[Elecraft] My K3's Very Quiet

[W0SD Ed Gray]

I am listening on 17 meters SSB right now and Europe is coming through 
mostly S-7 to S-9 on the TH-11.
I can tune to an open spot in the band or just above the top edge of the 
band and my S-meter
has one bar.  This is with the pre-amp off.  The band width is 2.1 khz.  
Even at 2.7 khz I stay at one bar but
to my ear I can hear just a tiny bit more background noise which seems 
logical to me.  I had the RF gain at maximum
for the test.  Obviously if you have some noise backing the RF gain off 
is the way to go.

I like to listen with the shift at FC 1.40  rather than 1.50.  For me a 
little shift is always more
pleasant to listen to.  I also always did this with the FT-1000D and 
TS-950SDX
that I previously owned.

IMHO what more can you ask for?

When  I switch to the dummy load at normal volume I can barely tell the 
radio is on.  I have zero bars on the S-Meter on
the dummy load.

I did these same checks with #1037, #1096 and #3423 and I can hear no 
difference.  They are all very quiet!  Of course a factor
here is I live in a rural area where man made noise is low!  I sure 
don't expect my K3 to be quiet if I have man made noise other than 
things you can do with the NB, NR, AGC and bandwidth.

It has been my experience over the years to "NOT" use the pre-amp on any 
HF radio unless you are out of audio gain.  The FT-1000D did not have  a 
pre-amp and the only place for me it was lacking was 10 meters.  For me 
I just don't hear more at 10 meters and down  with a pre-amp.  For me it 
just brings the noise up with the signal.  The only place I have seen a 
big benefit from a pre-amp is above 28 mhz.  Obviously the K3 benefits 
from a pre-amp on six meters.

Ed W0SD
-------------- next part --------------

No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com 
Version: 8.5.427 / Virus Database: 270.14.114/2575 - Release Date: 12/19/09 08:33:00