Re: [Elecraft] Now Would Be A Really Good Time for You to Review the K3
Gary Hvizdak garyhviz...@cfl.rr.com wrote: All, The K3 just received a 2 out of 5 review on the eHam.net website! Even though the K3's overall rating is still at 4.8 out of 5, let's see how quickly the Elecraft community can move this 2 of 5 review to the second page! [snip] Ballot stuffing is not the way to go. If you want to give the K3 a good review, then do so, but don't do it to punish someone else for giving their opinion. Tom, N5GE K3 #806, K3 #1055 XV144, XV432 W1 and other small kits. http://www.n5ge.com __ 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] FS: LP-PAN EMU-0202
For Sale: LP-PAN IQ panadapter interface Creative Labs EMU-0202 USB sound interface. $250 includes USPS Priority Mail to CONUS. Thanks 73, Bill N2BC __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Filter Selection Approach
That is a lot of filters ... 2) Unless you are in very heavy QRM/pile-up situations the roofing filter does not provide a lot of value added since the final bandwidth is determined by the DSP. The 1 KHz filters add little benefit vs. the 1.8 KHz or 1.5 KHz filters. I would disagree regarding the value or benefit of the 1 KHz filter. Originally I had, for CW, 1800, 500 200 filters. Since I normally set the width to 700 Hz for normal non contest CW operating, it seemed that I was having problems with loud signals within about 900 to 1800 HZ hitting the AGC. So when a 1000 HZ filter became available to trade for my 1800 HZ filter I jumped on it and have not looked back! I was the one who traded my 1.0 for Hank's 1.8. The reason I didn't like the 1.0 is the following, which depends on the PITCH you normally like to use. If you use a high pitch, this may not apply, but I like a low pitch of 300-350 for weak signal DX-ing (and 400-450 for contesting). The way the K3 works is that XFILs are normally centered about the selected PITCH, **UNLESS** the lower end of that passband falls below 200 Hz. In that case, the firmware shifts the XFIL such that the lower end is 200 Hz (to prevent negative IF response). If I set my PITCH to 300, my passband is actually 200-1200, or 900 Hz above my zero beat pitch. This means my AGC would still be pumped by a signal ~1 kHz away (actual 6 dB BW is 1063 Hz per the Elecraft/Inrad plot). In most rigs (e.g. Orion) with a 1 kHz filter centered on the desired PITCH, you would only be susceptible to AGC pumping ~500 Hz away. Practically speaking, for my desired low pitch of 300 Hz, the 1.0 filter in the K3 acts more like a much wider filter in another rig since it's passing signals ~1 kHz above my 300 Hz PITCH. For casual use a 1.0 may be OK, but where I live in the land of Elephants and Fleas (160m), the 1.0 is practically worthless if there is much activity on the band. I swapped my 1.0 because of this and because I felt the 1.8 might be useful for SSB contesting (when and if 10m ever comes back). 73, Bill P.S. I've still never understood why Orion worked with its XFILs centered at low pitches...yet the K3 apparently has a problem. -- View this message in context: http://n2.nabble.com/Filter-Selection-Approach-tp2630347p2638656.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] KX1 ATU - Alignment Test
Burke, First make certain D1 is oriented correctly. Can you verify that you are actually getting 2 watts or more output? If so, please do that. If you actually do have output, make the following measurements during transmit: 1) Cathode of D1 - the voltage will depend on the transmit power 2) P3 pin 5 - the voltage should be about half of the voltage in 1) above (depends on R1 setting) 3) KX1 U1 pin 2 - the voltage should be the same as in 2) above if all connections are solid. If those voltages are as I have indicated, then remove the KX1 board from the enclosure and check the socketed firmware chip. Pin 2 should be properly inserted into the socket, not sticking out to the side or bent under. If all looks good so far, solder a test point lead on the firmware chip itself and bring it out to the end so you can measure the voltage directly on the chip lead after putting the KX1 board back in the enclosure. Make the check again and see if you have the same voltage at the chip lead as you do at the bottom of the socket. If the voltage is the same, you need to install a replacement firmware chip. If you have proper voltage at one point, but not the next, there is a bad connection between those two points. 73, Don W3FPR Burke Jones wrote: Okay, I have assembled the KXAT1 ATU for the KX1. I got it installed into the rig tonight and I am working on the Alignment Test section on Page 7 of the manual. I did preset R1 R2 per the errata picture. Everything went fine until I started adjusting C9 for the lowest possible voltmeter reading. I have a MV scale on my DMM. The first problem I noticed was that when I entered the TUNE mode, my display showed P0.0 with a 12.4V power supply. I adjusted C9 to give me .2 mv on my DMM - the lowest I could get. When I canceled TUNE MODE it showed r1.0. I was running it into my 50 ohm dummy load by the way. Should the display show something other than P0.0? Sometimes it would briefly show P0.1 - but on for a split second. I could hear the signal being transmitted into the dummy load on another receiver - so it is transmitting. Any thoughts? Burke Jones N0HYD - Olathe, KS http://www.n0hyd.com __ 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] [K3] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK
Hi, all concerned: Please make comments about the situation here before I siubar: My TITAN amplifier has a QSK keying loop, which I now use with an external keyer and FT-1000D. I've RTM ver. D2, searched the Nabble K3 reflector, and see nothing about such a setup for use with the K3. I use the external keyer because it has real *weight*-control, not the phony *ratio*-control passed off as weight-control in (not only) the FT-1000D. Real weight-control allows me to make the on-the-air signal sound good by compensating for delays in the t/r switching interval, which show up as light characters. Common sense tells me this setup ought to work with the K3 as well ;o) Your input, please. Tia 73 Dave Windisch, W8FGX Cincinnati -- View this message in context: http://n2.nabble.com/Help-with-K3%2C-TenTec-TITAN-amp%2C-and-QSK-tp2639144p2639144.html Sent from the [K3] mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Now Would Be A Really Good Time for You to Review the K3 [END of Thread]
