[Elecraft] K3 not recieving

Tue Mar 8 11:49:53 EST 2011

The best thing you can do at this point is to get an experienced local ham who knows what 
to expect to listen to your setup. I bet that if you posted the name of your town on the 
list there would be someone nearby that could help you. Or you could contact a local radio 
club.

Yes, you need more radials for an efficient antenna, but I don't think that's the problem. 
It's also the case that 100' of coax is a lot for a 43' vertical which you are matching at 
the transceiver. The KAT3 will make the rig see a matched antenna, but the SWR along the 
line will be quite high on some bands, which will cause significant loss. Having said 
that, I still don't think that's the problem.

It may just be that you are listening at the wrong times. 40 meters in the early evening 
should be good.

On 3/8/2011 7:33 AM, Vernon Mauery wrote:
> Don,
>
> It looks like you and at least one other person have said that I need
> more radials.  I will have to look into that.  Thank you for your
> suggestion.
>
> --Vernon N7OH
>
> On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 4:59 AM, Don Wilhelm<w3fpr at embarqmail.com>  wrote:
>>   Vernon,
>>
>> If your K3 is receiving static, I would tend to blame your problem on the
>> antenna rather than the K3.
>> However, there is a way to check the K3.  Beg, borrow or purchase an
>> Elecraft XG2 signal generator.  That will give you a tool to produce a 50 uV
>> signal (S-9) and also a tool to do MDS measurements on your K3.
>>
>> I do suspect your antenna.  Verticals do not work well in all locations -
>> good performance depends on your soil conditions, and 25 foot radials are
>> likely not long enough.  For a good ground screen with the 43 foot radial,
>> you need at least 32 43 foot radial wires for it to be effective.  A
>> vertical works great right on the edge of salt water, but inland locations
>> vary depending on the soil conditions.  I have always been disappointed with
>> verticals.
>>
>> Actually, I suggest a more simplistic approach - use horizontal dipoles.
>>   Use the 43 foot vertical as a mast to hold up the center of a dipole.  Get
>> a 1:1 balun and construct a dipole for 40 and 20 meters.  2 radiator wires
>> 33 feet long and two 16 foot long these two antennas can run on a single
>> feedline..  Run the center up to the top of your 43 foot "mast" and hang the
>> ends of the dipole wires as high as you can using whatever supports are
>> available.  You want an angle between the wires to be at an angle greater
>> than 45 degrees.  The two wires for 40 meters (the 33 ft long ones) should
>> be in the same vertical plane, and the two wires for 20 meters should be at
>> right angles to the 40 meter wires to keep interaction to a minimum.
>>
>> You mentioned 10 meters.  Propagation conditions may be a problem too.  The
>> higher HF bands do not have many signals during the hours of darkness, and
>> 10 meters may not have many signals during the day.  20 meters during the
>> daylight hours is usually reliable and 40 meters at night will typically
>> have good signals.  During periods of greater sunspot activity, the higher
>> frequency bands will show more activity, but during the recent sunspot
>> minimum, there were times when 20 meters was barely usable, but conditions
>> are improving.
>>
>> 73,
>> Don W3FPR
>>
>> On 3/8/2011 1:06 AM, Vernon Mauery wrote:
>>>
>>> At the risk of exposing what a n00b I am when it comes to HF, I really
>>> need some help.  I recently (last month) purchased a K3.  First HF
>>> radio I have owned.  I got my license 2 years ago and have spent most
>>> of the time since playing with VHF.  I have been trying to teach
>>> myself CW and decided that it was time to step into the HF waters.  I
>>> studied, ogled, and dreamed of my ideal HF transceiver.  I finally
>>> found the K3 and having looked (at least a cursory glance) at all the
>>> others, I was sold.  I saved my pennies and purchased.  I also got
>>> myself a 43' untuned vertical antenna, balun, and radial wires.
>>>
>>> My setup: K3/100 has 100 feet of low loss 400 coax out to the 43 foot
>>> vertical on the hill in my back yard.  It has 8 25 foot radials and a
>>> 4:1 balun.  The K3 has the KATU3, KPA3, KTCXO3-1, KFL3A-400, and
>>> default 2.8KHz filters.  I assembled it and did followed the
>>> calibration instructions as well as I could.  I think I got
>>> everything, but obviously I missed something.  Or maybe I just need an
>>> elmer to tell me what to do.
>>>
>>> I cannot seem to find any signals that make the S meter go above a 3
>>> or 4.  I have the RF gain turned up a fair ways (mostly to the top),
>>> and I can hear static.  As I tune up some of the bands on SSB, I can
>>> hear a tone that changes higher in pitch as I tune up in frequency.  I
>>> have tried listening for CW, but I am hearing nothing as I scan
>>> through the bands.  I had a 10m horizontal dipole taped to my wall for
>>> a while until I found time to run the coax out to the back yard.  I
>>> had hoped that since it was resonant on the 10m band, maybe it would
>>> be able to pick up something, but it was no better (or worse) than my
>>> vertical.
>>>
>>> As far as I can tell, the radio seems to transmit.  I can see the
>>> power meter moving and the SWR meter moving.  The ATU seems to be able
>>> to find acceptable settings on most of the bands with the vertical.
>>> But I can't hear them.  You can't work them if you can't hear them,
>>> right?
>>>
>>> This is a desperate plea for help.  Is it the radio or me?  Please
>>> have pity on the n00b and walk me through my first HF contact.
>>>
>>> --Vernon N7OH
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>>
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-- 
Vic, K2VCO
Fresno CA
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco/