Re: [Elecraft] Assistance with learning about an Elecraft S3 {oops K3} needed

All radios these days are complex and truly multi-functional, the Elecraft ones are no exception.  The KE7X [SK ... way too early] are a resource other manufactures generally don't have available.  Mfr User Manuals are, of necessity, written from the "Here's how to do that" POV assuming that yo

Re: [Elecraft] ARRL end fed wire antenna

End-fed antennas are end-fed antennas, Geert.  They really differ only in installation.  Most use a transformer [or auto-transformer] at the feed end.  Most require no or only a short counterpoise, mine is very happy with the shield of the coax as the counterpoise.  Sometimes, you may need to c

Re: [Elecraft] P3 Waterfall

Thank you all!  I was reminded by one that tapping the DISPLAY button will switch between waterfall+spectrum and just spectrum.  AND, I finally found my P3 manual.  I have no idea who put it there. 😉 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Alan Sunday,

[Elecraft] P3 Waterfall

1.  My waterfall has disappeared 2.  I can't find my P3 manual 3.  The relative height between spectrum and WF seems to still be where I last set it in the menu item. 4.  ... and the obligatory, "I haven't changed anything," although obviously something got changed and I'm the only one in th

Re: [Elecraft] AX1 Disappointing Performance

All super-short antennas will exhibit this sort of behavior ... extreme sensitivity to installation and environment.  In such cases, practically everything conductive that is part of the installation or nearby becomes part of the antenna in various ways.  However ... if you can get RF current t

Re: [Elecraft] Question about 120 volts vs. 240 volts house supply to KPA 500

Downsizing about 8 years ago, I gave up our 5 acres, tower and trees, distant neighbors, and no HOA [see below] for pretty much the opposite in each respect.  My antenna is an end fed wire on the wooden fence all of 6 m high and approved by the HOA.  Not wanting to nuke our neighbor's dog whose

Re: [Elecraft] Other: Can you run coax inside metal conduit?

per water pipe (cringe). I’m in the process of re-routing the water pipe and looking for a safer way to support the wires. Just a ton of work. My intent with the conduit is to keep HF/UHF/VHF around the coax from getting into the electricals or vice versa. *From:*Fred Jensen *Sent:* Wednesday, June

Re: [Elecraft] Other: Can you run coax inside metal conduit?

Yes. You said "don't ask," but what interactions are you attempting to avoid? 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Jerry Moore wrote on 6/12/2024 8:45 AM: I have 30' run through my basement and want to eliminate potential interaction between the coax and power wires in the

Re: [Elecraft] K4 Remote: My QTH vs. a friend's, many miles to the north

Supported myself during college at the local TV station ... very late 1950's. Station was on a ridge, we got lots of lightning strikes on our tower. The grounding ["earthing"] of the entire station was super extensive. We still occasionally lost equipment, mostly the smaller uwave equipment out

Re: [Elecraft] elecraft net?

Kevin, KD5ONS, in OR runs a CW net on 20 [14050 +/-] at 2000Z? and another on 7050 or close at 2300Z on Sun.  Not sure of the times but he usually posts the notice here each week.  There is at least one other SSB net but don't know the details since I lost my microphone. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K

Re: [Elecraft] K1 high demand...

While running in Field Day a number of years ago with Rich, NU6T, I had my K2/10 and he had his K1.  Part way through the day, we exchanged radios since I'd never seen a K1 and I found out what a really cool little radio that really is.  Nothing digital except the display, it just really sounde

Re: [Elecraft] Weird K-3 Power Behavior

Hmmm ... I thought that the ALC started AT the 5th bar and the first 4 bars were sort of a VU-meter.  Hence Don's occasional advice, "4 full bars and the 5th occasionally flickering." I've been known to get things wrong in the past however. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe Coun

Re: [Elecraft] (ot) noise reduction resources

FWIW: I see that regularly, in short bursts.  Midday, just watching 80 while otherwise occupied, those multiple very narrow carriers come up for anywhere from a few seconds to a minute or two, and then disappear. Oddly, but thankfully, I'm not plagued with SMPS type noise ... well, except when

