Re: [Elecraft] [KX1,K1,KX3] QRP Portable Antenna
On 8/23/2012 6:51 PM, Phil Hystad wrote: > I have operated my KX1 out in various parks and fields by hanging one end of > a wire up in a tree that I would raise using fishing line and a sling shot. My usual method too. I use the internal KXAT1 tuner, works fine. > A while back, Wayne said that he would use just a single wire up in the tree > and then another wire laying on the ground as sort of a ground plane. My version of Wayne's antenna is a length of RG-58. I pulled off all but a few inches of the outer jacket, spread the shield wires, and pulled the center conductor through to yield a ~26 ft antenna conductor [center conductor and dielectric], and a ~26 ft length of uninsulated "wire" [the shield braid]. A male BNC goes on the end where the coax is still intact, and plugs directly into the KX1. I run the shield wire out on the ground. To radiate, you have to have RF current flowing in your antenna conductor. Maxwellians will tell you it involves both the "conduction" and "displacement" current. The displacement current effectively represents your radiated signal. In order to have a current, you need a closed circuit so the conduction current has a path back to the TX. Resistance in that path lowers the current [both conduction and displacement and hence your signal] just as Ohm's Law would suggest. The path can be through the earth [higher resistance], or you can provide a lower resistance path with a conductor(s) ... your choice. > 1. Is more then a single ground wire (wire laying along the ground) good > enough or would two or three be better? EZNEC4 "suggests" that one is around 85% as effective as a perfect ground. I say "suggests" because EZNEC4 won't model wires on the ground so I had to elevate it about 1/2 inch, at which point, its length becomes a minor confusion factor. Two seems to gain you another 5% or so, and the benefit per additional wire decreases while the complexity of the system increases rapidly. As you add wires on the ground, the probability that a little human or dog passing by your position will trip on your wires becomes 1.0 fairly quickly. I've compromised efficiency vs complexity to one wire [see above]. > 2. My wire antenna has usually been on the order of 50 feet but it also > depends on how close I get for reasonable operating position (e.g. picnic > table)? So, would a ground wire need to be the same length or would half the > length be as reasonable. The antenna length needs to be such that the impedance at the TX end can be matched by the tuner on the band(s) you want to operate. 32 ft is a 1/4 wave on 40 and will work well, it has a fairly low impedance [30-50 ohms]. At 20m, it's a half-wave with a high impedance and may be a hard match for the tuner. My KX1 does 40, 30, and 20 [I figure life is too short for 3W on 80]. The KXAT1 seems pretty happy on all three bands with my ~26 ft length, which is sort of non-resonant on my 3 bands. On the ground, length is not critical, more is generally better, but you're in the field. Do what mechanically works for you. Mine made from RG-58 winds onto two little crank reels a friend gave me. > 3. How does this compare to a Buddipole antenna? I just sold my Deluxe BP because of weight. BP's can be set up in multiple configurations, comparison is very difficult. On any band but possibly 10m, a BP is a loaded antenna in any config and loading introduces losses however. It is not "hard" to set up, but, so long as you have some sort of "organic towers" for your wire, it is quite a bit more work than tossing the line over a branch. 73, Fred K6DGW __ 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] Question re: WWV fqy
Use the highest freq WWV signal you can get good reception on, and be certain that you do it during one of the no audio periods. All WWV's are not created equal either. The 2.5 and 20 MHz show an expected spectrum of carrier plus either 500 or 600 Hz sidebands, and the 100 Hz IRIG-H timecode subcarrier right around the main carrier. It appears that these two transmitters use low level modulation and highly linear amplifiers. 5, 10, and 15 MHz use the same modulation stream but are high level modulated class-C PA's. If you look at their spectra, you will see fairly strong harmonics of the 500/600 Hz tones, and the tones and all the harmonics will be modulated with the 100 Hz IRIG-H time code. So far as I can determine, all the WWV frequencies start out at 10^-12 or better. 73, Fred K6DGW On 8/21/2012 7:53 PM, Jack Smith wrote: > As transmitted, frequency error is less than 1 part in 10 to the -12th. > > As received, due to Doppler error and other ionospheric issues, and > depending on how you go about the measuring process, something like 0.1 > PPM is about it. Maybe a hair better if you have excellent propagation > and you go about the comparison process correctly. Maybe 1 PPM > off-the-air if you are doing a quick and dirty comparison, such as > watching the S-meter swing around. > > __ 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] Unhappy with your KX3
On 8/5/2012 4:38 PM, Jim Brown wrote: > A contrast with other manufacturers is appropriate. Yaesu's flagship > radio, the FT1000 series in all its variations, is notorious for > REALLY BAD keyclicks, and three of the four DSP mic processing > settings can best be described as awful. It took them ten years and > three model changes to fix the clicks, and you had to BUY the > replacement (a new radio) that fixed the problem > The original Ten Tec Orion was beset with LONG ongoing firmware > issues, and you wouldn't believe the bitching on the Ten Tec email > reflector about the new bugs in the bug-fixed firmware. The eventual > solution was the Orion II. Again, you had to BUY a new radio, and > again, no discount. Yep! Were I a marketing major in college and thus a marketing guru now, I would reply, "Good Show! One working good radio for the price of three. Way to go!" Fred K6DGW/7 Sparks NV __ 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] Unhappy With Your KX3?
On 8/4/2012 2:36 PM, Rich wrote: > I'm curious, where has Elecraft advertised or marketed the KX3 as a > "base station" radio? My quick review only finds portable operation > references. The only references to base station use I find is from user > comments. Am I missing something? > > Rich > NU6T Don't think so Rich. I too have looked and don't think Elecraft has ever *marketed* the KX3 as a home station radio, although it could certainly be used that way. So could an FT-817, K2 [I know of several in that sort of service], or even a K1. An ATS3x could be used that way too ... not its design goal however. If "it" receives and makes RF, you can use it at home. Everything I've heard from Elecraft, both in print [QST ads] and in person [Pacificon and elsewhere] have put the KX3 in the class of a "highly portable transceiver with a lot of K3-like performance and features." I've also never heard or seen it promoted as an "extreme backpacking trail radio" either, however it probably could be used as such under at least some trail conditions, although the KX1 comes to mind as a better choice at night in a tent. Every time I see a KX3, real or in a photo, it calls out to me, Business Traveler Radio, followed closely by Leisure Traveler Radio. I'm retired, I no longer do business travel, and my KX1, K2, K3/P3/KPA500/KAT500 are likely going to be it for me in the realm of Elecraft radios. But I've never seen the KX3 *marketed* as a home station radio, just that you can use it there as well as elsewhere. And to the discussion regarding loudspeaker quality: Folks, have you even bothered to look at the size of the KX3 speaker? Has everyone forgotten the physics of audio transducers? If you want incredibly full and great [near-broadcast quality] audio, I refer you to http://www.radioblvd.com/Pre-WWII%20Ham%20Gear.htm ... scroll down near the bottom of the page to "Hallicrafters SX-28 and R12 Bass Reflex Speaker." I inherited this receiver from the family of "Woody," W6ANX [SK], some years ago. The audio quality was incredibly good reminding me of the AM days when you could still hear the clang of the relays reverberating in his shack as your QSO buddy brought up his carrier. I used it in one Sweepstakes single band CW with an ARC-5 TX. Very nostalgic and fun ... for a couple of hours. :-) And, the SX-28 was great insurance against the possibility of gravity outages as well. I finally donated it to the museum so others could see and hear it and I highly recommend a visit if you find yourself in historic Virginia City NV. > > On 8/4/2012 6:42 AM, Oliver Dröse wrote: >> Nevertheless I would still expect from a rig marketed (not designed!) as a >> base station rig to provide sufficient audio from it's internal speaker. And >> it's nothing new or magic, even the now 11 years old FT-817 provides enough >> "oomph" from it's internal speaker if wanted. ;-) Can you point me at any Elecraft advertisements that overtly *market* the KX3 as a home station transceiver? 73, Fred K6DGW/7 Sparks NV __ 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] Unhappy With Your KX3?
