 BP40IQ   500 KHz - 10-GHz   www.kl7uw.com
 EME: 144-600w, 432-100w, 1296-60w, 3400-fall 2010 DUBUS 
 Magazine USA Rep dubus...@hotmail.com 
 ==
 
 __
 Elecraft mailing list
 Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
 Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
 Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
 
 This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
 Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

__
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

[Elecraft] [K3] Bad COM port made K3 not work

[Carl Clawson]

I arrived at a friend's station for the 7th area QSO party at the crack of
dark yesterday morning and they were pulling hairs out over a misbehaving
K3. F/W V3.79. None of them knew the K3, whose owner hadn't arrived yet. It
had been working fine the previous evening as they were prepping for the
contest.

It would power up but as soon as you hit any button it would send a
continuous side tone. I don't know if it was actually transmitting but the
user interface would become mostly non responsive. You could turn it off
with the power button and that was about it. There was no ERR KEY or ERR PTT
display, so it doesn't seem like it was just a problem with the radio keying
up. We were using VOX and not the COM port for PTT, but I forget if VOX was
on. We couldn't have turned if off if it had been. There was one of the ERR
BP# codes showing because the CONFIG menu wrongly had the KPBF3 installed. I
don't know how that happened but I suspect someone got into the CONFIG menu
and did that by mistake. Likely that's an unrelated fact. Also, this was a
real COM port, not a USB adapter. There wasn't any radio control software
running on the PC, although N1MM had been running OK with the K3 earlier.

The Yaesu guy in the crowd loudly gloated that this was yet more evidence
that the K3 is a flaky radio. I tried to ignore him while I worked on it. I
unplugged it from its COM port and suddenly the radio was fine. Something
with the port was seriously disrupting the radio firmware. We proceeded to
use a different port.

No problem now, just a war story and something rather odd that I don't think
I've heard before. I'd be interested if anyone had a clue what might have
caused it. Details are sketchy and/or missing because I was doing this under
pressure to get up and running in the contest, with a Yaesu guy yelling in
my ear.

73, Carl WS7L
K3 #486




__
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] diversity ATT/Pre settings bug

[Carl Clawson]

When I double tap A-B to send all settings to B, the ATT and PRE settings
are transported from the main to the subreceiver when in diversity mode.
This is not appropriate because the subreceiver is NOT using VFO B settings.
It should be independent of the main and stay put where it's set by BSET. I
didn't check on the filter width, etc., so there may be some other things
that should stay put.

I tried blaming N1MM at first but narrowed it down to the K3 as I can
reproduce it even when running standalone from any software.

The K3 excelled in CQ 160. I am a very pleased owner. Diversity receive
ROCKS!

(BA4RF, I heard you several times but could not reach you, but be assured
you were heard by my K3. Let's keep trying! I have not logged BY yet on top
band, and it should not be hard from my west coast QTH.)

Version 3.68.

73 and thanks,
Carl WS7L
K3 #486

__
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 needs survey -- firmware and application software

[Carl Clawson]

I second the motion.

73, Carl WS7L 


 I don't know if anyone has requested it yet, but how about a 
 pulse tuning function for those of us who use tube amps?
 
 73 and Merry Christmas to all!
 
 James K2QI

__
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] C# Code for reading and sending to serial port

[Carl Clawson]

Tom,

The general idea is to use the framework's Ports class to discover the
available ports and use them. You need version 2 or newer. In version 1 the
only way I could find was to dig up a copy of the old MSCOMM32.ocx control
and use it.

There is an example in VB.net at:
http://mysite.verizon.net/carlclawson/Ham/Elecraft/K3CommunicationExample.h
tml

It should be translatable to C# easily.

73, Carl WS7L
K3 #486

 -Original Message-
 
 Howdy,
 
 Does anyone have an example of this in C#?
 
 Thanks,
 
 Tom, N5GE

__
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] Minor XIT/RIT display glitch with band change by RS232

[Carl Clawson]

This happens using N1MM logger V9.10.3 and K3 V3.6.3. I don't have any
serial snooper tools handy so I can't give the exact RS232 command sequence,
but it appears as if N1MM tries to turn off RIT/XIT on band change. To
reproduce:

Go to a band and turn RIT or XIT on. You'll see the annunciator on the LCD,
and one of the three LEDs by the knob will be lit. Now using the software
change to an adjacent band with ctrl-PgUp/PgDn and change back. The
annunciator will be off but the LED will still be lit. I think XIT/RIT is
actually off but I haven't checked to be sure. Whatever the software is
sending, this is not a correct response by the K3.