Re: [Elecraft] ECN

Timing is everything!  The Earth-facing half of the sun is currently extremely quiet, SFI is around 112, down from nearly 200.  The sun rotates in roughly 28 days [various latitudes do so at somewhat different rates] so try again in about 14-20 days. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn W

Re: [Elecraft] Firmware Utility Question

It's the 5th button down in the Configuration tab on the K3 Utility.  Don't know if the K3s has a different utility however. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Doug Hensley wrote on 3/24/2024 1:10 PM: Helping a friend with his new K3s. He wants to change the callsign disp

Re: [Elecraft] K3S help needed

Make sure VOX is turned on in the K3 and that it is set for straight key input ... i.e. internal keyer off.  If your K3 is properly configured, shorting the RCA Phono plug that goes into the Winkey should key the K3.  It is possible that you've got the Winkey configured for the second [KEY2] po

Re: [Elecraft] [RFI] Mysterious K3 Symptoms - RFI? : Important addendum

FWIW: I used to use the RRC1258 to access a remote station, and I had this issue at times.  The AF gain would go very low, any small movement of the AF Gain control would restore it instantly.  It's old info, I don't use the 1258 anymore, but it was real for me when I did. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K

Re: [Elecraft] IF OUT - Same as just sharing the antenna?

It's around 8.15 MHz. It's ahead of the ADC and 15 kHz 2nd IF, the RF is over 200 kHz wide and is nominally there for connection to a P3. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Ed Parish wrote on 3/9/2024 12:57 PM: IF means Intermediate Frequency. It is the result of mixing t

Re: [Elecraft] K2 Manual building method

Back in the point-to-point wiring days it was common to place a number of components at once, folding the leads/wires over the terminals and then soldering all of them.  It was said to cut down on misplaced components because you were focused on selecting the right components and placing them c

Re: [Elecraft] P3 + SVGA (and cables)

That's the connector where the K-POD connects in addition to whatever Elecraft techs use it for 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Robert Brown via Elecraft wrote on 3/6/2024 6:34 PM: Excellent condition P3 w/SVA option. Only “defect” is that a underbody connector (presu

Re: [Elecraft] Q: Recording outgoing messages on the K3 DVR

The K3 very conveniently includes switch actions in its CAT vocabulary, both TAP and HOLD [SWTnn and SWHnn].  I used N1MM+ to send them to activate the K3 voice recorder memories back when I still knew how to operate SSB.  I recorded my messages using the same radio and microphone that I used w

Re: [Elecraft] KAT 500 Loses Match

The military isn't chasing DX or contesting ... They need enough radiation for adequate operation in their networks.  In the example, a resistor in the folded dipole gives them that, they don't care about the 3dB, and a much easier radio system to set up.  Little different for us "Amateurs."

Re: [Elecraft] P3

Can't speak to the K3s, but the K3 required a modification to the 1st IF [8 MHz] gain for my P3 to show weaker signals.  It was just a resistor change. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Jim Murray via Elecraft wrote on 12/17/2023 12:05 PM: Hello all,  Having acquired a f

Re: [Elecraft] RX audio distortion with auto notch on

Chopping out a part of the spectrum of a voice signal is fairly serious "surgery," resulting in noticeable distortion products.  The reverse [a peaking filter like the Q-multipliers of yore] is also true.  OTOH, the notch filter, while adding a lot of distortion, may render a signal covered by

Re: [Elecraft] K3 - Display flashes "thr 4 OFF" intermittently

thought about that, Fred, but my serial number is in the low 8000s. I assembled the kit. It came with the gold pins. Could still be a bad connection I suppose. I've found at least 4 different ways to trigger the behavior, but it doesn't seem to affect any functionality. On Wed,

