[Elecraft] K3 Diversity Rocks!

[Dave Van Wallaghen]

It's funny that you mention this today as I was going to post something 
about it as well. I got to try diversity receiving yesterday and what a 
world of difference in copying through QSB.

Like last year, I'm operating portable out in a tent gazebo in my front 
yard again this summer. I threw up a 66' doublet fed with ladderline in 
a tree around 35' up. As I was operating Saturday, I was continually 
frustrated at not being able to copy very well through some slow QSB on 
40m and 30m. I was operating QRP as were my contacts.

On Sunday I decided to try diversity receiving by using a 350' spool of 
14g wire I had sitting around. So I stretched it down the side of my lot 
about 4-5' above the ground in the trees and brush and plugged it into 
the RF IN port. Admittedly being short for a good beverage antenna, I 
was absolutely amazed at how well I could copy weak signal CW. Whether 
fast or slow QSB, I could hear the signal float between my ears and it 
was always there. I would wait for slow QSB and turn off diversity and 
hear the sig fade. I also found it more pleasurable to listen as well. 
With narrower DSP filtering, diversity did not sound as harsh or ringing 
with all the QRN we had here over the weekend.

I will continue to play with it through the summer, but I am a firm 
believer in diversity receiving. I will more than likely look at other, 
more permanent receiving antenna solutions for the fall when I have to 
move back indoors. I am by no means a contester of any sort (I'm still 
working on getting my code speed reasonable) but I can see how it would 
be very beneficial for contesting and weak signal work.

Yes, thanks Elecraft for getting a rookie to try something new and have 
fun using it!

73,
Dave W8FGU


Bill Tippett wrote:
> 2009 ARRL DX CW results are just out and I set a new US record for
> SOSB/160.  Final result was 428 Qs by 79 mults and the closest
> multi-multi was K1XM with 430 by 76 (at W1FJ using a 4-square on salt
> water).
> 
> Thank you Elecraft for diversity...I'll never use any rig without it!
> 
> 73,  Bill  W4ZV
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