On 8/4/2012 2:34 AM, Kevin Kleinfelter wrote: > Thanks for your thoughts Rick. > > I'm looking to discover regrets before I drop $1300-$1500 on a recreational > purchase (i.e. a new toy). I'm not looking to demonstrate that some radio > is better or worse than the KX3. (I'd have to define a specific goal, in > order for better/worse to be meaningful.) Fair question Kevin. My experience with reviews/experience reports is that the only ones that count are from people I know, and I know how they use the item in question. eHam is full of reviews, virtually all from people I don't know. While looking for an all-band vertical, I started reading them for various candidates ... they ranged from "Put it together in 3.7 minutes and made DXCC by the end of the day," to "Absolutely the worst antenna I've ever had, worse than my dummy load." There was no way I could make sense of it. I did finally get a GAP Titan, contrary to a number of reviews I had no trouble understanding the assembly instructions, son-in-law and two grandsons mounted it for me on the roof, and I've managed 6 new DXCC on it in 3 months. By comparison, I've managed twice that number on the tribander. The vertical is noticeably noisier [one of the many complaints on eHam], but of course it *is* a vertical ... duh!. I don't have a KX3, but I do have a K3. If you want to know the biggest characteristic of my K3 that I didn't like, it would be its weight ... or, more accurately, the lack of it. It moves when I do TAP and HOLD on the switches, which isn't a big deal, moving it back into place is easy, it just annoys me. I fixed it with some non-slip cloth-like stuff. Took 3 tries to find the right material. If I were you, I'd locate friends you know who have a KX3 and talk to them ... as in a two-way conversation. Their likes/dislikes may or may not affect your needs/wants, but at least you can talk it out with them. Again, after all the bruhaha dies down on the list, it was a fair question. 73, Fred K6DGW/7 TDY Sparks NV taking care of granddaughter __ 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] KAT-500
While working with a Marine BG and his staff on a battlefield maintenance system, the General continued to press for schedule compression. He asked for a "ball park estimate," and my somewhat older and more experienced colleague said, "General ... Good -- Fast -- Cheap. Pick two." My KAT500 will arrive when it arrives. In the end, everything is what it is, and in the meantime, I continue to enjoy my K-Line. Well ... I'll continue as soon as we get home, been with family in Sparks NV for a week. 73 Fred K6DGW/7 On 8/3/2012 12:14 AM, Hunsdon Cary III wrote: > Originally Elecraft estimated an August 15 shipping date for the KAT-500 but, > realistically, did you really believe it? > Of course not, delays are bound to come along and if it ships during the Aug > 31-Sept 7 window now posted, I'll be a happy hambut realistically, > it might be later but it'll be worth it. At Dayton, I ordered the 2nd > KAT-500 and am looking forward to receiving it! > 73, > Cary, K4TM > LYNCHBURG VA > > H. Cary III > h3c...@gmail.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 > > > > > - > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 10.0.1424 / Virus Database: 2437/5172 - Release Date: 08/02/12 > > __ 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] KX3 KXAT3 SWR re-tune request threshold
On 8/2/2012 12:47 AM, Don Wilhelm wrote: > You would only want to set the tuner to bypass if ... you are working into a > dummy load. That would be me. Fred K6DGW Auburn CA __ 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] P3 Vfo Blips
A drop of DeOxit on it [shield and center pin, both ends] and several removal/insertions cured mine. Also, make sure the P3 chassis screws are tight, and the chassis is directly bonded to the K3. I may put a ground post on my P3 to take it to the ground bus right behind the rigs. The other note is that I originally ran without the K3 IF Level mod, and when I calibrated the P3 and K3 S-Meter with my service monitor, I ended up with fairly high gain in the P3, and quite a few anomalous blips and such. Doing the mod got the gain back to normal and all is well. 73 Fred K6DGW On 8/1/2012 3:08 AM, Jack Berry wrote: > I saw this for the first time a few weeks ago. Check your BNC connections - > just open and close the twist on connector, maybe even pull is off and > reinsert. That killed my birdies. It's happened a few times. > > Whether or not this is a common problem, I don't know. > __ 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] Office
On 6/1/2012 11:04 PM, Bob wrote: > Has anyone received any confirmation or order number for a phone order for > their > KAT500 placed in the early batch when announced at Dayton. Mine was placed > May > 18th. 18 May 1315 PDT is what she said. I don't think I got an email, I'd likely have printed and saved it. I could be wrong, that does occasionally happen. More than occasionally if you were to ask my wife. 73, Fred K6DGW - Northern California Contest Club - CU in the 2012 Cal QSO Party 6-7 Oct 2012 - 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
Re: [Elecraft] P2 Span Question
On 6/1/2012 2:36 AM, Lee Buller wrote: > I have been playing with my new P3 and wonder how others use the > "span" feature on different modes. > > I have been using a span of: > > CW - 10 to 15 > SSB - 50 to 60 > RTTY - 40- 50 > > What do others use for "span?" > I keep it pretty simple ... I'm mainly CW, I have FN1 set for Peak/Span 4, FN2 for FixTrack/Span 20, FN3 for MKRA zero/Span40, and FN4 for MKRB zero/Span 200. I have never used the Markers, I never use Freeze, I never use Span 200, and I'm always in FixTrack. It appears I have an overabundance of programmable function keys.:-) 73, Fred K6DGW - Northern California Contest Club - CU in the 2012 Cal QSO Party 6-7 Oct 2012 - 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
Re: [Elecraft] K3 KPA500 Oper/Stby Alert
On 5/31/2012 10:59 PM, Gary Gregory wrote: > *The ability to be able to control what is displayed is one of the great > features of the K3. This 'feature' for want of a better word would allow > each operator to 'see' and 'confirm' what is happening if it was 'user > selectable'. Gary has a very good point. Making it selectable shouldn't be all that hard [he who used to cringe when one of his users said that and he had to make it happen :-) ] Not everyone may like my suggestion. I suggest this would be a "try it both ways, decide, and you probably wouldn't touch it again." > The one thing I think I can recall is that i do not remember seeing this > issue with the Tune function prior to FW 4.51. I am not at all certain of > this but I think this has only been a very recent occurrence? I'm not real prompt in FW upgrades if it doesn't do something I care about. I was last on production v.4R48 before v.4R51, and it was doing it then too. Honestly, I *think* but don't *know* that it was doing it before I got the KPA500. I made a couple DX contacts and was then surprised I did it at 5W and not 100. I will get behind the rig, where one wonders why they call this "wireless," find the right cable and re-seat it a couple of times. 73, Fred K6DGW - Northern California Contest Club - CU in the 2012 Cal QSO Party 6-7 Oct 2012 - 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
Re: [Elecraft] K3 KPA500 Oper/Stby Alert
U ... if I understand your question, "yes." I've never seen a time that the OPERATE/STANDBY messages did not appear when I switch between OPER and STBY, regardless of whether I go to standby with the button or by changing bands. If it's in STBY and I change bands again, I get no message [or course]. The most prevalent "anomaly" is staying at 5W after using the K3 TUNE function. It's immediately apparent because I only get about 50W out of the KPA500 when I put it in OPER, and when I adjust the PWR setting, it is at 5W. It doesn't happen all the time. The second most prevalent is when I put the KPA500 in STBY and then find that the K3 power is still at 26W. Putting the KPA500 in OPER and having the K3 power stay at 100W has only happened once. 73, Fred K6DGW - Northern California Contest Club - CU in the 2012 Cal QSO Party 6-7 Oct 2012 - www.cqp.org "Anomaly" is a term used by NASA to describe anything from a burned out panel lamp to the rocket ending up pointy-end down in the desert outside of Tucson. On 5/31/2012 9:21 PM, iain macdonnell - N6ML wrote: > Fred/Gary, > > When you experience these power anomalies, do you see the KPA > operate/bypass messages on the K3 or not? I realise that it's one of > those cases where you don't know that you need to pay attention until > it's too late . but then the same could be said for your proposed > solution > __ 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] K2 vs. KX3 which would you get?