Re: [Elecraft] K3 - Display flashes "thr 4 OFF" intermittently

Has your K3 received the coveted Golden Connector Pins? Mine [S/N 642] began doing things like that, especially on the BAND+/- and MODE +/- buttons.  Pressing really hard would sometimes make it work.  The K-POD proved to be a work around, but the new connector pins on a trip to the factory for

Re: [Elecraft] K3 - Display flashes "thr 4 OFF" intermittently

Has your K3 received the coveted Golden Connector Pins?  Mine [S/N 642] began doing things like that, especially on the BAND+/- and MODE +/- buttons.  Pressing really hard would sometimes make it work.  The K-POD proved to be a work around, but the new connector pins on a trip to the factory fo

Re: [Elecraft] Digital mode power handling for KAT3

FWIW: I use my K3/KAT3 at 100 W in RTTY contests with no issues.  % derating could be a function of the complex impedance at the end of your transmission line ... my match on all bands is not terrible. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County ken.k...@gmail.com wrote on 10/11/20

Re: [Elecraft] A Good Headset For A K3

Dogs are smart enough to not do that 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Jim Brown wrote on 8/9/2023 2:33 AM: On 8/8/2023 10:32 PM, Victor Rosenthal wrote: Back in the days that I operated SSB, I transmitted more than one meow as a result of using VOX. I had a cat that l

Re: [Elecraft] Buying a K4 in UK

G4GNX wrote on 8/2/2023 4:40 PM: "Supposing that USPS do their job correctly" That might happen right after the pubs in the UK begin serving ice cold Guiness in frozen mugs, Alan.  The US Postal Service used to be the most trusted agency of our government.  Today, I put at least one and often

Re: [Elecraft] A dumb question about lightning

more about coastal stratus.  But with climate change, that might be changing.  There was quite a display once last year.     - Jerry, KF6VB On 2023-07-31 13:20, Fred Jensen wrote: Be very careful of advice regarding lightning protection.  There are some very good sources, starting

Re: [Elecraft] A dumb question about lightning

Be very careful of advice regarding lightning protection.  There are some very good sources, starting with the NEC and including material from ARRL.  Some is somewhat non-intuitive.  For example, the NEC requires that any additional "earth electrodes" [aka ground rods] be bonded to the service

Re: [Elecraft] Grounding, Lightning & Attic Antennas

And all other cables entering the house.  Much of the damage caused by lightning stems from currents induced in conductors entering the house caused by the intense electromagnetic fields.  Lightning is an RF event. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Ray Maxfield wrote on

Re: [Elecraft] Aircraft Doppler shift

We're just a bit west of the approach to KRNO 17R.  A/C normally land south and I can just barely discern doppler spreading on 40 m on the P3 at 4 kHz span.  Last winter when there was FTx on 10, the spreading was more pronounced.  I guess Christian Andreas Doppler would tell me ... "Duh!" 73,

[Elecraft] K3 channel hopping anomaly[1]

I have a variety of frequencies, both in and outside the ham bands [e.g. KPH freqs] set up in my K3.  The KPH freqs are set up with the "*" in the name for channel hopping.  Worked great for 10 years.  This AM, getting ready for the "Big Enigma Decryption Test" I tapped M->V, selected memory 37

Re: [Elecraft] K3 Power-hunting on FT8

Pete: The first 4 bars on the K3 ALC are just an audio level indication [i.e. VU meter].  ALC action starts at the 5th bar, which you want to be just flickering.  Unless you have 4 solid bars, the K3 will keep trying to adjust the TX gain to achieve the selected output power and it may not be

Re: [Elecraft] Very late to the party - computer rig control and sound card modes for K3

A wise observation I learned during the Apollo missions in the late 60's was, "Regardless of how reliable parts are, put enough on the rocket and something will always be broken."  You don't really need much of an "interface" between computer and radio.  In many cases, they're just more black b

Re: [Elecraft] Is KX3 going obsolete

Things become obsolete when replacement parts and/or service are no longer available.  It tends to happen suddenly, often accompanied by the release of smoke. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Stephen Dubin via Elecraft wrote on 7/17/2023 8:21 AM:  I don't think an radi

