[Elecraft] 6M Preamp

[ab2tc]

Hi all,

Personally I wish Elecraft had resisted the temptation to include the 6m
band in the K3. Grafting the 6m band, which is a VHF band, on to a HF
transceiver will always be a compromise at best and at worst it might affect
HF performance negatively.  In my opinion ICOM made a good choice in their
low end transceivers (IC-718, IC-7200) to eliminate 6m and FM mode. Both
choices are generally unneeded by HF operators and both make good
engineering optimizations possible for the mainstream HF modes.

Knut - AB2TC


W7GJ, Lance wrote:
> 
> 
> 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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-----
AB2TC - Knut
-- 
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