Personally, I'd go with a K2 unless 6m is important to you, but I'm biased ... I love my K2 for field events. With a KX1, K3/KPA500/P3, and a KAT500 on order, I'm going to have all the E-radios I'm likely to need or want. KX3 is really attractive and I can understand all the buzz about it, I'm just partial to my K2. I built it, that's a big part of it for me, mine is #4398. The K2 will be cheaper than a KX3, I think the KX3 may be lighter. I get plenty of operating time [CW] from an A123 4S1P LiFePO4 battery that I can charge from my truck. But, it's just about impossible to go wrong with anything Elecraft. Regardless of which you choose, one of Rose's really cool travel cases is well worth the money. 73, Fred K6DGW - Northern California Contest Club - CU in the 2012 Cal QSO Party 6-7 Oct 2012 - www.cqp.org On 5/31/2012 7:52 PM, ae7...@gmail.com wrote: > I'm a fairly new Ham and want a nice portable rig. > I've read all the threads I can find on the K2 vs. KX3 and I'm pretty sure > I'm > going to get a KX3 but before I finalize my order I thought I'd see if you > guys > think a K2 would be a smarter choice. I would buy a used K2 or build a new > KX3. > I have little to no time to build a K2. > __ 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 KPA500 Oper/Stby Alert
I'd like to see a K3 FW feature change. I'll back off if anyone believes it's a bad idea. CURRENT: Turning on the KPA500 scrolls a message in VFO B that I've just turned the KPA500 on. Actually, I knew that and didn't need the message. Mine is set to come up in STBY [also when I change bands]. When I go to OPER, another message scrolls in VFO B telling me that I just did that. I also knew that and didn't need the message. CHANGE: Replace both messages with one that tells me what the K3 power will be when I next tap the paddle [or talk]. I've got the two power levels for each band set, and most of the time it works. Occasionally, after adjusting the high power antenna tuner with just the K3 in TUNE [5W], going to OPER leaves the power at 5W. Once, it went to 100W which faults off the KPA500 instantly, of course. Occasionally, the K3 stays at low power when I go to STBY. 73, Fred K6DGW - Northern California Contest Club - CU in the 2012 Cal QSO Party 6-7 Oct 2012 - 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
Re: [Elecraft] INTERNET PURCHASING
One of my very best friends lives in Detroit. 73, Fred K6DGW - Northern California Contest Club - CU in the 2012 Cal QSO Party 6-7 Oct 2012 - www.cqp.org On 5/30/2012 7:26 PM, KENT TRIMBLE wrote: > David is absolutely right (frighteningly right) and unless people start > understanding the ramifications of what they are creating each time they > purchase something over the internet they will find themselves living in > communities as blighted as Detroit. > __ 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] Fwd: Re: HEAVY KNOBS??
On 5/28/2012 1:54 AM, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote: > Wasn't it Hammarlund who had some receivers with knobs like that, including > the little spinner handle? The Hallicrafters SX-28 [a really great receiver for its day, not up to the 75A4 by any means, but I used mine for years] had two spoked knobs, for bandset and bandspread. If you are young enough not to know what that means, contact me off the list and I'll explain it. My bandspread knob had a crank handle. I'm sure it wasn't original, probably added by the ham I got the receiver from. The SX-28 was also good for keeping your desk anchored during gravity outages, it weighed close to 100 lbs [eat your heart out, K3, "real" radios were sold by the pound then. :-)] If you've never seen one, look on http://www.radioblvd.com/Pre-WWII%20Ham%20Gear.htm and scroll down near the bottom of the page. The page is in chronological order and the -28 came out in 1940. Just below the first SX-28 is one I inherited from the estate of Woody, W6ANX, and which I used a few times on the air. It came with the bass reflex speaker which was in not so good shape. While I never had any problem with gravity outages while it sat on my desk, it took up a huge amount of space, generated a lot of heat, and after seeing the museum in Virginia City NV, I donated it to him. He restored it and the speaker, I've seen it, and it looks like it just came off the display floor at Henry Radio in Los Angeles. > Now that Eric has reported that the K3 encoders have ball bearings (so the wear is spread over many points instead of just on one side of a sleeve), I > sure that now someone do whatever it takes to see how much weight they can > handle, Hi! > I can understand the desire for the weighted knobs for the K3, however I have essentially no drag on my stock K3 "big knob" and it spins just fine for me. With the P3 however, I don't spin so much as I tune down to the next signal I see. I don't expect nor want a weighted knob for my K2 [weight in my pack is something I watch when in the field], and it makes no sense at all for my KX1. Fred K6DGW Auburn CA __ 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] HEAVY KNOBS??
I remember some military transmitters with "knobs" about like that. :-) 73, Fred K6DGW Auburn CA On 5/27/2012 10:52 PM, Bob K6UJ wrote: > I'm with you Gary but I did find one knob that is tempting to try. > You should be able to really spin down the band with this one. > Bob > K6UJ > > http://www.amazon.com/Handle-Dished-Chrome-Plated-Revolving/dp/B002IBCDWW > __ 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 feature request - auto-changing tuning rate
If it's selectable and I can turn it off, fine. My FT-847 does this and I hate it. K3 works just fine for me, however I get only one vote. 73, Fred K6DGW TDY Lake Havasu City AZ [until tomorrow] On 3/3/2012 3:51 PM, Don Wilhelm wrote: > The K3 tuning rate is already selectable per mode. See the Config menu > for VFO CRS. > > In addition, there are the FINE/COARSE and RATE buttons to help you with > the tuning rate. > > Please -- no dynamic tuning for me, it drives me crazy. > > 73, > Don W3FPR > __ 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] Call for Elecraft CW Net volunteers
On 3/1/2012 11:04 PM, kevinr wrote: Without an antenna it is tough to run the nets. Is anyone interested in trying their hand at net control for either or both of the nets? I'd volunteer Kevin except I'll be on the road from Havasu AZ to home. No HF gear in Andrea's CRV. :-) Fred K6DGW TDY Tehachapi CA __ 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] Elecraft CW Net Announcement
On 2/25/2012 7:56 PM, kevinr wrote: > Sunday 2300z (Sunday 3 PM PST) 14050 kHz > Monday 0100z (Sunday 5 PM PST) 7045 kHz > > Don't think we'll be home by 0100Z Kevin. Next week. 73, Fred K6DGW TDY Sparks NV __ 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] Need help to justify desired purchase :=)
On 2/24/2012 5:18 PM, Paul Clay wrote: > > What's going to justify the purchase for me, nor not, is the ability to use > the K3 as SWL tool You will need the KBPF option for general coverage. If SWBC is your goal, you'd also need the 6 KHz filter I'd imagine. I have the KBPF but not the filter, I use gen coverage for Weather FAX, and some other things, I don't listen to BC. That said, getting a K3 as a gen coverage receiver is probably not wise money. The advantages and features of the K3 are pretty much all aimed at the ham bands were we both receive and transmit, and often do so under very crowded and challenging conditions. YMMV 73, Fred K6DGW TDY Sparks NV __ 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] Upconverter?
