[Elecraft] an as-yet undetailed (that I can see) K3 spec

[Tom Hammond]

Hi Steve:

>I wish there was a good way to know what the fans sound like in the K3/100.

For MOST conditions, they don't sound like ANYTHING... they're 
virtually silent!

This afternoon I did some CW>RTTY at 100W output, and for 5-6 minutes 
at a stretch... the fans cycled up to speed 3 or maybe 4 (top speed). 
I was able to tell they were running, but there was NEVER any 
indication of a whirlwind, or anything such as you might expect.. . I 
placed my hand over the vent holes on the top cover and there was 
quite a bit of (COOL) air coming out, so I was able to confirm that 
they were running at a relatively high setting, though the sound was 
truly minimal...

>Beyond issues of visual/tactile UI (which has been nearly beat to 
>death), one of the things that bothers me about many rigs is the 
>racket they make. TenTec has that down; no fan needed except for 
>high-duty-cycle modes, and my own personal experience shows that 
>this is really not needed.  This is one big reason I'm leaning 
>towards replacing my (fairly noisy) almost 8 year old K2/100 with an 
>Omni VII.  I really didn't like the constant fan noise from the Icom 
>756proII I had and the proIII is no better; the '756 receivers are 
>not at par so they are out of the picking.  I don't 'do' Yaesu even 
>if they had a decent rig, and Kenwood doesn't have a rig that is 
>worth buying, either.  The new FlexRadio fan sounded VERY loud to me 
>(at Dayton!!), and I don't fancy a radio without knobs anyway.  I 
>modified my PC to all but eliminate the noise it makes.  So I do 
>have a quiet shack and I like it that way.  I don't wear headphones. 
>At Dayton, the din of the room made it hard to hear Wayne talk, much 
>less hear the K3. So ... Are there two fans on the K3, or just on the K3/100?

NO fans on the QRP K3... two fans on the KPA3 (100W PA) blowing 
directly onto the heatsink.

>When do the two fans come on?  Do they both run together, or 
>sometimes just one?  If just one, does the other spin freely?  Is 
>the speed variable?  If so, how is it controlled?  Can you set the 
>trip points for when they (each or both) come on and off, or speed 
>up and slow down?  Can you set it so the fan doesn't come on at all 
>in QRP 'mode' ?

Both fans run at the same time WHEN they run. They are set to come on 
at preset (in firmware, NOT user settable) heatsink temperatures. 
There are four (4) speeds... I never hear the first two speeds at all 
(my shack's pretty quiet as well), and I can usually just tell when 
speed 3 kicks in. Speed 4 is discernable, but certainly not 
objectionable at all.

73,

Tom Hammond   N0SS