Here is a link to the incident in Portland,
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2011/04/pooping_portland_postman_caugh.php
On Jun 2, 2011, at 10:48 PM, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:
You guys live in the wrong place! My Fed Ex, UPS and Postal Carriers are all
very courteous and careful to
That's great, Dave, my K3EXREF and K144RFLK work well too. However, my
understanding is that the K3 firmware does not currently contain a
method to automatically update the XVn transverter offset values as
REFCAL adjusts with the external 10 MHz reference. That is what I was
told in March and I
Edward R. Cole wrote:
In my case, the major reason I don't want to sell internationally is
the matter of customs and duties, with the associated paperwork. Here
it's mostly ignorance of what is needed, what the procedures are, etc.
I might look at it differently with a ham I knew as the buyer.
Fed-Ex and UPS insured and tracked door to door...not a problem and I have
done this for years both at work and play:-)
Gary
On 3 June 2011 08:35, Johnny Siu vr2...@yahoo.com.hk wrote:
Hello Ray,
I have the impression that quite a number of the US sellers are worried
about shipping
We'll miss having you this year. I'll try and remember to haul my
case up and show it off.
~Brett (N7MG)
On Thu, Jun 2, 2011 at 9:47 AM, Rose elecraftcov...@gmail.com wrote:
For the first time in a number of years, Rose and
I won't be at Seapac. It's our favorite convention
and we have
To the digger who was asking, I had a brain brown-out and deleted your
message, but you might try Puppy Linux on your older PC - crikey dick,
it's even Australian!
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Home:
I have for sale a brand new W2 Wattmeter with a 200 watt and 2Kilowatt coupler.
(1.8 - 54MHz). The wattmeter works great. As do both couplers.
Purchased new this combo costs $330 and shipping.
I will take $260, shipped to you in the States
Contact me at n8...@comcast.com
Dohn Smythe
Hello
Sorry if this question has already been answered elsewhere. I built a K2 in
2002 and a Kx1 in 2004. My idea of delight now is a kit of parts and a hot
iron. I'd like to have a go at a KX3 if it is a kit, and to suggest that it
could be supplied in three forms. !) fully assembled 2) as
Besides netbooks, Charles Scharlau made an excellent SDR/panadapter for
Ipad/Ipod.
It's an App called iSDR.
A small IQ audio to USB adapter dongle would make this a nice add-on for
KX3 in the field!
73
Paul
PD0PSB
--
View this message in context:
I agree that GoodReader is generally better than iBooks for reading
pdf's on an iPad, but Giuseppe's discovery applies to GoodReader too.
Not all images in the P3 manual display on the iPad, and saving a new
version of the pdf from Preview makes everything show up, though the
difference is
Harry,
I would say not a chance of getting your KX3 kit with SMDs in a bag.
Just take a look at the support questions that occur with those kits
using thru-hole construction, and then imagine the number of support
questions that would occur if some of the general ham population tried
to
All you have to do is write down the total value (in US$) and an
adequate description. AMATEUR RADIO PARTS is usually close enough.
That's all - you're done.
That works in western countries. However, anything containing radio
is automatically contraband in many countries outside Western
On Fri, Jun 3, 2011 at 8:31 AM, Joe Subich, W4TV li...@subich.com wrote:
...anything containing radio is automatically contraband in many
countries...
...as I discovered while in India. I had my KX1, which had gotten in okay
because they didn't check at customs. I didn't transmit, just
Also, note that one of the main advantages to SMT is process control.
Parts can be placed and soldered VERY accurately.
Hand-soldering SMT, even large components like 2012's is much less
well controlled than the design might need to function properly. And
some of the KX3 components are in the
I would agree with Don.
Perhaps, even Elecraft offered a SMD-kit at a price 3 times of the assembled
version, it might not be good enough to earn a reasonable business profit in
view of the possible manpower involved. Perhaps, only through hole components
kits can maintain some profits.
Perhaps, even Elecraft offered a SMD-kit at a price 3 times of the
assembled version, it might not be good enough to earn a reasonable
business profit in view of the possible manpower involved. Perhaps, only
through hole components kits can maintain some profits.