Re: [Elecraft] Field Day Operation

Which begs the question(s), "Why would one engineer a radio that can be 'misadjusted' to create awful signals?"  Adjustable keying rise/fall times comes to mind first I guess since there is one optimal shape and rise/fall times.  All others are sub-optimal.  "I want to generate clicks today so

Re: [Elecraft] Field Day Operation

There are some things in a transmitter that just should never be adjustable. There is an optimum rise time and waveshape for minimizing clicks.  It is what it is, it's the best you can get, and there is no reason whatsoever to change it. Nearly a lifetime ago at a college ham station, there wa

Re: [Elecraft] Shipping dates

Some is because the Elecraft customer base is vastly larger than when they were selling K1, KX1, and K2 kits. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Dave wrote on 6/24/2023 11:08 AM: Some of it is due to the global parts shortages, parts that have gone up considerably in pric

Re: [Elecraft] KPA3 Rev B not output

Life in the age of vacuum tubes [valves] and high voltages was much simpler. Just take the bottom off and look for where the fire was in the corner of the chassis. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Michael Carter wrote on 6/3/2023 3:43 PM: Hi George, Congratulations on

Re: [Elecraft] Microphone Setup Confusion

No. "Elecraft bias" is a low voltage applied to electret mics. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Alan Geller via Elecraft wrote on 5/16/2023 6:40 PM: Is what Elecraft calls mike “bias” in the K3 and K3s Owners handbooks Equivalent to the “48 volt ghost voltage” required fo

Re: [Elecraft] Where to put the wattmeter

do it. Alan N1AL On 4/19/23 16:38, Fred Jensen wrote: and I'd buy one if it would do a trapezoidal pattern.  Judging TX signal quality looking at the time-domain envelope is pretty hard, but I can judge straight sides on the T-pattern 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV

Re: [Elecraft] Where to put the wattmeter

and I'd buy one if it would do a trapezoidal pattern.  Judging TX signal quality looking at the time-domain envelope is pretty hard, but I can judge straight sides on the T-pattern 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Jack Brindle via Elecraft wrote on 4/19/2023 1:06 PM: Th

Re: [Elecraft] [P3] P3 woes - repaired but now claims my K3s puts out 873W!

It's always seemed to me that Poynting's Vector is the most aptly named entity in mathematics. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Edward Mccann wrote on 4/7/2023 7:41 PM: Dave: You may have redefined Poynting’s Theorem! Ed McCann On Apr 7, 2023, at 6:23 PM, Dave New, N

Re: [Elecraft] OT: Hiram Maxim in the news

Clarence Tuska was the other founder and original owner of QST magazine, but HPM always gets all the press. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Alan Bloom wrote on 3/19/2023 12:46 PM: Hiram Maxim, inventor of the Maxim machine gun, was the father of Hiram Percy Maxim, a fou

Re: [Elecraft] KX3 and KPA1500 compatibility

AF5LQ wrote, "Unable to call anyone, especially on Elecraft 80 m Sunday nets." In mild dissent to several of the replies ... from very savvy folks ... one of the truly enlightening things that J. C. Maxwell worked out back in the 19th century was, "If you can get alternating current to flow in

[Elecraft] K4 & KPOD

Do I understand the K4 order page correctly that my KPOD currently on my K3 will also plug into and work with a K4 ... should I decide to spring for one? 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County -- This email has been checked for viruses by AVG antivirus software. www.avg.com

Re: [Elecraft] Checking offset of K3 IF filters

That's the method for aligning the K2 filters recommended by Don, W3FPR.  It works great for the K2, I don't see why it wouldn't work for a K3 also. That's a cool pair of calls too! 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Jon Iza wrote on 3/2/2023 11:11 PM: Folks, some K3 filt

Re: [Elecraft] Announcing the KXIBC2 internal battery charger for the KX2

So, is the cat 75% alive and 25% still unknown? 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Wayne Burdick wrote on 2/18/2023 10:53 AM: This cat is is at least 75% of the way out of the bag :) -- This email has been checked for viruses by AVG antivirus software. www.avg.com __

