Re: [Elecraft] Which way to steer a new ham K2-KX3
On 6/16/2014 3:44 PM, Gerald Manthey wrote: This group is a bunch of middle aged business owners who were feed with a silver spoon. I brought up used equipment and was told they buy only the best. Then we all walked out to the parking lot and my Toyota truck was surrounded by $50,000 trucks. Hihi. Okay they got the money but was wanting to teach a more hands on ham. I would recommend the K-line to this group. If they want some of the building experience, they will enjoy building them as kits. 73, Jim K9YC __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] Field Day tips
On 6/16/2014 8:36 PM, Wayne Burdick wrote: Here are our annual tips for getting the most out of your Elecraft rig at field day: I'll add some more tips about QRP on Field Day. I've done three QRP Field Days, and one of them our group won for 1A battery. The same group came in second when we tried 2A with a second station on SSB part time. 1) Use the most efficient antennas that you can. A wire thrown over a tree and a radial laying on the ground will get you on the air, but a resonant dipole high in those trees can easily be 3-6 dB better. And even more radials with that wire in the tree, and picking them up off the ground, will add a few dB to your signal. 2) Use the most efficient feedline that you can. If you're only putting out 5W, don't burn 2W in RG58. Use RG8, RG11, RG213. 3) Get your antennas as high as you can. On 80M, 10 ft more height for a dipole is worth about 1 dB, 5 ft for a 40M dipole. 4) Don't waste your time with SSB on FD. CW can be reasonably competitive QRP, and a lot of fun. SSB only be described as a struggle, and is definitely not fun. Been there, done that, burned the Tee shirt. :) The combination of #1, #2, and #3 can easily make a 10-15 dB difference in your signal. 13 dB is the difference between 5W and 100W. And here are some tips to help you avoid RF noise problems on Field Day. If you can't hear 'em, you can't work 'em. http://nccc.cc/pdf/CQP-RFI2013-2.pdf 73, Jim K9YC __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] Field Day tips
I agree with all of that, Jim. In 2000 Bob, K7ZB, and I set what was then the all time Field Day record for the 1B-2OP Battery category by following those exact same tips. Getting 10 points per QSO for QRP CW is an insurmountable advantage compared with SSB and higher power levels, and antennas make all the difference in the world. In our case, we had the luxury of being able to camp among the tall Ponderosa Pine trees on the Mogollon Rim of Arizona, using a sling shot to hoist support lines as much as 90 feet up. We used nine different antennas that year (built ahead of time and neatly coiled in boxes) ... all of them simply various wire configurations hung in the trees. They ranged from simple dipoles on the low bands to a stacked (phased) pair of 2-element wire yagis on 20m (wooden dowel spacers). We mostly ran RG-8 coax along the ground from the operating tent to a point near each antenna, and then RG-8X up to the feed points to minimize the weight. Antennas rule. Having antennas oriented in multiple directions was a huge plus ... we could work California off the back of our predominantly midwest/east coast oriented antennas, but being able to put a decent signal into Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia with the extra antennas was key for us. We made 970 QSOs that year (9,700 points) plus another 300 bonus points (solar power, etc) for an even 10,000 points. All QRP and all CW. We alternated roughly four hour shifts to cover the entire operating period, but the rig was only a TS-130V cranked back to 5 watts ... we would have dearly loved to have been able to use an Elecraft with better adjacent rejection. The only additional bit of advice I would offer is the same one that holds true for most contests. If you really want to make a lot of QSOs you need to be able to call CQ and run stations efficiently. Not exclusively, but mostly. Best of luck to all, Dave AB7E p.s.A Pennsylvania team beat our record two years later p.p.s.We had so much visible wire up in the air that we got a lot of gawkers stopping by on their way to their own camp site to ask us what we were doing. One lady asked us in all seriousness if we were setting snares for bears. On 6/16/2014 11:30 PM, Jim Brown wrote: I'll add some more tips about QRP on Field Day. I've done three QRP Field Days, and one of them our group won for 1A battery. The same group came in second when we tried 2A with a second station on SSB part time. 1) Use the most efficient antennas that you can. A wire thrown over a tree and a radial laying on the ground will get you on the air, but a resonant dipole high in those trees can easily be 3-6 dB better. And even more radials with that wire in the tree, and picking them up off the ground, will add a few dB to your signal. 