[Elecraft] K3 and CQWW

[Tom Wylie]

In both the CQWWCW and RTTY Contests I found the K3 to be "too good".    
In the zoo of 20 and 40m I could easily find a hole in which to CQ by 
using the K3 filters and variable bandwidth controls, but in both 
contests i often got pounced upon with QRL QSY.   I asked myself why.    
If I cant hear another station because I am using the filtration system 
of the K3 - is it MY problem?   If they cannot reduce their rx bandwidth 
by the inclusion and usage of their filters - is that MY problem?

Perhaps we should all use a K3 then we could squeeze more stations into 
the available bandwidth...

If I am bothering YOU, but you are not bothering ME - than that is 
clearly YOUR problem.........

or am I just being bolshy??

Tom
GM4FDM



GM0ELP wrote:
> Hi All,
> I was active as MM3T at the weekend with K3 #1293 and K2 #4688, Acom 1000,
> Doublet 160/80, 1/4 GP 40 and Cobweb 20,15 and 10m. The last 3 CQWW CW I've
> been using an FT1000MP MkV with inrad 4K roof filter (fully loaded) so was
> keen to give the K3 the try for the first time.
>
> My K3 has 400/1k roofing filters installed. It needed the 400 engaged on all
> but 15 and 10m which were quiet here in GM and so the 1k came in to good
> use. I had intended to use Dual PB but forgot all about it.
>
> I had one problem with the K3 on top band when the rx went quiet and tx
> power disappeared in a kind of intermittent way just after transmitting. It
> took me a while to realise it wasn't the tuner/coax/LPF/Linear connections
> and seemed to be located in the back panel audio connections area. Putting
> my hand down the back of the transceiver and giving the connections a wiggle
> seemed to bring the radio back to life. At one stage I power cycled the K3
> and got an ERR PLL message or something on the display. This only happened
> when I was on top band.
>
> I used fast AGC with AGC threshold 5 and AGC slope 10 for high bands and 8/8
> for low bands respectively. I changed these settings a number of times
> during the contest and ended up with several favourites dependant on
> band/noise. I was raising the threshold in line with rising noise levels and
> adjusting the slope downward when dealing with pile ups which helped my
> brain separate the callers by adding sound level difference. Using the PF1
> and PF2 keys for threshold and slope worked a treat.
>
> I had been using a K1EL keyer with the MkV in the past and decided to
> simplify things this year with the K3 by using DTR-RTS for key-ptt. This
> coupled with WinTest contest software worked flawlessly (even with open wire
> feeder in the shack).
>
> I allowed condx to determine my sending speed, if things got hectic whilst
> running, my speed went up and when trying to bag a weak one on a noisy band
> my speed went down. I did miss the winkey variable pot when working slow
> stations, but just had to hope they had been listening to me enough to get
> the call right before calling. I get more angry with inefficient exchange
> (mindlessly repeating things like my call) rather than slow speed callers.
> The worst combo when working a pile up is a slow caller who thinks data type
> exchanges are the norm, as 9/10 times this one station will cause someone
> else to steal your frequency whilst you are waiting for his exchange to
> finish.
>
> The EU really is a zoo during CQWW CW and I've tried using lesser radios in
> the past and given in. I did 24hrs with the K3 and still love it despite the
> top band band failure. A fully loaded MkV is a hard act to follow, but I did
> spend $6000 (ROB) on it and then had to install an inrad roof and do key
> click mods to get it to work properly.
>
> Thanks to all who worked me!
>
> Doug GM0ELP (MM3T)
>   

-- 
So I met the bloke who invented crosswords today. I can't remember his
name, it's P something T something R.



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