[Elecraft] Reference Oscillator Calibration

[Don Wilhelm]

Jay,

You did not say where you are in the world - does the "g3" in your email 
address put you in England?, or are you somewhere in the US.   Tech 
license and General class speak to a US ham, but then we are an 
international community, so I hate to make assumptions about your location.

What are you using for an antenna to pick up WWV (and where are you 
located)?
I have trouble receiving WWV on "just a hunk of wire", but it comes in 
strong on a dipole or vertical cut for the band you are receiving WWV 
on, just "go with the flow" and follow the instructions in the K3 
manual.  While your experience may not allow you to immediately identify 
the beat note, listen carefully and try to figure it out - when the beat 
note (the wow-wow tone) goes to zero, you have achieved zero beat.  
Nothing more complex that that - just open your ears and listen.

73,
Don W3FPR


On 12/21/2011 5:21 PM, g3 at abcs.com g3 at abcs.com wrote:
> Hello!
> I'm a complete newby when it comes to ham radio.  Got my tech license
> a couple of weeks ago and I'm now studying for the General class exam.
>   I thought building the K3 would be a good educational experience for
> me.
>
> I just finished assembly and all went well.  I've had an excellent
> experience so far.  But I'm stuck at the reference oscillator
> calibration stage.
>
> I don't have a frequency counter, though I suppose I could purchase
> one.  I've tried hitting the frequencies for WWV but I'm not picking
> anything up.  Of course, I don't have an antenna yet as the manual did
> not mention it as being a required piece of equipment.  I'm short on
> radio sense, I think. I have one on order,  but it has not yet
> arrived.  I was hoping to have the K3 calibrated and then begin
> dealing with the antenna setup.
>
> Is there any other way of calibrating the ref oscillator?  Can it be
> done online with the KUSB?    Any suggestions would be appreciated.
>
> Thanks for your help,
>