[Elecraft] Transceiver transmitted composite noise at reduced output power

Hi Joe, I'll be pleased to email a pdf of Rob Sherwood's transceiver transmitted composite noise measurements to you or anyone who requests them 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Joe" To: donov...@erols.com, "CQ-Contest" , "Elecraft" Sent: Thursday, April 1, 2021

[Elecraft] Transceiver transmitted composite noise measurements

Rob Sherwood NC0B agreed to freely share his transmitted composite noise measurements (dBc/Hz). Rob's measurements are limited to only those transceivers he has access to. Bob has always offered top measure the performance of any transceiver, but of course he needs access for testing.

Re: [Elecraft] Rothammels Antenna Book

Hi Lyn, Its an excellent antenna book but its more of a reference book than a "how to" book. Its definitely not an alternative to the ARRL Antenna Book. If you don't have either book, for most hams the ARRL Antenna Book is the better first investment . 73 Frank W3LPL - Original

Re: [Elecraft] Rothammels Antenna Book

www.amazon.com/Rothammels-Antenna-Book-Translated-revised/dp/3000624279 - Original Message - From: "Lyn Norstad" To: "Scott Haller" , elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Monday, March 22, 2021 2:21:00 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Rothammels Antenna Book I have, in fact, ordered a copy

Re: [Elecraft] Elecraft contact- K3 power problem

Gordon, Have you verified that your power supply and DC power cable are delivering full voltage to your K3 when the K3 is set to deliver 110 watts output? This is a frequent cause of low power output. Use the K3 internal voltmeter 73 Frank W3LPl -Original Message- From:

Re: [Elecraft] KPA1500 on AM

Morgan, The amplifier will actually be outputting its full rated 1500 watts PEP but because of the 375 watt carrier the heat dissipation in the amplifier and power supply may be to higher than they were ever designed or tested for. If I were you I'd limit the KPA1500 carrier output power

Re: [Elecraft] Heil HC-5 Taiwanese Equivalent?

I suspect you've discovered Bob Heil's source! It looks exactly like the HC-5 except the HC-5 has two solder pads The HC-4 has a tiny hole, much smaller than in the photo 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: j...@kk9a.com To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Monday,

Re: [Elecraft] far market price

Depending on electrical and physical condition and how quickly you need to sell: 50 to 65% of new cost. Accessories sell for about 75% of new cost only when sold separately and only about 50% or less when sold with the radio because few buyers a willing to pay a high price for accessories

Re: [Elecraft] Replacement Manuals

Hi Richard, Your mailman may have done you a big favor... But don't give up, I'm still receiving mail that was mailed in early December. When you get used to using ctrl-F searches of the on-line K3 User Manual you'll never go back to using the very incomplete index at the back of the

Re: [Elecraft] External sound card advice needed to attach to K3

Transmitting voice or music to the FT8 interface is a big problem for other users. It creates interference across the entire SSB filter bandwidth, not just in a single FT8 signal bandwidth. If you operate FT8 or any other digital mode you hear Microsoft musical notes and voice every day. The

Re: [Elecraft] My K3's 10 meter band now functions

Hi Dave, I train all of my W3LPL operators to always check their receiver sensitivity before a contest and every time they change to a different band or a different radio. This is an essential skill and habit that should be ingrained into every successful contester and DXer. Simply

Re: [Elecraft] Ice on dipole under snow under ice

Hi Mike, While its true that snow and ice are transparent to HF, its also true that they affect antenna performance by dielectric loading of the antenna elements. In most cases it affects mainly the feed point impedance, but in extreme cases it can also affect the directivity of a directive

Re: [Elecraft] Tuning Random-Length Wire Antenna with K3 Internal Tuner??

Examining the KAT3A circuit board, I doubt it can handle more than 1000 volts that a worst case random wire -- or a fault -- could cause at the output of the KAT3A tuner when the K3 is producing full rated output. But its unlikely that the KAT3A can produce full rated K3 output because of

Re: [Elecraft] Tuning Random-Length Wire Antenna with K3 Internal Tuner??

Hi Mike, You do have an alternative: Rather than using a random wire length, chose a wire length that produces well under 10:1 VSWR on the frequencies you intend to use. For end fed random wires, avoiding wire lengths close to multiples of 1/2 wavelength should be safe with the K3

Re: [Elecraft] Tuning Random-Length Wire Antenna with K3 Internal Tuner??

