[Elecraft] N6KR's Field Day suggestions for the KX1, K1, K2, and K3

[Johnny Siu]

Hello Wayne,

Very good article indeed.  Could you keep this somewhere in your website for future easy reference (if you haven't done so)?

73

Johnny VR2XMC



----- 郵件原件 ----
寄件人﹕ Wayne Burdick <n6kr at elecraft.com>
收件人﹕ Elecraft Reflector <elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
傳送日期﹕ 2010/6/26 (六) 8:51:10 AM
主題： [Elecraft] N6KR's Field Day suggestions for the KX1, K1, K2, and K3

KX1:

- If you're going for minimum station weight but still want about 2  
watts out, try a set of non-rechargeable lithium AA batteries. The  
price isn't too bad. They're extremely light, and you'll get an entire  
field day out of one set (as long as you listen a lot more than you  
transmit).

- There's no need to use coax. A wire tossed in a tree (20-25') plus  
one ground counterpoise wire per band, both connected to a BNC to  
binding post adapter, works quite well as a portable antenna system.  
On the very first FD with the prototype KX1, I tried an "inverted  
vertical": Climb a tree and hang a wire down from the hot lead. Made  
at least one QSO this way.

K1:

- The K1 is capable of putting out up to 7 W from a freshly-charged  
internal battery pack. But you'll get more mileage out of it if you  
turn down the power. What I like to do is set power to about 1 to 2  
watts, initially, and try to work all of the strong stations on a  
band. When the pickings get slim, set power back to 5 W and start  
another round of hunt 'n' pounce.

- Use a narrow crystal filter bandwidth (say 200 Hz). You'll find lots  
of QRP stations this way, in the vicinity of 7030-7040 and 14060. See  
the FLx menu entry. (There's a K1 quick-reference card on our K1 page.)

K2 and K3:

- Use the real-time clock (just kidding :)

- If you have a KAT2 or KAT3, try connecting two random-wire antennas  
with different orientations. Tune up on both. You can then quickly  
compare the two antennas with a tap of ANT. This can make an S-unit or  
more of difference in both RX and TX mode, improving your QRO rate  
when calling other stations. Sometimes the difference won't be  
apparent in RX mode due to fading, but if they don't come back to you  
on one antenna, try the other.

K3:

- In the heat of battle I typically use two filter setups, one narrow,  
one wide. You can use the "I" and "II" switches to toggle between two  
current setups, or use the NORM 1/2 method (see page 24 of the Owner's  
manual).

- If you have stereo headphones or stereo speakers, use turn AFX on to  
reduce operating fatigue. (The stereo simulation makes the audio feel  
"bigger" and more interesting.) I like DELAY 4 or DELAY 5 best.

- Use the sub-RX effectively. For example, if you're having trouble  
working one station, keep VFO A parked there, but turn on the sub and  
look for others using VFO B. Hit the A/B switch to alternate between  
them. Also try diversity mode, especially from 20 m down, if you have  
two antennas. This can dramatically improve copy during QSB.  
Especially helpful if you're calling CQ and have a good signal --  
you'll be able to pull out more of the weak ones.

- CW ops: Use QRQ CW mode (set CONFIG:CW QRQ to ON). Break in is  
incredibly fast, saving your batteries by allowing you tell when the  
called station hasn't heard you, and stop transmitting sooner. You  
can't use RIT or SPLIT yet with QRQ, but you can use the sub receiver:  
Just transmit on VFO A and receive on VFO B with the sub turned on.

73,
Wayne
N6KR





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