Re: [Elecraft] Checking out Elecraft on ChatGPT

Indeed, 3 was the magic number!  Reads like a spec sheet or copy from an Elecraft ad.  Heard an interesting program on KUNR [Univ of NV Public Radio] the other day interviewing 3 attorneys who specialize in copyright/patent infringement cases.  The basic question to them was, "If ChatGPT is 'tr

Re: [Elecraft] Checking out Elecraft on ChatGPT

Chances are high that they really weren't ASCII space characters. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Alan Bloom wrote on 2/17/2023 12:51 PM: On 2/17/23 12:48, Dave New, N8SBE wrote: Alan, For starters where are all the spaces? :-)  Makes it hard to read, that's for sur

Re: [Elecraft] Email DANGEROUS EMAIL

Ummm ... be careful to not overplay this.  "Hacked your email" is usually taken to mean "breaking into your email client."  That's not really what is going on.  Our email addresses permeate the Internet and are fairly easy to harvest.  Likewise, forging a fake originator's address when sending

Re: [Elecraft] K3 no power out

Right on Dave, except that "simple" is a better term than "obvious."  My K3 is S/N 642 ... very long in the tooth now.  Perhaps 8 or 9 years ago 30 m quit.  Just internal noise and infinite SWR.  All the other bands were fine.  After about 2 days of fooling with the myriad of connectors and cab

Re: [Elecraft] K3 - Unresponsive if tuned across very strong RTTY sig - UPDATE

The humongous signal is not there this afternoon and K3 tunes all the way to 8 MHz just fine.  I'll continue to check from time to time. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Fred Jensen wrote on 2/2/2023 4:59 PM: OK, this one has me confused.  I was looking

[Elecraft] K3 - Unresponsive if tuned across very strong RTTY sig

OK, this one has me confused.  I was looking for CHU on 7850 or close, and as I was tuning up from 40 m, I encountered a VERY strong signal around 75xx or so which sounded like RTTY, at which point my K3 froze.  No control did anything, including the K-Pod and the power switch, the very strong

Re: [Elecraft] K3- Part fell out!

Does the radio still work?  If I find loose parts but the radio still works, I consider them to be spare parts. 😉  Seriously, does it appear to be electronic in nature ... i.e. does it have terminals or solder points? 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Dennis W1UE wrote o

Re: [Elecraft] Muting the K2

There is a Dow-Key coax relay that does that automatically ... a pin grounds the inactive terminal.  I would think your scheme would work OK. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Ray Spreadbury via Elecraft wrote on 1/19/2023 8:43 AM: I am thinking of building a low power QR

Re: [Elecraft] K3 Sidetone volume

Hold the PWR knob in for a sec or two and it becomes the MON volume control.  Then TAP it and it boes back to PWR 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County dave arruzza via Elecraft wrote on 1/14/2023 9:29 AM: How do I lower the sidetone volume I looked through the manual and I c

Re: [Elecraft] KPA1500 and K2

Beware of VGA cables and the K2, most [maybe all] are not straight-through. The connector on the K2 has 2 pins approximating RS-232 signal levels and 1 ground.  The remainder are internal signals at internal voltages. Running solid state amps at seriously reduced drive levels can reduce their

Re: [Elecraft] KPA500 Also faulting for High SWR inappropriately

1. "The Problem" is almost never caused by "the worst thing that could happen." 2.  Humans will nearly always assume it's "the worst thing that could happen." While learning to fly an airplane many years ago, IP told me, "By far, the reason for landing with the gear up is because you abandon

Re: [Elecraft] [K4][K3][K2] FS: David Clark H10-20 Aviation Headset

In addition to my regular duty as the Comm Officer at Galena AFS AK in 1963, I also flew a DeHaviland L-20 "Beaver" for the CAP SAR missions.  AK bush pilots never seemed to check the gas gauge before taking off so it was a couple of missions a month.  Not only was it deafening in flight, the o

Re: [Elecraft] Yamaha Headphones

A long time ago, velocity ["ribbon"] mics were common in broadcast, apparently they're not any more.  Really boosted the bass if you close talked them.  At 17, I could crawl way up close to the RCA 44 at the board and sound like James Earl Jones. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washo

Re: [Elecraft] KPA500 Voltage?