2) Use the most efficient feedline that you can. If you're only putting out 5W, don't burn 2W in RG58. Use RG8, RG11, RG213. 3) Get your antennas as high as you can. On 80M, 10 ft more height for a dipole is worth about 1 dB, 5 ft for a 40M dipole. 4) Don't waste your time with SSB on FD. CW can be reasonably competitive QRP, and a lot of fun. SSB only be described as a struggle, and is definitely not fun. Been there, done that, burned the Tee shirt. :) The combination of #1, #2, and #3 can easily make a 10-15 dB difference in your signal. 13 dB is the difference between 5W and 100W. And here are some tips to help you avoid RF noise problems on Field Day. If you can't hear 'em, you can't work 'em. http://nccc.cc/pdf/CQP-RFI2013-2.pdf 73, Jim K9YC __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K3/0 mini observations
Now i ask you: where else would you get an even remotely similar level of service and commitment to customer? __ Slava (Sal) B, W2RMS w2...@arrl.net On Jun 16, 2014, at 10:27 PM, Wayne Burdick n...@elecraft.com wrote: Hi Oliver, The mini is used in tilted postion like the KX3. So I would have expected the same display like in the KX3 to be used… We switched to the KX3 display very early in production. Contact customer support for a replacement (or we can do it for you, no charge). The manual gives a lot of hints concerning remote use itself but lacks completely concerning the hardware of the mini itself. A significant update of the manual is pending. We were all a bit rushed getting the product into field test. We'll send you a copy of the latest when it comes out. Thanks for the feedback! Wayne N6KR __ 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 Message delivered to sla...@nullserv.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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] Field Day tips
About #1 below and the wire in the tree with radials off the ground... I was instantly reminded about Al Brogdon W1AB and his Killer Antenna. He wrote about it in 2006 in his ARRL book Low Profile Amateur Radio (Chapter 8 and also pages 44-48) and in QST-July1999. The Killer Antenna is something I've kept in mind ever since I bought the book seven years ago and is one of the reasons I bought a KX3, so I could try it out portable, something I cannot do on my postage-size lot. His portable results seemed impressive for an idea so simple; granted he was using a Kenwood TS-50. 73 Jerry KM3K -Original Message- From: Elecraft [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Jim Brown Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2014 2:30 AM To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Field Day tips On 6/16/2014 8:36 PM, Wayne Burdick wrote: Here are our annual tips for getting the most out of your Elecraft rig at field day: I'll add some more tips about QRP on Field Day. I've done three QRP Field Days, and one of them our group won for 1A battery. The same group came in second when we tried 2A with a second station on SSB part time. 1) Use the most efficient antennas that you can. A wire thrown over a tree and a radial laying on the ground will get you on the air, but a resonant dipole high in those trees can easily be 3-6 dB better. And even more radials with that wire in the tree, and picking them up off the ground, will add a few dB to your signal. 2) Use the most efficient feedline that you can. If you're only putting out 5W, don't burn 2W in RG58. Use RG8, RG11, RG213. 3) Get your antennas as high as you can. On 80M, 10 ft more height for a dipole is worth about 1 dB, 5 ft for a 40M dipole. 4) Don't waste your time with SSB on FD. CW can be reasonably competitive QRP, and a lot of fun. SSB only be described as a struggle, and is definitely not fun. Been there, done that, burned the Tee shirt. :) The combination of #1, #2, and #3 can easily make a 10-15 dB difference in your signal. 13 dB is the difference between 5W and 100W. And here are some tips to help you avoid RF noise problems on Field Day. If you can't hear 'em, you can't work 'em. http://nccc.cc/pdf/CQP-RFI2013-2.pdf 73, Jim K9YC __ 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 Message delivered to jso...@comcast.net __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] K3/0 mini observations