Another issue is the
All the images in the P3 manual, other than the screen shots, are
originally jpg's -(not jpg2000). The jpg is dropped into a vector drawing
program to add the arrows, callouts, etc., and that is converted into the
final jpg that is inserted into the manual.
The screen shots that do not have any
Wayne (or maybe it was Eric) already announced that the KX3 would be available
as a no-solder final assembly type of kit, or fully assembled, just like the
K3.
I already have two Softrock receiver kits that I've just about given up on
because of multiple problems trying to install surface
As a very small designer and seller of kits, I've been forced to move
almost all of my new designs and updated older designs to surface mount
construction. Through hole parts are either drying up, and, more
importantly, high performance parts are not made in through hole packages.
So far, I've
For most shipments, I prefer that the postal worker, UPS or FedEx driver
leave the item on the front porch anyway. Tracking the shipment online,
it's easy to see where the driver might have left the package if it
isn't obvious.
Before we both retired, no one was at home during business hours.
Actually, a bluetooth interface, especially for headset use, is a
serious consideration.
Most states have enacted a patchwork of anti-cellphone laws that to a
greater or lesser degree adversely impact amateur (and other) radio
operators. The purpose of this comment is NOT to start a thread on
Jack wrote:
I wonder whether it makes sense to offer anything more than screwdriver
kits where the purchaser does mechanical assembly and perhaps installs a
few through hole parts, such as connectors.
Indeed. SMD components are specifically designed solely for efficient
automated machine
Ron,
The bmp images all show up in iBooks, but the jpegs do not for the most part.
For example, the images on the cover page and pages 10, 11, 13, 22, 33, 34, 35,
36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43 and 45 are missing.
Mike ks7d
Sent from my iPad
On Jun 3, 2011, at 11:45 AM, Ron D'Eau Claire
On 6/3/2011 10:45 AM, Mike Morrow wrote:
At the other extreme, a screwdriver-only semi-kit can easily
be the quality of a factory-assembled version.
This is especially true if the boards are individually tested prior to
shipment, as they are at Elecraft.
73, Jim K9YC
Ken K3IU wrote:
This is what it ways on the order page under options...
*KTCXO3-1TCXO * *(0.5 ppm typ) High Stability Ref.
Osc. $99.95
I see that on the K3 page, but not the KX3 page. Did I miss a KX3 order
page?
Leigh/WAZNU
--
View this message in context:
You guys are killing me with this gloomy talk about SMDs. Just last night I
ordered a Softrock. From reading the assembly manual I can see that this is
a long-tailed project, but I'm determined to remain optimistic. My intention
is to use it as an interface for CW Skimmer, taking IF out the back
Nope... as I said earlier, I mis-read
his email and responded before I
realized he had said KX3 and not K3.
You didn't miss anything.,Leigh.
73,
Ken K3IU
~
On 6/3/2011 2:21 PM, Leigh L. Klotz Jr
WA5ZNU wrote:
Ken K3IU wrote:
This is what
I constructed a Norcal Doublet using some speaker wire. It seems to
tune up fine on 20 meters using the internal KX1 tuner - but on 40
meters I could not get the SWR under 4.
Would a 4:1 balun help with this?
Any links on how to build a simple balun using an aircore and not a torroid?
Thanks a
I'm afraid my eyes and hands are beyond working on surface mount stuff. Years
ago I predicted that the Ten Tec Omni VI might be the last rig that was fully
user-repairable, meaning that because of its use of through-hole parts it could
still be worked on by the common man. Shortly after I made
Maybe it's a function of the way the manual was downloaded and saved but I
downloaded the manual, reviewed it in Preview in OSX and then saved it.
All those pages have images using iBooks on my iPad.
Rick
K6LE
On 6/3/2011, at 10:47 , Mike KS7D wrote:
Ron,
The bmp images all show up in
You guys are killing me with this gloomy talk about SMDs. Just last night ...
Tony,
I recently assembled a NUE-PSK modem. It is pretty much all SMD. It wasn't
all that bad to build. I'm 55 years old so my eyes aren't what they used to be.
I didn't need any 'exotic' tools, just one of those
If someone could design a decent affordable bluetooth headset with a
reasonable PTT mechanism, I believe the radio world would beat a path
to your door. Reasonable DOES NOT mean having to push a button on
the ear piece.
