yes, the FT-736R, not the number I originally typed. Thanks for catching that.
and yes, full duplex cross band would be essential for satellite work. Lew On May 25, 2011, at 11:36 AM, Alan Bloom wrote: >> I'm thinking of an up-to-date version of the Yaesu FT-936R > > 736, right? > > One feature the FT736 has is full duplex cross-band, to support > satellite operation. Is that something the VHF/UHF K3 should have also? > > Al N1AL > > > On Wed, 2011-05-25 at 11:05 -0700, Lew Phelps K6LMP wrote: >> Here's another member of the group offering unsolicited product design >> ideas to Elecraft...which they surely don't need, but I know they >> welcome. >> >> My "big wish" product for Elecraft would be an adaptation of the K3 >> with multiple slots for small-ish transverters to make a pure VHF/UHF >> rig. >> >> I'm thinking of an up-to-date version of the Yaesu FT-936R, which was >> and still is very popular with the weak signal VHF/UHF crowd. It has >> four slots for band-specific modules. The rig came standard with >> modules for 6 meters and 2 meters installed, and two open slots that >> you could fill with 220, 440, and/or 1296 mHz modules. One could also >> remove the 6 meter module and use all four slots for vhf/uhf bands. >> Hams could buy the bare rig and as many or as few of the band modules >> as they wished (sort of a precursor of the K3 modularity, but more >> limited than Elecraft's offerings). Even today, with all the whiskers >> the 736 has grown over the years (and its mediocre sensitivity), the >> "scarce" 222 mHz and 1296 mHz modules fetch $400 to $800 on eBay. >> >> That, I think, indicates how much demand there is for a rig tailored >> specifically for the VHF/UHF contesting crowd, EME and satellite >> work. >> >> The 736 modules put out 25 watts except for 6 meters. Each band had >> its own antenna jack, facilitating attachment of amplifiers as desired >> with less band-switching complexity. >> >> I can envision a "K-4" line based on the K3, but with the inside >> reconfigured to accept transverter boards plugged into a mother board. >> If they could be engineered to output 16 watts, you could get 500 >> watts out from a dedicated one-band amp with 15 dB gain. With 25 watts >> out, you could reach 800 with an amp. The band-specific amps could go >> into a separate box or boxes, "plug and play" with the K-4. That >> would create a great weak signal VHF/UHF setup! The K3 is a marvelous >> IF strip as it stands. This would make a more compact and >> purpose-specific rig than the K3 plus separate transverters, since you >> need a K3 plus a transverter plus a separate amp for each band to >> output 500 watts on any UHF band. >> >> To achieve this, you'd have to take over the space inside the existing >> K3 that's used by the internal HF amp and ATU, and maybe the space >> allocated for a second receiver (although a second receiver would be >> quite valuable for contesting purposes).I don't know how much >> re-engineering it would take to reduce the current line of >> transverters to a form factor that would fit inside the "K4". You >> could also pick up space by making the "motherboard" a single-band 28 >> mHz IF strip, plus capability for 6 meters and maybe 2 meters, >> depending on available space. >> >> The circuit board for the current Elecraft transverters has about 65 >> square inches. One could fit a "daughter board" into the K3 that >> would have about 25 or 30 square inches, so I think the existing >> transverter circuit design could be laid out on two "back to back" >> circuit boards that would comprise a one-band module that would be >> about 2 inches thick; you could install at least four of such modules >> in the K3 form factor. >> >> That's my 2 cents worth on the "next big idea" coming out of >> Watsonville. >> >> 73 >> >> Lew K6LMP >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> On May 25, 2011, at 9:29 AM, Wayne Burdick wrote: >> >>> We're leaving "hooks" in place for either a 2 m or 4 m transverter (or >>> possibly both) in the KX3. It would be in the ~5W range, and would >>> substitute for the optional ATU. If you needed both the transverter >>> and an ATU, you'd need to use an external ATU such as the Elecraft T1, >>> which can be band-switched and remotely tuned directly from the KX3. >>> >>> 73, >>> Wayne >>> N6KR >>> >>> On May 25, 2011, at 8:36 AM, Jens Petersen wrote: >>> >>>> On Tue, 24 May 2011 14:24:00 -0700 (PDT), you wrote: >>>> >>>> >>>>> The other thing that would be a huge selling point in Europe if it >>>>> could be >>>>> designed in is support for the 4m band. There is no radio that >>>>> covers 4m >>>>> apart from a couple of cheap Chinese FM handies. >>>> >>>> Oh yes - Hilberling does: >>>> http://www.hilberling.de/bo/bo_pdf/pt-8k-2010_folder_a4a3.pdf >>>> >>>> -- >>>> OV1A Jens >>>> >>>> Sent from my desktop PC with a nice big screen and a real keyboard. >>>> ______________________________________________________________ >>>> Elecraft mailing list >>>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft >>>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm >>>> Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net >>>> >>>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net >>>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html >>> >>> ______________________________________________________________ >>> Elecraft mailing list >>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft >>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm >>> Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net >>> >>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net >>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html >> >> ______________________________________________________________ >> Elecraft mailing list >> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft >> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm >> Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net >> >> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net >> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html >> > > ______________________________________________________________ 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
