[Elecraft] For you Anti-Scopes

[drewko]

I'm not "anit-scope"; just don't think I can justify the cost based
upon my casual operating style. Certainly I would like to have one to
play around with, I just don't want to pay for it...

For the scenarios you listed below I think a non-scope K3 could be
much improved if it had a wider bandpass and more sophisticated
scanner. 

Although I operate almost entirely in CW my bandpass is typically set
wide open. However, this is effectively only aout 2 KHz max, which is
not nearly wide enough when you want to hear what is going on around
you on the band. 

As for the K3 scanner, it is rudimentary and of very limited
usefulness. It has a few one-size-fits-all scanning rates, which never
seem to be exactly appropriate (depending on how much territory you
want to cover). Also the dwell time for squelched scanning is, as far
as I can tell, completely random: sometimes it stops for a fraction of
a second, sometimes for many seconds. 

The scanner would be much more useful if it had a user variable
scanning rate (perhaps implemented in some way with the VFO B knob or
RIT control), so that one could smoothly vary the rate while the
receiver is scanning. Same goes for a user controllable dwell time.
But I suppose few K3 owners have even tried the scanner, so there
probably isn't much call to improve it.

73,
Drew
AF2Z




On Tue, 16 Feb 2010 19:35:50 -0500, Steve N4LQ  wrote:

>My 19" monitor is showing a cw segment of 40 meters in the early afternoon. I see 4 active cw signals. 
>Tell me....What would be the odds of finding those signals by tuning across the band with a knob? 
>
>You would miss hearing the signal if:
>1. As you tuned across his frequency, he paused and you didn't hear him.
>2. As you tuned across his frequency, he turned it over to the other guy who is too weak to hear. 
>3. His cw speed is so slow that you tuned across his frequency in between characters.
>4. He ended his CQ before you tuned to his frequency.
>5. His singnal faded into the noise right when you were tuning through his frequency.
>6. You heard a beep as you tuned but now you can't find where he was.
>7. He started calling CQ right as you tuned past his frequency.
>
>Once you've had a bandscope, it's hard to live without it. 
>See it in action: http://n4lq.webs.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=8215456
>
>Steve
>N4LQ