Hi Mike, Its not wise to use the K3 antenna tuner to tune a random wire. A truly random wire can easily produce VSWR greater than 10:1 which is likely to damage the K3 tuner when running at full K3 output power. Its much wiser to use an external tuner with a random wire 73 Frank

Re: [Elecraft] Audio settings

Hi Eric, The K3 Owners Manual states: "While speaking into the microphone in a normal voice, adjust MIC for a peak ALC meter indication of about 5-7 bars." My understanding is that ALC begins with the fifth bar just flickering. Does Elecraft now recommend that minimal ALC rather than

Re: [Elecraft] Reliable PL-259 UHF connector engagement

One Japanese antenna manufacturer -- years ago -- supplied their antenna with a mating PL-259 with metric threads... 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Drew AF2Z" To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 2020 7:49:49 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Reliable

Re: [Elecraft] Reliable PL-259 UHF connector engagement

Hi Bill, Both N and BNC connectors have their own unique issues... BNC connectors have rather poor shielding performance caused by imperfect axial alignment and limited engagement pressure, both of which are easily demonstrated by a VNA, especially above 20 MHz. Both BNC and N

[Elecraft] Reliable PL-259 UHF connector engagement

PL-259's are excellent connectors when installed and used correctly. Unlike N and BNC connectors, a PL-259 is dependent on proper engagement of its outer shell and interconnecting teeth to the mating SO-239 socket. Use a small pair of pliers to snug up -- not tighten -- the shell. Be

Re: [Elecraft] Foot Switch Doesn't Work

Hi Eric, My PTT jack has 4.9 volts when unkeyed. This is certainly a mysterious problem... If your microphone PTT works then the electronics in your K3 is working properly. As far as I know the microphone PTT and PTT jack on the rear of the K3 are connected together! In a pinch it

Re: [Elecraft] Foot Switch Doesn't Work

Does the PTT in the microphone connector work? - Original Message - From: "kg6mzs" To: "Mike Harris" , elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2020 6:17:47 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Foot Switch Doesn't Work Hi Mike, Thanks for the reply. K6MKF also suggested that. The

Re: [Elecraft] KPA1500 in the IARU Contest Last weekend

Hi Skip, Conceptionally you're correct about rhombics and V-beams but your time frame is way off. Edmond Bruce's rhombic antenna patent was filed in 1931. www.aktuellum.com/mobile/circuits/antenna-patent ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=1685103 The heyday for the

Re: [Elecraft] Matching resonant antennas

Ken's statement that " a non-resonant antenna can have a 1:1 SWR" is patently false with the sole exception of a dummy load used as an antenna. 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Ken WA8JXM" To: "Andy Durbin" Cc: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Wednesday, July 15,

Re: [Elecraft] KPA1500 in the IARU Contest Last Weekend

Or water... Are you sure your coaxial cable, balun and connectors are all dry? From your description, the last thing I'd examine is the KPA1500 Good luck! 73 Frank W3LPL On Wed, Jul 15, 2020 at 11:19 AM Nr4c wrote: > My first thought is “Heat”! > > > Sent from my iPhone >

Re: [Elecraft] K2 K2/100 post FD review

Hi Mike, Your email states: " The P/S output is 13.6V." Did you measure 13.6 volts at the output of your power supply under load when your transmitter is outputting 100 watts? 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Mike Kopacki" To: donw...@embarqmail.com Cc:

Re: [Elecraft] Diversity receive versus QRM eliminators

Diversity is not helpful as a QRM eliminator. Antennas with steerable nulls can be helpful, small loop antennas have very deep nulls but also require a high gain, low noise figure preamp and very careful attention to common mode rejection during installation 73 Frank W3LPL -

Re: [Elecraft] Diversity receive versus QRM eliminators

Hi Alan, The MFJ works very well as a noise eliminator only if the noise antenna is very close to the noise source, so that the noise is much stronger than the desired signals. If the noise antenna is receiving about the same signals as the main antenna the noise elimination function cannot

Re: [Elecraft] K4 Question

Hi Jim 100 watts. Key to our success is the end-to-end alignment of our 3 element Yagis 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Jim Brown" To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2020 12:49:00 AM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K4 Question On 6/23/2020 3:27 PM,