To be honest I already waited for the first such comment to appear. Sorry Slava, this is not against you personally. I simply cannot hear all the praise anymore for cases which were wrong right from the beginning (and from people not even owning the product in question). Amazingly I already got a number of private emails from other customers comfirming the problem and ranting themselves. They just do not want to do it publicly (for what-ever reasons) but are all disappointed as well. Even a few who did contact customer service and did not even get an answer. What's the service level then? Yes, I like Elecraft, too. I even like them, their attitude and their products very much! Meanwhile I own 2 x K3's (with ATU, sub-RX 2 m option), a KPA500, a KAT500, a KX3 with all options and now a K3/0 mini. I'm even a fieldtester for their KX3-2M. So I probably am what one would call a loyal and valued customer. Nevertheless I'm not a Koolaid drinker and tell Elecraft if things are wrong (and they certainly appreciate it). This is what everybody should do. This specific problem has nothing to do with good customer service but with quality control. Good customer service would have been if they did not even ship with the wrong displays as they knew about the problem! If they did not know about it (which I doubt) they did not even test it themselves during development (which I doubt, too). Every 4 years old child would have recognized you can't read the display if you put it on the table as designed. That's the reason why the KX3 is delivered with a 6 o'clock display instead of a 12 o'clock display like the K3. Same design. And we are talking about production units here! Would have had full understanding if it was a test unit and problem discovered during FT or the like. This is what FT's are for. And we are talking about an obvious problem! I understand there are things that will only be discovered after a product is on the market already and maybe a thousand units in use. This is were Elcraft shines in and finds solutions. Hats off! But not for such an obvious problem. Imagine buying a car (that has been on the market already and was test-driven before) and recognizing the car lights will only shine for 5 m instead of 200 m. What would be your reaction? Shure it's nice if your dealer tells you Oh yes, I will take care of the problem. but that is only good customer service in the second instance. Sure you would still be angry. First instance would have been not to deliver these cars to customers at all or change the lights before delivery already as they knew the lights were not the right ones, wouldn't it? I'm now waiting how customer support will solve it. Hopefully in a manner that will not put me offline with the remote as sending it back to CA, let them change it and ship it back to Germany would at least take 4 weeks if not longer (ordered all my stuff directly from them so I know how long it takes). That would certainly not be good customer service. And yes, there are quite a number of other (very) good suppliers with great customer service, too. Rant off. And flame-suite on. ;-) 73, Olli -- Contest, DX radio projects: http://www.dh8bqa.de Am 17.06.2014 13:02, schrieb Slava Baytalskiy: Now i ask you: where else would you get an even remotely similar level of service and commitment to customer? __ Slava (Sal) B, W2RMS w2...@arrl.net On Jun 16, 2014, at 10:27 PM, Wayne Burdick n...@elecraft.com wrote: Hi Oliver, The mini is used in tilted postion like the KX3. So I would have expected the same display like in the KX3 to be used… We switched to the KX3 display very early in production. Contact customer support for a replacement (or we can do it for you, no charge). The manual gives a lot of hints concerning remote use itself but lacks completely concerning the hardware of the mini itself. A significant update of the manual is pending. We were all a bit rushed getting the product into field test. We'll send you a copy of the latest when it comes out. Thanks for the feedback! Wayne N6KR __ 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 Message delivered to sla...@nullserv.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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
[Elecraft] KX3 feature request: LCD contrast menu setting
Hello folks! I noticed when using the KX3 portable with the backlight disabled the LC display becomes hard to read at certain lower viewing angles. It would be nice if there would be a LCD contrast setting in the menu that lets the user control the contrast setting at his preferred viewing angle. I have had a look at the schematic and it seems the contrast is set via an anlog output of the MCU. It should not be too hard to implement such a feature in one of the next MCU firmware releases... Many thanks! Sven, DJ2AT __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
[Elecraft] Field Day Elecraft Operation
We are making antennas for field day will have K1, KX1, K2, and 2+ K3's in operation, QRP battery of course. If you are a serious CW operator or just want a test drive a Elecraft radio,come join us in the hills above Salem, OR where the food is good. Lots of different antennas to try out. Directions are on W7SAA.org web site. John K7JLT __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] Field Day tips