When my younger brother was finally out of the house for good, Mom and Dad bought a double-wide, sold the house in So. Central LAX, and moved south into a "Mobile Estates Park" in Costa Mesa.  The wiring was Al.  About 3 years later, they had a problem in one of the outlets that involved a smal

Re: [Elecraft] Good Natured Contesting Advice

Thompson's First Law:  "If there is QSB, his signal will be strong while sending all the unnecessary things you already have and then fade when he gets to the one necessary thing you asked for." Thompson's Second Law:  "Repeat your request and then refer to Thompson's First Law." 73, Fred [

Re: [Elecraft] Recommendation for Microphone for K3s?

Practically any electret mic element today is going to be good or even great.  Having come from the era of "cans", with the wire headband, cloth covered cord, and thin metal diaphram, that you wore forward of your ears to prevent hearing damage, I've come to the conclusion that the only headpho

Re: [Elecraft] Elecraft AX-1 Whip Antenna

What was I supposed to do with the cotton balls?" 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County On Sep 25, 2022, at 7:17 PM, Wayne Burdick wrote: No. But try on a little poison oak followed by a hot shower. OMG. That’s the nice burn. elecraft.com On Sep 2

Re: [Elecraft] AX1 dipole

ill still have all of the normal ground loss for the radiated field that is a function of the ground conductivity. Dave   AB7E On 9/29/2022 12:30 PM, Fred Jensen wrote: The Franklin is two vertical, co-linear half-waves fed in-phase. Google will offer way more than you want to read.  Obviousl

Re: [Elecraft] AX1 dipole

701-3871 danpresley@me. com n7...@arrl.net On Sep 29, 2022, at 12:08, Fred Jensen wrote: I've long wondered why hams haven't done more with Franklin verticals? KFBK [1530 kHz in Sacramento] uses one located in the southern end of the Sacramento Valley, and it's known as a Flam

Re: [Elecraft] AX1 dipole

I've long wondered why hams haven't done more with Franklin verticals?  KFBK [1530 kHz in Sacramento] uses one located in the southern end of the Sacramento Valley, and it's known as a Flame Thrower.  I think KNBC [680 kHz?] in SF had one back in the 50's sometime too.  They're big at MF, but m

Re: [Elecraft] AX1 dipole

Someone has called the sheriff on me twice while set up on a park bench with my Alexloop.  I suspect the AX1, with or without a counterpoise, would be less likely to provoke someone to do that.  One woman approached me and asked me if I was the CIA. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Wa

Re: [Elecraft] Elecraft AX-1 Whip Antenna

There is no such thing as a "nice" RF burn. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Steve L wrote on 9/24/2022 6:36 PM: Caution when using this location: Make sure your counterpoise is insulated and there’s no way to contact bare metal at this point with your hand when using

Re: [Elecraft] KX3 and its "TUNE" selection. (With mag loop)

Tuning on most mag loops is very touchy, and more so on lower frequencies, because of the extremely high Q.  My Alexloop has a reduction gearbox on the capacitor, and I wish it had 3 times the reduction it has.  I doubt you could get close enough with a motor-driven cap to a preset position. An

Re: [Elecraft] Lighting

While we're on the subject of huge amounts of static electricity, I've posted this before but it is important [see text]:  Precipitation static ... rain, snow, and even dust ... can kill your radio, and it will do it with no rumble, flashes, sparks, and crashes.  On the panadapter, it will look

Re: [Elecraft] KX3 and its "TUNE" selection.