73 and thanks for listening
Carl WS7L
K3 #486, which pleased me _exceedingly_ during CQWW this past weekend!

__
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] Tuning Rate Change

[Carl Clawson]

 I have to agree with the need for the radio to be smarter 
 about changing it's tuning rate automatically.  This is a 
 software change that would be helpful to most of us and is 
 great on the Icoms.
 

I guess I'm the odd man out on this preference. I used an ICOM 735 for 20
years so I'm used to it, but I never really liked it ... never knew where
I'd end up when I gave the knob a spin. Constant rate works great for me,
especially with the coarse option and fast tuning with the RIT knob.

73 and thanks for listening,
Carl WS7L
K3 #486

__
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] [OT] VOAProp hangs when off the net

[Carl Clawson]

I love VOAProp, but when I'm portable and away from the Internet I can't get
it to work. Even if I uncheck Auto Update it will start up, display the
current band's propagation map, then go comatose with the message Checking
for current solar data update... and never wake up.

If I'm quick, I can almost manage to hit another band's tab and enter the
current time to get a map before it hangs.

Any workarounds/fixes?

Thanks, 73,
Carl WS7L
K3 #486

__
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] [OT] VOAProp hangs when off the net

[Carl Clawson]

 I love VOAProp, but when I'm portable and away from the 
 Internet I can't get it to work.

Of course, as soon as I post the question I think of something else to try
and got it:

Go into voaprop.ini and change Solar Data URL to some nonsense thing. Just
deleting it won't work. I wrote:

[Solar]
Solar Data URL=junk

And now it runs fine. Instead of waiting forever it fails straight away
trying to update the solar info.

73 and thanks for listening,
Carl

__
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] Oscilloscopes

[Carl Clawson]

 
 What is the rating of my Techtronics 475?
 We used them at work for required adjustments to tolerances 
 of 2/10 nanoseconds.
 
 Thanks es 73, de Jim KG0KP

For any common model you can easily find info on the web if you aren't sure.
Bandwidth for scopes is like horsepower for a performance car. It'll be the
first spec that's mentioned.

A handy rule of thumb for the 10% to 90% rise time is ln(9)/(2*pi*bandwidth)
= 0.35/bandwidth. So a 200 MHz scope has an inherent rise time of a bit less
than 2 ns. The 485 comes in at an even 1.0 ns and I always suspected that's
why they targeted 350 MHz for its bandwidth spec.

Exercise for the reader: derive this formula assuming a single pole filter
response.

73 and thanks for listening
Carl WS7L
K3 #486

__
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] dBi dBd correction

[Carl Clawson]

  The reg is the reg, 

Absolutely! So let's read the reg and see what it says. Most arguments about
the rules can be resolved quickly by doing this. When reading regulations,
contracts, or other legalese, it's important not to read between the lines
or interpret. Read exactly what the words say, no more, no less. The
relevant subpart is printed below and apart from the precise definition of
half wave dipole is quite clear. It says nothing about a 50 W max
transmitter power, only 50 W max ERP. Bear in mind that when they say
multiply the transmitter power by antenna gain, it could mean multiplying
by a number less than one ( 0 dBd) or greater than one ( 0 dBd).

73 and thanks for listening,
Carl WS7L


From http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2004/octqtr/47cfr97.303.htm
97.303(s):

...Transmissions shall not exceed an effective radiated power (e.r.p) of 50
W PEP. For the purpose of computing e.r.p. the transmitter PEP will be
multiplied with the antenna gain relative to a dipole or the equivalent
calculation in decibels. A half wave dipole antenna will be presumed to have
a gain of 0 dBd. Licensees using other antennas must maintain in their
station records either manufacturer data on the antenna gain or calculations
of the antenna gain...




__
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] Key out (was CW sideband)

[Carl Clawson]

 ps: the first thing that drives me crazy about the K3?
 The fact that the radio (and the amp) key when I'm playing 
 with my paddles and just wanna hear my own CW. 

Me too.

