[Elecraft] K3 eHam review after 2+ years

Sun Jul 5 16:31:40 EDT 2009

Thoughtful comments Howard.  I too live in a very high noise area.  No matter how carefully adjusted, the MFJ 1026 did absolutely nothing for my situation - too many different noise sources in too many different directions!

Howard - what is your amateur radio call sign?  73 -- Don N4HH
-------------- Original message from HowardZ <HowardZ at howardz.com>: -------------- 

> 
> Well Dave, 
> 
> I am not certain that a better radio will help me hear through the noise. A 
> few weeks ago we had no noise at all for a few days - someone mentioned how 
> quiet it was on one of the nets, but then a few days later the noise was 
> back. Move 20Khz in either direction and the noise is gone, but we "stay on 
> target" as they said near the end of Star Wars. It is rare for Mars to 
> change freqs or switch to a digital mode. They presevere. 
> 
> The MFJ 1026 takes two antennas - gain needs to be adjusted so that both 
> antennas have the same S-units of signal strength. Then one rotates the 
> phase 0 to 360 to try to eliminate the noise. Supposedly this works well on 
> noise coming from your home, your neighborhood, or even DX noise. I do not 
> think this is what people call "diversity receive". It is some kind of 
> phase rotation to eliminate noise, though it does use two antennas. I don't 
> know if the K3 or Flex has this function. The MFJ 1026 might be the lowest 
> cost method for me to deal with the noise on this heavily used Mars 
> frequency. Maybe I'll buy one soon? 
> 
> Then there is the Icom 7600 - it supposedly represents a large improvement 
> over my existing Icom. Interfaces are identical to my existing Icom. Don't 
> need to rewire my pactor 3 TNC for example. It has downloadable firmware I 
> think. But its too new. There might be important hardware revisions in its 
> first year if the radios fail with the initial design. This has happened 
> with other Icom radios in the past. It's also not considered in the 
> Perseus, Flex, Elecraft class of performance. 
> 
> I could get a Perseus, or some other receivers and use an Eldad T/R switch. 
> This is lower cost than a new tranceiver since it's just a receiver - no 
> transmitter. People rave about these and the Perseus is near the top of 
> Sherwood's test list. I could rationalize that the K3's transmitter is no 
> better than my existing transmitter, so why pay for a tranceiver? However 
> this approach complicates interfaces to TNCs and sound card interfaces. But 
> this choice does have merit. 
> 
> I could get a loaded Flex 5000 - it costs less than the K3 loaded since the 
> Flex doesn't use all those roofing filters. People who own the Flex them 
> love them and they are rated well. 
> 
> I have not used nor even seen in person any of these radios. However I 
> prefer the K3 design approach over the Flex or Perseus. I don't want to 
> ever have to say "Sorry for the silence, I had to reboot windows - 
> everything locked up - or I got that blue screen" - I prefer a radio that 
> has an embedded processor rather than a windows system. Turn it on - and it 
> works - plain and simple. Yes, I'll hook a windows PC to the radio for 
> digital modes, but at least voice works without a PC. And how many PCs can 
> you hook up to a 12 volt battery during a power outage? Yes, there are ways 
> to do it, but it isn't that simple. 
> 
> Then there are those wonderful dynamic range figures. Supposedly the 
> Perseus, Flex, and similar designs have the same dynamic range no matter how 
> far away the strong signal is. So, when the strong signal is 2khz away - 
> they are all similar in performance. (K3 has the top spec, but with it is 
> something called "phase noise limited" which doesn't sound so great - though 
> I don't know exactly what it is.) But what happens when the strong signal 
> is 50KHz away? Well, I think the K3 will have much higher performance the 
> further away the strong signal is. But the Flex, Perseus, and others will 
> have the exact same performance. I think that also applies if the signal is 
> 1Mhz away, 10 Mhz away, 100Mhz away - you get the idea. I suspect they need 
> a low pass filter to protect from a strong VHF or UHF signal. Anyway, I may 
> be wrong with this logic, but I suspect the K3 is better in this regard. 
> 
> However, a strong nearby signal is not my current problem. 
> A better NR, NB, or something to quiet down the noise is what I need. 
> 
> I currently have other options to try to solve the problem. The MFJ 1026 
> costs under $200. Maybe a beverage RX only antenna. I hear that an "on the 
> ground" beverage antenna is very quiet. All it costs is 500 ft of wire to 
> give it a try. Unfortunately I'll need to bend it to be a U shape as I 
> don't have enough land to go 500 ft straight in one line. A better radio 
> should also help - I think - not sure. 
> 
> Anyway - to get to your question. I think (but not sure) the Perseus and 
> the Flex are finished modding their hardware - just the software keeps 
> changing. If I really needed to take the plunge right now, a Flex 5000A 
> with internal tuner and second receiver might be a good choice. Still it 
> costs alot more than the Perseus, but significantly less than a similar K3 
> loaded with filters. 
> 
> I suspect the K3 is a better choice. I'd just hate to be sending a K3 back 
> to the factory every year to pay for the latest hardware mods. Though I do 
> agree it is great the K3 owners can do this without buying a K3MkII, etc.. 
> 
> None of these radios are "bad choices". They float to the top of Sherwood's 
> list, and the vast majority of their owners love them. People just have 
> preferences between them. I don't think there is definitive evidence that 
> one is clearly superior to the other. I think my preference is for the K3 - 
> I'll just wait until the h/w is done. 
> 
> As I said before, it just doesn't look like the K3 hardware is finished. It 
> is not 100% - not yet. It is still evolving. This makes me want to wait. 
> Others enjoy the changes - it depends on what one likes. 
> 
> I think the original author of this topic is incorrect to call the K3 100% 
> done. 
> 
> Howard. 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm honestly curious, Howard ... which rig (brand and model number) would 
> you buy at this moment in time that you consider to be stable and perform 
> better overall in its price range than the current version of the K3? 
> 
> 73, 
> Dave AB7E 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> View this message in context: 
> http://n2.nabble.com/K3-eHam-review-after-2%2B-years-tp3202931p3208568.html 
> Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. 
> ______________________________________________________________ 
> Elecraft mailing list 
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft 
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm 
> Post: mailto:Elecraft at mailman.qth.net 
> 
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net 
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html 