Re: [Elecraft] KX3 FD Operations?
John N0HJ and Steve N0MHQ joined me Saturday afternoon on the deck of our recently-purchased home in the mountains of Woodland Park, CO to make a few FD contacts with my KX3. First time I've had the chance to get on HF since last fall, thanks to all the activities associated with selling one house and then buying and moving into another. John brought his pneumatic launcher which did a wonderful job of putting a line over a tree near the deck and hoisting my half-size G5RV in an inverted V configuration. I ran the KX3 off a gel cel at about 10W and made mostly CW contacts but also a few on SSB, all on 20 m. Had a real pipeline to CA early, but then bagged a few east coast stations later in the day. I think the three of us (and my wife) spent as much time yakking as we did operating, but it was a great afternoon. The KX3 was a dream to operate, although all I did was spin the tuning knob and occasionally tweak the filter. 73, Dave NK0E On 6/30/2015 4:38 PM, elecraft-requ...@mailman.qth.net wrote: Wondering how many ops on this reflector had a KX3 station running this past weekend in Field Day? I had mine running five watts, along with a PX3, set up on our back patio. Ran a LiFePO4 battery and solar panel, along with a half-sized G5RV in inverted Vee mode, apex up 25 feet. Conditions weren't great here (25 miles east of Sacramento) but still had fun and the KX3 performed quite well. The bulk of my QSO's were made on 40 and 20 meters. A handful on 15 and four on 80 meters. I listened, but heard ZERO stations on 10 meters either day. Ughhh Jim Bennett / W6JHB (1E, SV) Folsom, 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 Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
[Elecraft] Bluetooth interface for the KX3
Hi all, I thought it might be a fun project to design and build a bluetooth-serial interface that I could use to control my KX3 using my Android tablet. If this sounds interesting to you, you can read about the project here: http://eksfiles.net/2014/03/bluetooth-for-the-kx3/ There's a PC board available for the project from FAR Circuits, and I designed the board so that it would fit nicely into an enclosure that has a 9V battery compartment. Of course, you could build it however you'd like. I designed the interface for the KX3, but it could easily be interfaced to any other device having a serial port. I've already built a second one to use with my computerized telescope. There really isn't much yet for apps available that'll drive the KX3 from Android, but that's my next project... 73, Dave NK0E __ 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] KX3 / K3 Antenna Sharing
I just ordered an Alpha Delta Delta-2B switch for the same purpose (except I'm not lucky enough to own a K3--I'm switching between my KX3 and my IC706MKIIG). This tech note indicates that these switches can be used to switch radios just like they can be used to switch antennas: http://www.alphadeltacom.com/pdf/DELTA-4B%20multi-connections-2.pdf 73, Dave NK0E On 12/31/2013 9:30 AM, James Bennett wrote: I've got a KX3 and a K3 - I want to share an antenna between the two radios. I do this now by manually detaching the coax from one and connecting it to the other. Are there any quality coax switches on the market that have adequate isolation between ports that I could use for this purpose? Tnx, Jim / W6JHB __ 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] For Sale Elecraft K1 4-band
The K1 has been sold. 73, Dave NK0E David Ek wrote: >Gang, > >I never thought I'd do this, but I'm selling my Elecraft K1 4-band QRP >rig #1066. I purchased and built this radio in 2002 and have used it >mostly portable for hundreds if not thousands of contacts. Includes >KAT1 >internal tuner, KBT1 internal battery pack, and the backlight display >option. Includes all manuals and the original enclosure top panel and >speaker (the KBT1 includes a different top panel and smaller speaker). >Also includes homebrew tilt stand (which you can easily remove and >pitch >if you don't like it). Excellent condition except for some minor >scratches on the bottom where it was propped up for portable operation >with whatever rocks I could find. Also, it is missing its serial number > >sticker--I misplaced it when I built the thing. Power output is 5W on >40-30-20 and 4W on 15. > >I'm selling this rig because I have a new KX3 on the way. :-) > >Asking $375, which includes shipping UPS ground. Paypal or MO. > >73, Dave NK0E __ 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] For Sale Elecraft K1 4-band
Gang, I never thought I'd do this, but I'm selling my Elecraft K1 4-band QRP rig #1066. I purchased and built this radio in 2002 and have used it mostly portable for hundreds if not thousands of contacts. Includes KAT1 internal tuner, KBT1 internal battery pack, and the backlight display option. Includes all manuals and the original enclosure top panel and speaker (the KBT1 includes a different top panel and smaller speaker). Also includes homebrew tilt stand (which you can easily remove and pitch if you don't like it). Excellent condition except for some minor scratches on the bottom where it was propped up for portable operation with whatever rocks I could find. Also, it is missing its serial number sticker--I misplaced it when I built the thing. Power output is 5W on 40-30-20 and 4W on 15. I'm selling this rig because I have a new KX3 on the way. :-) Asking $375, which includes shipping UPS ground. Paypal or MO. 73, Dave NK0E __ 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] K1 TX output low on 2 of 4 bands