I have a Palomar VLF converter [10 - 500 KHz --> 3.510 - 4.0 MHz]. The only thing I used to hear was the LORAN-C station over in Middletown CA. Now that LORAN-C is kaput, I hear a lot above 100 KHz, and some strange sounds below that. I think I might have heard the USN Jim Creek station [16 KHz], they don't exactly identify often :-) I think Palomar is out of business, but you might find one, or something like it. My FT-847 goes well below 500 Kcs, but it is pretty deaf down there. Merry Christmas and 73 Fred K6DGW TDY in Sparks NV On 12/25/2011 12:00 AM, Jim Miller wrote: > I think I remember someone mentioning an upconverter to allow the K3 to > receive below 500Khz. No interest in transmitting but would like to listen. > __ 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] KPA500 Heat Expansion Pop
Every engineering new grad wants to be the Design Engineer, never knowing how complex and demanding Product Engineering can be. Nearly 50 email list posts leads to 1/16" change in screw length. I'd be amazed and stunned, except I've seen it so many times. Count up all the parts in your radio, multiply by all the possible dimensions that could matter, and then multiply by all the possible values for those dimensions [or reverse the order, multiplication is commutative], and only those who truly understand the magnitude of the National debt can understand a number that large. And no, I am not a Product Engineer, nor do I play one on TV. I just have a huge respect for them. When was the last Nobel awarded to one? I am amazed that the "Early Elecraft" decided to offer kits, and has succeeded so well, given all those like me who, given a technological challenge, cannot fail to screw it up, or so it seems. Fred K6DGW Auburn CA KX1, K2, K3,KPA100, P3, and misc other stuff On 12/10/2011 4:06 AM, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote: > The Z bracket should be secure and tight against the side of the heat sink. > My KPA500 has 5/16" screws and they tighten the Z-bracket so it does not > move. More recently there have been comments that the 5/16" screws are too > long, and the length of those screws has now been reduced to 1/4" to ensure > they don't "bottom out" against the threaded hole in the heat sink before > they are tight. > __ 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] KPA 500: Does yours need time to warm up?
Hmmm ... mine is set on peak-hold 500W, and on the first dit on a new band, it usually lights the first yellow LED. After that, it just goes to 500. Fred K6DGW TDY Sparks NV On 11/6/2011 2:20 PM, tomb18 wrote: > I noticed that my KPA500 does not always give the full power that it is set > for. For example, if I turn it on,put it in operate and then transmit my > call sign (in a pile up), the first few transmits are lower in power (around > 50-100 watts) and it takes 7 or 8 of these before the power gets to 500W. > If I then continue for a while searching for another station, the same thing > can occur. > > __ 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 ?'s
On 10/15/2011 7:01 PM, George Winship, NC5G wrote: > Finally got all the options done on my new KX1 and am enjoying this amazing > little radio. But I have a question or two. > > 1. On 20 meters only I am hearing a lot of birdies as I tune through the > band. Is this normal or what should I look for? For a KX1 a few hundred miles from civilization, no. Today, close to civilization, practically everything radiates something. You may be hearing Ethernet trash from your or your neighbor's. Local oscillators in wi-fi routers, monitors, you name it, and a lot of it seems to concentrate in the 10 - 20 MHz range. Short the BNC connecter securely with as little wire as you can and see if you still hear the signals. I host the neighborhood wireless RAP at the top of my tower in return for free internet. I hear some birdies from it, I know where they are, and I've learned to ignore them. > > 2. OH NO, not another antenna ? HI! I am wanting to put up a wire ant. of > some kind to hopefully cover all four bands. This ant is so that I can be > "Lazy Boy" mobile in the house. It is about 18ft to the nearest window from > the chair. I am thinking that it will have to be coax fed or at least coax > to the window and then a balun and balanced line or balun and wire from > there. I will need to be able to roll the feed line up and out of sight when > not using the radio to satisfy the HOA(xyl). Any ideas? If it is conductive and you feed RF energy into it, it will radiate. See James C. Maxwell [1831 - 1879] . Tom, N6BT [of Force12 Fame] pointed this out by working WAC on a light bulb. He says, "Everything Works." That it works is not the question, how efficiently it works, is. Antennas are magic however, lots of what is happening with and around them is pretty much invisible, so fool around. Hopefully you have the KX1 autotuner, it will match a wide range of impedances, if no one hears you, you can always try a light bulb. :-) Antennas are becoming one of the last places hams with normal electronic means can experiment and build. > 3. Just to be sure, it is not necessary to remove batteries when using a PS. > Is that correct? Yes, correct. The KX1 will take power from the source with the highest voltage. 73, Fred K6DGW Finally saw the KX3 at Pacificon today, the little paddle on the front is really cool! Didn't get much chance to do much else with it, big crowd. __ 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] 160m loop experiment a big failure
On 10/15/2011 4:14 PM, gold...@charter.net wrote: > So I dont know if the problem is that everything is in the middle of the > loop, or running ladder line into the shack is a bad thing, maybe the > tuner internal balun is not the correct one. The answers are Yes, Yes, and possibly but it probably doesn't matter given the first two. I gave up on balanced line anywhere near the house many years ago, nothing seems to tame it. Shack in the middle of the loop pretty much makes everything in your shack coupled to the antenna. What the E-field doesn't get, the H-field will. Just basically a difficult situation to engineer. > One thing I have researched this morning is that I need a current balun > and I should have it external to the shack and run coax between it and > the shack. Also I should have the shield grounded like I do with the > dipole to direct ground. I doubt it will make a huge difference, and you need a huge difference in this config, but it's antennas, they're magic and ferrites over your coax are cheep ... worth a try. Getting the balanced line out of the house should make a big difference. Everything that is part of your rig or connected to it should be grounded to a single point, also tied to the safety ground [green wire, often the bare wire in the utility sockets] of your mains. Be careful about multiple connections to "earth," there are serious safety considerations here. > So I thought I would share my current failure while I ponder my next > move or give up on the loop. Ok I wont give up, YET! I'd try it with the coax balun outside, maybe run as close to the ground as possible [under it would be best, on it a second choice, but not elevated where it can become an unwanted receiving antenna for your own signal, unless of course you are seeking to talk to yourself. :-) You can also try winding your coax a few times through a ferrite core or two right before it enters the house. Jim, K9YC, is an expert here: audiosystemsgroup.com/publish.htm Good Luck, Fred K6DGW Auburn CA __ 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] RTTY on the k3
I run my K3 at 100W on RTTY, KPA500 at 500W [except on 30m -- 200W]. You can monitor the PA Temp in VFO B, it's an option from the DISPLAY button. My K3 never goes above about 57C. I've seen the KPA500 get to about 68C, and then I guess the fan turns up to high, can't hear it with the cans on, and it comes right back down. 73, Fred K6DGW On 10/9/2011 3:38 AM, W0MU Mike Fatchett wrote: > 100 watts > > Mike W0MU > > J6/W0MU November 21 - December 1 2011 CQ WW DX CW > W0MU-1 CC Cluster w0mu.net > > > On 10/8/2011 7:58 PM, ANTHONY JAPHA wrote: >> I don't see a mention of the safe RTTY power output in the manual. Seems it >> should be in the specs, if nowhere else. What is it, pse? >> Tnx and 73, >> Tony, N2UN >> __ >> 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 > > > > > - > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 10.0.1410 / Virus Database: 1520/3943 - Release Date: 10/07/11 > > __ 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] NU6T FD Expedition to Leviathan Peak [W6/SN-039]