I guess it must be done this way for people who send the key first to
their amp or antenna switch, and then get their PTT back to the radio
from it? Like from an extra contact pair on a relay that bypasses a
mast-mount preamp. People hate smoking those.

I also would like to be able to turn it off, so that Key Out occurs
only when VOX or PTT is already asserted. Yet another menu option for
the bottom of the software wish list!

Also, I'm away from my K3 now but I could swear that it works at full
QSK even if you don't have QSK enabled. That's pretty odd.

73 and thanks for listening,
Carl WS7L
K3 #486, 1 year old and owner is still smiling.

__
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] My K3's hissy and noisy audio

[Carl Clawson]

It's commonly misunderstood saying. It uses an almost-obsolete meaning of
the verb prove which means test. (As in proving grounds.)

The exception tests the rule.

73, Carl WS7L


 
 --- On Sun, 4/5/09, Steve Ellington n...@carolina.rr.com wrote:
 
 
  The exception proves the rule.
 
 And what's that supposed to mean?
 
 

__
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] amp tune

[Carl Clawson]

I've noticed a similar inconvenience. The problem for me is that Tune will
not activate if PTT is asserted at the rear panel. In my station I don't
have the amp hooked up to the Key Out of the radio. I have a foot switch
that asserts PTT to the K3, puts the amp in transmit, and switches the T/R
relays. Hit the foot switch and Tune won't do anything. I work around it by
using CW mode and a straight key.

Your problem may be that Tune does not assert Key Out, but I've never
checked into that. I'll find out soon because I'm working on a faster T/R
switch with electronic amp bias control so that Key Out controls everything.
Then I can get rid of the foot switch.

73  thanks for listening
Carl WS7L
K3 #486, one year old and still making Dad very happy.

 -Original Message-
 
 I'm trying to setup my K3 to tune my tube amp. I have TUN PWR 
 set to 25 watts. when I long press the tune button the K3 
 goes into transmit at the selected 25 watts, in CW mode, but 
 the amp doesn't key. If I press the PTT on the mic the amp 
 goes into tx. 
 ...
 73 Jeff kb2m

__
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 phones - separate left/right volume adjustment?

[Carl Clawson]

Elecraft: my vote is yes, please!

As Bill mentioned, there is a balance control only if you are using the
subreciever.

I also have a hearing imbalance and would greatly appreciate a left/right
balance control that operates regardless of whether the subreceiver is on or
off. With subreceiver on, the operation of it would be as it is now --
either balance or subreceiver volume depending on a menu selection. With the
subreceiver off or absent it would be left/right balance. 

73 and thanks for listening
Carl WS7L
K3 #486

 -Original Message-
 
 Hello, this is Karsten, DL1QC,
 
 I´m slightly handicaped in hearing on left ear, so I hear CW 
 with K3 always a litte bit out of the middle. Is there an 
 option or procedure to adjust the level of the stereo phones 
 left/right separately?
 vy 73 es tnx for all
 de Karsten - DL1QC

__
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] ECO for Headphone MIX

[Carl Clawson]

 I would like to suggest that there be an additional menu choice
 (either in the Headphone/speakers or AFX menu) that allows for
 a MIX mode.  This mode would allow for 100% Main receiver in
 the left ear, WITH 50% Sub receiver in the left ear as well.
 And 100% Sub receiver in the right ear, WITH 50% Main receiver
 in the right ear.

And while we're on the subject of audio balance, how about an option
enabling the Sub volume control to act as a left/right balance when not
using the sub-receiver? I like different volume levels left and right
because one of my ears is worse than the other. A lot of headsets have
individual volume controls, but many nice ones do not.

73 and thanks for listening
Carl WS7L
K3 #486
-- 
View this message in context: 
http://n2.nabble.com/ECO-for-Headphone-MIX-tp2267237p2269686.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] Filters for weak signal 160 meter CW and crowded contest bands

[Carl Clawson]

 

 -Original Message-
 
 I wish I could vary the pitch of a signal directly while 
 listening to it, instead of having the sidetone cover it up. 
 
 73,
 Drew
 AF2Z
 

Me also. I use different pitches depending on what I'm doing. Higher for
casual QSOs, lower for contesting  pileups. It helps spread out closely
packed stations.

