Re: [Elecraft] Random thoughts from a K3 Field Tester
Wow...after the last week's series of comments from some who have become far too aggravated as they wait for their K3 and questioning the integrity of Elecraft, this is a breath of fresh air. Thanks, Bob, for taking the time to share your thoughts and experience. For those that don't of W9KNI, Bob is one of the top DXers in the world and has published what for me is the finest book on getting started in DXing, "The Complete DXer" and a died-in-the-wool K2 advocate. I'm enjoying all of the excitement about the K3 even though I haven't (and can't) order one. It's not very often that all of can share in the field testing/revision/product launch of what may the most impactful product annoucement for in many years: exceptional performance at a price that many can afford (if they sell a few of their 'other' rigs!). So, while I don't read all of the K3 posts, I do read a lot of them just to stay tuned to the buzz. I am a NEW K2 user: just put #6110 on the air a few weeks ago and am still building some of the options. So, I sort through the digest version of the daily message, pick out the ones I want to read, and move on. No muss, no fuss (man...that's dating myself). So, from my perspective, keep the K3 buzz coming and let me enjoy, from a distance, the excitement of the K3 while I learn and use the K2. Maybe someday my K2 will have a big brother/sister... 73 de Clark ke4rq ___ 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
Re: [Elecraft] Random thoughts from a K3 Field Tester
Bob Thank you very much for your very interesting report. "Dragon killer" is most impressive. As you know "Dragon" makes us very sad so some JAs have tried to kill "Dragon" with top level radio. de aki, ja1nlx - Original Message - From: "Bob Locher" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2007 12:08 PM Subject: [Elecraft] Random thoughts from a K3 Field Tester I received my K3 several months ago; one of the very last in the group. I still am not sure why I was selected for field testing - I am an operator, not the sort of person who loves to "break" software and do the detective work to see where a bug is. It is interesting to see the Field Test work. Various bugs are found and dispatched, and operator options smoothed and streamlined. What really amazes me and says so much for the K3 design team is that thus far there have been only four hardware changes in the radio that Field Testers have had to make, all of them trivial. Anyhow, that said, I can happily report that the K3 has exceeded my expectations - and they were high. The receiver is incredibly quiet. The crystal filters are the best I have ever had - and over the years I have had some top line expensive radios, though none of the recent series such as the 7800. The K3 is an absolute joy to tune a band with. When I built my K2 I was so delighted with its performance that it became my station transceiver for the last 7 or 8 years. One of the things I really loved about the K2 was the superb performance while retaining a very simple interface. There were a number of "set and forget" menu entries in the firmware that allowed the operator to tailor the radio to his or her desires. Well, at first blush the K3 has more controls, and there really is a bit more to learn, but they are intuitive once one understands the philosophy of the radio - much the same as the K2, and in return offer a lot of additional power and flexibility. I regularly used the RIT and XIT in the K2 - well, let me tell you, the RIT and XIT of the K3 is a clear generation ahead. It was a useful capability in the K2 - is a powerful tool in the K3. The A/B VFO capabilities exceed that of the K2. An example - you are chasing a DX station who is operating in a lot of QRM, so you sharpen up the filters making copy a lot easier. But, the split pileup the DX operator is working is spread out all over the place, and looking for the station he is working is really tough with the narrow filter. With the K3, if you want, it is easy to set VFO "A" to a 200 hertz bandwidth (or whatever) and have VFO "B" set at say 800 hertz bandwidth so that you can easily look for the station the DX is working. One of the things I loved about the K2 was the AGC - in the passband you could easily tell who was strong and who was weak, while having perfect copy on both of them. But a lot of operators prefer a flatter. more processed signal so that all signals, weak and strong, sound alike. No problem - the menu lets you set the AGC gain so you can have it your way. The hardware noise blanker has not yet been distributed to most field testers except for two who have both reported great results with electric fence or power line problems. However, we all have the DSP noise blanker function available. I have had some personal experience with this. CW DX'er on 40 meters are sadly aware of the over the horizon radar popularly called :"The Dragon", apparently radiating from China. It comes on about one out of three mornings, and when it comes on it simply kills the band. Well, I tried the K3 DSP noise blanker, which allows the operator to set the level of intensity. I started cranking it in and lo and behold, the Dragon virtually disappeared. I could still tell it was there but it was no longer a factor in copying weak stations, and with no noticeable artifacts. I switched it out and the Dragon was right back there obliterating the band. Trouble is, other people on the band lacking the K3 Noise Blanker still get chased off the band. After it came on all the DX disappeared, except for two Japanese stations ragchewing, obviously with strong enough signals for each other to not have a problem. They were S4 here and perfect copy with the K3 DSP noise blanker. I switched it off and they got blasted away. Back on and they were easy copy. I am anticipating great things this winter from the noise blanker when North American stations are typically suffering from the Dragon while long path European and Middle East stations are not hearing it at all. The K3 definitely will require a bit of study to use the huge number of operator options in it - it is indeed a feature rich radio. But it can be used in a simplistic manner if desired, or the operator can exercise all the bells and whistles. Wayne has promised to write Qu