OK, practically everything went as planned. Being several years older since the last time I made this trek, it seemed as if: 1. The gate where we had to park, while it looked like the same place, was quite a bit farther from the summit than I remember. 2. That far and that much "up" gets harder as you accumulate more birthdays. We decided to spend Fri nite at Topaz Lake NV, to be very close to the summit on Sat AM and have a night to acclimate at 5,000 ft ... I live at 1,700 ft, Rich lives at a couple of hundred feet. Rich and I made two trips with his big-wheel cart carrying more gear and general stuff than we needed, and on the second, a woman who had passed us on the way up, came down from the summit and pulled our cart the last 50 meters. It turned out she was a personal trainer and fitness instructor, and significantly younger. Viewing this as a gift from the FD gods, we began to set up. Rich's K1 with an older Buddipole in a dipole configuration on 20, my K2 and Buddipole in a vertical groundplane config on 17 and we were on-the-air. My phone got confused with too many sites, so I couldn't spot us on SOTAWatch and QRPSpots, and Rich's hadn't worked since about when we left Gardnerville NV, but I called CQ and Rich N4EX answered me and gave us a spot. He spotted us, but unfortunately, it was now close to 1800Z and I made only 3 more Q's with summit chasers before the FD bedlam opened up. We stuck it out on CW on 15 and 20, and ended up with a total of 56 Q's, actually, Rich made one on SSB. My Chinese "9.8 Ah" Li-Ion battery pooped out after about 3 hrs, my Maha charger stuffed 2.7 Ah back into it at home, I don't recommend buying a battery that you have to take to the local Scheuan resturant to get the label translated :-( Great steak dinner back at Topaz, and a good night's sleep before the 4.5 hr trip home. Really great time. Rich is a Biologist for CalTrans and knows just a whole lot about the flora and fauna of the Western Frontier, and I had lots of time to explore that with him. First time I've ever seen a K1, and so first time I've ever operated with one ... that is a really cool little radio!! I really like my KX1 but sometimes it doesn't "feel" like a radio. K1 has a front panel, plenty of audio [I'm nearly deaf], and just a really nice feel. Fun time with radio, outdoors, a summit, and truly great weather. We both are going to reduce the "gear load" on the next one ... if you didn't need it and it wasn't essential for "Plan B," leave it home. 73, Fred K6DGW Auburn CA __ 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] No RTFM
Writing good manuals is hard ... very hard. Long ago, I saw a video and read a report of a "usability test" for a computer program running on an IBM XT [I said, "long ago."] There was the XT and a case with a few 5 1/4" floppies [I already said, "long ago"] on the desk in a small room. The subject was to use the instruction manual to load the program from the disk and begin using it. 1st instruction: "Locate the program diskette in the case on the desk." Subject checks the floppies, looks at the instruction again and decides on one. 2nd instruction: "Remove the diskette from the case." Subject lifts the floppy from the case ... leaving the paper envelope in the case. 3rd instruction: "Remove the diskette from the protective sleeve." Subject reads the instruction again, looks at the floppy, reads the instruction a third time, pulls a Swiss Army knife from his pocket, opens the scissors, and cuts the disk out of its cover. Writing good manuals is very very hard. While Elecraft manuals cannot realistically be all things to all people in all situations, they do a very good job. Next time you see an Elecraft Tech Writer, thank him/her. If you haven't had your 30th birthday, "floppy," "5 1/4," "paper envelope," and "protective sleeve" may not mean anything to you. Fred K6DGW On 6/25/2011 2:34 PM, Dave KK7SS wrote: > So in the Glossary I inserted the following: > "Martini - if you read this, I will buy you one" > > I never had to buy anyone a Martini. __ 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] Boots for the XG3...off reflector...
On 6/25/2011 7:56 PM, Bruce Beford wrote: > Whew. now that I have that off my chest, does anyone want to discuss the > illegality of using "/B" as a beacon identifier? > And /R for repeaters. All the R's belong to Russia. Fred K6DGW TDY Topaz Lake NV __ 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 - Elecraft Expedition to Leviathan Peak
Not sure the "OT" is needed since there will be a K1 and K2 in use, but just to stay honest ... Rich, NU6T, and I will be on Leviathan Peak tomorrow, Sat 25 Jul, hopefully starting around 1630Z. Barring insurmountable problems [we know we didn't forget the radios, antennas, and batteries :-)], we'll hang out as long as we can. Expedition end will be dictated by either falling temperature or darkness [we want to be back down to US-395 before the long dark spell starts]. We will both sign NU6T. Rich will be on his K1 [~14.061 and ~7.045 if we are able to hang out until 40 opens. I will be on my K2 [~10.110, ~18.090, ~21.061, ~24.910 if 15 and 12 open] I'll likely start out on 17m. We do have Rich's -706 and he may try out SSB. Rich is working on his CW, please be kind :-) I believe I'll be able to post spots to QRPSpots and SOTAWatch from my phone, assuming I can read my notes in my station journal and figure out how to work my phone. LP is SOTA W6/SN-039. We're hoping to get to most of the summit hunters prior to 1800Z ... when FD starts. Thereafter we'll do our best to hold a frequency with 5W, but in that bedlam, it may be mainly S&P. We'll submit a 2B Battery FD entry. If the SOTA folks are plentiful, I'll stay on WARC bands to work them out and Rich will dive into FD. Leviathan Peak [~9,500 ft] is on the extreme eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada a few miles into California in Alpine County and we'll QSL anyone needing that county. Last I heard, there were no active hams in Alpine County. We will load our logs [separately] to the SOTA database, and combined to LoTW. SFI=96, A=13 [ouch], K=3 at 0240Z 25 Jun. We're hoping for good condx. 73, Skip, K6DGW Topaz Lake, NV __ 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] No RTFM
Jack, For what it's worth to you, the K3 [out of the box or after calibration if built] will run great with the default settings and you can start making Q's as soon as you scanned the manual and understand the important front panel controls. Essentially everything in the menus is configuration and Elecraft will have wisely sent you a functional radio. 73, Fred K6DGW On 6/24/2011 8:59 PM, Jack Chomley wrote: > As far as me getting a K3? My best prior investment may be to buy the KE7X > book and read it thoroughly. IF I can understand it's contents, there maybe a > chance I could drive the K3? __ 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] No RTFM
It's the reason someone put up lmgtfy.com Fred K6DGW On 6/24/2011 10:40 PM, Tony Estep wrote: > On Fri, Jun 24, 2011 at 4:04 PM, Guy Olinger K2AVwrote: > >> ...You'll find that the readers are still the readers and >> the don't readers are still the don't readers... >> >> > On this topic, thus spake Dr. Johnson: "...even supposing knowledge to be > easily attainable, more people would be content to be ignorant than would > take even a little trouble to acquire it." > > Tony KT0NY > __ > 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 > > > > > - > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 10.0.1388 / Virus Database: 1513/3723 - Release Date: 06/24/11 > > __ 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] Fwd: D 104
An aerodynamics engineer will tell you a bumblebee cannot fly. Plug it in, front or rear, set the MIC SEL menu appropriately and see how it works. I have a very old "Dispatcher" "variable reluctance" mic. I have no idea if it is Hi-Z or Lo-Z, and I don't know it's freq response. It worked fine when I tried it on the K3. Fred K6DGW On 6/4/2011 10:48 PM, Hank Garretson wrote: > I've made tens of thousands of SSB contacts using a fifty-year-old D-104 > directly into the K3 with no resistors, no amplifiers, no transformers, no > nothing. Audio quality reports were always outstanding. > > Don't let the naysayers discourage you. Try it. It will work just fine. __ 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] Operating portable
Hmmm ... "better than the K2 but not as good as the K3" seems to me to be a vry tiny design target :-) If you like QRP and field operating, try Summits On The Air [SOTA]. www.sota.org.uk 73 Fred K6DGW On 6/4/2011 8:41 PM, Joseph Trombino, Jr wrote: > I can't wait for the KX3 to come out...with the RX in it supposedly being > better than the K2 but not as good as the K3 it sound like a sure winner for > portable ops. __ 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] The last of the through-hole kits
The USAF logistics folks call that a "Lifetime Buy." Hapens a lot since many airplanes have lifetimes of 30 years or more [50+ for B-52's]. My guess is the K2 will remain attractive to many people for a long time, maybe 30 years? Fred K6DGW On 6/3/2011 11:10 PM, Doug Person wrote: > (Some > years ago while chatting with Wayne and Eric, they said that they had > purchased a substantial quantity of the critical through-hole components > most likely to disappear from the market. __ 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] Shipping Rates
Actually, I believe the limit is 70 lbs. I think you have to use their Flat Rate boxes [they're free and they have several sizes and shapes with different postage costs], and I think part of the reason for the limit is the strength of the boxes. Their slogan is, "If it fits, it ships," which may not be exactly totally true :-) We use them to send care packages to the US troops we adopt and they work great. 73, Fred K6DGW Auburn CA On 6/3/2011 10:10 PM, Chuck Smallhouse wrote: > Just a little plug for USPS. Their Priority Flat Rate service is > very good and is by far the best rate if, your shipment will qualify. > > As an example, just this week I shipped a package in their medium > sized container(box about 12"x10"x 6") to a S.E. US address that > ended up being quite heavy. Weight in this service is unlimited. __ 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] Ligntning protection