Re: [Elecraft] K4 Question

Hi Eric, We use more than a dozen K3 transceivers at the W3AO Field Day with as many as four operating in the same band (CW, SSB, FT8 and GOTA SSB), but not this year... (: There's absolutely no trace of interference between four K3 transceivers operating in the same band, despite the

Re: [Elecraft] Spurs on 6 meters on FT8

Hi Barney, Please share some details about the nature of the spurious signals you're trying to solve Thanks 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "cbscholl" To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Friday, June 12, 2020 3:25:12 PM Subject: [Elecraft] Spurs on 6 meters on

Re: [Elecraft] K3 Spontaneous Failure

Hi Jim, Simply disengaging and re-engaging the front panel connector several times will often resolve the intermittent connection temporarily. But it will come back... Send your radio in for repair before it becomes a hard fault. If you have the old unreliable front panel connectors, your

Re: [Elecraft] FIXED--was NOT the feedline

Cold shrink tubing is widely available on eBay, usually about ten dollars each - Original Message - From: "Peter Dougherty" To: donov...@starpower.net, "Elecraft Reflector" Sent: Friday, June 5, 2020 4:13:03 PM Subject: RE: [Elecraft] FIXED--was NOT the feedline First time I've

Re: [Elecraft] Self-fusing liquid electrical tape

Hey Jim, If you think Cad-Welding a ground rod is fun to watch, take a look at thermite welding of railroad tracks: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uxsFglz2ig 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Jim Brown" To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Friday, June 5, 2020 6:07:22 PM

Re: [Elecraft] Cold Shrink Tubing (was Re: FIXED)

Hi Lynn, I have no buried cable splices in my ham station. The only splices I once had failed years ago: - The buried AC power feed from the street was fabricated from two spliced cables. The neutral wire splice failed causing a near-catastrophe in my home - the buried 240 volt AC

Re: [Elecraft] FIXED--was NOT the feedline

This is an interesting video demonstrating the relative benefits of heat shrink and cold shrink tubing www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSOXfkB6Jgw 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Peter Dougherty" To: "Edward R Cole" , "Elecraft Reflector" Sent: Thursday, June 4, 2020

Re: [Elecraft] FIXED--was NOT the feedline

Hi Jim, I've had good success with liquid electrical tape, but I use it only as a last resort when Scotch 130C and Scotch 33 or 88 can't be used 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Jim Brown" To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Thursday, June 4, 2020 4:25:24 AM

Re: [Elecraft] FIXED--was NOT the feedline

Dave, Try Josh's technique, you won't regret it. But I never use Scotchkote because UV very quickly destroys it. 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: rocke...@gmail.com To: "Josh Fiden" , "Elecraft Reflector" Sent: Wednesday, June 3, 2020 11:08:51 PM Subject: Re:

Re: [Elecraft] NOT the feedline

The Amphenol 83-1SP connector that many of us use is rated at 1000 volts RMS, That well exceeds the voltage that most amateur 1500 watt amplifiers can safely produce without much more severe internal damage to the amplifier. www.amphenolrf.com/media/downloads/305/C83-1sp.pdf 73 Frank

Re: [Elecraft] Field Day

Based on many Field Days, I'm certain that the optimum strategy is to be ready to at 1800Z. Plenty of stations are active at 1800Z and activity grows rapidly over the next few hours. Conversely activity steadily drops off on Sunday and it drops rapidly after 1800Z, there's not enough activity

Re: [Elecraft] Field Day

>From the ARRL Field Day FAQ: www.arrl.org/files/file/Field-Day/2019/2019-FD-FAQ-RevA.pdf Q. What equipment at our Field Day site must be operated off of the emergency power in order to claim the 100-point per transmitter bonus? A. You must operate all transmitting and receiving

Re: [Elecraft] [K3/K3s] RF Gain Control

Hi John, The K3/K3S "RF Gain" control doesn't control any RF stage at all... It actually controls the gain of the 8.215 MHz IF amplifier immediately following the 8.215 MHz roofing filters which then controls the 8.215 MHz IF signal level feeding the 2nd mixer. See the K3 RF Board

Re: [Elecraft] New Mystery: Copying groups vs plain language text (Rather OT)

When I was 16 years old I was offered an engineering job at our local TV station -- the NBC outlet in Providence RI -- after I graduated from high school. But they said I had to have a First Class Radiotelephone to qualify for the job. No worries I said and I went to work studying. But since

Re: [Elecraft] [K3S] intermittent RF path interruption

Excellent detective work and documentation Ben! 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Ben Gelb" To: "Benjamin Gelb" Cc: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Friday, May 1, 2020 5:19:43 AM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] [K3S] intermittent RF path interruption And now the exciting

Re: [Elecraft] RX Ant K3 Preamp vs External Preamp

Hi Rich, There's a very broad variety of receive-only preamps on the market. I use the many Advanced Receiver Research P1-30/20VD preamps in my station and I've always been very pleased with their performance from 160 through 40 meters. Because they're broadband preamps, they should have

Re: [Elecraft] Poor CW note more testing and a question (rather long-ish...)

Page 27 of the K3 Manual addresses proper use of ALC with the K3: External ALC External ALC should only be used to protect your amplifier during operation into a failed load, or during a prolonged overdrive condition. ALC should not be used as a way to clip or compress fast voice peaks, or

Re: [Elecraft] RX Ant K3 Preamp vs External Preamp

A good rule of thumb is that if receiver background noise level drops at least one S-unit when the antenna is removed, then receiver sensitivity is externally noise limited. This may be hard to achieve on 6 meters unless all losses from the antenna feed point to the receiver input are less

Re: [Elecraft] K3S poor CW keying further investigation

Hi Pete, The K3 100 watt power amplifier includes a 25 amp circuit breaker on the rear panel of your radio. The rest of the K3 electronics is protected by an internal 5 amp self resetting fuse. There's absolutely no need for external fuses, except in a mobile installation where external

Re: [Elecraft] K3/K3S receiver and high-precision frequency determination?

In 1969 -- right out of college and in my first EE job, I was tasked to evaluate the technical performance of Sylvania's new R-1414 receiver that was designed and manufactured to be the replacement for thousands of R-390 and R-390A receivers then very widely used by the U.S. military. It

Re: [Elecraft] K3/K3S receiver and high-precision frequency determination?

Each of these frequency jumps causes phase discontinuity that is likely to cause bit errors in during PSK modulation and demodulation. How often do they occur? 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Dave Cole" To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Friday, April 24, 2020

Re: [Elecraft] K3S poor CW

Not quite true Jim. Perhaps it would be true to say " Most software only CW implementation..." Win-Test produces superb CW from its USB or parallel port with just about any computer that will host Windows 7 or 10. 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Jim Rhodes" To:

Re: [Elecraft] Elecraft K3s, etc. bonding

Hey Pete, 2 AWG wire is 1/4 in diameter... Are you sure? Maybe your using super flexible welding wire... Maybe not... 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "N4ZR" To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2020 2:27:52 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Elecraft

Re: [Elecraft] USB Noise core gets hot when operating FT*?

Definitely You can prove it to yourself by connecting a dummy load to your K3 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: ae...@carolinaheli.com To: donov...@starpower.net, elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Monday, April 20, 2020 5:52:57 PM Subject: RE: [Elecraft] USB Noise core

Re: [Elecraft] USB Noise core gets hot when operating FT*?

You're safe, but obviously your K3 isn't... - Original Message - From: ae...@carolinaheli.com To: donov...@starpower.net, ae...@carolinaheli.com Cc: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Monday, April 20, 2020 5:40:26 PM Subject: RE: [Elecraft] USB Noise core gets hot when operating FT*?

Re: [Elecraft] USB Noise core gets hot when operating FT*?

With your antenna that close, are you sure you're not exceeding human body RF exposure requirements? 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: ae...@carolinaheli.com To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Sunday, April 19, 2020 12:46:55 AM Subject: [Elecraft] USB Noise core gets

Re: [Elecraft] Excessive SWR Faulting KPA500

Hi Andy, A very close 40 meter antenna is much safer than a close 12 or 10 meter antenna See FCC Amateur Radio Regulations: Part 97.13 Restrictions on station location. (c) Before causing or allowing an amateur station to transmit from any place where the operation of the station could

Re: [Elecraft] Excessive SWR Faulting KPA500

Hi Ed, At a distance of only six feet to your antenna, perhaps your amplifier is trying to warn you that you may also have a human RF safety issue. 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: k...@juno.com To: rmcg...@blomand.net Cc: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Saturday,

Re: [Elecraft] Excessive SWR Faulting KPA500

Hi Ed, What results do you observe when you connect the output of your KPA500 direct to a dummy load? 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: k...@juno.com To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Saturday, April 18, 2020 12:18:55 AM Subject: [Elecraft] Excessive SWR Faulting

Re: [Elecraft] Electrolytic Capacitor failure

Hi Ray, This is probably unrelated to your capacitor failure, but your "big hulking linear supply" is underrated for the K3 unless you run your K3 at less than full output power. The RS-20A might be okay for SSB, but certainly not for RTTY or digital modes at K3 full rated output power.

