I'm a new K3/P3/KPA user and contester (about 6 mos.), and I encountered some weirdness I can't explain during this weekend's 10m contest (where I operated all-CW).
Things started out with the gear operating just fine, as usual. As the contest wore on (late on Saturday and after about 1/2 way through Sunday), while I was running stations and I would often see bright, multicolored (mostly green/blue) horizontal lenses of interference-like graphics on my P3-SVGA waterfall (spaced perhaps a vertical inch apart) while I was transmitting. This was accompanied by occasional loud static-like pops or "snaps," and sometimes such a "snap" would cause the K3 to "go deaf" (not receive) for a second (or two), causing me, for example, not to hear the last part of my own CQ call in the monitor, or the first part of a station's response. I don't recall having this problem while running in S&P mode in this contest. I was running the N3FJP 10m software, which keyed the K3 through a USB/Serial line (with a PigKnob in the loop). My antenna is a Spiderbeam, up 30 feet, about 100' distant from the RV that serves as my shack. Since the symptoms seemed to get worse as operating time built up, I thought it might be heat-related. My setup has the K3 at desk level, the P3 on top of it, and the KPA on a shelf just above the two (as shown on my QRZ.com page). But none of them seemed hot (with the KPA just a bit warm to the touch). I was doing probably a 60-70% duty cycle while I was running stations. I did not see these symptoms in the SSB or CW Sweeps, or in the ARRL SSBWW contest recently, but I believe this time out, I was getting better at running stations, and drove the equipment harder (KPA at a full 500w) and more continuously (600 Qs over the two days). I don't believe my equipment config changed much between contests, except for moving my mic around, exposing more mic cable. Any ideas about what my problem might be? Thanks for any suggestions, -Paul, N1HEL ______________________________________________________________ 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
