[Elecraft] "Hot" K3

[Don Rasmussen]

Thanks all for entertaining my query. 

Actually, in order to get K3 to show the usual 50mv
S9 reading on the S-meter, I need to set the CONFIG 
S-Meter Offset and S-Meter range at their reduced stops. 

Otherwise S5 signals display S9 bars on the K3 meter. 

That's what tells me something is wrong. 

If there is a firmware setting or a hardware pot that
adjusts the signal amplification level I'll need to reduce this. 

Hopefully, it is not a component out of spec that's
causing this, but this may be the case. 



[Elecraft] "Hot" K3

Don:

I had the same reaction upon first using my new K3 last year. The K3 is
significantly more sensitive than my previous rig (IC-756 non-Pro), and as
my noise environment is fairly high (inner suburb with ~110 dBm background
noise), at first it seemed as if the K3 is fairly noisy. Also, while the S
meter of most rigs are calibrated fairly well at S9, their meters are not
linear (in dB units) at lower S unit readings (the K3 meter is very linear
at 6 dB per S unit)-- with the result that the K3 meter readings are higher
by a few S units.

I find that I often use the attenuator and/or the RF gain to decrease the
band noise in the K3 -- I rarely used these in my other rigs. Also, try
playing with the AGC settings, particularly the THR and SLP settings, which
can be customized to suit your operating conditions. Also, turning off the
AGC and riding the RF gain can really help pull out very weak signals.

Steve N9SZ

Don Rasmussen wrote:

"My new K3 #2308 shows two to three S-units high as compared to my other HF
radios, \
and lots of hiss in the speaker audio at low AF levels."