Let's end this thread. We appreciate the support, but we do not want people to overreact by flooding eHam, attacking the reviewer etc. He has a legitimate problem and we are working with him to determine if its the K3 or his external set up. (The K3 had been working perfectly for him for several months prior to his problem.) He contacted us regarding this problem for the first time via email on late last Friday, April 10th. Gary responded to him at 9:46 PM that night. (We work late at Elecraft.) Several more emails were exchanged as Gary tried to figure out the odd problem. Among other things, the customer had just installed the -beta test- software and we asked him to go back to the last formal release to make sure there was not a problem in the beta. We're waiting for his response. Wayne also saw a post from him on Monday and tried to contact him to help. We certainly were surprised by his Monday eHam posting, since we had responded quickly and were actively corresponding with him, but we also understand that one can get very frustrated when they do not understand why their rig is acting odd. I'm sure many of you have felt the same in the past when confronted with odd problems with your ham gear. We have pretty thick skins, so we stay focused on fixing the problem, not the review. Our goal is to solve your problems, provide you with the best radio possible and keep you happy as our customers. Period. :-) We'll get this one figured out for him too. 73, Eric WA6HHQ Elecraft _..._ __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK
When I asked TT about k3 and the Centurion, they wrote to connect it straight without any extra delay and do not worry. So far no problem. Ignacy Hi, all concerned: Please make comments about the situation here before I siubar: My TITAN amplifier has a QSK keying loop, which I now use with an external keyer and FT-1000D. I've RTM ver. D2, searched the Nabble K3 reflector, and see nothing about such a setup for use with the K3. I use the external keyer because it has real *weight*-control, not the phony *ratio*-control passed off as weight-control in (not only) the FT-1000D. Real weight-control allows me to make the on-the-air signal sound good by compensating for delays in the t/r switching interval, which show up as light characters. Common sense tells me this setup ought to work with the K3 as well ;o) Your input, please. Tia 73 Dave Windisch, W8FGX Cincinnati -- View this message in context: http://n2.nabble.com/Help-with-K3%2C-TenTec-TITAN-amp%2C-and-QSK-tp2639144p2639365.html Sent from the [K3] mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Filter Selection Approach
I would disagree regarding the value or benefit of the 1 KHz filter. Originally I had, for CW, 1800, 500 200 filters. Since I normally set the width to 700 Hz for normal non contest CW operating, it seemed that I was having problems with loud signals within about 900 to 1800 HZ hitting the AGC. So when a 1000 HZ filter became available to trade for my 1800 HZ filter I jumped on it and have not looked back! As I responded to someone who raised this same point privately, the wider filters are not centered on the desired signal. Thus, if you favor a pitch of 500 Hz the 1000 Hz filter provides a window that runs from approximately 600 Hz BELOW the desired signal to about 400 Hz ABOVE the desired signal. The 1500 or 1800 Hz filter simply extends the window DOWN. With the asymmetric window, if one is receiving QRM on the wide side changing to CW REV is just as effective in eliminating that QRM as switching to a narrower filter. If switching to the opposite sideband results in QRM from other signals, one would need to use a still narrower filter - e.g., 500 Hz - to eliminate the QRM from both sides in any case. Because of the asymmetric window, there is little performance difference among the 1000, 1500, 1800 and 2100 Hz filters in CW. Nobody has bothered to report the fact that 2 KHz IMD with the 2.7 or 2.8 KHz roofing filters is DIFFERENT if you measure above and below the interfering tones ... this is due entirely to the asymmetric window. The same differences will be observed with 1 KHz or 500 Hz IMD DR in CW with any filter wider than 500 Hz. There is no doubt that an 800 Hz filter would be a good option for wide CW or that the 1000/1500/1800 Hz filters might have some benefit if the IF DSP were modified for single signal operation and the filters centered on the desired CW signal. Last year in CQ WW CW I have had a chance to sit down on 20 meters with a K3 with 400 250 HZ filters. I was very happy to switch radios back to my K3 with 1000, 500 and 200 HZ filters. The 500/400/250/200 Hz filters have been discussed at length. With real bandwidths of 480 Hz (measured in four filters in my K3s) for the 500 Hz 5-pole filter, 450 Hz for the 400 Hz filter (Inrad web site), 350 Hz for the 250 Hz filter (Elecraft web site) and 205 Hz for the 200 Hz filter, my choice will be to move from the 500/200 Hz combination to the 400/200 Hz pairing. The added skirts will improve performance where the wider filter is useful (particularly RTTY) without being significantly more narrow than the current 500 Hz 5-pole filters and the 200 Hz filter is the best truly narrow option. 73, ... Joe, W4TV -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of .k8dd. Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 12:10 AM To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Filter Selection Approach That is a lot of filters ... 2) Unless you are in very heavy QRM/pile-up situations the roofing filter does not provide a lot of value added since the final bandwidth is determined by the DSP. The 1 KHz filters add little benefit vs. the 1.8 KHz or 1.5 KHz filters. I would disagree regarding the value or benefit of the 1 KHz filter. Originally I had, for CW, 1800, 500 200 filters. Since I normally set the width to 700 Hz for normal non contest CW operating, it seemed that I was having problems with loud signals within about 900 to 1800 HZ hitting the AGC. So when a 1000 HZ filter became available to trade for my 1800 HZ filter I jumped on it and have not looked back! Last year in CQ WW CW I have had a chance to sit down on 20 meters with a K3 with 400 250 HZ filters. I was very happy to switch radios back to my K3 with 1000, 500 and 200 HZ filters. To my ears the 500 200 filters were a definite advantage sorting out the weaker European signals in between the loud east coast U.S. stations. This was not at all a scientific test - just how it sounded to me! Both K3s were using the same firmware. And I really think if I had purchased a K3 with no roofing filters, like I've seen suggested, I would have most likely sold the K3 and gone back to a K2! Just my thoughts. 73HankK8DD -- View this message in context: http://n2.nabble.com/Filter-Selection-Approach-tp2630347p2636834.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ 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:
[Elecraft] Can anybody explain???
Gentlemen, Ever since I purchased my own K3 (circa Dec.2008) the revisions that have been posted on Elecraft-Website have operated as/per claimed specs. But yet out here after almost being overwhelmed by complaints from many users that for whatever reason, FOR THEM THEY DON'T WORK! Why is it that myself and others have had joyous experiences with the latest greatest revisions and others have cried foul!??? Or have wondered why Elecraft has failed them in some respect! I'm NO Johnny-come-lately in Ham Radio (46yrs), but I might interject that since as of late having owned the TT-Orion and now the K3 that the aforementioned Orion has a lot more catch-up-work to do to get where the K3 is NOW!!! OH! By the way, it's only my OWN OPINION!!! Jim/nn6ee __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Can anybody explain???