Jerry:  Just in case you are not [yet] aware ... Small so-called "magnetic loops" must be exactly resonant meaning that you go to TUNE mode [i.e. feeding power to the loop] and then adjust the loop for exact resonance.  While exact resonance is indicated by zero reactance looking into the feedl

Re: [Elecraft] P span retention

This was discussed at length several years ago.  My memory is becoming increasingly write-only and I don't remember the exact outcome of those exchanges, but I think I recall that the SPAN is preserved, however the center frequency depended on how the band change occurred.  I do know that once

Re: [Elecraft] K2 versus K3 specs

Complex, multivariate problem Brian, sensitivity being only one variable, and some of the variables are very subjective.  I love my K2 and use it QRP, usually in the summer, for field activities.  It is not a great multi-station FD rig and has nowhere near the capabilities of a K3 in such an en

Re: [Elecraft] problem with K2, KAT100 and K2100PA combo

Found that out the hard way and fried a trace on the RF board.  Fortunately, it was repairable.  Unfortunately, it wasn't very easy.  One of mine is now painted black [I'm colorblind].  If you have a K2/KPA100 combo, it's easy to get the amp off, I'd do it now. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks

Re: [Elecraft] problem with K2, KAT100 and K2100PA combo

"not to mention intuitively color-coded" "Intuitively" may work for most, not so much for those of us males whose color vision is seriously compromised.  I can tell the difference between the black side and the not-black side if I see them together which is almost always... electrically, I've

Re: [Elecraft] Wanted: KPA100 Amplifier for K2

Take out the screws, remove the KPA100 top disconnecting RF and 12V molex cables, find LP top, connect RF and 12V molex cables from LP top, install screws.  Required tools: small screwdriver. Cautions: see below. Time: 10 min. Make sure you get the two molex cables into the right connectors

Re: [Elecraft] KPA-500 Line-Voltage Issues

and, though not always well known, ferrite cores in transformers for feeding antennas can also saturate with excess RF power.  The resulting RF din can be discouraging to neighbor hams and folks watching TV. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Josh Fiden wrote on 7/6/2022 3

Re: [Elecraft] Using the Antenna Tuner in the XPA100

Well, not really, Mike.  The magnitude of the impedance at the end of a wire can vary from low to very high [several thousand ohms] depending on its electrical length.  As David pointed out, the general Elecraft ATU design is an L-network using relays to combine various fixed values of inductan

Re: [Elecraft] COM port problems

34105 USA: Home: +1-239-221-9600 - Mobile: +1-424-288-9171 Germany: Home: +49 89 32152700 - Mobile/WhatsApp: +49 172 8374436 On 01.07.2022 19:07, Fred Jensen wrote: Peter: 1.  Open Control Panel and click on Hardware/Sound-->Device Mangler-->Ports 2.  In the View menu, click on Show Hidden

Re: [Elecraft] Using the Antenna Tuner in the XPA100

Pretty harsh, Wilson ... and also pretty much wrong.  I use a KAT2 with my K2, and KAT3 with my K3, and used the KXAT1 with my KX1 before I sold it, and they all work just fine ... all bands.  Currently, the only manual tuner I own is a homebrew Z-match W8FGU made for me.  I use it with a QRPp

Re: [Elecraft] COM port problems

Peter: 1.  Open Control Panel and click on Hardware/Sound-->Device Mangler-->Ports 2.  In the View menu, click on Show Hidden Devices If there are any, they will appear in the Ports display but grayed out.  Delete them, close everything, reboot, and try again.  Windows will occasionally, and

Re: [Elecraft] Using the Antenna Tuner in the XPA100

["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Jim Brown wrote on 6/30/2022 11:52 AM: On 6/30/2022 11:07 AM, Fred Jensen wrote: The outer surface of the coax shield to the rig forms the counterpoise [i.e. the "other side of the antenna"]. While this does work for transmitting

Re: [Elecraft] Using the Antenna Tuner in the XPA100

Mike, I'll assume you're going to end feed the wire.  The impedance at the end of 130 ft will vary all over the place on different bands.  My WOOF antenna is 136 ft end-fed through a 9:1 autotransformer ["balun" may be the most misunderstood, misused word in Amateur Radio]  The outer surface

Re: [Elecraft] Field Day Report

NOT allowed. So CW the CW segements are all the amateur bands. Let's keep it that way. On Mon, Jun 27, 2022, 13:45 Fred Jensen <mailto:k6dg...@gmail.com>> wrote: In the US: 50.000 - 50.100 MHz 144.000 - !44.100 MHz 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW

Re: [Elecraft] Common K3 failure modes???

