[Elecraft] P3 S meter variance

[Alan Bloom]

There are a couple reasons why the K3's S meter and the P3 display may
show a different level.

As Don mentioned, the P3 will generally show a much lower level than the
K3 on noise.  It's because the effective bandwidth of the P3 is
generally only one display pixel, about 1/450 of the span.  Less
bandwidth means less noise power in each display point.  The same thing
happens to some extent with an SSB signal.

Another issue is that the S meter reading on the K3 may change when you
turn the preamp or attenuator on or off.  To prevent that happening, set
CONFIG:SMTR MD to "ABS".

If you do that and calibrate both the K3 S meter and the P3 amplitude,
then the two should closely agree when measuring a steady CW carrier.

Alan N1AL


On Sat, 2011-01-15 at 23:16 -0500, bill wade, sr. wrote:
> Newly installed P3. Noticed S meter reading on K3 will be 2-3 units 
> higher than that displayed on P3.  I've tried lengthening the signal 
> heights, but results are unsatisfactory:-( .
> 
> Is there another method for bringing the two more in balance?
> 
> 73
> 
> Bill Wade, Ai4PF
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