In a recent message, JIM DAVIS nn...@astound.net wrote ... Ever since I purchased my own K3 (circa Dec.2008) the revisions that have been posted on Elecraft-Website have operated as/per claimed specs. But yet out here after almost being overwhelmed by complaints from many users that for whatever reason, FOR THEM THEY DON'T WORK! I suspect that the reason that many people who have problems with the firmware revision is that they start twiddling with their K3 before the upload is completed. The MCU firmware uploads first, followed by DSP1 ( DSP2 if KRX3 fitted) and then the Front Panel firmware. During the upload the K3 can burst into life at various stages. When it does, I people may be tempted to start using their K3. The rule is to WAIT until READY shows on the K3 Utility. 73 -- David G4DMP Leeds, England, UK -- __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Filter Selection Approach
Casual operation has rarely strained my radios, and my MP and my K2 are quite adequate for that. When we get to contesting, all facilities are strained. I prefer the K2 audio to the K3, and sometime soon I will get to the bottom of that. The quickest, sharpest, deepest skirts on selectivity still belong to my MP with matched 8 pole INRAD filters in 8 Mhz and 455 kHz IF's. (I know that's heresy, but so be it...) On receiver front-end, overload immunity and SDR-driven DSP magic (like blanking key clicks), with more to come, the K3 leaves everything else in the dust. But I pick roofing filters to get as close as I can to the MP+INRAD+INRAD skirt performance. BOTH K3 selectivities (roofing and DSP) need to be matched to produce optimal rejection of signals just outside of the desired listening window. I have the 400 and 250 8 poles in my K3 and list them as 450 and 350 in the filter setup. The bulk of my operation in a contest is RUNNING, not search and pounce, for DX tests mostly using a very large 40m antenna fixed on Europe, and with huge differentials (80+ db) between desired weak signals and undesired strong signals just above and below. I also specifically use the [sometimes complained about] mild difference between the two to advantage, as I use BOTH for running, and use 350/300 when I need it just a bit tighter. While I could narrow down with a 5 pole 200 on a weak station, 1/3 or more of the stations calling are off my frequency, often because the current packet spot is up or down. And I'm not allowed to spot myself to fix it. I have to keep a window to hear them or someone else gets the top score. The next CW station can be up/down only 350 Hz, meaning that outside the listening window, the skirt needs to dive for ultimate rejection as fast as possible. Being flat at +/- 175 is not the issue when setting at 350 width, it's how far down the combination of skirts has gone at +/- 225. The most important thing is where are the skirts halfway down and how much more do they drop with another 10 Hz, NOT the 3 db or 6 db points. The 8 pole roofers are part of making those skirts dive more in 10 Hz halfway down. I set up my filters at the +/- 50 dB points, and eagerly await the day when CW widths and shifts are in 10 Hz increments. I have had some extremely vociferous contradictions from some insisting that the 8 pole roofers are simply a waste, and a wide and narrow 5 pole are all needed, but my contest experience continues to suggest otherwise. All of the above are in stark contrast to casual operation. Buy filters for how you use the radio. If you are into hard contesting, do it with 8 poles. 73, Guy K2AV -- View this message in context: http://n2.nabble.com/Filter-Selection-Approach-tp2630347p2639610.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK
David Windisch wrote: Hi, all concerned: Please make comments about the situation here before I siubar: My TITAN amplifier has a QSK keying loop, which I now use with an external keyer and FT-1000D. I've RTM ver. D2, searched the Nabble K3 reflector, and see nothing about such a setup for use with the K3. You do not need the QSK loop with the K3, which has an adjustable delay of 8 - 20 (I think) ms. between the amp key signal and the generation of RF. You can attach the K3's key out to the Titan's key in, and connect the external keyer to the K2's key in. I use a Logikey K3 and set the K parameter (I've been using K=3 or K=4) to lengthen the elements to compensate when using the K3 in QSK mode. The K3's internal keyer does have a weight control which varies the dot:space ratio. This is not the same as the Logikey's K parameter, because the K lengthens the elements by a constant amount regardless of speed (the Logikey also has a weight adjustment if you wish). I understand a 'ratio' control as dot:dash ratio. This should, in my opinion, always be exactly 3:1 and I am surprised to hear that any modern keyer still has such a control! Maybe you mean dot:space ratio, which I have always called a 'weight control'. In any event, the internal keyer is not bad and can be set for either iambic mode A or B. I like the Logikey a bit better because the timing seems less critical to me. -- 73, Vic, K2VCO Fresno CA http://www.qsl.net/k2vco __ 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] FS: LP-Pan Infransonic Quartet
For Sale: LP-Pan IQ Panadapter interface, Manaul and Infransonic Quartet Sound Card with orginal packaging, software - 192 kHz - PCI. All like new and working fine. $310 includes all necessary cables and plugs and USPS Priority Mail to Conus. Please contact off list. Best Regards, Dick - KA5KKT __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK
2 things: I see that the K3 can delay RF generation before keying the amp relay but what about, upon key up, delaying amp delay until RF ceases? How is this accomplished. Is it included? 2. The K3's keyer is excellent but it's a ratio adjustment, not weight as indicated. The dit length or heaviness is non adjustable. This is like most JA rigs and is really strange. Why would anyone want long dahs like a bug? A real weight control shortens both dits and dahs equally and makes overall keying sound more choppy or heavier. Although the K3's weight is about right, some of us would prefer lighter weight for high speed and heavy weight for bad conditions. This goes way back to the early days of Morse. Steve Ellington n...@carolina.rr.com - Original Message - From: Vic K2VCO v...@rakefet.com To: David Windisch davi...@cinci.rr.com Cc: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 12:37 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK David Windisch wrote: Hi, all concerned: Please make comments about the situation here before I siubar: My TITAN amplifier has a QSK keying loop, which I now use with an external keyer and FT-1000D. I've RTM ver. D2, searched the Nabble K3 reflector, and see nothing about such a setup for use with the K3. You do not need the QSK loop with the K3, which has an adjustable delay of 8 - 20 (I think) ms. between the amp key signal and the generation of RF. You can attach the K3's key out to the Titan's key in, and connect the external keyer to the K2's key in. I use a Logikey K3 and set the K parameter (I've been using K=3 or K=4) to lengthen the elements to compensate when using the K3 in QSK mode. The K3's internal keyer does have a weight control which varies the dot:space ratio. This is not the same as the Logikey's K parameter, because the K lengthens the elements by a constant amount regardless of speed (the Logikey also has a weight adjustment if you wish). I understand a 'ratio' control as dot:dash ratio. This should, in my opinion, always be exactly 3:1 and I am surprised to hear that any modern keyer still has such a control! Maybe you mean dot:space ratio, which I have always called a 'weight control'. In any event, the internal keyer is not bad and can be set for either iambic mode A or B. I like the Logikey a bit better because the timing seems less critical to me. -- 73, Vic, K2VCO Fresno CA http://www.qsl.net/k2vco __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK
Typo correction (amp relay) not amp delay! 2 things: I see that the K3 can delay RF generation before keying the amp relay but what about, upon key up, delaying amp relay until RF ceases? How is this accomplished. Is it included? 2. The K3's keyer is excellent but it's a ratio adjustment, not weight as indicated. The dit length or heaviness is non adjustable. This is like most JA rigs and is really strange. Why would anyone want long dahs like a bug? A real weight control shortens both dits and dahs equally and makes overall keying sound more choppy or heavier. Although the K3's weight is about right, some of us would prefer lighter weight for high speed and heavy weight for bad conditions. This goes way back to the early days of Morse. Steve Ellington n...@carolina.rr.com - Original Message - From: Vic K2VCO v...@rakefet.com To: David Windisch davi...@cinci.rr.com Cc: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 12:37 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK David Windisch wrote: Hi, all concerned: Please make comments about the situation here before I siubar: My TITAN amplifier has a QSK keying loop, which I now use with an external keyer and FT-1000D. I've RTM ver. D2, searched the Nabble K3 reflector, and see nothing about such a setup for use with the K3. You do not need the QSK loop with the K3, which has an adjustable delay of 8 - 20 (I think) ms. between the amp key signal and the generation of RF. You can attach the K3's key out to the Titan's key in, and connect the external keyer to the K2's key in. I use a Logikey K3 and set the K parameter (I've been using K=3 or K=4) to lengthen the elements to compensate when using the K3 in QSK mode. The K3's internal keyer does have a weight control which varies the dot:space ratio. This is not the same as the Logikey's K parameter, because the K lengthens the elements by a constant amount regardless of speed (the Logikey also has a weight adjustment if you wish). I understand a 'ratio' control as dot:dash ratio. This should, in my opinion, always be exactly 3:1 and I am surprised to hear that any modern keyer still has such a control! Maybe you mean dot:space ratio, which I have always called a 'weight control'. In any event, the internal keyer is not bad and can be set for either iambic mode A or B. I like the Logikey a bit better because the timing seems less critical to me. -- 73, Vic, K2VCO Fresno CA http://www.qsl.net/k2vco __ 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] K3 CW at 60-100 WPM...and beyond
We've had a number of requests for higher-speed CW on the K3. Until now, the upper limit was just over 60 WPM. But I now have a field-test firmware release available that allows speeds of over 100 WPM when PTT is used. In fact I was able to hit 120 WPM in lab tests. (When using VOX, or hit-the-key CW, the upper limit is still around 65 WPM.) The RS232 jack on the K3 has provisions for both PTT and KEY generation by PC-based CW keying applications. If you use a keyer or other device that doesn't provide for PTT, you'll need to activate PTT manually. This is typically accomplished with a foot switch, although you can also just tap the XMIT switch on the K3. If you're a high-speed CW op and would like to test this new firmware, please contact me directly. We'd like to go to beta with this firmware soon, so any testing you could do today would be a big help. 73, Wayne N6KR --- http://www.elecraft.com __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK
Steve Ellington wrote: 2 things: I see that the K3 can delay RF generation before keying the amp relay but what about, upon key up, delaying amp delay until RF ceases? How is this accomplished. Is it included? Yes, AMP KEY does not drop until after RF generation stops. I don't recall how long the delay is. 2. The K3's keyer is excellent but it's a ratio adjustment, not weight as indicated. The dit length or heaviness is non adjustable. This is like most JA rigs and is really strange. Why would anyone want long dahs like a bug? A real weight control shortens both dits and dahs equally and makes overall keying sound more choppy or heavier. Although the K3's weight is about right, some of us would prefer lighter weight for high speed and heavy weight for bad conditions. This goes way back to the early days of Morse. I don't think this is correct. I think it controls the dot:space ratio and the dot:dash ratio is constant. In fact, I looked at it on the scope and is is a weight control. -- 73, Vic, K2VCO Fresno CA http://www.qsl.net/k2vco __ 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] OT: Radio reviews
Most hams have a bond with their radios much like car enthusiasts have with their cars. I used to repair sports a cars and know well the psychology of those bonds. You dare not insult the owner for his choices. You learn quickly to squelch you idealism when dealing with the public. With the internet prevalent in our lives it is all too easy to spread opinions. Strangers will try to intimidate you into agreeing with them. One can only assume that it is their need for affirmation that drives them to do this. You can see this phenomenon at work when a ham proudly announces they have decided to buy a K3 (or two!) when they post their decision on the Reflector. Woohoo! All of us K3 owners are vindicated! It makes me happy to read those posts. I like the Elecraft company and the way they do business. I enjoy their products. It REALLY doesn't matter much what someone else thinks on a practical level, but I would like them to agree with me for touchy-feely reasons. I don't want to be contested. It makes me worry a little when I read a negative post about a K3. Good or bad, their opinions matter as much as mine and they are not worth the energy it takes to make those tiny black dots appear on your screen. Well, woohoo for the K3 anyway! Now back to work. Rick KC0OV K3 knob twiddler __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] K3 CW at 60-100 WPM...and beyond
Finally! I can now put my J-38 to good use! 73 -- Joe KB8AP P.S. :-) On Apr 15, 2009, at 10:19 AM, wayne burdick wrote: ... But I now have a field-test firmware release available that allows speeds of over 100 WPM when PTT is used. __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Filter Selection Approach
The most important thing is where are the skirts halfway down and how much more do they drop with another 10 Hz, NOT the 3 db or 6 db points. The 8 pole roofers are part of making those skirts dive more in 10 Hz halfway down. I set up my filters at the +/- 50 dB points, and eagerly await the day when CW widths and shifts are in 10 Hz increments. I have had some extremely vociferous contradictions from some insisting that the 8 pole roofers are simply a waste, and a wide and narrow 5 pole are all needed, but my contest experience continues to suggest otherwise. All of the above are in stark contrast to casual operation. Buy filters for how you use the radio. If you are into hard contesting, do it with 8 poles. The DSP filter is the driving factor in making the skirts steep, especially when you're below the 435 Hz BW of the 400 or the 370 Hz BW of the 250, since there would be little cascading effect there. See K8ZOA's plot for the 500 Hz 5-pole CW/Data Filter section about half way down this page: http://tinyurl.com/dho6j6 You can see the shape of the XFIL itself when looking at the DSP = 4000 trace (i.e. when the DSP is in width than the XFIL). If DSP is about the same as the XFIL (i.e. WIDTH = ~430 for the 400 or WIDTH = ~370 for the 250), then there is some help. If the DSP is inside the flat area of the XFIL, there is little contribution from the XFIL skirts. 73, Bill -- View this message in context: http://n2.nabble.com/Filter-Selection-Approach-tp2630347p2640300.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK
Aw come onTurn the weight control up and your dahs get longer. The dits stay the same. This is RATIO, not weight. A weight control would make your dits shorter, lighter, less heavy. Just like changing the gap on a bug. The JA boys changed this back a few years ago and started calling weight ration. Any Curtis keyer has it right. The Idom Press keyers have it right as well as the K1EL series. All of this have real weight controls and some even have weight and ration controls. The ICOMs have ratio controls and they are useless. The correct ratio is 3:1 and should never vary. Steve Ellington n...@carolina.rr.com - Original Message - From: Vic K2VCO v...@rakefet.com To: Steve Ellington n...@carolina.rr.com Cc: David Windisch davi...@cinci.rr.com; elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 1:32 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK Steve Ellington wrote: 2 things: I see that the K3 can delay RF generation before keying the amp relay but what about, upon key up, delaying amp delay until RF ceases? How is this accomplished. Is it included? Yes, AMP KEY does not drop until after RF generation stops. I don't recall how long the delay is. 2. The K3's keyer is excellent but it's a ratio adjustment, not weight as indicated. The dit length or heaviness is non adjustable. This is like most JA rigs and is really strange. Why would anyone want long dahs like a bug? A real weight control shortens both dits and dahs equally and makes overall keying sound more choppy or heavier. Although the K3's weight is about right, some of us would prefer lighter weight for high speed and heavy weight for bad conditions. This goes way back to the early days of Morse. I don't think this is correct. I think it controls the dot:space ratio and the dot:dash ratio is constant. In fact, I looked at it on the scope and is is a weight control. -- 73, Vic, K2VCO Fresno CA http://www.qsl.net/k2vco __ 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] What's new in K3 Utility version 1.2.3.18
I've been asked what's different about the K3 Utility version 1.2.3.18 that was made available on Elecraft's web site yesterday. The most significant new feature is an editor for the K3's CW memories. These are the memories that you had to load by manipulating a paddle, you recall these memories by pressing M1 thorugh M4 on the K3 front panel. I read a report on this reflector about a CW enthusiast that had suffered a stroke and loved CW, but could no longer manipulate a paddle at speed. He's able to use a keyboard, though. He had a friend come over to program his rig's CW memories. In field test I was asked to include a half space character for people with interesting calls, like GM3SEK and K6XT. Both of these gentlemen find that an extra half-space in the right place often make a difference in getting their call understood the first time. So K6XT can enter K6X~T and get the timing he wants. For those of you who use the K3's internal paddle-to-RTTY feature, you may include the IM prosign that causes the RTTY carrier to drop immediately. Terminate your CW message with a vertical bar character |. The CW memory editor is started by a button on the Configuration Tab. There is a K3 Utility Help page that describes the details of its use. There are a number of improvements in the general category of accessibility for visually impaired users. I want to thank Betsey Doane, K1EIC, and Gary Lee, KB9ZUV, for their help in educating this developer about some of the more important nuances of developing software that is available to a wider user audience than I had initially prepared for. They were patient as they evaluated a number of false starts of mine. The complete release notes file is available as a link on the K3 Software page, just above the link for the software itself. Here are the release notes: K3 Utility Version 1.2.3.18 changes since 1.2.1.6 (summary only): Installer: Changed from Setup2Go to Inno Setup installer. While the new installer handles release to release installations without uninstall, the new installer doesn't completely clean up files created by the old installer. Current K3 Utility users should be encouraged to uninstall the K3 Utility (using the Windows Control Panel Add/Remove programs applet) before installing the new version. It's not a critical requirement, but if you don't do this, there are some leftovers in the list of installed programs and the program files folder where the old program resided. Changed default location for program files to (systemdrive): Program Files\Elecraft\K3 Utility. The new installer will remember your override for default folder location. Uninstall is not a continuing requirement, just in the transition from one installer to another. Global changes: Help text has been revised in small ways throughout. Earlier versions of the K3 Utility used blocking serial port reads and writes with timeout, which caused UI delays when the K3 was unresponsive. Changed code throughout to use unblocked I/O, which keeps the UI responsive. A number of accessibility improvements were made so that the K3 Utility works better with screen readers for the visually impaired, and can now be operated without a mouse. Corrected a number of tab order issues. Added a new Window menu for direct access to each tab page. Added tab stops to some static labels so that screen readers will speak the content (primarily in the installed/available version area of the firmware page). Changed the tab control used by the main view so that the tab itself is part of the tab order, and its content will be spoken by a screen reader. Restore last-used window position and size. Improve wait cursor (hourglass) handling. Made adjustments to dialog control position to improve usability at 120 DPI. Allow release notes window to drop behind (in z-order) the K3 Utility window rather than always being on top. Port page: Continue to poll (at various speeds) to attempt connection to a K3. The polling interval grows if no K3 responds. Added an explicit close Port button, which stops polling and releases the COM Port for other programs. Added checkbox to inhibit the automatic speed determination process and communicate with the K3 only at 38,400 bps. This was done to remove concerns that polling at several speeds might interfere with connection to a K3 in MCU boot load state. Firmware page: Firmware page is now resizable. Copy files from Elecraft (FTP) may now be cancelled. Speed improvements to all Firmware loaders. Read firmware files into memory before sending any part of the file to the K3. This offers some protection from broken firmware loads caused by network drive disconnect. After MCU load, recover the last-used RS-232 speed during post-load speed determination and restore that speed after firmware load is complete. The hope is that this speed better matches
Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK
The K3's internal keyer does have a weight control which varies the dot:space ratio. This is not the same as the Logikey's K parameter, because the K lengthens the elements by a constant amount regardless of speed (the Logikey also has a weight adjustment if you wish). Same here. I use a microHam CW Keyer with K = 3 to compensate for a slight bit of dit shortening with the K3. The dit shortening is less problematic in the Old QSK versus the New QSK menu mode. I would love to see variable K compensation added to the K3 that would function on both the internal keyer as well as an external keyer. Adjustable rise/fall CW would be a very welcome addition at say 4 ms to 8 ms in 2 ms increments. Part of the issue is in determining how to calculate the rise fall time of the keyed envelope. This becomes more critical as CW rise/fall times lengthen. Myself, I would calculate the keyed element length by referencing the mid-point of the slope. K compensation would then be added or subtracted from there. If you calculate the keyed element length at the point where the CW RF waveform just begins to rise and continuing all the way to the point where it has completed falling to zero, then the K3 is dead-on when referencing an external keyed closure. But, that's not a practical method of determining keyed waveform duration with a raised cosine slope. Again, referencing the rise/fall points mid-slope is probably the best compromise with ramped up/down keying. If we had that control, we could then put our keyers back to K = 0 where they really belong. Paul, W9AC __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] What's new in K3 Utility version 1.2.3.18