Mike, I didn't have the K1 internal ATU switched out like I thought I did. All is well (except for my embarrassment...). 73, Dave NK0E On 7/5/2013 8:57 AM, Mike Morrow wrote: Dave/NK0E wrote: My K1 (#1066, built 11 years ago) is a four-bander with ATU and internal battery pack. What power supply were you using when you measured the output power that you report below? In May I built an Elecraft W1 wattmeter and used it to discover that my TX output (When "Out" in the menu is set to 7.0W) is only 1.2W on 15 meters. At that time, all other bands showed an output of 5W. However, last night, after an afternoon of using my K1 while fruitlessly trying to tune up a new antenna, I noticed that the output on 20 meters was also now down, measuring 1.5W. I strongly suspect that a component failed due to TX'ing into high SWR while trying to adjust the antenna I was working on. This is extremely unlikely. Any RF board component failure would affect all four bands, not just 20m and 15m. During use of a very poor antenna load, the most common result is shorting of the RF board D19 Zener that is across the RF-Q7 PA transistor, which is what D19 is designed to do to protect RF-Q7 (and usually destroy itself in the process). This definitely has NOT happened to your K1. Rest assured then that nothing was hurt on your K1 during your antenna tuning efforts. When some bands still function well, but others do not, it is a certainty that the problem is on the filter board. You have an older K1, and possibly an early KFL1-4 filter board. The 16 trimmer capacitors that are on the KFL1-4 were originally white-body capacitors that were very prone to spontaneously changing their effective value. A couple of years after the KFL1-4 was introduced, Elecraft changed all 16 trimmers to a much more stable design with a light blue body. Look at the four rows of trimmer capacitors on your KFL1-4, which are easily observed from the back of the K1 even without removing the KAT1. If they they do not have light blue plastic bodies, then you have the old troublesome original trimmers in place. You'll need to get the replacement trimmers and install them. Those are almost certainly the source of your problems. OTOH, if you have the newer blue-body trimmers, you will still want to re-align your KFL1-4 to restore full output. In fact, you'll want to do that if you have white trimmers, just to verify that output can be restored in the interim before change out. When I still had those old trimmers on mine, I needed to re-peak 15m and 20m on my KFL1-4 every few months due to the drop in output power I observed. So did a lot of other people. After such results, Elecraft supplied a set of 16 blue-body replacements. It was *not* a lot of fun removing 16 trimmers and replacing them, but it was worth it. I recently re-peaked my KFL1-4 after more than eight years since last performed, and found essentially no pre-peaking degradation. 73, Mike / KK5F __ 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] K1 TX output low on 2 of 4 bands
Never mind. It was operator error. Helps to read the instructions. Self-administering dope slap now... 73, Dave NK0E On 7/5/2013 7:55 AM, David Ek wrote: My K1 (#1066, built 11 years ago) is a four-bander with ATU and internal battery pack. In May I built an Elecraft W1 wattmeter and used it to discover that my TX output (When "Out" in the menu is set to 7.0W) is only 1.2W on 15 meters. At that time, all other bands showed an output of 5W. However, last night, after an afternoon of using my K1 while fruitlessly trying to tune up a new antenna, I noticed that the output on 20 meters was also now down, measuring 1.5W. I strongly suspect that a component failed due to TX'ing into high SWR while trying to adjust the antenna I was working on. 40 and 30 meters still seem to be okay. (My guess is that 15 is low for the same reason--I just didn't discover it in a timely fashion like I did with 20 meters). So, anybody have a suggestion for where to start with troubleshooting? Should I suspect the filter board? Any components in particular? Thanks in advance for any morsels of wisdom - Dave NK0E __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
[Elecraft] K1 TX output low on 2 of 4 bands