Unfortunately, as soon as one adds a hand operated PTT switch, the
Dave I think you raise some very good points. The need for an Amateur
Wireless User Interface (AWUI) is a great one. Note I did not say blue tooth
for good reason.
Bluetooth is full duplex where clearly a half-duplex solution is needed.
Before you say you could use VOX think about the portable
Mount the switch on the steering wheel? (ala car stereo controls)
./Ben
Unfortunately, as soon as one adds a hand operated PTT switch, the
device is no longer hands free under most of the regulations. Better
carry a copy of the statutes that exempt amateur radio operators and
a copy of
Well, I saw the fuss made of the kx3 on various networks and signed on
for a new one when they become available.
THEN, I read on, and it seemed the K3, on investigation, was an even
better piece of kit, especially for a base station operation.
As an avid follower of SDR (built a few HPSDR
Hy to all, i found a solution to what discussed the past days. The problem
was that iOs devices like iPad iPhone and so doesn't displays images
contained in pdf manuals newer. The problem seems to be known as a
compression bug; iOs doesn't support jpeg2000 instead of simple jpeg. Well i
don't know
That's a bad design for 40m because the input resistance is only about 3
ohms. The designer was concerned about the radiation pattern resembling a
dipole on higher frequencies with little regard to matching.
Using a 4:1 balun would do the opposite of what you want to accomplish. 5
ohms is
Joe Subich, W4TV wrote:
All you have to do is write down the total value (in US$) and an
adequate description. AMATEUR RADIO PARTS is usually close enough.
That's all - you're done.
That works in western countries. However, anything containing radio
is automatically contraband in many
I tried on iPad: iBooks, Documents to Go and Goodreader.
Cheers
-
Pippo
IZ2NYY
--
View this message in context:
http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/K3-PDF-MANUALS-IMAGES-BUG-SOLVED-tp6436768p6436801.html
Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
Didn't get through, maybe the censors didn't like the look of it, so
here's another try using a different incantation.
Original Message
Subject: Linux suggestion
Date: Fri, 03 Jun 2011 21:19:24 +1200
From: Paul Saville ephemeral.z...@zl3in.net
To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
To
The KX3 has hundreds of SMDs. Many of them are so small that I need a
magnifying glass just to find them. Soldering them by hand is tedious
and fraught with peril (all of us on the team do it, but we don't
enjoy it).
A full kit would be impossible to support and not profitable. Sorry
Kit and assembled will work exactly alike, just as with a K3.
Wayne
N6KR
On Jun 3, 2011, at 11:03 AM, Jim Brown wrote:
On 6/3/2011 10:45 AM, Mike Morrow wrote:
At the other extreme, a screwdriver-only semi-kit can easily
be the quality of a factory-assembled version.
This is especially
For a center fed wire 44' long (the dimensions of the Norcal Doublet)
EZNEC shows an antenna feedpoint Z of 23-j570 ohms.
If fed with 28' of 300 ohm line the feed line losses are approx. 2.4
dB. Somewhat high but may be acceptable. The losses in the proposed
stranded computer cable (and
I am about to order the KPA500, just curious which shipping method
others in the UK are using.
Any thoughts please?
Thanks 73
Roger MW0IDX
K3 #191
K2 #2724
KX1 #416
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Sending radios to ZL is fairly safe, because most of the mail workers
can't read, and the stagecoach that carries the mail has a guy with a
six-shooter to fight off the bandits, so the loss rate is zero.
It's a different story with anything containing drugs or porno
though, because that is still
Ben,
Someone recently had written an article (in QST?) about re-purposing
some of the steering-wheel mounted switches in his vehicle. He was
snooping on the vehicle bus for this application. Not for the timid, I
would think, and pretty specialized by vehicle manufacturer.
Otherwise, mounting a
Fred,
Thanks for your insights on this subject (AWUI).
A new twist in bluetooth is BLE (bluetooth low energy). Likely subject
to the same limitations as regular bluetooth, but promises to be
accommodated in low-power devices that regular bluetooth power levels
would quickly drain.
