[Elecraft] Newbie Question re: SSB

[Mike Fatchett W0MU]

Tom,

Thanks for the report.  You have me salivating for my K3.

On 11/19/07 7:12 AM, "Tom Hammond" <n0ss at embarqmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Bob:
> 
>> I understand that Elecraft transceivers to date have really been a CW ops
>> dream, which leads me to the following question re the K3: Will phone (SSB)
>> operators find this rig as wonderful with regard to voice as CW operators do
>> with CW?
> 
> Just finished operating in the SS Phone... NOT my most favorite MODE
> of operating,
> though I DO enjoy the Sweepstakes... Because of family commitments, I did not
> spend a lot of time in the contest, but I did manage to quite easily knock out
> well over 100 Q's with my K3.
> 
> I used one of the older Heil ProSet headphone/boom mic combinations, with the
> Heil HC5 (wider range than the HC4) element, because I didn't like the highly-
> restricted audio range of the HC4. I haven't touched the settings on the
> 8-band
> (TX or RX) audio equalizer, so everything there was 'stock', just like it came
> from Elecraft. I'll also note that, antenna-wise, I have a Bencher SkyHawk
> tribander at 73 feet and a tri-band (80-40-30) dipole (Inv-V) with the apex
> at 72' and the ends down around 20' off the ground.
> 
> Being a CW operator at heart, I'm accustomed to operating full QSK on CW, so I
> saw little reason NOT to try it on SSB as well... or at least as close to full
> QSK VOX SSB as I could anyway.
> 
> I set the VOX DELAY to ".05" (50 mS), and the MIC IN, VOX GN and ANTIVOX to
> points where I cold readily trip the VOX with normal level voice speech, and
> to where nothing coming out of the back side of the headphones would cause the
> VOX to 'false'. Of course, using headphones, the setting of the ANTIVOX was
> not
> terribly critical, but I was also able to set it so that the VOX didn't false
> when I had the cans unplugged from the rig as well.
> 
> I first adjusted the MIC IN to give me essentially FULL ALC on the K3's LCD
> meter. Then I adjusted the MIC CMP (compression) to give me a nice 'full'
> output pattern on the monitor scope. This corresponded to about 101-2 dB of
> compression... the effect of the CMP control was REALLY VERY EASY TO SEE,
> both on the monitor scope AND on the RF WATTMETER...! Dramatic increase in
> average output.
> 
> I did some testing prior to the start of the SS, getting both audio quality
> and intelligibility reports from a number of operators. To a man, every report
> of audio quality was more than glowing! I had one report, from a
> non-contester,
> which said he'd prefer to hear a bit less compression, but that what he was'
> hearing during the test was 'clean' and 'very clear' with 'no distortion',
> and no clipping of the first syllable of each word as the VOX went on/off
> between some words and phrases. A number of reports took the time to volunteer
> that what they were hearing did NOT sound like the 'normal contest audio
> setting'.
> 
> I ran QRP (5W) in the SS, which is a bit more challenging, not only for the
> user, but also for the guy on the other end, trying to copy my signals thru
> some really BIG QRM. Though there obviously were times when I didn't get the
> guy I was calling, and some times when repeats were required, I'd say that
> fully 90% of the time I got my station on the first call. Additionally, I
> received MANY(!) completely UNsolicited comments of "GREAT SIGNAL" and "GREAT
> AUDIO" from other ops who generally won't give you the time of day when
> they're
> trying to knock out as many Q"s as possible and offering such comments just
> takes away from their available time to make more Q's.
> 
> How did the receiver perform? Very well...!
> 
> I found that I'd probably have been better off had I added a 2.1kHz
> or possibly
> a 1.8kHz SSB filter to my SSB arsenal, but even with only the 2.8kHz roofing
> filter available, I was generally able to 'peel off' much of the nearby QRM
> and get the other guy's report on the first pass... no requests for repeats
> required. Narrowing down the DSP B/W from 2.8kHz to around 2.4kHz and then
> adjusting the SHIFT up/dn a bit, on order to roll off QRM from the top/bottom
> made copying other stations in the presence of QRM fairly easy... MUCH easier
> than with my K2 OR with my TS-950SD...!
> 
> The K3's front end is virtually UNCRUNCHABLE!!!  I have a local, W4RK, who
> lives almost within rock-throwing distance of me (probably 1/2 mile) and who
> runs a 1kW in contests. I found numerous occasions where I'd roll up on a
> frequency, work my station, only to find that Bill was 1-2 kHz away and I
> never knew it at all...! I hope I wasn't giving him (his FT-2000) any
> problems,
> being that close to him!!!  I ran my AGC in FAST mode the entire contest and
> never noticed one instance where a really big nearby signal prevented me from
> copying/working the station I was trying to work... just didn't happen.
> 
> Back to the VOX for just a second... it was just 'sweet'... I was easily able
> to work stations, talking at normal voice levels, and still tell if someone
> started talking while I was sending a report, thus allowing me to stop talking
> and allow them to either come back to someone else, or to ask for an immediate
> fill. Not quite full QSK SSB VOX, but certainly much closer than ANY I've ever
> been able to activate prior to the K3.
> 
> How do I like the K3 on SSB...?? <Gulp>   I LOVE IT!  Are there things I'd
> like to see changes in the SSB compliment of operating features? Maybe, but
> I can't think of what they'd be right now.  Will I operate more SSB now that
> I have the K3?  Possibly.. but PLEASE don't tell anyone!  I do have a
> reputation
> to keep up, y'know!  <G>
> 
> 73,
> 
> Tom   N0SS
> 
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