My K1 (#1066, built 11 years ago) is a four-bander with ATU and internal battery pack. In May I built an Elecraft W1 wattmeter and used it to discover that my TX output (When "Out" in the menu is set to 7.0W) is only 1.2W on 15 meters. At that time, all other bands showed an output of 5W. However, last night, after an afternoon of using my K1 while fruitlessly trying to tune up a new antenna, I noticed that the output on 20 meters was also now down, measuring 1.5W. I strongly suspect that a component failed due to TX'ing into high SWR while trying to adjust the antenna I was working on. 40 and 30 meters still seem to be okay. (My guess is that 15 is low for the same reason--I just didn't discover it in a timely fashion like I did with 20 meters). So, anybody have a suggestion for where to start with troubleshooting? Should I suspect the filter board? Any components in particular? Thanks in advance for any morsels of wisdom - Dave NK0E __ 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] KX1 High Power -SOLVED-
My query is answered. I found the answer buried on page 72 of the current KX1 manual. It states "Maximum power output from the final stage (Q6) is about 4 to 5 watts, depending on the supply voltage.Q7, in the receive band-pass filter, limits the signal voltage that can reach the receive mixer when the rig is in transmit mode." There is my 5W, it is OK, and I am good to go. This KX1 has a very sensitive receiver and a strong transmitter... I'm going to like it. 73, Ed - AD7GR K2/100 #6050 KX1 #2219 __ 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] KX1 high power
The KX1 I just bought and built, #2219, is hitting 5W on the external 12vdc PS. This setting returns 1.5W on 40M, when using the brand new AA internal batteries. If I set it to 4W with the 12vdc supply then, when I am on the internal battery pack I only have 1W on 40M and 500mW on 20M. I have yet to find a setting that delivers the 1.5-2W/3-4W stated in the manual. If I increase it to 2W on the internal pack then it's up to 6.5W when I switch to the external 12v battery. I am using my OHR WM-2 Wattmeter and OHM RF Load. Any helpful input is appreciated, Ed - AD7GR KX1 #2219 w/ATU __ 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] Remoting the T1: enclosures?
Well, here's what I came up with. I saw the NEMA boxes but they seemed like overkill in size, cost, and convenience, so I went to the kitchenware aisle at Target and found a nice tupperware-like container called Snapware. It's billed as airtight, leakproof, freezer, fridge, and microwave safe. It's clear plastic, about 5" x 7.5" x 2" with a nice snap-on lid. Just the right size to hold the T1 and its balun. So I drilled the container for connectors, mounted it on the top end of my PVC pipe, and I'm giving it a whirl. Its location outside is in perpetual shade, so UV shouldn't be a big issue. It's just a matter of how well it keeps out moisture. And, since the climate here in Colorado Springs is pretty dry, I'm thinking it'll do okay. 73 de Dave NK0E David Ek wrote: > Gang, > > I've been trying out an antenna arrangement at my QTH that uses a design based on the IK-STIC 2: > > http://hometown.aol.com/realhamradio2/W2IK-ANTENNA.html > > My particular version of the IK-STIC 2 eliminates the telescoping fibergass pole in favor of a simple wire supported at the peak of my roof. The whole works has been placed near the side of my house, somewhat concealed from the street and neighbors. > > The antenna is fed with almost 100 ft of coax and has an Elecraft T1 tuner and BL-1 balun at the feedpoint. I control the T1 using a switch in my shack that's connected to the T1's jack using almost 100 ft of RG-174. > > The whole arrangement seems to work FB for my purposes, and I'm working to make the whole installation durable enough to stand up to the elements. > > Have any of you remoted your T1? How have you enclosed it or otherwise protected it from the weather? I've been looking around for a suitable enclosure but nothing I've seen has really grabbed me thus far. > > 73 de Dave NK0E > > ___ > Elecraft mailing list > Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > You must be a subscriber to post to the list. > Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm > Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com > > ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
[Elecraft] Remoting the T1: enclosures?
Gang, I've been trying out an antenna arrangement at my QTH that uses a design based on the IK-STIC 2: http://hometown.aol.com/realhamradio2/W2IK-ANTENNA.html My particular version of the IK-STIC 2 eliminates the telescoping fibergass pole in favor of a simple wire supported at the peak of my roof. The whole works has been placed near the side of my house, somewhat concealed from the street and neighbors. The antenna is fed with almost 100 ft of coax and has an Elecraft T1 tuner and BL-1 balun at the feedpoint. I control the T1 using a switch in my shack that's connected to the T1's jack using almost 100 ft of RG-174. The whole arrangement seems to work FB for my purposes, and I'm working to make the whole installation durable enough to stand up to the elements. Have any of you remoted your T1? How have you enclosed it or otherwise protected it from the weather? I've been looking around for a suitable enclosure but nothing I've seen has really grabbed me thus far. 73 de Dave NK0E ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