The only
Steve N4LQ said:
Using a 4:1 balun would do the opposite of what you want to accomplish. 5
ohms is difficult for any tuner to match and can cause a lot of power loss
in the circuit and with higher power, burn up a torroid coil! That balun
would drop the impedance to an insane value.
Thanks
Even though I have the tracking information, as a final courtesy to the
buyer,
I send a follow-up e-mail to ensure not that it arrived, which I know,
but that
it arrived in the condition that it left my possession. I'm not happy
if the
buyer isn't.
Yes, USPS has improved their tracking
Hi All,
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 12x10x 6) to a S.E. US address that
ended up being quite
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
Buddipole has a Triple Ratio Switched Balun that will match a 50 ohm feed line
to 50, 25, or 12 ohm antenna impedance. You could use a Pomona 1296 BNC male to
banana plug/binding post adapter with your existing antenna.
http://www.buddipole.com/trraswbat.html
Regardless of what their on-line
Chuck, there is a limit, but it's 70 lbs which is the limit for anything
shipped by the USPS. Like you, I'm a big fan. I use the Priority Mail flat
rate boxes all the time. If you pay for the postage online you can print the
label, get signature confirmation, save a few cents and you can
You might be waiting a long time, Al, since having value as an
unassembled kit would
require that Elecraft no longer produce the kit in question.
Yet another thing that I like about the Elecraft design philosophy.
Just because they
came up with the K3, they didn't stop selling the K2. In
I'm a fan also. The flat rate envelopes to Europe are a steal.
Limit 4 pounds but it is fast. You can square up the envelops to
take thicker items .
For both the US and overseas shipments I always put clear packing
tape on all the edges to reinforce them. Also I recommend you put
the items
I think I love my K2 just a little more than my K3 just because I spent
the time and effort building it one piece at a time. While the K3 is an
exceptional performer, the K2 is still very superior to so many other
rigs and is an absolute pleasure to operate. Long live the K2. (Some
years ago
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
All:
In seeing some discussion on the exchange of funds when selling Electraft
equipment, I wanted to share a possible solution with everyone: Dwolla. When
I first heard about this (and signed up), I thought about how I might use
this in the future when buying or selling used equipment.
Well, I recently sold 2 Elecraft rigs outside the U.S. It gave me a chance
to make a new friend and to do a little business in French, an opportunity I
rarely get in St. Louis MO. I sent them via USPS and they arrived within the
promised time frame. Filling out the customs forms is simple and
You may be aware that the US Postal Service is in dire straits. This
week's Business Week has a thorough article on it.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_23/b4231060885070.htm
Jim N7US
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Remember Amazon ships from all over the country using the nearest stock.
de, Fred AE6QL
-Original Message-
From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net
[mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Jim Lowman
Sent: Friday, June 03, 2011 3:06 PM
To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject:
Good!
I love building radios and I have just started my marriage to the K2. Last
year I built the full blown K1 and I loved it so much, the K2 was the
logical next step. Now I have a grand idea of how I want to build and setup
my K2 and then people started to talk about how the end of the K2 could
I think this is a basic misunderstanding of the rhetoric. The last of
the through-hole kits does not imply that the K2 will (or will not) be
abandoned. It simply implies that NEW TO THE MASS MARKET kits will
probably not be of the through-hole variety. Google on kits or
something similar and
I pretty much had the same experience. Some places you have to worry
about the post office on the receiving end. I once sent a TS-850 to
Belarus. It was triple boxed. A total of five inches of peanuts. They
still managed to damage it substantially. So I'm a little picky about
where I send
The K2 is alive and well.
All of the parts we used 10 years ago are still in production or we
have substitutes for them. For example, one IC we use on a K2 option
module recently became unobtainium, so we switched to new part and
changed the board layout. It's a surface-mount part, and
I think you're absolutely correct. Still, it wasn't long ago that
someone was expressing concern that the K2 was obsolete and could be
dropped from the line.
I don't particularly like working with SMDs. Bu, facing the inevitable,
I just ordered a stereo microscope designed for working with
Do you guys do all the SMD soldering by hand? I'd be guessing that the
current volumes shipped you guys would've been able to invest in a placement
machine. Small ones have been becoming reasonable affordable these days
(e.g. small outfits like Adafruit have been using one some their higher
All of our SMD soldering is fully automated.
