[K3] [Elecraft] BCB sensitivity

[Don Wilhelm]

Drew,

For BCB operation using a 100 ft wire for an antenna (hopefully you also 
connect to some form of ground screen), I would expect the inductance in 
the KAT3 to be quite low.  I would suggest adding a supplemental 
inductor  in series with the antenna wire.  I am not going to suggest 
just how much, but you can experiment.  Using an antenna analyzer might 
be informative if you can find one that goes that low.

73,
Don W3FPR

drewko1 at verizon.net wrote:
> Ok, Chuck, thanks alot. That explains all. I was thinking it was a pi
> with two capacitors.
>
> So anyway, for BCB reception, the capacitor doesn't do much and you
> would pretty much want to have maximum L, right?
>
> 73,
> Drew
> AF2Z
>
>
> On Sat, 19 Jul 2008 09:03:02 -0700 (PDT), Chuck, AE4CW wrote:
>
>   
>> Vic and Drew,
>>
>> The ATU in the K3 is a low-pass "L" design which has a series inductance and
>> *either* an input (Ct) *or* output (Ca) shunting capacitance.  There is only
>> one capacitance in this desigh, not two.  The single capacitance is switched
>> between the input (Ct side - transceiver) or output (Ca side - antenna) of
>> the inductance.  So, when you are in CONFIG:KAT3 --> LCSET --> ATU TUNE,
>> tapping ANT switches the capacitance between the input and output of the
>> inductance.  You can hear the relay switch when tapping ANT and sometimes
>> hear a distinct difference in the received signal.
>>
>> In general the capacitance will need to be on the input (Ct) side when the
>> antenna impedance is below 50 ohms and on the output side when the antenna
>> impedance is greater than 50 ohm.
>>
>> You can look at the circuit design in the K3 schematics (documentation page
>> on the web) if you would  like to get a more detailed understanding.  Or,
>> you could also look at a program like TLW (transmission line wizard) that
>> will calculate and show you a picture of the correct values for a low-pass
>> "L" ATU with any given values of antenna impedances.
>>
>> Hope this helps!  73,
>>
>> Chuck, AE4CW
>>
>>     
>
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