And for us Straight Key guys who are learning Morse and can't work a paddle yet - I'm getting better with a straight key though. So thank you very much. 73 de M0XDF, K3 #174 -- They are ill discoverers that think there is no land, when they can see nothing but sea. -Francis Bacon, essayist, philosopher, and statesman (1561-1626) On 15 Apr 2009, at 18:49, Dick Dievendorff wrote: I read a report on this reflector about a CW enthusiast that had suffered a stroke and loved CW, but could no longer manipulate a paddle at speed. He's able to use a keyboard, though. He had a friend come over to program his rig's CW memories. __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK
Steve Ellington wrote: Aw come onTurn the weight control up and your dahs get longer. The dits stay the same. This is RATIO, not weight. A weight control would make your dits shorter, lighter, less heavy. Just like changing the gap on a bug. The scope says otherwise. The K3 has a weight control. Dot:Dash ratio is constant. Dot:Space ratio is weight, and that's what the K3 weight control changes. The JA boys changed this back a few years ago and started calling weight ration. Any Curtis keyer has it right. The Idom Press keyers have it right as well as the K1EL series. All of this have real weight controls and some even have weight and ration controls. The ICOMs have ratio controls and they are useless. The correct ratio is 3:1 and should never vary. I don't disagree that the Dot:Dash ratio should never change. I don't have an ICOM radio, so I can't tell you what it does, but I know the K3 changes the weight. The Idiom press keyers have two adjustments: Weight (W), which changes Dot:Space ratio as it should, and Keying Compensation (K), which lets you add a fixed amount to all keyed elements, to compensate for a fixed shortening in the radio. -- 73, Vic, K2VCO Fresno CA http://www.qsl.net/k2vco __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK
Paul Have you noticed that the sidetone in the K3 sounds slightly heavier than what is actually transmitted? In fact it's a little annoyingly heavy. Steve Ellington n...@carolina.rr.com - Original Message - From: Paul Christensen w...@arrl.net To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 1:50 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK The K3's internal keyer does have a weight control which varies the dot:space ratio. This is not the same as the Logikey's K parameter, because the K lengthens the elements by a constant amount regardless of speed (the Logikey also has a weight adjustment if you wish). Same here. I use a microHam CW Keyer with K = 3 to compensate for a slight bit of dit shortening with the K3. The dit shortening is less problematic in the Old QSK versus the New QSK menu mode. I would love to see variable K compensation added to the K3 that would function on both the internal keyer as well as an external keyer. Adjustable rise/fall CW would be a very welcome addition at say 4 ms to 8 ms in 2 ms increments. Part of the issue is in determining how to calculate the rise fall time of the keyed envelope. This becomes more critical as CW rise/fall times lengthen. Myself, I would calculate the keyed element length by referencing the mid-point of the slope. K compensation would then be added or subtracted from there. If you calculate the keyed element length at the point where the CW RF waveform just begins to rise and continuing all the way to the point where it has completed falling to zero, then the K3 is dead-on when referencing an external keyed closure. But, that's not a practical method of determining keyed waveform duration with a raised cosine slope. Again, referencing the rise/fall points mid-slope is probably the best compromise with ramped up/down keying. If we had that control, we could then put our keyers back to K = 0 where they really belong. Paul, W9AC __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK
Paul Christensen wrote: Part of the issue is in determining how to calculate the rise fall time of the keyed envelope. This becomes more critical as CW rise/fall times lengthen. Myself, I would calculate the keyed element length by referencing the mid-point of the slope. K compensation would then be added or subtracted from there. I've found that because of this you can't just depend on the scope to make the adjustment. What I do is put an old-time CW operator (myself) :-) on a second receiver and have him listen to it. -- 73, Vic, K2VCO Fresno CA http://www.qsl.net/k2vco __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK
On Apr 15, 2009, at 10:32 AM, Vic K2VCO wrote: Steve Ellington wrote: 2 things: I see that the K3 can delay RF generation before keying the amp relay but what about, upon key up, delaying amp delay until RF ceases? How is this accomplished. Is it included? Yes, AMP KEY does not drop until after RF generation stops. I don't recall how long the delay is. If you switch the amp using PTT, you can adjust the delay from end of RF to PTT release. See the CONFIG:PTT RLS menu entry. 73, Wayne N6KR --- http://www.elecraft.com __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK
Steve Ellington wrote: Paul Have you noticed that the sidetone in the K3 sounds slightly heavier than what is actually transmitted? In fact it's a little annoyingly heavy. It does. I think this has to do with the slope of the transmitted RF that Paul referred to. -- 73, Vic, K2VCO Fresno CA http://www.qsl.net/k2vco __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK
I'll be reviewing this in future firmware releases. Wayne N6KR On Apr 15, 2009, at 11:10 AM, Vic K2VCO wrote: Steve Ellington wrote: Paul Have you noticed that the sidetone in the K3 sounds slightly heavier than what is actually transmitted? In fact it's a little annoyingly heavy. It does. I think this has to do with the slope of the transmitted RF that Paul referred to. --- http://www.elecraft.com __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK
Vic Nope. There's more to weight than just dot space ratio. Not only must the length of the dashes change but so must the dits. The K3 weight control changes only the length of the dash, not the dits. If you turn up the K3's weight, it just changes the apparent ration and ends up sounding like a bug with normal dits and long dashes. This is not the way to send cw. The K3's control is the same as ICOMs which is flat wrong. Kenwood had it right in their earlier rigs but went the ICOM way recently. TenTec has it right in the Omni 7. Almost all external keyers have it right too. Steve Ellington n...@carolina.rr.com - Original Message - From: Vic K2VCO v...@rakefet.com To: Steve Ellington n...@carolina.rr.com Cc: David Windisch davi...@cinci.rr.com; elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 2:03 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK Steve Ellington wrote: Aw come onTurn the weight control up and your dahs get longer. The dits stay the same. This is RATIO, not weight. A weight control would make your dits shorter, lighter, less heavy. Just like changing the gap on a bug. The scope says otherwise. The K3 has a weight control. Dot:Dash ratio is constant. Dot:Space ratio is weight, and that's what the K3 weight control changes. The JA boys changed this back a few years ago and started calling weight ration. Any Curtis keyer has it right. The Idom Press keyers have it right as well as the K1EL series. All of this have real weight controls and some even have weight and ration controls. The ICOMs have ratio controls and they are useless. The correct ratio is 3:1 and should never vary. I don't disagree that the Dot:Dash ratio should never change. I don't have an ICOM radio, so I can't tell you what it does, but I know the K3 changes the weight. The Idiom press keyers have two adjustments: Weight (W), which changes Dot:Space ratio as it should, and Keying Compensation (K), which lets you add a fixed amount to all keyed elements, to compensate for a fixed shortening in the radio. -- 73, Vic, K2VCO Fresno CA http://www.qsl.net/k2vco __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK
Steve, Since I wrote the firmware in question I thought I'd jump in here. When you vary the K3's CONFIG:CW WGHT parameter, it changes the length of both dots and dashes in relation to the spaces between them. I just looked at the RF envelope on an oscilloscope to verify this. I'm not saying the the present algorithm can't be improved -- just that it *does* affect both. 73, Wayne N6KR Steve Ellington wrote: There's more to weight than just dot space ratio. Not only must the length of the dashes change but so must the dits --- http://www.elecraft.com __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK
It does. I think this has to do with the slope of the transmitted RF that Paul referred to. In the spirit of fairness, I must say that regardless of how critical I am of CW keying performance in general (as is Steve), I think the K3 does a better overall job of keying than any commercially-produced rig I've had in the past. Just a few slight tweaks would turn it into compete Nirvana. Paul, W9AC __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Filter Selection Approach
See K8ZOA's plot for the 500 Hz 5-pole CW/Data Filter section about half way down this page: http://tinyurl.com/dho6j6 While looking at those plots, note that the slope of all the skirts is about the same once you're inside the roofing filter (i.e. beginning at 5-600 Hz). This is because the slope is determined mainly by the DSP. Lyle once told me exactly what that slope was but I've forgotten it. The reason apparent DSP shape factors increase at narrow BWs is because the DSP skirt slope is a constant in dB/Hz, and independent of DSP BW. Of course a wider shape factor is good because you don't want extremely narrow filters to ring, which could happen if you made a 100 Hz filter with an extremely narrow shape factor. BTW, the FIR/IIR options for the 100/50 DSP filters is another area K8ZOA examined below: http://tinyurl.com/d5skb8 73, Bill -- View this message in context: http://n2.nabble.com/Filter-Selection-Approach-tp2630347p2640537.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK
I just checked and you are right (of course). Something changed. Anyway just forget that part and thanks for answering the amp relay question. Steve Ellington n...@carolina.rr.com - Original Message - From: wayne burdick n...@elecraft.com To: Steve Ellington n...@carolina.rr.com Cc: Vic K2VCO v...@rakefet.com; elecraft@mailman.qth.net; David Windisch davi...@cinci.rr.com Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 2:25 PM Subject: Re: Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK Steve, Since I wrote the firmware in question I thought I'd jump in here. When you vary the K3's CONFIG:CW WGHT parameter, it changes the length of both dots and dashes in relation to the spaces between them. I just looked at the RF envelope on an oscilloscope to verify this. I'm not saying the the present algorithm can't be improved -- just that it *does* affect both. 73, Wayne N6KR Steve Ellington wrote: There's more to weight than just dot space ratio. Not only must the length of the dashes change but so must the dits --- http://www.elecraft.com __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK
I agree. The K3's keying is excellent and the timing of the keyer matches that of the sidetone. This is important. When I use the K1EL keyer or the Logickey K5, I find that my timing is slightly off because there seems to be a delay in keyer output vs. paddle closure. I feel like I'm dragging the sidetone behind. The K3's keyer response is instant. Steve Ellington n...@carolina.rr.com - Original Message - From: Paul Christensen w...@arrl.net To: Vic K2VCO v...@rakefet.com; Steve Ellington n...@carolina.rr.com Cc: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 2:24 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK It does. I think this has to do with the slope of the transmitted RF that Paul referred to. In the spirit of fairness, I must say that regardless of how critical I am of CW keying performance in general (as is Steve), I think the K3 does a better overall job of keying than any commercially-produced rig I've had in the past. Just a few slight tweaks would turn it into compete Nirvana. Paul, W9AC __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Help with K3, TenTec TITAN amp, and QSK
Steve, If the dot/space ratio is increased *and* the dash length is held at 3 dot times (dash:dot ratio = 3:1), both the dot and dash lengths should increase and the spaces will decrease. The reverse will occur if the dot/space ratio is reduced - spaces lengthen, dots and dashes are reduced. I always thought that was how the weight control *should* work. Apparently the K3 does it that way now based on Wayne's posting. 73, Don W3FPR Steve Ellington wrote: I just checked and you are right (of course). Something changed. Anyway just forget that part and thanks for answering the amp relay question. Steve Ellington n...@carolina.rr.com __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Filter Selection Approach
For some strange reason Nabble is not attributing quotes correctly on posts sent to the main list...even though they appear correctly on the Nabble website. Just to make sure there's no confusion as to who said what... K2AV wrote: The most important thing is where are the skirts halfway down and how much more do they drop with another 10 Hz, NOT the 3 db or 6 db points. The 8 pole roofers are part of making those skirts dive more in 10 Hz halfway down. I set up my filters at the +/- 50 dB points, and eagerly await the day when CW widths and shifts are in 10 Hz increments. I have had some extremely vociferous contradictions from some insisting that the 8 pole roofers are simply a waste, and a wide and narrow 5 pole are all needed, but my contest experience continues to suggest otherwise. All of the above are in stark contrast to casual operation. Buy filters for how you use the radio. If you are into hard contesting, do it with 8 poles. ** I responded: The DSP filter is the driving factor in making the skirts steep, especially when you're below the 435 Hz BW of the 400 or the 370 Hz BW of the 250, since there would be little cascading effect there. See K8ZOA's plot for the 500 Hz 5-pole CW/Data Filter section about half way down this page: http://tinyurl.com/dho6j6 You can see the shape of the XFIL itself when looking at the DSP = 4000 trace (i.e. when the DSP is in width than the XFIL). If DSP is about the same as the XFIL (i.e. WIDTH = ~430 for the 400 or WIDTH = ~370 for the 250), then there is some help. If the DSP is inside the flat area of the XFIL, there is little contribution from the XFIL skirts. 73, Bill -- View this message in context: http://n2.nabble.com/Filter-Selection-Approach-tp2630347p2640706.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] What's new in K3 Utility version 1.2.3.18
N6KR wrote () The most significant new feature is an editor for the K3's CW memories. These are the memories that you had to load by manipulating a paddle, you recall these memories by pressing M1 thorugh M4 on the K3 front panel. And your timing had to be *absolutely* perfect using a paddle! Mine is not so it sometimes took me forever to get memories loaded correctly (ditto for the K2 BTW). I read a report on this reflector about a CW enthusiast that had suffered a stroke and loved CW, but could no longer manipulate a paddle at speed. He's able to use a keyboard, though. He had a friend come over to program his rig's CW memories. Slightly off-topic but my very good Topband friend N4SU had Parkinson's and had the same problem. Dave eventually gave up hamming and I helped take down his station including 12 Beverages. I believe not being able to operate actually hastened his death according to his wife. If he was living now, I would do exactly what Dick suggests. You can actually work a lot of DX stations on CW and RTTY without needing to send their call, especially in contests. Program the keyer to send your call and a response for when they answer you. 73, Bill -- View this message in context: http://n2.nabble.com/What%27s-new-in-K3-Utility-version-1.2.3.18-tp2640337p2640788.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] What's new in K3 Utility version 1.2.3.18