Wayne
On Jun 3, 2011, at 6:31 PM, ~BG~ wrote:
Do you guys do all the SMD soldering by hand? I'd be guessing that
the
current volumes shipped you guys would've been able to invest in a
placement
machine. Small ones have been becoming
I should add that all of our leaded-part soldering is automated, too,
except when customers do the assembly.
Wayne
On Jun 3, 2011, at 6:34 PM, Wayne Burdick wrote:
All of our SMD soldering is fully automated.
Wayne
On Jun 3, 2011, at 6:31 PM, ~BG~ wrote:
Do you guys do all the SMD
Eric,
I believe I was one of the first responders to the initial question.
I did say that the K2 was a mature product, but by no means does that
make it obsolete or near the end of its life.
Elecraft will continue to offer the K2 as a kit, and will continue to
provide support for it - for
I, for one, would love an all SMD kit.
0201 chip passives and BGA would be too hard core, but 0402+ and
gullwings... bring on the cut-tape and tubes baby. Soldercream anyone?
John
On 6/3/11 9:12 PM, Doug Person wrote:
I don't particularly like working with SMDs. Bu, facing the inevitable,
I use data a at 50 hz all the time
KD8NNU
Sent from my Palm Pre on the Now Network from Sprint
On Jun 2, 2011 2:06 PM, Rich - K1HTV lt;k1...@comcast.netgt; wrote:
Jim,
If you want to try JT65A on the Magic Band, the agreed upon calling frequency
is 50.276 MHz. Almost all 6M JT65
I'm old enough that when I learned to drive, there were no automatic
transmissions, and left foot clutch operation was the rule, as well
as on the floor headlight dimmer switches.
I would think that a floor mounted foot switch, preferably one with
alternate action capability, could put the now
I always thought a machine built K2 might have worked out at least as
well as a user constructed one. Build quality would be very consistent
and unit cost / selling price might actually be less than that of a kit.
The big problem, especially for a company just starting out, would be
Lo, many years ago (1950's) I said that I didn't particularly like working
with transistors either. They were so tiny and fragile. Vacuum tubes were so
friendly and they made a beautiful glow in the dark. Besides, many
technologists pontificated that transistors would never be able to work at
Some smart guy could figure out a PTT mechanism keyed by dropping your head a
bit ... sort of like a nod. Mercury switch?
WB2ABD
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Help:
How about wiggling your ears?
Problem with a head nod is that if you fall asleep (or nod off) you might key
up. Maybe you could shake your head quickly -- but in a rapid conversation
someone's bound to think you're having seizure and call 911. Or if you
actually have seizure, you might key
For those who are looking for a high stability 10MHz reference for
your K3EXREF K3 modification, I'll recommend, for me has been, a
reliable and cost effective source.
I have a previously purchased a double oven 10 MHz OCXO source, with
an advertised 10 to the -12th short term stability from
I don't know if it was here, or Yahoo, that I saw a post where the author
referred to the KX3 as having a PTO. I hate to ask if this is true? Please,
let be no. (What a thought.)
Dick, n0ce
rpfj...@embarqmail.com
I'd rather be learning.
No. The VFO A knob is connected to a high-quality optical shaft
encoder whose position is read by the KX3's microcontroller. The
frequency of operation (down to the nearest Hz) is then sent to the
synthesizer.
73,
Wayne
N6KR
On Jun 3, 2011, at 9:13 PM, Richard Fjeld wrote:
I don't know
I suspect that the spark guys had similar thoughts about the new
triode vacuum tubes in the 1920's. Fragile glass tubes that they
probably didn't fully understand, yet. I took an electronics class in
1967 and tubes were still the main focus. We did play around with
transistors, and
Paul Saville wrote:
To the digger who was asking, I had a brain brown-out and deleted your
message, but you might try Puppy Linux on your older PC
You can get information on a load of different Linux distributions at
http://distrowatch.org/. FOr the last few years I've been using Ubuntu as it
We are already starting the next stage with SIPs and SOCs. Imagine owning
your own chip fab so you can take open source IP and craft functional
blocks in silicon. Then stack and bond these units into a full blown IC.
Mix and match to craft all sorts of neat gadgets. How is your mastery
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