Ditto the sidetone volume. I require several volume settings depending on
which speaker or headphones I'm using and by the time I realize that I have
it wrong I'm in the middle of a QSO and can't change it without drowning out
either myself or the other station.

73  thanks for listening
Carl WS7L
K3 #486

___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
 http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft

Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com

RE: [Elecraft] why the K3 is my favorite rig

[Carl Clawson]

And while we're on the wish-list for a follow-on rig, let's add: A
contest-grade keyer.

My biggest disappointment with the K3 is a built-in keyer that I can't use
with contest software. (It speaks very well for the radio that this rather
minor issue is my biggest one.)

This left me with the alternatives of serial port keying or an external
keyer. Serial port keying I find undesirable for reasons that have already
been hashed out several times on the reflector. So I bought an external
keyer.

Hint to Elecraft: It's already been done. Don't reinvent it. Drop a Winkey
chip in the box and be done with it.

73 and thanks for listening
Carl WS7L 
K3 #486

___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
 http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft

Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com

[Elecraft] [K3] CW monitor tone adjustment presents difficulty

[Carl Clawson]

I've been using some stereo speakers that require a high volume setting,
which means turning up my sidetone a lot higher than I would like for
phones. This causes a problem when I switch from one to the other. I start
keying and it's either way too loud or I can barely hear myself sending.

This would be easy to deal with if the monitor adjustment didn't furnish a
constant CW tone that mutes the audio and makes it impossible to change
while using the radio. I'd like to be able to turn that tone off. I could
either judge by the numbers on the display or listen to it as I'm keying,
but the way it is now if I have it wrong I can neither send nor receive
while I'm adjusting it.

Another solution would be a selectable audio gain change when phones are
plugged in, but I'd be happy twiddling knobs as needed.

73 and thanks for listening,
Carl, WS7L
K3 #486

___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
 http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft

Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com

RE: [Elecraft] Two K3's, Same Band, Same Time?

[Carl Clawson]

Dan, you should be fine.

On Field Day W7OTV had two K3s, one on CW and one on digital. Antennas
fairly non-directional, about 500 ft apart. A CW op was tuning up the band
and crossed into digital territory, and didn't even notice the other K3
until he was almost right on top of him.

It was a world of difference from previous years when my trusty old ICOM 735
and a variety of lower-end Yaesu and Kenwood rigs would really clobber each
other from one end of the band to the other.

Good luck,
Carl WS7L
K3 #486  

 -Original Message-
 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
 [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Dan Levin
 Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2008 9:02 PM
 To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
 Subject: [Elecraft] Two K3's, Same Band, Same Time?
 
 For Sweepstakes, we are thinking about using a large 
 multi-multi contesting station to house two separate single 
 operator efforts.  The station has two yagi antennas on each 
 band, separated by about 500 feet, and element tip to element 
 tip when beaming the US (antennas pointed in parallel).
 
 The thought has crossed my mind that two K3's in such a 
 situation might be able to deal with the other signal, even 
 strong and so close, if one station is at the low end of the 
 band (say 14005) and the other is at the high end of the band 
 (say 14075).
 
 Would anyone care to weigh in about the likelihood of the 
 receivers surviving such behavior?
 
***dan, K6IF
 
 ___
 Elecraft mailing list
 Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
 You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
 Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
  http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
 
 Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
 Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com No virus found in 
 this incoming message.
 Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com
 Version: 8.0.175 / Virus Database: 270.8.4/1752 - Release 
 Date: 10/28/2008 10:04 AM
 

___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
 http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft

Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com

RE: [Elecraft] KRX3 no audio

[Carl Clawson]

 

 -Original Message-
 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
 [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Nelson 
 Wittstock
 
 I just installed my new KRX3 and I do not have any audio.  
 There is no hissing sound as there is when I use the main 
 receiver.  In the Config menu I have set ANT=BNC as I 
 installed the TMP cable with the BNC connector to allow me to 
 do diversity work later.  In BSET I have the ANT set to MAIN. 
 When I tap the SUB button the SUB icon on the screen lights 
 up.  SUB RF gain is full clockwise.  What setting do I need 
 to set or correct?  Is it possible that it isn't plugged in 
 correctly?  The two long screws that go through the receiver 
 mated easily with the standoffs below so I don't think it 
 could be displaced.