Lightning is about as predictable as your average teenager. It is very [very!] common for cloud-to-ground strikes to start with a ground-to-cloud "leader." You can't see it and it happens fairly fast [but nowhere near as fast as the main strike]. It builds an ionization path when the main strike then follows from the cloud to the ground ... at least part-way. So, one could surmise that a ground rod connected to your mast would offer a desirable path for the leader current and thus "attract" a strike. Whether or not this will happen depends on where the ground charge has accumulated [usually but not always under the guilty cloud], whether or not your ground rod actually *is* a desirable path, what else is around your mast, and a host of other unpredictable things. A rod stuck in the earth makes a very problematical connection to "ground." The fact that the apex of the mast is not connected to your antenna is not relevant for a strike, although it is relevant for precip static. If a few megavolts decides to land on your "grounded" mast, it will all become connected and a few microseconds later, be vaporized. 73, Fred K6DGW On 4/21/2011 7:27 PM, Steve Ellington wrote: > Question: > Does grounding your tower or metal mast increase the likelihood of it being > hit by lightning? > I have a 50' metal mast holding up the center of a dipole. No antenna > contacts the mast and the ant. is supported by rope. Should I drive in a > ground rod just for the mast? If I do, would lightning be attracted to it > then? It just seems like I'm inviting a hit by grounding it. __ 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] The Good Kind of IMD for CW buffs
KOK. I worked there while a high school senior in 56-57. KFS was in the SF Bay area south of the SFO airport. Fred K6DGW On 4/19/2011 11:40 PM, Robert Friess wrote: > As a kid, I often visited a station in S. California, in Hawthorne, I think. > Long time ago. I don't remember the call sign. Maybe KFS. > __ 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] New Elecraft product: XG3 All-Band RF Signal Source
On 4/13/2011 10:54 PM, pcbyrne wrote: > One nice mod for the XG3 would be the capability to input a > precision 10 megacycle reference in place of the internal oscillator. I think this is a first for the list. XG3 announced and in less than 24 hours [actually I think less than 12], a mod suggestion. :-D If I didn't already have a service monitor, I'd have the stock XG3 on order. 73, Fred K6DGW Auburn CA __ 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] Is DVR audio really getting equalized and compressed?
Like some other threads, I'm baffled by this one. I installed the KDVR3. I recorded some stuff from my Heil headset/boom mic I got from Elecraft [iC element I think, plugged into the back jack] without messing around with any of my audio settings. I played them back in TX TEST mode, and they sounded like I sound to myself in the monitor audio, including audio levels. I played them for a nearby buddy and talked to him. He couldn't tell the difference. In the WPX SSB last weekend, I got 3 unsolicited "Great audio" reports, one from 9K. I have my TX EQ set as Jim, K9YC, has posted here several times, strong low cut and moderate high boost. I'm nearly deaf, so I have my RX EQ for SSB set to try to approximate the shape of my digital hearing aids. It doesn't have near the gain they do, but it does help. I have recorded off-the air [same buddy], and played it back to him on the air, both with my normal TX EQ and with it flat. He can definitely tell the difference. As I said, I'm baffled by this thread. My KDVR3 was literally "plug and play." I first used it in the ARRL SS for the static part of my exchange and CQ. Several people said [unsolicited], "nice to hear recorded audio that sounds like you do." If there's a separate gain control for it in the latest firmware, that's OK, I'll just ignore it. 73, Fred K6DGW Auburn CA On 3/30/2011 10:59 PM, N6JW wrote: > Hi Michael: > > Thanks for helping clarify some of the confusion. Unfortunately, you > have perhaps (inadvertently) added some of your own. __ 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] [K2] Static Protection Method
I use a 50K 1/2W in a male BNC with a BNC T-adapter on the radio ... resistor plugs into one arm, antenna into the other. I have the KPA100 and KAT100, but since I got the K3, I've kept the QRP top on my K2 and use it for field contests, summit activations, and the like. One note: I find some way to "earth" the ground screw on the K2 ... sometimes not all that easy in field sites. With the chassis grounded, or at least partially so, precip static decreases and the KNB2 does a good job of taking it out. I think there is some reason why you don't want an RF choke inside the K2, but it escapes me at the moment. 73, Fred K6DGW Auburn CA On 3/30/2011 6:43 PM, Eugene Balinski wrote: > All, > > Now that I have the K2 opened for another issue, what > is the recommended static protection method ? 500k 1/4w > resistor from the center conductor of the PL-259 to ground > ? __ 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] Grounding
The list has sustained a fairly long thread regarding grounding, lightning, NEC, and a myriad of related and semi-related subjects. For those with interest as this thread goes off-list: Jim, K9YC, references Henry Ott in a couple of his web articles on grounding. Ott coined the phrase, "The hidden schematic behind the ground symbol." It turns out that the ground symbol [and ground in the real circuit/system] is a lot like infinity. We can't help but think of it as a defined place -- unfortunately, it isn't, and lots can happen on the way down that yellow brick road. So it is with grounding and radio. I highly recommend Jim's articles to anyone about to build Elecraft gear [or any other as well], or who is concerned about his/her station safety. They apply to any situation where a static charge could destroy or damage something [or kill you], from shuffling your feet on the carpet on a dry day to multi-gigavolt electrical displays in the sky, to how hum and noise find themselves into your transceiver, all because of that schematic behind the ground symbol. www.audiosystemsgroup.com scroll to the bottom and click on the Publications link. Usual Disclaimer: Jim's a friend, I know he is *very good* at this stuff, he offers it free, and I have no financial interest in his group. I just really don't want to hear about an electrocuted ham radio operator. 73, Fred K6DGW Auburn CA __ 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] Lightning in New Mexico
On 3/29/2011 5:12 AM, Phil Townsend wrote: > As a matter of fact during the lightning season I disconnect the antennas > from my gear when it looks like the Wx is gonna go south. A good idea, but the cables still enter your shack. Potentials that can create a "spark" a mile long won't be fazed by a gap a few feet long. :-) > If I understand correctly, I should also bond this ground rod #2 to the the > AC mains ground rod as well If there was no connection between your antenna system and equipment in your home, you wouldn't need to, but of course, there *is* a connection to your radio equipment inside so, "yes," you should bond the grounds together. > But if I do that then those antennas will be connected to the grounds in the > house via the AC mains ground rod? > This seems counterintuitive? I mean... now there will be the very real > possibility of lightning in the house wiring??? Power utilities work on HV lines while they're hot. They can do this so long as the worker(s) and all their equipment and apparatus are at the same potential. It's a difference in potential that causes current to flow, and it's the current that creates the safety hazard. The goal of the electrical codes is to assure that a fault in the electrical system, or something outside like lightning, cannot force a difference in potential between the grounds. We can't keep lightning from "going" where it wants to, but we can take steps to assure that everything conductive ends up at close to the same potential. None of this discussion really applies to a direct lightning strike. A direct strike to your antenna will likely vaporize it, your coax, any wire you use to bond grounds together, and probably set fire to anything flammable in the vicinity. The lightning problems we can deal with are currents induced in conductors from the impulse of near-by strikes. 73, Fred K6DGW Auburn CA __ 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] A comment about Receiving
On 3/29/2011 4:53 PM, Don Wilhelm wrote > > There was a time when pre-selectors were available for > receivers, but that was way back when dirt was young. Be careful Don, you're talking about my childhood and I *can* remember when dirt was young :-) Fred K6DGW Auburn CA __ 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] Lightning season is on the way in New Mexico.
