[Elecraft] [K3] K3 S-Meter and Noise

[Radio Amateur N5GE]

On Sat, 3 Oct 2009 19:33:59 -0700 (PDT), Jim HaRRIS <w0em at q.com>
wrote:

Below....

>
>Tom,
>
>I have three radio's in my shack besides the K3.  I've checked their
>S-meters with the recommended XG1 and all have comparable readings.  All
>four are equally quiet without an antenna connected and with a dummy load
>connected.  When connected to an antenna the K3 has about 2 S units more
>noise indicated than the other radios connected to the same antenna (A/B
>switch) and the noise level sounds about that much louder.  All volume
>controls are at about 9 o'clock.  This applies to most bands.  Strangely,
>WARC bands seem to be mostly excepted.
>
>This afternoon I took the my K3, K2 and FT-857D mobile using a 54" Li'l
>Tarheel II screwdriver antenna tuned to 20 meters.  I operated the K3 & K2
>from a SLA battery with the van turned off.  I was in a park with nothing
>electrical for at least a half mile.  Volume was again set at 9 0'clock on
>all three.  The K3 have a steady S1 with peaks to S3.  The other radios had
>S0 with no peaks.  Volumes sounded appropriate for indicated S-meter
>reading.  
>
>I've almost completely disassembled the radio and reassembled it and done
>the EE INIT reset with no change.
>
>It's apparent this K3 is more sensitive to antenna noise than the other four
>radio's which are all about equal.  This leads me to believe this particular
>radio is going to bury weak signals in noise making them harder to dig out
>than the other radios.
>
>I've exchanged several emails with support and next week I'm supposed to
>talk with someone higher up at Aptos.  I'm trying to be patient with this
>but it has been over a month since I placed the initial order.  During
>assembly I had to replace the DSP board for an unrelated problem.  If the
>radio has to go back to Aptos it will be close to two months since ordering
>before I have a fully functional radio.
>
>Have a good day and 73,
>
>Jim, W0EM

[snip]

As I said before,  it sounds to me like your K3 has a better RX than
your other two radios.

73,

Enjoy your K3.

Tom, N5GE

n5ge at n5ge.com
K3 #806, K3 #1055, PR6,
XV144, XV432, KRC2,
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