Hi Steve:
I wish there was a good way to know what the fans sound like in the K3/100.
For MOST conditions, they don't sound like ANYTHING... they're
virtually silent!
This afternoon I did some CW>RTTY at 100W output, and for 5-6 minutes
at a stretch... the fans cycled up to speed 3 or maybe 4 (top speed).
I was able to tell they were running, but there was NEVER any
indication of a whirlwind, or anything such as you might expect.. . I
placed my hand over the vent holes on the top cover and there was
quite a bit of (COOL) air coming out, so I was able to confirm that
they were running at a relatively high setting, though the sound was
truly minimal...
Beyond issues of visual/tactile UI (which has been nearly beat to
death), one of the things that bothers me about many rigs is the
racket they make. TenTec has that down; no fan needed except for
high-duty-cycle modes, and my own personal experience shows that
this is really not needed. This is one big reason I'm leaning
towards replacing my (fairly noisy) almost 8 year old K2/100 with an
Omni VII. I really didn't like the constant fan noise from the Icom
756proII I had and the proIII is no better; the '756 receivers are
not at par so they are out of the picking. I don't 'do' Yaesu even
if they had a decent rig, and Kenwood doesn't have a rig that is
worth buying, either. The new FlexRadio fan sounded VERY loud to me
(at Dayton!!), and I don't fancy a radio without knobs anyway. I
modified my PC to all but eliminate the noise it makes. So I do
have a quiet shack and I like it that way. I don't wear headphones.
At Dayton, the din of the room made it hard to hear Wayne talk, much
less hear the K3. So ... Are there two fans on the K3, or just on the K3/100?
NO fans on the QRP K3... two fans on the KPA3 (100W PA) blowing
directly onto the heatsink.
When do the two fans come on? Do they both run together, or
sometimes just one? If just one, does the other spin freely? Is
the speed variable? If so, how is it controlled? Can you set the
trip points for when they (each or both) come on and off, or speed
up and slow down? Can you set it so the fan doesn't come on at all
in QRP 'mode' ?
Both fans run at the same time WHEN they run. They are set to come on
at preset (in firmware, NOT user settable) heatsink temperatures.
There are four (4) speeds... I never hear the first two speeds at all
(my shack's pretty quiet as well), and I can usually just tell when
speed 3 kicks in. Speed 4 is discernable, but certainly not
objectionable at all.
73,
Tom Hammond N0SS
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