Realistically, a manufacturer can only rely on the first category -- readily available parts.  Production scheduling, staffing, sales, distribution all require a predictable, steady, stable supply of ALL components.  Microprocessor, microcontroller, and ASIC parts are especially sensitive becau

Re: [Elecraft] Field Day Report

In the US: 50.000 - 50.100 MHz 144.000 - !44.100 MHz 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Andy Durbin wrote on 6/26/2022 4:51 PM: "Still, that frenzied fun-house of robotic birdcalls did serve as a convenient marker for the end of each CW segment." Which bands have a CW se

Re: [Elecraft] Common K3 failure modes???

Four categories: 1. Readily available 2. Difficult to obtain in a timely enough manner for manufacturing/sales 3. Obsolete but marginally available from some sources [see octal-base vacuum tube] 4. Unobtanium 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County David Gilbert wrote on 6/26/

Re: [Elecraft] The Most Interesting Ham in the World

Hmmm ... I contest with an N3ZN single-lever on the right but ragchew with a Begali MagPro on the left, but not at the same time.  My Elmer, Art W6RMK, taught me to send right so I could write left in my log.  When logs no longer mattered to the FCC, I began to migrate casual Q's to the left. 

Re: [Elecraft] OT: Need Antenna Help

Hector, XE2K, is the recognized expert. He travels around, regularly to Bay Area gigs. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County eric norris via Elecraft wrote on 6/10/2022 8:37 PM: Dear Gang: I can no longer work up on my small tower, and need to find someone who does antenna

[Elecraft] Most interesting hams in the world

Wow!  Those of us from a certain era built our stations from parts scrounged from discarded television sets using designs handed down by amateur ancestors and our mentors.  Most of the TV sets came from behind the local Radio/TV repair shop, not the town dump, but they were in the "free pile." 

Re: [Elecraft] The Most Interesting Ham in the World [New KX2 Ad]

Wow!  Those of us from a certain era built our stations from parts scrounged from discarded television sets using designs handed down by amateur ancestors and our mentors.  Most of the TV sets came from behind the local Radio/TV repair shop, not the town dump, but they were in the "free pile." 

Re: [Elecraft] I need a Sherlock Holmes (weird spurs on 40m)

I did the "Main Breaker 2-Step" and nothing went away.  My noise on 80 and 40 on the K3/P3 is highly varied ... 1.  Narrow discrete carriers [that appear linked, 25-35 kHz apart] come and go, sometimes within seconds 2.  Broad [5-10 kHz] bands of noise, often without any harmonic brethren [t

Re: [Elecraft] Have a K-2 SN 01049

Great Ric!, I've done that three times now ... all became active hams once they had a rig good enuf to make!Q's.  I'm not quite ready to part with my K2 [#4398], but when I do, that's how it will go. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Rick Tavan wrote on 6/5/2022 5:23 PM:

Re: [Elecraft] New K4 Beta Software Available (Release 30/Beta 2)

"Hey ... the last compile is clean, let's go to production!" 😉 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Walter Underwood wrote on 6/1/2022 9:42 PM: On Jun 1, 2022, at 7:30 PM, Wayne Burdick wrote: "There's always another bug," to quote an anonymous sage, but please...go for it

Re: [Elecraft] Antenna Quandary

They are known to radiate 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County Richard wrote on 5/11/2022 1:58 PM: Anybody out there super-well versed in the behavior of the half-wave dipole? Cheers, Richard Kunc W4KBX __ Elecraft

  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   >