This sounds like what happened to me. I was set to CONFIG:SPKRS 2 but I
unplugged my stereo speakers during the installation and then began testing
using the internal speaker. Make sure you set CONFIG:SPKRS 1 if you are
trying to do that. The internal speaker only hears the main RX if you're set
for stereo.

73  HTH
Carl WS7L

___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
 http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft

Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com

[Elecraft] [K3] MIC+LIN gain control suggestion

[Carl Clawson]

Talking to a friend about setting up audio inputs for his K3, I remembered
this from the release notes:

When MIC+LIN is in effect, rotating the MIC control shows MIC GAIN. The op
has to set MIC SEL to LINE temporarily to set LINE IN gain. 

How about having the Mic knob toggle between MIC and LINE IN when MIC+LIN is
selected? Set one of them, click the knob twice, then set the other one. It
seems intuitive to me.

Thanks for listening,
73/WS7L
K3 #486

___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
 http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft

Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com

RE: [Elecraft] [K3] Filter Cascade Effect

[Carl Clawson]

 -Original Message-
 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
 [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jim Brown

 Right on!  BUT -- one good way to deal with this when you 
 already own the narrower filter is to tell the K3 that its 
 bandwidth is wider than it is. For example, I have tell the 
 K3 my 400 Hz 8 pole filter is 500 Hz, and the 1.8 kHz filter 
 is 2.2 kHz. I find that I also want to shift the 1.8 kHz 
 filter down about 150 Hz. 

Maybe the K3 software should adjust its DSP bandwidth so that you get a
smooth variation of the cascaded bandwidth as you turn the knob. When the
narrower filter engages, widen the DSP a bit. There's no way to make it
perfect, but it has to be better than having the user fudge the filter
bandwidths.

73, Carl WS7L

___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
 http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft

Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com

RE: [Elecraft] K3 Wish List

[Carl Clawson]

I'm with Roy. If I have a system in state A and I fiddle with it and get it
into state B, I want to be able to get back to A. Even if the difference is
trivial and doesn't matter in the slightest. Is there a good reason for
this? No. It's likely a mild form of obsessive compulsive disorder. I should
probably be seen by a psychiatrist.

Or it could be that I've dealt with so much software over the years, with
all kinds of bizarre interactions between seemingly unrelated things, that I
no longer believe that there is such a thing as an unimportant difference.

And by the way, should anal retentive be spelled with a hyphen?

73/WS7L

 -Original Message-
 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
 [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of David Pratt
 Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2008 11:35 PM
 To: Elecraft Reflector
 Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 Wish List
 
 In a recent message, Roy Morris [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote ...
 I would like to be able to erase entries from PF1 and PF2 instead of 
 having to overwrite these memories.  Please consider putting this on 
 the list.
 
 Why, Roy?  Surely if you do not want to use the PF1 and PF2 
 buttons you could just fill them with the firmware versions.  
 Leaving them blank does not serve any useful purpose and I do 
 feel there are other things on the list that could be given 
 higher priority.
 
 Please tell us the reason you need PF1 and PF2 to be blank.
 

___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
 http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft

Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com

RE: [K3] [Elecraft] Software suggestion: a more prominent TESTindicator

[Carl Clawson]

Julian does make a good point, and regardless of the rig that you're running
you should always keep an eye on your power and SWR indicators to make sure
you're putting out the signal you expect. At my home station I use an
external meter because the flicking needles grab my attention a little
better than the bar graphs on the display.

The difference with the K3 is that AFAIK the test mode is unique to it.
Every rig I've used had a VOX to control CW transmit enable, so operators
are used to looking for it. The same goes for SPLIT, RIT, etc. The K3 test
mode, however, seems to trip up even experienced K3 operators fairly often.

73, WS7L 

 -Original Message-
 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
 [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of G4ILO
 Sent: Tuesday, July 01, 2008 1:09 AM
 To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
 Subject: Re: [K3] [Elecraft] Software suggestion: a more 
 prominent TESTindicator
 
 That's not such a bad idea. Trouble is, there are quite a few 
 other gotchas that you don't get any obvious warning about, 
 like not having VOX enabled when trying to send CW, or having 
 SPLIT or RIT enabled when you have forgotten about it. Why 
 single out just one gotcha for special treatment?
 
