[Elecraft] Why K3 appears noisy?

[Ignacy]

Rather than debate whether K3 is noisy I suggest to debate why it appears so
to many. Then it can lead to fixes. Below are a few hypotheses.

1. Highest AGC threshold is too low.  

2. Gain distribution under RF gain. RF gain under AGC does not reduce noise
as much as with AGC off. The reduction with AGC on seems to affect the first
stages first. So for a large decrease of RF gain the noise reduction is not
as strong. Try listening to the same station with AGC off and AGC on while
adjusting RF Gain.  On the same note, the audio sounds beautiful on strong
stations with large AGC hold but there is lots of noise when the station
goes off. 

3. AF distortions as documented by UR5LAM in
http://ur5lam.jimdo.com/elecraft-k3-mod-s-page/
These may fixed with the new DSP board. Partially as UR5LAM also applied
fixes to mixers and IF amp.  found a few other fixes necessary.  

The simplest fixes IMHO would be to extend the range of AGC THR, and then
make RF gain behave similarly with AGC on and off. I noticed a large
improvement after RF calib. For (3), a separate EQ setting per mode would
help (if not already done).

The noise is an issue important if K3 is marketed to everyone. Like most in
this group, I find K3 highly superior to other radios in contesting and
DX'ing. 

Ignacy, NO9E
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