Re: [Elecraft] 75ohm Impedance question K3S and Antenna side.

Hi Jerry, What coax do you plan to use (manufacturer and part number)? Did you intentionally use 27 MHz in the last row? Your other calculations look good but you carried them to far too many significant digits when the Vf of most coax (especially CATV coax) is only approximate. Cut

Re: [Elecraft] 75 ohm coax

Hi Tony, Reasonable coaxial cable loss isn't an issue on the low bands unless you're using an inefficient receiving antenna (e.g. small loop, BOG, or high impedance short verticals). Most inefficient receiving antennas use a remotely powered preamp at -- or very near -- the feed point so

Re: [Elecraft] Transceiver Test Bed at W3LPL

Hi Igor, Very good ideas! Thanks 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Igor Sokolov" To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Friday, April 3, 2020 2:53:55 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Transceiver Test Bed at W3LPL Frank, you can add different headphones on Radio#4 to the

Re: [Elecraft] Transceiver Test Bed at W3LPL

Thanks Bob 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Bob Wilson, N6TV" To: "Elecraft Reflector" Cc: "Frank Donovan, W3LPL" Sent: Thursday, April 2, 2020 9:20:13 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Transceiver Test Bed at W3LPL On Tue, Mar 31, 2020 at 12:50 PM Barry <

Re: [Elecraft] Transceiver Test Bed at W3LPL

Hi Grant, I'll do it right, you can take that to the bank 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Grant Youngman" To: donov...@starpower.net Cc: "Elecraft Refl" Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2020 9:03:14 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Transceiver Test Bed at W3LPL If you’re

Re: [Elecraft] Transceiver Test Bed at W3LPL

Hi Jim, I'll try a variety of transceivers as QRM generators and document the good and the bad... tks 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Jim Brown" To: "Reflector Elecraft" Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2020 8:16:59 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Transceiver Test Bed at

Re: [Elecraft] Transceiver Test Bed at W3LPL

Hi Barry, Good ideas. It will be an interesting challenge to eek out the best possible performance from each radio-under-test. We'll learn a lot. tks 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Barry" To: donov...@starpower.net, elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Tuesday,

Re: [Elecraft] Transceiver Test Bed at W3LPL

Hi Jim, Very good ideas! I'll also use my FTdx5000s as QRM radios and also try the K3s to see if the there is a measurable difference in QRM tks 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Jim Brown" To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2020 7:31:10 PM

[Elecraft] Transceiver Test Bed at W3LPL

During the Coronavirus crisis many of us have much more time than usual for serious technical experimentation and testing. I'm building a transceiver test bed and I'll regularly report the progress of my test setup, procedures and results. The intent of my test bed is to document the

Re: [Elecraft] The Big Three...

Hi Jim, You're probably correct about design compromises made with technologies available and affordable 14 years ago. Its probably not a coincidence that all of the top-shelf modern radios have a leg up on the K3 in the most severe competitive contest environments Think about what less

Re: [Elecraft] The Big Three...

Clay, If you're not a serious SSB contest competitor this thread has no relevance to your experience or needs. Try SSB contesting at the highest levels of competitiveness and you'll soon become aware of the important performance differences among modern transceivers. 73 Frank W3LPL

Re: [Elecraft] The Big Three...

Hi Clay, This thread is a discussion about the relative performance of top-of-the-line modern transceivers in the most demanding situations faced by serious SSB contest competitors. The vast majority of transceiver users have no concerns about the performance of their transceiver under these

Re: [Elecraft] The Big Three...

Hi Jim, You would have to seriously compete in an SSB contest with some of the more modern radios in very crowded bands to fully appreciate how much better the more modern technologies are for both transmit and receive signal quality. The latest Flex radios are almost shockingly good, but

Re: [Elecraft] The Big Three...