Grounding and lightning protection is not a simple subject Phil. Here's what I would recommend: If your home is wired to NEC standards, the neutral [center-tap on the pole pig] will be tied to the safety ground [green wire in your outlets] and earth at the service entrance ... only. This means that the "green wire" in each outlet snakes back to the service entrance before encountering a "real" ground. It thus makes a useless RF ground and lightning is RF [see below]. A. You *must* tie your ground rod back to the ground at the entrance panel. NEC requires it and if it isn't so tied, it can create a real safety hazard if you should encounter a ground fault. Make it as short as possible, buried is best, but if short means run under the house, that's OK. Use #14 copper or larger. B. AC is excluded from the inside of a conductor by the magnetic field it creates, and flows near the surface [skin] effect]. The higher the frequency, the closer to the surface it is. The conductors on one of the original 230 KV lines from Hoover Dam to Los Angeles are hollow for that reason. C. Lightning currents are mainly RF, and flow only on the very surface of the conductor and you want a lot of surface area, volume contributes almost nothing. So, wide copper strap is good. Large gauge stranded copper wire is less effective but better than solid wire. For the fire lookouts on peaks here in the Sierra Nevada, they use 3/8" - 1/2" stranded wire running around the roof, catwalks, and tower legs, bonded to everything including an extensive ground system. D. Surviving a direct hit to your tower or antenna is problematical at best. Even if you disconnect and ground your antenna [and rotator] cables, the induced currents will create high peak potentials to your equipment [and everything else in the house]. You can't stop that from happening, and your radio chassis can momentarily rise to very high potentials.The grounding goal for your equipment is to "keep it all together." The radio chassis can experience a peak pulse, but if everything else also gets that same pulse, the differential potential between them is very low, and little current will flow. The way you do this is to bring your ground strap into the shack, and using the shortest wiring you can, ground *each* piece of equipment *separately* to the same point on the strap. E. A grounded entrance panel for your coax and rotator cables is very good, use Polyphasers or similar to bring the cables through. They won't survive a direct hit, but in that case, that's the least of your worries, your house may be on fire by then. :-( They will clamp off induced pulses however and limit potential excursions on your equipment. F. Unless your home is on stilts over salt water [unlikely in NM :-) ] I'd guess that your ground rod is probably pretty high impedance for any currents generated by lightning. At the TV station I worked at in college [500' tower on a 1,300' ridge], the ground system ran all around the building with a bunch of ground rods, and included things like the tower, the fridge, plumbing, the 3 1/8" hard-line exterior, even the gate on the road, and the steel trench covers inside, They still made a deafening "clang" when we took a nearby strike. Hams do install systems like that around their houses, it's expensive and it's really a trade off with risk. G. If you have an Elecraft rig, you're covered. If you don't, make sure there's a bleed [RF choke or high value resistor] across the antenna connector. Precip static can sound innocuous if annoying, but without the bleed, it can store charge in the input circuit and ultimately cream it. We killed 2 IC-756PRO II's in 2009 from this in a snowstorm during the Cal QSO Party in Alpine County. If you have any specific questions, I'd recommend first contacting Jim, K9YC [who is really near Santa Cruz CA]. He has a wealth of information and tutorials on his web site. The grandson of Art, my Elmer of 57 years ago, W6RMK, now holds his grandad's call and has made his living as a lightning expert. If some question comes up, I'll be glad to take it to him. This pretty much exhausts my knowledge. 73, Fred K6DGW Auburn CA On 3/28/2011 9:35 PM, Phil Townsend wrote: > Lightning question: > > I have driven an 8 foot copper clad rod just out side my operating station. > Its about 6 feet from the rod to my desk. > I have attached a solid copper wire (1/4" thick) to the ground post (with a > ground rod clamp) The wire goes thru the wall and is bonded to a copper pipe > that is 1-1/8" wide that is just under the desk. > > So on to my question: > What is the BEST way to connect my equipment (k3, SB-200 and a remote coax > switch) to the copper pipe? > > Coax braid from RG8 or solid copper wire? and why > > > Thank You guys... > > Phil > Santa Fe > > soon to be a xx5SSR... > __ > Ele
Re: [Elecraft] beat freq method
There's a reason why mathematicians speak with equations rather than words. ;-) Scott is entirely correct, the sidetone signal and the audio signal add linearly in the K3 audio amplifier stage(s) and what you hear is their algebraic sum. If my choice of words implied that the effect was non-linear mixing, it was unintentional. Being an OF from the days of receivers, transmitters with VFO's, and modulators, often on separate chassis', getting on someone's frequency entailed turning your VFO [only] on, and adjusting it until its signal, as heard in your receiver, added algebraically with the AM carrier or CW tone until the exact effect in REF CAL took place ... as the VFO approached the audio tone of the signal, they began to fall in and out of phase with each other slower and slower, and you heard the "beat" [or slow pulsing in amplitude] between them. When that "beat" stopped [or got very slow], your VFO was "Zero Beat" and you would transmit on the same frequency as the other station ... if you transmitted fairly quickly ... VFO's in those days tended to drift around some unless they were built by Art Collins. And, thus the origin of the term "Zero Beat." Let's assume your VFO signal was 250 cycles higher than the frequency of the other station. You would then hear it, the other station, and a 250 cycle component from the algebraic sum of the two, just as you would hear a 1 cps "beat" as you got the VFO within 1 cycle. I suppose a musician with a very good sense of pitch might be able to identify the three frequencies involved [other station's note, VFO note, and 250 cps sum], but I can't. What I can tell is that there is a component in there and which way to move the VFO to achieve zero beat, and nearly everyone else can do that as well. That's all that's required for the Method 2 REF CAL. If you are deaf, just hang an analog AC multimeter across the headphone leads and you can watch the "beat" on it. Method 2 is an example of a very simple, test equipment-free mechanism that can achieve a really amazing frequency accuracy for your K3. I used the terms "cycle" and "cps" in this because Hz hadn't been invented in the ancient era I was drawing my example from, and the term "zero beat" that originated from it can be both a verb phrase or a noun phrase. I hope this clears up any misunderstandings I might have left about REF CAL Method 2. 73, Fred K6DGW Auburn CA On 3/28/2011 7:41 PM, Scott Ellington wrote: > This brings up an interesting point, though it doesn't affect the method at > all. The "beat" Fred refers to results from adding of the sidetone to the > signal tone: When they happen to be in phase, the volume goes up 6 dB, when > they are exactly out of phase they cancel, so you hear the volume go up and > down. It is a completely linear process. > __ 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] beat freq method