On Wed, 15 Apr 2009 10:49:27 -0700, Dick, K6KR wrote: The most significant new feature is an editor for the K3's CW memories. These are the memories that you had to load by manipulating a paddle, you recall these memories by pressing M1 thorugh M4 on the K3 front panel. Oh, goodie! Not having a paddle, it was a real pain to program the CW memories by moving an alligator clip between two bare wires on a patch cord... (I did get pretty good at it but still prefer the trusty ol' bug and straight key...) 73, Drew AF2Z __ 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] Dayton Hamvention / FDIM rooms
There are still a few rooms available for the next 5 days at the QRP Hotel - the Holiday Inn in Fairborn, Ohio for the Hamvention and the FDIM (Four Days In May) festivities. These rooms include a breakfast buffett and the QRP pricing. After that the rooms go to the higher street price. (But check with me - there just may be a few rooms available after April 20 in the QRP group!) It appears that there may be bus service from the hotel to the Hamvention on Friday and Saturday depending on response. For rooms go to rooms.qrparci.org For bus information email Ken Evans - w...@arrl.net 72 73HankK8DD -- I knew that God put me on this earth to be on the radio.Ed Bradley -- Me too!K8DD -- __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Earbuds with KX1
Joe wrote: Is anyone using earbuds with their KX1 and if so can they recommend a good quality set that is comfortable when used in a portable environment??? Many thanks for any info/suggestions. The Koss earbuds work well for me. You can get them at Radio Shack ... they'll have a RS logo on the package but look at the phones themselves and you'll see Koss. Most earbuds have a sensitivity in the very low 100 dB range. Mine are listed at 112 dB. I lost a lot of my hearing a long time ago, and the KX1 doesn't have enough audio for me, however I found a small audio amp powered by two AA batteries [also at RS] that does the trick. It has one input and plugs right into the KX1. It has 3 outputs which is handy if you're out in public operating and someone wants to listen in. 73, Fred K6DGW - Northern California Contest Club - CU in the 2009 Cal QSO Party 3-4 Oct 2009 - www.cqp.org __ 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] Working KAT100 for Sale
HI, Selling my KAT100 on ebay item 260393362661. Works perfectly, see photos on ebay and excess to my needs. 73, Jack H. Shrawder KT6JS __ 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] K3 beta firmware rev. 3.10: 100 WPM CW; misc. improvements
K3 beta-test firmware revision 3.10 (with DSP rev 2.15) is now available. For details, see the release notes below. Please send any problem reports to k3supp...@elecraft.com. For instructions on how to load beta firmware, please see: http://www.elecraft.com/K3/k3_software.htm We recommend that you use the latest revision of K3 Utility, which can also be found on the K3 software page. In the newest release, K3 Utility allows you to view and edit the K3's CW/DATA message memories (M1-M4). 73, Wayne N6KR * * * MCU 3.10 / DSP 2.15, 4-15-2009 * FASTER EXTERNAL CW KEYING SPEEDS : When transmit is pre-enabled using PTT (i.e., with a footswitch or with PTT under computer control), external keying speeds up to 100 WPM are now possible. (When using CW with VOX, the recommended maximum is still 60 WPM.) Notes: (1) If you use a computer to control PTT, and wish to do this via the K3’s serial I/O jack, refer to the CONFIG:PTT-KEY menu entry. (2) The maximum attainable CW speed may be lower during heavy use of RS232 polling. Also, higher settings of the transmit delay menu parameter (CONFIG:TX DLY) will also reduce maximum CW speeds. * TRANSVERTER BAND DECODE CHANGE: The K3 can control up to 9 transverter bands via either a serial output (auxBus) or parallel (BAND0-3). The parallel outputs can select all 9 transverter bands, but the auxBus is now limited to addresses 1-7, matching Elecraft’s XV-series transverters. (In all cases, use CONFIG:XVn ADR to specify the address.) * NO AFX KEYING ARTIFACT IN RIGHT AUDIO CHANNEL: Previously, a short burst of audio might be heard in the right audio channel when keying the transmitter with MAIN:AFX MD set to DELAY x. This was most likely with a strong signal or noise in the passband. * CW VOX OFF BY DEFAULT ON POWER-UP: Some stations using PC control may inadvertently key the K3 in CW mode on power-up if VOX CW is in effect. If this is an issue at your station, locate the CONFIG:CW WGHT menu entry and tap '4', changing VOX NOR to AUTO OFF. This will make CW VOX default to OFF when the K3 is turned on. * SQUELCH CONTROL MORE RESPONSIVE: When rotating the RF/SQL pot or changing SQ MAIN/SUB menu entries, squelch updates more quickly. * PER-BAND POWER SAVED ON VFO A/B SWAP: Per-band power settings (CONFIG:PWR SET=PER BAND) are now preserved if an A/B swap is done with the two VFOs set to different bands. * RIT OFFSET PRESERVED ON BAND CHANGE: If CONFIG:SPLT SV is set to YES, both the state of RIT/XIT and the present offset will be saved on any band change. (Previously, the offset was set to 0 on band change, which was inconvenient when alternating between two different bands and using RIT or XIT.) * SPURIOUS SIGNAL REMOVAL AND SUB-RX FREQ SHIFT: The use of spurious signal removal (CONFIG:SIG RMV) for the main receiver no longer causes a small shift in frequency of the sub receiver when a mapped-out spur segment is encountered. * COARSE TUNING EFFECT ON VFO COUNTS/TURN: On exit from COARSE tuning, the normal VFO counts per turn value (CONFIG:VFO CTS) is now correctly restored. For Software Developers: * SQ$ ADDED (sub-RX squelch control). SQ and SQ$ work for both FM and non-FM squelch. Squelch control range via CAT or pot is now 0-29. This is different from the K2’s SQ control range. --- http://www.elecraft.com __ 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] K1 with Issues
My K1 (sn2450) went together back in Oct 07 without a hitch and has been working flawlessly ever since. A big glitch showed up tonight.? When I pushed the attenuator button it started transmitting dashes.? That cleared by cycling the power.? I then tried sending the content of memory 1.? It began sending that message, stopped, end appeared in the display, then started transmitting alternating dots and dashes.? When locked in transmit, the display blanks out.? Initially I verified that it was transmitting with another receiver, but now it seems to have lost output too.? It was hooked up to a resonant antenna or dummy load, so I wouldn't think the final fried.? I'm running it off a supply at 13.6VDC.? A voltage check of RA3 pin 5 of the MCU shows 5.6V with both dot and dash contacts open.? When the WPM-/attn button is held the dashes start sending and the pin 5 voltage drops to 5.0 even? though the contacts are still open. I've been awake too long and not much is making sense, so I'm going to call it a night.? Any ideas or suggestions on where to look would be greatly appreciated. Chuck? K4QS __ 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] [K3] Help with K3, TITAN, QSK: redux
Tks to all kind enough to reply. Either way seems to work fine. 73 Dave W8FGX -- View this message in context: http://n2.nabble.com/Help-with-K3%2C-TITAN%2C-QSK%3A-redux-tp2641750p2641750.html Sent from the [K3] mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ 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