Hello Igor, I'm sure there will be many, many reports after the K4 starts shipping. Its very difficult to remove bias from the test and evaluation process. Inevitably the owner of a new radio, antenna or any other new capability will be biased toward the new investment. Its necessary to

Re: [Elecraft] Not moving your wrist sending CW ?

Hi Fred, This is the video you remembered. Denise has a unique sending style and remarkably good -- and error free -- bug sending. www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYhrSEERvbI 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Fred Jensen" To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Sunday, March

Re: [Elecraft] The Big Three...

Hi Carl, A reminder about this thread, its not about the performance of the K3, its about the preferences of highly competitive contesters who have many excellent choices in the marketplace. Arguably more choices than ever before. Rather than getting into detailed discussions about

Re: [Elecraft] The Big Three...

Charles, The most competitive contesters -- the subject of this thread -- will always gravitate to the highest performing radios, not to their favorite brand. The K3 design is dated, all of the other top manufacturers have introduced much higher performing SSB radios in recent years. The

Re: [Elecraft] The Big Three...

Hi Tony Any of the top-of-the-line radios from Flex, Icom, Yaesu and Kenwood have significantly better SSB performance than the K3. Each of my six stations has two radios, usually a K3 and a "not K3," usually a Yaesu FTdx5000. During CW contests our "run" operators usually favor the K3,

Re: [Elecraft] The Big Three...

This is by far not an unbiased survey. Teams that travel on airplanes to get to WRTC will be strongly biased toward light weight radios such as the K3. Operators who do not travel by a irplane will be biased towards radios with much better SSB performance. 73 Frank W3LPL - Original

Re: [Elecraft] The Big Three...

WRTC competitors must be highly competitive on both CW and SSB. If you survey the most competitive contesters about their favorite (i.e., most effective) SSB radio you probably won't find a single contester that favors the K3. In fact, they would favor any of other manufacturer over

Re: [Elecraft] OT - LOTW / ARRL Down

No problem in FM19lg 73 Frank W3LPL James Bennett via Elecraft wrote on 3/23/2020 3:48 PM: > Is it just my computer, or is anyone else having trouble getting to ARRL’s > web site? > Jim / W6JHB __ Elecraft mailing list Home:

Re: [Elecraft] The G5RV trivia

Hi Jamie, The G5RV antenna was first published in the RSGB Bulletin in July 1958, six years after the 15 meter band was opened to hams in the USA. An excellent article about the G5RV and related antennas is here: www.mpoweruk.com/papers/G5RV.pdf 73 Frank W3LPL - Original

Re: [Elecraft] Repair

Don't forget to drain the old blinker fluid first. Red blinker fluid should be used for the directional blinkers 73 Frank W3LPL On 3/20/2020 2:23 PM, Bob McGraw K4TAX wrote: > We have plenty of freshly distilled blinker fluid in TN. > > 73 > > Bob, K4TAX > > On 3/20/2020 12:36

Re: [Elecraft] Found: P3

P3SVGA Video/FFT option in NOT a "VGA card" This is one of the most common misunderstandings about Elecraft products, partially a result of an uninformative Elecraft web site, poor marketing and a poor choice of part number that reinforces the widespread misunderstanding about the

Re: [Elecraft] Diversity Comments

Hi Dennis, I don't intend to discourage experimentation, but its useful to be aware of the underlying science before investing time, money and effort with low probability of a successful outcome. The type of diversity we employ -- two receivers feeding two human ears -- isn't likely to

Re: [Elecraft] Dual Receivers 2 different antennas Diversity receive

I should have clarified 540 feet of separation on 160 meters, much less on higher bands (e.g. 280 feet on 80, 140 feet on 40) 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: donov...@starpower.net To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Tuesday, January 28, 2020 7:38:07 PM Subject: Re:

Re: [Elecraft] Dual Receivers 2 different antennas Diversity receive

60 feet of antenna separation does not provide diversity capability. Diversity depends on independent fading of received signals, accomplished by at least one wavelength of spacing between two identically polarized antennas or by two antennas with opposite polarization. More than one

Re: [Elecraft] OT: Speaker Wire Recommendations?