A couple of hints: 1. You must be in CW mode with three digits showing to the right of the decimal point in the freq display. It helps a lot to narrow the WIDTH to 200 Hz or even less. You won't hear [or at least be able to understand] the voice announcements, and the second "ticks" will sound strange. Set VFO A to the exact WWV frequency [e.g. 15.000.000] in the display. I suggest you start this whole procedure during one of the minutes when WWV does *not* have the tone on, assuring you are listening to the CW beat note from the carrier. If you are close and your BW is less than 200 Hz, you may not hear the tone when it comes back on. 2. You "turn on the sidetone" by doing a HOLD on the MON knob ["CMP PWR"] You'll hear the sidetone at whatever you have the PITCH set to. 3. The knob now adjusts the level of the sidetone in your phones. For this to work, that level needs to be approximately equal to the level of WWV in your phones. You can equalize them with either the MON knob or the AF gain, or both. 4. When you're in CONFIG:REF CAL, as you tune VFO A, the pitch of WWV will vary, the sidetone will remain constant. Your goal is to get WWV exactly the same pitch as your continuous sidetone. If it is a bit off, you may actually hear the very low beat note. If it is close, you'll hear the combined audio signals fading up and down rather than a "beat note." That fading *is* the beat note but it's too low a frequency to hear it as a tone. 5. As you close in on a match between WWV and your sidetone, the in and out fading will slow down, almost stop, and then begin to speed up again as you move past zero beat. It takes a bit as you are right at the zero beat point to find the absolute slowest in and out fading. 6. Although you can't tell when your K3 is in FINE tuning rate, the frequency is moving step-wise when you tune. You'll find as you approach zero beat, the in and out fading will slow, and then speed up a tiny bit, most likely never really stopping. That's because one DDS tuning step was just a tad below exact, and the next DDS step was just a tad above exact. Pick the step with the slowest rate. If you actually get the in and out fading to stop, you should buy a Power Ball ticket immediately :-) 7. The fading you hear is actually the individual cycles of the "beat note." When you're very close, you can count the number of peaks in some period, say 30 sec, and divide that count by the length of the period you used [in seconds]. The quotient is the beat note frequency. Mine is about 0.1 Hz which translates to 0.1 Hz frequency error when receiving. 8. Use the highest frequency WWV you can hear. Even without the KBPF3, I could hear 2.5 [at night], 5 [most of the time], and 15 and 20 during the day. For the record, I've done this several times figuring the K3 will drift. So far, I cannot detect any drift and my REF CAL frequency hasn't changed since I first calibrated. Be sure your K3 FP temp has stabilized before starting [tap DISP and use VFO B to find "FP" followed by a temp]. OK, I lied, that's 8 hints and one hint-let. 73, Fred K6DGW Auburn CA On 3/28/2011 5:45 PM, Don Wilhelm wrote: > Tune in WWV - make certain you are tuned to the carrier - use CW mode > (you will not be able to understand the voice in CW mode), and adjust > the VFO so the carrier is quite near the audio pitch of your sidetone. > Now turn on the sidetone, and adjust the AF gain so the sidetone level __ 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] I did it again!
On 3/15/2011 5:47 AM, Vic K2VCO wrote: > Maybe I'm too old to be trusted with a K3 (hey, my wife won't let me ride a > motorcycle > anymore either). > Andrea won't let me climb my tower either ... like I actually could :-) I must be really missing some "features" in my K3, I'm not having any of these problems with transmitting on one frequency and listening on another. Other than some AGC settings and TX EQ settings I got from K9YC, I pretty much run it "out of the box." I haven't been arrested by the DX Cops -- yet -- I seem to be able to work the DX in split mode [occasionally, I call more than I work], and my KUSB "thingy" works just fine with N1MM, K3 Utility, and K3_EZ. I'm beginning to wonder if I'm missing something. Maybe I need the second receiver. 73, Fred K6DGW Auburn CA __ 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] 120V vs 240V
On 2/17/2011 12:45 AM, Lew Phelps K6LMP wrote: > I own a 1929 Hudson Town Sedan. Its OEM electrical system was 6 volt > positive ground. Later Hudsons were 12 volt negative ground. From my contact > with the old car restoration community, my sense is that in the early years > (up to about 1950) the industry was about evenly split between positive and > negative ground. They finally standardized on 12 volt negative, more or less > in the 60s. I had a 1953 Dodge truck in college at the end of the 50's. 6V, positive ground, fairly beat up, bad brakes. I ran a 40m ARC-5 off of a vibrator power supply with a Gonset "converter" feeding the AM radio with an outboard BFO for CW. The vehicles we had in SE Asia in the US military were mainly 12V by 1964. Our multi-fuel 5-ton trucks were 24V, I think to get the engines started. Stupid question: I was under the impression that the KPA500 was solid state, no-tune. A couple of references on this long "Voltage Thread" have caused me to wonder. Fact would be welcome. 73, Fred K6DGW Auburn CA PS S9DX is S9 on 14011 as I type, up 3 got him for me, they leave tomorrow I think __ 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] WRTC - Rig choices for the contest explained!
Many years ago as a teen ham [OK, way more years ago than "many," dirt was young then] I had an SX-28 receiver. For the newbies, radioblvd.com/SX28Notes I sold it when I was about to graduate from Cal Poly in 1962. Several years ago, I "inherited" a stock SX-28 with speaker from the estate of Woody, W6ANX. Nostalgia reigned for awhile, I used it on CW with my K2 as the TX on SKN and a few others. Then nostalgia faded, and I began to realize: 1. The RX, which sounded really good on AM left a lot to be desired in the stability, resetability, sensitivity, selectivity, noise reduction, AGC, and size departments, not to mention SSB reception capability. 2. It weighed in a close to 100 US lbs, I could no longer lift it by myself as I could at 16, and it's primary purpose in the shack seemed to have faded to holding down the operating desk against gravity outages. I finally donated it to the radio museum in Virginia City where it was restored and resides today. Scroll down the above URL a bit to S/N H-130170 for a peek. I had a little problem at first with the lack of weight of my K3 ... pushing the buttons caused it to slip a little on the rubber feet. I cut a piece of that non-slip stuff [sort of a lacework] and solved the problem. I do not want a heavy radio anymore, K3 is great for me. 73, Fred K6DGW Lu Romero wrote: > A 7800/7700 would have collapsed my operating table. I > really dont want to call my neighbor to help me lift it out > of the shipping crate. > __ 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: QRQ high-speed QSK
Tom W8JI wrote: > Who the heck is copying that and what are they copying??? > > The highest speed record for a long time, of copying > unexpected text, was only around 70-80 WPM. That record held > the whole time I was growing up, and it was from the 30's I > think. > > It is certainly impossible to copy 300 WPM without decoding. > > I have some nagging questions about these speed claims. > Ted McElroy @ something like 74+ WPM back in the early thirties I think, I could Google it I guess. The legend [urban or otherwise] is that the code began, he calmly sat down at the mill, lit a cigarette, took a couple of puffs, and then started pounding the keys. The legend further states that after the run finished, he was still pounding the keys for some time [3-15 minutes ... 74.34 percent of people make up their own statistics so who knows]. That he did make record copy at that speed is without question, without the embellishment. That the record hasn't been broken since suggests to me that it may be getting close to some physical limit. Ted went on to found a company manufacturing keys and bugs of some fame. I'm kind of with you Tom. I can make solid record copy at 25 WPM or so if I don't have a glass of wine with dinner just before sitting down at the rig. I can converse pretty well at 30-35 in my head, writing down only notes. I can contest at D4B/C speeds so long as he doesn't send me very much and I have a pretty good idea what it's going to be :-) Real conversation ... one which involves questions and meaningful answers ... at 100 WPM or above is something I'd like to see. I'm not from MO but show me. I watched the QSK keying waveform from my K3 [#642] on my Tek scope sending just a string of dots. It stays "good" based on what QST publishes in product reviews of "good" keying up to about 50 WPM. Above that, it began to look "squished" in time, and at 60 or so was pretty square, somewhat uneven in time, and was sounding fairly rough in the monitor rx. I think Elecraft says 45 WPM max which, since they seem to be a crafty bunch, would assure meeting their specification. 73, Fred K6DGW __ 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
