[Elecraft] K3 Noise Reduction

[WILLIS COOKE]

David, I am a mostly CW operator with only an occasional SSB contact or contests.  I find that I can copy signals on my K3 that I cannot copy on my TS-850, but only a few very weak ones.  The most effective control against noise that I have found is the Width control and in 160 and 80 meter very noisy contacts I find myself at 50 or 100 Hz width.  I find that the signals all sound noisy unless they are very strong, above S9 which are rare in today's propagation.  I can make the signal sound a bit less noisy with the NR, but at the expense of copy ability, especially with code speeds above 20 wpm.  I have never found the NR to be useful for a CW contact.  SSB contacts, even with a setting of F1-1 are distorted enough to be difficult to copy.  For noisy SSB contacts turning off the AGC and reducing the RF Gain seems to be the effective tactic.  

I have been reading what people have to say on this forum and I get further confused about how to properly set up the AGC, NB and NR to make them work to my advantage. I find both of my 20 year old Kenwoods more pleasant to use (a TS-440 and TS-850) but I can work signals with the K3 that I can't work with the others.  The NB is more effective with either of the Kenwoods.

I still think I am doing something terribly wrong with the K3 and I need more contacts to figure it out.  It seems that only 2,000 or so QSOs is not enough.  I need more experience with Ham Radio, perhaps.  Fifty three years does not seem enough.

Willis 'Cookie' Cooke 
K5EWJ


--- On Wed, 4/29/09, David Gilbert <xdavid at cis-broadband.com> wrote:

> From: David Gilbert <xdavid at cis-broadband.com>
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 Noise Reduction
> To: Elecraft at mailman.qth.net
> Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2009, 1:41 PM
> Is most of this discussion on NR in the K3 from users who
> would like to 
> improve the SNR on louder signals for easier listening in
> noisy 
> conditions?  
> 
> I get the impression we have people expecting different
> things from 
> these controls.