[Elecraft] VP6DX -- the true story ?

[G3SJJ]

You can't get much better than that, Eric!!

I identified (whilst working VP6DX!) a similar situation to the 30m one. 
It was as though the PLL wasn't locking. I don't do data modes so mine 
was 30m CW Split. I emailed Gary at Elecraft and a mod was incorporated 
in the next firmware upgrade, and it is perfect now. Excellent service

BTW, I worked all of my 12 band slots on the K3 using Split and pressing 
Rev to listen to the awful Eu pile-up. The whole experience would have 
been so much less stressful if European stations were more discipliined. 
If he calls HB9 then why does a DL, SP, IZ, 9A or whatever transmit?!!

Thanks. Chris G3SJJ


Eric Scace K3NA wrote:
>   Some reported hiccups with the radios should be put into perspective:
>
> 1.  We ran 8 radios x 24 hours x 16+ days of operating: over 3,000 
> hours on the air in total... plus additional hours for some units on 
> board ship.
>
> 2.  Some glitches were unique a specific radio, or at most two 
> radios.  As an example, late in the operation one radio seemed to show 
> a T/R relay problem where the receiver signals were down temporarily 
> (or longer) after a transmission.  Another radio didn't want to power 
> off -- it would immediately come back to life after shutdown.
>   The "high noise level" was another singleton issue.  One radio, only 
> on 30m, and only while in FSK mode, and only when operating split, 
> would have its receiver go into oscillation at the end of a FSK 
> transmission.  If any one of those three conditions did not exist, the 
> radio worked fine.  Obviously we moved that radio away from the 
> position with the 30m 4-square antenna control.  We didn't see that 
> particular quirk on any other radio.
>
> 3.  We were operating in a demanding field environment: hot 
> temperatures in the tents during the day, salty and dusty breezes 
> almost non-stop, and perhaps some voltage burbles when the generators 
> ran out of fuel unexpectedly.
>   On the later point, we did have sealed batteries floated across the 
> supply lines, which allowed us to continue operating (without the 1.5 
> kW amplifiers) when generator re-fueling or oil changes were made.  
> Those certainly helped smooth out any power supply variations.
>
> 4.  Some items were equipment interaction issues.  For example, our CW 
> keying (external to the K3) sometimes hung.  We learned this was due 
> to RFI entering the laptop USB port via the external mouse cable, and 
> irritating the USB device driver for the microKeyer and/or the 
> microKeyer.
>
>   Almost all of the operators ran the K3 with AGC off (all modes).
>
> -- Eric
>
>
>
> on 08 Mar 10 Mon 09:50 Mario Lorenz said the following:
>> Hi,
>>
>> besides the "official" report as quoted on the web,
>> on the BCC mailing list, reports from members of the VP6DX
>> expedition were slightly less stellar.
>>
>> While confirming superior receiver sensitivity, problems reported
>> were with pileup CW reception & AGC,  in T/R switching, and internal 
>> noise of S9+20 that went away after powercycling
>> the K3 ???
>>
>> Since I've just ordered my K3, I'd like to hear whether this has
>> been confirmed, and hopefully fixed...
>>
>> Mario
>>
>>   
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