RE: [Elecraft] K3 Update: It keeps getting better...

2007-07-19 Thread Brett gazdzinski
Tell us more!

How is the audio quality out of the stock speaker
and the line outputs?

What kind of power output/duty cycle does the rig get.
(I thought someone reported 125 watts for hours with no problem!)

What filters do you have and how do they work, notice a big
difference between different filters?

How well does the sync AM detector work? 


Brett
N2DTS


 -Original Message-
 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
 [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rick Tavan N6XI
 Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2007 2:43 AM
 To: Elecraft Reflector
 Subject: [Elecraft] K3 Update: It keeps getting better...
 
 Folks keep asking me how the field test is going. I think it's going
 very well. Almost all the changes Elecraft has published have been
 software. The hardware I have seen is very stable. There were a few
 missing pull-up resistors and a ground jumper which we added easily in
 the field. The front panel labels are being revised. But the hardware
 behind this software-defined radio is proving itself remarkably close
 to final detail and quality. So I have been telling those who ask that
 the K3 field test is really SMOP, what we call in the software
 industry a simple matter of programming. That big job is proceeding
 well, with new features, fixes and tuneups coming through every few
 days. They are a snap to download and with each download the K3 keeps
 getting better and better.
 
 One of the more recent features added to the K3 software was VOX. It
 was worth the wait! This is one of the smoothest I've used and the
 anti-VOX is perfect. I've yet to have speaker audio trip it. It's easy
 to adjust gain to match various microphones so that relaxed, quiet
 speech triggers the VOX instantly but normal breathing and ambient
 noise very rarely cause false triggers. Pickup is very fast - no need
 to prefix a transmission with Uhh... to avoid losing a syllable.
 There are no switching transients, either, so I can set the delay very
 short. Superb!
 
 73,
 
 /Rick N6XI
 ___
 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


Re: [Elecraft] K3 Update: It keeps getting better...

2007-07-19 Thread Rick Tavan N6XI

On 7/19/07, Brett gazdzinski [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

Tell us more!

How is the audio quality out of the stock speaker


It's very good for such a small speaker. You can easily discern those
OTA signals with good transmitted audio from those with poor audio.
The AF equalizer lets you adjust the tonal quality. The hiss level is
extremely low, much lower than my FT-1000MP.


and the line outputs?


I haven't used them much for listening. I did check one pair of
headphones and found the output level too low for that set. Line Out
isn't intended for unamplified listening but rather for stuff like
sound card input. For that, it works very well. It gives me audio
levels that make for very easy, clean copy of RTTY and PSK. That's the
purpose.



What kind of power output/duty cycle does the rig get.
(I thought someone reported 125 watts for hours with no problem!)


Dunno. I have only the QRP version so far. The 100W amp has two big
fans with temperature controlled cycling. They want the K3 to be the
best digital mode rig on the market, so RTTY with its continuous duty
cycle is a design point. It will be fun to see how warm it gets in
that application!



What filters do you have and how do they work, notice a big
difference between different filters?


I have the 400 Hz and 2.8 Hz 8-pole filters. They're the same
excellent filters we get from INRAD for after-market upgrade of other
radios. I like to listen to CW at 500-600 Hz. When I do that, the 2.8
KHz roofing filter cuts in (it has to) and I can hear more around my
freq. I have a 1.0 KHz roofer on order with the second receiver and it
may end up in the main receiver. My desire for optimal roofing filters
is for contesting in crowded neighborhoods. For general operating, the
wider filter and DSP are very adequate. This is subjective stuff -
YMMV.



How well does the sync AM detector work?


I don't think it's available to testers yet.




Brett
N2DTS


 -Original Message-
 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rick Tavan N6XI
 Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2007 2:43 AM
 To: Elecraft Reflector
 Subject: [Elecraft] K3 Update: It keeps getting better...

 Folks keep asking me how the field test is going. I think it's going
 very well. Almost all the changes Elecraft has published have been
 software. The hardware I have seen is very stable. There were a few
 missing pull-up resistors and a ground jumper which we added easily in
 the field. The front panel labels are being revised. But the hardware
 behind this software-defined radio is proving itself remarkably close
 to final detail and quality. So I have been telling those who ask that
 the K3 field test is really SMOP, what we call in the software
 industry a simple matter of programming. That big job is proceeding
 well, with new features, fixes and tuneups coming through every few
 days. They are a snap to download and with each download the K3 keeps
 getting better and better.

 One of the more recent features added to the K3 software was VOX. It
 was worth the wait! This is one of the smoothest I've used and the
 anti-VOX is perfect. I've yet to have speaker audio trip it. It's easy
 to adjust gain to match various microphones so that relaxed, quiet
 speech triggers the VOX instantly but normal breathing and ambient
 noise very rarely cause false triggers. Pickup is very fast - no need
 to prefix a transmission with Uhh... to avoid losing a syllable.
 There are no switching transients, either, so I can set the delay very
 short. Superb!

 73,

 /Rick N6XI
 ___
 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






--
In days of old, when ops were bold, and sidebands not invented,
The word would pass, by pounding brass, and all were well contented.
___
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] K3 Update: It keeps getting better...

2007-07-19 Thread Rick Tavan N6XI

On 7/19/07, Joseph Trombino Jr [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:



Glad to see that you have been having fun with your K3 beta unit.

A good portion of the folks on the Elecraft list are CW OPS and along with
them I would be interested in knowing about the QSK/Sidetone on the K3.


I operate 90% CW. The sidetone sounds great - like a pure sinusoid. So
does the QSK. It has some low level clicks but is very pleasant to
listen to. This is at 15W - I don't have the 100W amp yet. Wayne says
it may get better in the future when they have time to tune the
software a little more.  I ran a QSK test with N6TV and he was able to
break a chain of dits at around 30 WPM with as little as one dit on
his end. This isn't easy since his dit would, on average, overlap one
of mine by 50%. A dah was easy to detect at 30+. Real sending should
be detectable at higher speeds than I usually operate (40+). This is
first-class QSK and you can turn it on and off with a button without
disturbing your favorite semi-breakin delay setting.

73,

/Rick N6XI



--
In days of old, when ops were bold, and sidebands not invented,
The word would pass, by pounding brass, and all were well contented.
___
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