[Elecraft] K3 Cooling

[Joe Planisky]

This seems to be another one of those extremely variable things about  
the K3.  Some folk's rigs seem to be extremely quiet and others not so  
much.  The fans in my K3 are clearly audible at all speeds.  At the  
highest speed it competes well with the old tower PC I use for digital  
modes. I've replaced the fans once with very little difference in noise.

Most (but not all) of the reports of very quiet fans I've heard of  
were from rigs with low serial numbers.  I suspect Elecraft may have  
used different brands of fans at different times, which might account  
for differences in reported noise.

As for how often they come on, from an idle temperature of 26C, it  
takes about 1:15 of 20WPM CW at 50W into a dummy load for the fans in  
my K3 to kick on.

73
--
Joe KB8AP

On Apr 6, 2010, at 7:43 AM, Rick Prather wrote:

> I dislike fan noise in my shack, one of the many reasons I love my  
> iMac, and before I considered a K3 I made a trip to Aptos and they  
> were kind enough to let me play with one for a bit including running  
> the fans through their paces.
>
> Then, and now on my own K3, I find it nearly impossible to hear the  
> first 3 speeds and the 4th speed is barely detectable.  That, plus  
> the fact the the fans rarely come on at any speed means the K3  
> passes my personal "quiet test".
>
> Rick
> K6LE