Clay, You'll get more meaningful feedback if you move this RFI discussion to the RFI reflector. The Elecraft reflector is the wrong place for it. https://www.contesting.com/FAQ/rfi If you're using passive speakers as you implied in your email, a ferrite core at each speaker connection

Re: [Elecraft] K3 as WSPR transmitter

Hi Hank, While intuitively it would seem that WSPR is a viable method for performing antenna evaluations, extreme short term variability of the ionosphere makes it into a heroic task... The only viable method I've found -- and it works very well -- is to install a reference antenna within

Re: [Elecraft] K3 - KEY OUT problem

Pete, I've never had any reason to look at the KEY OUT circuit before, but it uses a very robust IRF1630 power MOSFET, rated at 200 volts and 10 amps. Very robust indeed, its no wonder I've never had a failure. Its not a surface mount device, its a TO220 package. 73 Frank W3LPL -

Re: [Elecraft] K3 - KEY OUT problem

Hi Pete, Perhaps more important: how did this unusual failure occur? Unless you can figure this out with a reasonable degree of certainty, you're radio is likely to make multiple trips for repair. One possibility is that you connected a relay to the KEY OUT connector, but the relay didn't

Re: [Elecraft] Reaching Across the Chronological Divide

Eric, If you've grown tired of the usual awards, there's the "Alphabet Sandwich" Call Letter Award. See page 4: https://ftp.unpad.ac.id/orari/orari-diklat/pemula/organisasi/internasional/REG%203/JAPAN.pdf 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Eric J" To:

Re: [Elecraft] Test

Wall to wall and treetop tall On Wed, Dec 4, 2019 at 1:10 PM German Duran wrote: Dejar friends: I want to ask one of the members of this list a favor. If you can tell me if this message was published in this list. I am not sure if the messages I send to the list are published. Thank you

Re: [Elecraft] K3 Abnormal Behavior

Hi Jim, The symptom you observed is exactly how the K3 normally operates when the audio level is too low. The correct way to set up your audio level to: - place the K3 in TX TEST mode - click the TUNE button on the WSJT-X main screen - adjust the audio level to display four bars

Re: [Elecraft] K3 Front Panel Flash.

Hi Tony, I had the same problem a few years ago. It turned out to be the the "gold pins" problem on the front panel PC board. Removing and reinserting the connectors temporarily fixed the problem, but it soon returned until gold pins were installed. 73 Frank W3LPL - Original

Re: [Elecraft] Elecraft web site off?

No problem accessing the Elecraft web pages here... - Original Message - From: "IK4EWX" To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Saturday, November 16, 2019 8:14:38 PM Subject: [Elecraft] Elecraft web site off? At least in these two last days its impossibile for me to access Elecraft

Re: [Elecraft] Adding PTT Out Switching to a K3

Hi Pete, If the open circuit (unkeyed) voltage is the same polarity for both devices, you can connect a diode in series with each keying line. Then connect both diodes to the KEY OUT (not PTT !) jack. The voltages do not need to be identical , just the polarity 73 Frank W3LPL

Re: [Elecraft] K3 Power Rise in WSJT-X Modes

Hi Bill, The problem you're having is typically caused by improper use of the PWR and MIC controls to set the desired output power. If you try to use the MIC control to set the output power level, the K3 will attempt to reach the power level set by the PWR control causing the exact symptom

Re: [Elecraft] P3 SVGA Question

Hi Bill, Elecraft's web site does a remarkably poor job marketing the significantly improved performance of the P3SVGA compared to the basic P3. The P3SVGA is NOT simply an SVGA monitor adapter, its a much higher performance FFT processor and SVGA adapter. A picture is worth a thousand

Re: [Elecraft] K4 Capabilities on 630 Meters?

Hi Wayne, Your email implies that the K4 no longer has the capability to transmit a few dBm on 630 meters to drive an external 630 meter amplifier. Does the K4 now require an external transverter, unlike the K3 that provides a few dBm of 630 meter TX output? tks 73 Frank W3LPL

Re: [Elecraft] Rhombic antenna "gain"

Hi Todd, Its not accurate to state that the Pusher FRD-13 CDAA is a " variant of the the FRD-10" CDAA. Their architectures are quite different and have little in common other than their circular shape. The FRD-13 relies on less effective (but much less expensive) analog RF phasing to

Re: [Elecraft] Rhombic antenna "gain"

Hi mike, Wasn't Rota an FRD-10, not an FLR-9? www.google.com/maps/place/36%C2%B039'24.0%22N+6%C2%B021'54.0%22W/@36.6567863,-6.3663994,682m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Michael P. Rioux" To: "Jim Campbell" Cc:

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