 After the first couple of times, you learn to check for 
 things like that.
 Nobody should expect to be able to operate anything as 
 complex as a K3 flawlessly without first spending some time 
 learning how to drive it.
 

___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
 http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft

Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com

RE: [Elecraft] Field Day in Oregon

[Carl Clawson]

 

 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
 [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Kevin Rock
 
Here in Western Oregon we had a Field Day event with two 
 K3s.  Luckily it was only a few miles away and not too 
 difficult to beg my way in.

Kevin is being modest. He didn't have to beg. We would have begged HIM to
come if we had had to!

 The other K3 was used for 
 digital operations about 700 feet away.  There was no 
 interference between the voice, data, and CW stations but 
 they did attach bandpass filters to all of the rigs except 
 the K3 at the CW station.

The third station, running SSB, was a Pro III. We did hear a little of the
CQ Field Day voice rhythym in our noise floor at one point, but it was
far, far better than previous years when we totally obliterated each other
if we tried to run on the same band with our low-end ICOMs and Yaesus. We
didn't hear the digital station at all. Everyone who knew enough to be
impressed was _very_ impressed. We may have sold a few K3's this weekend.

 One problem we did have was at a shift 
 change when the rig was inadvertently left in TEST mode.

Ahem. That was me who did that. I put it in TEST so as not to accidentally
key it up while we were moving the keys around. I should have just turned it
off!

   Until next week, stay as cool as you can.
   73,
  Kevin.  KD5ONS

I'm trying. Just be thankful that it was 5 deg F cooler up on the hill than
it was down here in the valleys (101 F at my place).

73, Carl WS7L
K3 #486

___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
 http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft

Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com

[Elecraft] [K3] Software suggestion: a more prominent TEST indicator

[Carl Clawson]

It's just too easy to miss the little blinking TX annunciator if you've left
your K3 in test mode. How about once in a while doing something more
dramatic like scrolling TX TEST across the VFO A display, or flashing the
display, or making the SWR and power meter displays flicker in some
obnoxious way, or ...

The challenge is to think of something that doesn't impair any useful aspect
of test mode.

73  thanks for listening,
Carl WS7L

___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
 http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft

Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com

RE: [Elecraft] K3 Field Day Note: QRO/Battery

[Carl Clawson]

Don't underestimate the voltage drop in your battery cables.

My old ICOM 735 shipped with a ten-foot #12 battery cable, which I used on
Field Day without thinking. Later I realized that I was losing more than
half a volt in the cable. That's a lot when you're running from batteries
with a rig that ceases to function a little below 12 V. A lot of 12 V rigs
are spec'ed at 13.8 V +/- 15% (some are even +/- 10%, which hardly qualifies
as 12 V). You don't have a lot of volts to lose running them on battery.

Now I use two paralleled #10 cords, four feet long, with just a short length
of #12 to the radio. Yeah, it's overkill but it makes me feel better.

So:

1. Kudos to Elecraft for designing a rig that runs down to 11 V!

2. Look up a copper wire table and do the math on your power cables. You
might be surprised. Don't forget that you have two wires in series with the
battery.

73 and thanks for listening,

Carl WS7L
K3 #486

___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
 http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft

Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com

[Elecraft] [K3] Nit-pick about the TX LED

[Carl Clawson]

TX flashes when I hit my paddles, even in the absence of VOX or PTT.
Shouldn't it flash only when the rig is really transmitting, or pretending
to in TX TEST?

Also, the ALC shows an indication if you have that on the meter display.

There. I feel better now. Thanks for listening.

73, Carl WS7L
K3 #486

___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
 http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft

Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com

RE: [Elecraft] [K3] CW pitch can go to zero Hz (RS232 problem)

[Carl Clawson]

More info:

The evil mode is not cleared by cycling power, restoring a configuration, or
reloading firmware. So I still don't know what causes or relieves the
problem. I also observed the problem on V1.96.

Sometimes, but not always, the CW speed will change when the tone goes to
zero. The speed will go to either 8 WPM or 0 WPM.

When it's in evil mode, all I have to do to zero my tone is start the K3
utility and type KY @;. I then restore tone and keyer speed with the front
panel controls and all operates normally until the next time I send KY @;.
Eventually a miracle occurs and I can send KY @; as much as I want until
the next time the demons possess it.