[Elecraft] Random thoughts from a K3 Field Tester
I received my K3 several months ago; one of the very last in the group. I still am not sure why I was selected for field testing - I am an operator, not the sort of person who loves to "break" software and do the detective work to see where a bug is. It is interesting to see the Field Test work. Various bugs are found and dispatched, and operator options smoothed and streamlined. What really amazes me and says so much for the K3 design team is that thus far there have been only four hardware changes in the radio that Field Testers have had to make, all of them trivial. Anyhow, that said, I can happily report that the K3 has exceeded my expectations - and they were high. The receiver is incredibly quiet. The crystal filters are the best I have ever had - and over the years I have had some top line expensive radios, though none of the recent series such as the 7800. The K3 is an absolute joy to tune a band with. When I built my K2 I was so delighted with its performance that it became my station transceiver for the last 7 or 8 years. One of the things I really loved about the K2 was the superb performance while retaining a very simple interface. There were a number of "set and forget" menu entries in the firmware that allowed the operator to tailor the radio to his or her desires. Well, at first blush the K3 has more controls, and there really is a bit more to learn, but they are intuitive once one understands the philosophy of the radio - much the same as the K2, and in return offer a lot of additional power and flexibility. I regularly used the RIT and XIT in the K2 - well, let me tell you, the RIT and XIT of the K3 is a clear generation ahead. It was a useful capability in the K2 - is a powerful tool in the K3. The A/B VFO capabilities exceed that of the K2. An example - you are chasing a DX station who is operating in a lot of QRM, so you sharpen up the filters making copy a lot easier. But, the split pileup the DX operator is working is spread out all over the place, and looking for the station he is working is really tough with the narrow filter. With the K3, if you want, it is easy to set VFO "A" to a 200 hertz bandwidth (or whatever) and have VFO "B" set at say 800 hertz bandwidth so that you can easily look for the station the DX is working. One of the things I loved about the K2 was the AGC - in the passband you could easily tell who was strong and who was weak, while having perfect copy on both of them. But a lot of operators prefer a flatter. more processed signal so that all signals, weak and strong, sound alike. No problem - the menu lets you set the AGC gain so you can have it your way. The hardware noise blanker has not yet been distributed to most field testers except for two who have both reported great results with electric fence or power line problems. However, we all have the DSP noise blanker function available. I have had some personal experience with this. CW DX'er on 40 meters are sadly aware of the over the horizon radar popularly called :"The Dragon", apparently radiating from China. It comes on about one out of three mornings, and when it comes on it simply kills the band. Well, I tried the K3 DSP noise blanker, which allows the operator to set the level of intensity. I started cranking it in and lo and behold, the Dragon virtually disappeared. I could still tell it was there but it was no longer a factor in copying weak stations, and with no noticeable artifacts. I switched it out and the Dragon was right back there obliterating the band. Trouble is, other people on the band lacking the K3 Noise Blanker still get chased off the band. After it came on all the DX disappeared, except for two Japanese stations ragchewing, obviously with strong enough signals for each other to not have a problem. They were S4 here and perfect copy with the K3 DSP noise blanker. I switched it off and they got blasted away. Back on and they were easy copy. I am anticipating great things this winter from the noise blanker when North American stations are typically suffering from the Dragon while long path European and Middle East stations are not hearing it at all. The K3 definitely will require a bit of study to use the huge number of operator options in it - it is indeed a feature rich radio. But it can be used in a simplistic manner if desired, or the operator can exercise all the bells and whistles. Wayne has promised to write Quick Start guides for each mode to get the operator up and running quickly, and has also promised an extensive tutorial to accompany the manual. I think these items will be a great help to all new owners, no matter what their level of experience. My comments here only scratch the surface of what is a marvelous operating tool. I know I am thoroughly delighted with mine. 73 Bob Locher W9KNI ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.q
