[Elecraft] 6M Preamp

[LANCE COLLISTER]

Julian, G4ILO wrote:

> I'm not saying that performance on six meters should have been higher than
> the performance on the HF bands. I'm saying that it should not be worse than
> an IC-756 PRO III, a TS-2000 or an FT-2000 would be, considering the claims
> made about the K3's performance.
> 
> I have no idea of the proportion of K3 users who will never use 6 meters in
> any serious way. However I think there are quite a few, such as myself, who
> will have some fun on the band from time to time simply because modern HF
> transceivers now include it. I'm certainly not serious enough about 6m to
> spend money on a preamp for it, so I'm feeling a little short-changed after
> receiving information that the K3 is so deaf on 6m that you need one. The
> other radios mentioned above certainly are usable on 6m without a preamp by
> all but the most diehard enthusiast who would probably want it at the
> masthead anyway.
> 
> -----
> Julian, G4ILO. K2 #392  K3 #222.
> http://www.g4ilo.com/ G4ILO's Shack   http://www.ham-directory.com/ Ham
> Directory    http://www.g4ilo.com/kcomm.html KComm for Elecraft K2 and K3 

Hello Julian,

Yes, other HF/6m transceivers such as the IC756 and IC746 are also relatively 
insensitive when it comes to 6m.  I understand the typical HF/6m transceiver has a 
front end noise figure in the neighborhood of 5 or 6 dB on 6m and some are much 
worse.  Part of the tradeoff for handling strong signals on 20m I suppose.  For most 
strong signal applications it makes little difference.

Putting a low noise preamp such as the one offered by Elecraft ahead of your receiver 
typically will give you a dB or so more sensitivity, provided you have low loss 
feedline.  If you are using lossy old RG8 or RG58 then you might as well not bother 
with a preamp because if there was a weak signal there at the antenna, it will be 
gone at your rig anyway.  For strong signal openings who cares about a dB or two? 
For weak signal contacts from a quiet QTH, that can make all the difference.

It is great to have a rig like the K3 where you have an option.  GL and VY 73, Lance
-- 
Lance Collister, W7GJ (ex: WN3GPL, WA3GPL, WA1JXN, WA1JXN/C6A, ZF2OC/ZF8)
P.O. Box 73
Frenchtown, MT  59834  USA
QTH: DN27UB
TEL: (406) 626-5728
URL: http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj
2m DXCC #11/6m DXCC #815

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