I am logging all everything I send over RS232 but so far nothing looks odd.
I'll keep looking.

Any other ideas for things to clear/reset, things to watch for, etc.,
appreciated. Thanks!

73, Carl
K3 #486


___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
 http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft

Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com

[Elecraft] RE: CW pitch can go to zero Hz (RS232 problem)

[Carl Clawson]

Thanks, Wayne. I was unaware of the AC feature. I'm using it as a STOP in
a logging program; would've said so had I known about the other usage.
-- Carl

 From: wayne burdick [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
 
 The character '@', when embedded in a KYtext CW keying packet, will do
one of two things:
 
 1. terminate the transmission, or
 2. send .--.-. which is the Morse pattern for '@' (you can also think of
 it as the prosign AC)

___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
 http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft

Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com

[Elecraft] [K3] CW VOX stuck on, v1.99 and later.

[Carl Clawson]

I keyed my K3 several times into an open connector before I noticed the
HIGH SWR warning! I really hate it when that happens. Funny, I had made
sure VOX was off and there was no external PTT before I started warming up
the fist on the paddles. And yes, the PTT setting in the config menu is
OFF-OFF. So if an inadvertent PTT is coming from somewhere else, please tell
me where to look. Maybe I better get in the habit of using TX TEST mode.

I went from V2.00 back to 1.99 and got the same behavior.

However, I went back to 1.96 and now it behaves like it ought. So I'm
thinking bug.

73, Carl WS7L

___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
 http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft

Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com

Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Keying software improvement suggestion (was: Logging programs and internal keyer)

[Carl Clawson]

Thanks again to all who responded on- and off-line to this subject.

Two things I learned here: There are external keyers that provide superb
support for high performance contest software, but also, great software can
indeed produce great CW over serial or parallel ports without the extra
hardware. The lower-performing programs don’t because they use loops,
timers, or other task-dependent features to send the CW.

One of my objectives is to minimize the number of cables and boxes on my
desktop. If it could be made to work right, DTR/CTS keying would do the job.
Here are the problems, though. First, it keys your radio when the computer
reboots. This is a deal breaker for me. I’m too scatterbrained to remember
to disable it when I’m not using it. Second, there’s no feedback from the
radio to the software. When you touch a paddle or key, you want the software
to stop sending. So two improvements are needed to make this work great: 1.
An RS232 command to enable/disable DTR keying so that it’s enabled only when
your contest program is running. 2. An auto-info response that sends an
event to the computer when a key or paddle is touched. Then if we can get
the software authors to implement it, and keep the internal keyer at the
same speed as the software, I think this would work very neatly. Plug your
key into the rig, the rig into the computer, and off you go.

Thanks for listening!
Carl WS7L
K3 #486
-- 
View this message in context: 
http://www.nabble.com/-K3--Logging-programs-and-internal-keyer-tp17451428p17527515.html
Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com.

___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
 http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft

Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com

[Elecraft] [K3] Logging programs and internal keyer

[Carl Clawson]

Are there any contest logging programs out that support the internal keyer
on the K3? This seems the ideal way to go, just one more serial command that
has to be coded to go to the radio. Otherwise you either:

1) Have the computer generate the CW and waggle some lines to the radio.
This is problematic because no modern operating system has deterministic
timing. You never know when the OS will decide to go do something else for a
while, and you get choppy code if you're unlucky. You also need a circuit to
key from the parallel port, or use DTR/CTS on serial, which is OK until you
reboot your computer and it keys up your radio. Plus, AFAICT you can get
paddle inputs only via a parallel port. (Seems like a serial port could take
paddle input on DSR  RTS, but I don't recall ever seeing that. Probably
because you'd need to add in both + and - power supplies. The advantage of
the parallel port is that you can set a pin to +5 V to power your paddle
input circuit.)

2) Buy an external box like WinKey to interface to the rig. Why spend money
on that? It's only doing stuff that the rig already does!

So, any support out there? I'm considering moving to a new logging program
and hoping to mothball the special cables and lash-ups that I've been using,
and get more consistent code too. Plus, I won't need to plug and unplug
paddles and things when I work offline from the logging program.

Thanks!
73, Carl WS7L

No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG. 
Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.24.1/1464 - Release Date: 5/24/2008
8:56 AM
 

___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
 http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft

Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com