[Elecraft] A K3 CW/DX operating scenario from N6KR

[Wayne Burdick]

Believe it or not, I sometimes I get a break from work (like writing  
K3 firmware) and actually get on the air. Conditions were excellent to  
EU from northern California tonight. Just had a solid QSO with Tof,  
DJ6ZM.

I have a different view of the K3 than most -- almost from the inside  
out, as I'm alway thinking about both firmware and hardware. So I  
thought it might be interesting to explain how I set up the rig, using  
tonight's operation as an example.

(If you use the radio a lot differently and have an interesting tale  
to tell, feel free to share it. Perhaps someone else would like to  
give us an example in SSB, AM, or data mode.)

I started out with VFO A on 7005.0, then turned the P3 on and set it  
for a span of 10 kHz (7000-7010). I adjusted the P3's REF LVL control  
for optimal contrast on weak signals -- about a 50/50 mix of blue and  
black when looking only at noise.

Next, I turned on diversity receive (long hold of the SUB switch) and  
put the sub RX on a different antenna from main. This provides a  
significant improvement in signal copy in fading conditions, as long  
as the two antennas have somewhat different polarization. I also have  
the SUB AF knob defined as main/sub AF balance (this is accomplished  
using CONFIG:SUB AF).

All my AGC settings are at factory defaults, RF GAIN is at maximum,  
and AGC is set to slow (AGC-S).

I like *really* narrow filtering on a noisy band. Here's how I have it  
set it up tonight:

   PITCH = 550 Hz
   WIDTH = 50 Hz (DSP), selecting the 200-Hz crystal filter
   NR turned on and set to F8-4

I even went so far as to turn on the "IIR" DSP audio filtering for  
this occasion, since it provides steeper skirts and further cuts  
noise. I would normally recommend sticking with "FIR" filters (the  
default), which have less ringing. But if you want to try the IIR  
filter yourself, locate CONFIG:FL5 BW (or whatever filter you're on),  
then tap #7 on the keypad. This turns IIR filtering on or off. If you  
did this a lot you might want to create a switch macro for it -- see  
the K3 Programmer's Reference or K3 Utility help.

I'm very fond of the K3's new QRQ CW mode ("CW+"), which I use at all  
times except when I'm using SPLIT or RIT with the sub receiver turned  
off. When QRQ CW is enabled, a '+' symbol appears in the mode area. CW 
+ is especially well suited to hunt-and-pounce DXing. Break-in is  
extremely fast, so you'll know right away if the DX station hasn't  
heard you, and is calling CQ again. I have the associated menu entry,  
CONFIG:CW QRQ, assigned to special function key PF1 so I can turn it  
on/off quickly. (Regular, non-QRQ-mode break-in is plenty fast for  
most operation, of course. I'm just really picky :)

Given the high atmospheric noise, I have the main RX preamp turned  
off. The sub is using a lower-gain antenna, so it's preamp is on.

Finally, I have the K3's time display turned on. I use paper logging  
when operating casually (with the computer and its annoying fan turned  
off), so the real-time-clock time and date displays come in handy. I  
don't need to see the VFO B frequency since the rig is set up for  
diversity mode, where VFO A controls both the A and B synthesizers.

Now for the fun part: Watching DX signals pop up on the P3! It's like  
shooting fish in a barrel. I use about half the screen height for the  
waterfall display, which shows me at a glance a history of where CW  
signals have been recently. I use the other half of the screen for the  
spectral display. In many cases I can tell a DX station from a  
stateside station by the height of the pip.

When I see something of interest, I turn on the P3's MKR A (VFO A QSY  
marker), adjust the knob, and click -- bingo, the signal pops up in  
the passband. Might adjust the VFO A knob on the K3 to fine-tune the  
signal in some cases. I also have CWT turned on, so I can tap SPOT on  
the K3 to quickly zero in on any on-air signal so that it matches my  
pitch. This isn't necessary very often since I'm using such a tight  
filter.

I was using 10 watts most of the time, but for the DJ6 I cranked it up  
to 100 W. One call.

That's it for my CW DXing scenario. Let me know if you have any  
questions about the features I've detailed above.

73,
Wayne
N6KR