On 6/16/14 at 11:30 PM, j...@audiosystemsgroup.com (Jim Brown) wrote: 4) Don't waste your time with SSB on FD. CW can be reasonably competitive QRP, and a lot of fun. SSB only be described as a struggle, and is definitely not fun. Been there, done that, burned the Tee shirt. :) The last detailed QSO/mode/band I can find is from the West Valley Amateur Radio Association's in 2011. We were 7A (battery QRP). We had 3 HF CW stations, 3 HF SSB stations, an HF digital station, a GOTA station, a satellite station, and a VHF station. While our prime goal for field day is to have fun, we have fun by erecting the best antennas we can, trying to get as many people on the air as possible, and ending with a good score. We set the all-time record for 7A that year and have set a number of other records for various numbers of transmitters in other years. Call: K6EI GOTA Call: W6ZZZ Class: 7A QRP QTH: Mora Hill, CA Operating Time (hrs): 24 Summary: Band CW Qs Ph Qs Dig Qs 80: 11984 0 40: 325 16946 20: 639 19587 15: 339 13511 10:041 0 6: 137 0 2: 016 0 222: 0 2 432: 0 5 1.2: 0 1 -- 1423 685 144 Total Score = 20,845 Comments: QSO Points x Power Mult = 19,095 GOTA Bonus Points = 1,750 Total QSO Points + Bonus Pts = 20,845 Note that while most of our points came from CW, significant number of points come from phone and digital. As you get into the larger number of transmitters, QRP digital and phone become an important part of the mix. QRP digital is always fun and gives good scores. QRP SSB is fun with good antennas and propagation. 73 Bill AE6JV - Bill Frantz| Airline peanut bag: Produced | Periwinkle (408)356-8506 | in a facility that processes | 16345 Englewood Ave www.pwpconsult.com | peanuts and other nuts. - Duh | Los Gatos, CA 95032 __ 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] Field Day tips
I concur with all of the tips except the saying “Don’t waste your time with SSB
on FD”.
And I will add that anytime you go above Class 2A there should be at least ONE
SSB station. You will note the quantity of SSB Q's by one SSB station vs. the
two CW stations in the listing below. All the ops, both modes, were high
level, very capable at their mode. The CW ops included high level contesters
N2IC, WB0O, NI5L and N5IA.
The case can be made that the SSB station performed at a higher level than the
CW stations. This is all with solar powered 5 Watt level transmissions.
The following is a listing of the stats for the national record set by the
Eastern Arizona Amateur Radio Society (EAARS) operation from 2005. This record
held for 8 years until broken by a New Mexico group this past year ('13).
YEAR CALL LOCATION CLASSCW Q’s SSB Q’s N/T Q’s GOTA
Q’s TOTAL Q’sBONUS SCORE PLACE
2005K7EARClark Pk. 3A QRP 1,193822
67 2,082 1,490 17,865#1
national, 3A, and #6 national, all classes.
The HF transceivers, including the GOTA, were all Elecraft K-2's. Photos of
the operation can be viewed at http://www.eaars.org/05fieldday.html
73 de Milt, N5IA
-Original Message-
From: Bill Frantz
Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2014 7:11 PM
To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Field Day tips
On 6/16/14 at 11:30 PM, j...@audiosystemsgroup.com (Jim Brown) wrote:
4) Don't waste your time with SSB on FD. CW can be reasonably
competitive QRP, and a lot of fun. SSB only be described as a
struggle, and is definitely not fun. Been there, done that,
burned the Tee shirt. :)
The last detailed QSO/mode/band I can find is from the West
Valley Amateur Radio Association's in 2011. We were 7A (battery
QRP). We had 3 HF CW stations, 3 HF SSB stations, an HF digital
station, a GOTA station, a satellite station, and a VHF station.
While our prime goal for field day is to have fun, we have fun
by erecting the best antennas we can, trying to get as many
people on the air as possible, and ending with a good score. We
set the all-time record for 7A that year and have set a number
of other records for various numbers of transmitters in other years.
Call: K6EI
GOTA Call: W6ZZZ Class: 7A QRP
QTH: Mora Hill, CA Operating Time (hrs): 24
Summary:
Band CW Qs Ph Qs Dig Qs
80: 11984 0
40: 325 16946
20: 639 19587
15: 339 13511
10:041 0
6: 137 0
2: 016 0
222: 0 2
432: 0 5
1.2: 0 1
--
1423 685 144
Total Score = 20,845
Comments:
QSO Points x Power Mult = 19,095 GOTA Bonus Points = 1,750
Total QSO Points + Bonus Pts = 20,845
Note that while most of our points came from CW, significant
number of points come from phone and digital. As you get into
the larger number of transmitters, QRP digital and phone become
an important part of the mix. QRP digital is always fun and
gives good scores. QRP SSB is fun with good antennas and propagation.
73 Bill AE6JV
-
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