[Elecraft] Re: K2 vs OMNI V keying waveform?

[Eddy Avila]

Eric, well said.....AMEN!






>From: Eric Swartz WA6HHQ - Elecraft <eric@elecraft.com>
>To: k6se@juno.com
>CC: w5yr@att.net, elecraft@mailman.qth.net
>Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Re: K2 vs OMNI V keying waveform?
>Date: Thu, 01 May 2003 22:00:02 -0700
>
>Hi guys,
>
>Over the past three years, prior to when the recent spate of MP key click 
>discussions and mods hit the ham community, we have never received a report 
>from our customers of key click complaints. This with many running high 
>power to large antennas.
>
>The K2 is in the same category (or better) for keying spectrum width as 
>almost every other commercial ham rig out on the market today (756 PRO, 
>Omni 6, 6+, TS850, TS2000, TS570s etc. (with unmodified MPs slightly 
>worse..). Also note that comparative test result differences of 3 to 5 dB 
>(less than an S unit) are essentially the equal since you can see that much 
>variance when repeating tests on different days and on different serial 
>numbers of the same rig.
>
>In my many times running the K2/100 into my 87a at 1.5KW I have -never- 
>received a complaint of key clicks. And I've had people actually check each 
>side of me to confirm all was OK. When I worked Earl, K6SE, when he was 
>using his K2/100 in eQP he was +30 or more on my K2, by far the loudest 
>signal on the band, yet I didn't notice him until I tuned very close to his 
>frequency.. We also did extensive testing for key clicks and for on 
>frequency keying when we designed the K2, hence its excellent reputation 
>when running CW. We made sure it was equal to or better than anything on 
>the market at the time.
>
>Please also remember that the limited receive dynamic range and poor phase 
>noise of most commercial ham rigs will make another strong transmitter 
>(especially on in the same shack), regardless of how clean it is on CW, 
>appear to be much wider than it actually is, due to receive overload and 
>its internal RX phase noise. (Noise blankers don't help either ;^). To be 
>honest, using a ham rig to evaluate the keying width of another transmitter 
>is not an accurate lab test method since it is impossible to determine if 
>the artifacts you are hearing are generated by the transmitter or by the 
>phase noise and IMD products of the receiver. The only way to accurately 
>test transmit bandwidth is with a low phase noise spectrum analyzer. This 
>is the method used by George at International Radio and by Elecraft.
>
>That said, the recent mods to the MP have certainly made an improvement to 
>that radio and have raised the hopes of many users. Can the K2 be made even 
>better? I wouldn't be surprised. We will certainly take a look at the 
>keying of the K2 and if we can improve the keying spectrum you can bet we 
>will release the mod to you immediately via an application note. Its 
>awfully good now, but as many have noticed, we never give up trying to 
>improve the K2 :^)
>
>In the mean time I have no fear of being accused of being a 'clicker' ;^)
>
>73, Eric  WA6HHQ
>http://www.elecraft.com
>
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