Hello Thomas, where can i find the KX3 group you mentioned?
Regards Mathias HB9DOU 2012/9/18 Thomas Horsten <tho...@horsten.com> > Hi Robert, > > I posted two updates, one just after I got the KXPD3 upgrade kit and > another after I'd used it for a couple of days. These were posted on the > KX3 group (join if you are not there already, most of the KX3 talk goes on > there). Anyway, for those of you who haven't seen it, I'm copying the two > updates below: > > Hi all, > > I received the field tester upgrade kit this morning. It took about 10 > minutes to install. The only problem was the size of the screw hole in the > PCB was a bit tight, but I didn't need to drill as long as I carefully > tightened each of the mounting bolts one turn at a time (this is a known > problem and will be fixed in the final version). > > The kit consists of a new PCB with stainless steel fixed contacts, new > contact screws with rounded ends, and two alternative springs to choose > from with lower tension than the original. > > I selected the lowest tension spring and set the contact spacing at three > quarters of a turn from the inner (fully closed) position. > > The paddles feel completely different. I tried sending some of the text > from the upgrade instructions and didn't have a single missed dit or dah, > and both the spring resistance and the crispness of the action is improved > by an order of magnitude. I wouldn't say it rivals my Begali Sculpture but > it is much closer to that feel than it was before. > > Now I just hope it stays that way, I guess with a portable rig, dirt on the > contacts will be a bigger issue than for a home key, but out of the box, no > complaints at all, thanks to everyone at Elecraft, you've done a great job. > > I did a video of my upgrade, but unfortunately my phone ran out of memory > after 5 minutes, so the most interesting bits didn't get recorded. Maybe > I'll post it anyway just to show the unboxing and the kit content. > > WX for the weekend is looking like we're in for a bit of Indian summer, > with full sunshine and 27C, so I hope I'll be able to get some outdoor > operating done with the KX3, maybe a WFF activation on Sunday. I'll report > back after a while and see how it goes. > > 73, Thomas M0TRN > > > After posting my first impressions just after the upgrade, I've used the > upgraded KXPD3 for several real QSO's and I wanted to give an update. > > My KXPD3 already had the PCB mod performed which had greatly reduced the > intermittent contact problem. So I didn't expect the upgrade to make that > huge a difference (only compared to the unmodified PCB which was pretty > horrid in this respect). > > But I actually find that the upgrade kit does far more than that. It takes > the key and transforms it from a sub-Bencher feel to a near-Begali feel. > > To get reliable operation on the paddles before, the contact spacing needed > to be over 1mm. I think the main reason was the shape of the end of the > contact screws. Per the suggestions previously made on this list, I'd tried > filing down the ends of the contact screws to get them more rounded, but I > hadn't done a very good job at it. The new contact screws are stainless > steel and already rounded from the factory. Also the contact posts are now > stainless steel as well. Finally, the spring tension was too high for > comfortable operation at a very low spacing. > > So the spacing needed to be at least 1mm or so for the key to be workable. > > It's probably down to a combination of all the upgraded materials, > including the lower tension contact spring, but the key works perfectly now > with sub-mm contact spacing. I am using a spacing of about 0.3-0.5mm, which > corresponds to about three quarters of a turn of the contact screws, and > have locked them in that position. This, in combination with the lowest > tension spring, gives an unsurpassed feel that I have only before > experienced in my Begali Sculpture. > > I can now send clean code at 35 WPM with these paddles, something that was > unthinkable before. Although most of my QSO's are at 25 WPM, it is nice to > be able to send QRQ when the opportunity is there, and that's now possible > with the KXPD3. > > The only thing I am missing slightly is individual tension adjustment of > the left and right paddle. Since I use paddles with my left hand (but in a > default configuration with dits on the left), I tend to use my Sculpture > with a slightly higher spring tension in the left paddle. But in such a > tiny key I wouldn't expect that. > > In short it's now a paddle that works extremely well and where the > "precision" label is 100% justified. To be honest I thought that was > stretching it a bit in the original incarnation of the KXPD3. > > 73, Thomas M0TRN > > > On 18 September 2012 00:26, Robert Vargas (KP4Y) <k...@yahoo.com> wrote: > > > How did field testing of the KXPD3 paddle upgrade turn out? I'm about to > > pull the trigger but want to make sure that the reported glitches have > been > > taken care of. I just heard one report around here and it was favorable. > > How would the improved KXPD3 paddle compare to a Begali Traveler? > > > > 73s, > > Robert-KP4Y > > ______________________________________________________________ > > 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
