[Elecraft] K3. RX too sensitive for me

[Jim Brown]

> I've got a lot of noise which I attribute to a sensitive receiver.

You may be mistaken about why the noise is loud.  Many of us live in 
places where there is a lot of electrical noise. When I lived in 
Chicago, my noise level was rarely less than about S6, and often S9.

There are three good ways to reduce the sensitivity of the K3.  First, 
turn off the Pre-amp. The preamp should nearly always be off below 20M,  
Second, turn ON the Attenuator. The Attenuator should usually be ON for 
80M and 160M.  If you set the meter mode for ABS it will still correctly 
read the voltage at the antenna input.

Third, turn down the RF gain.  When those of us with lots of grey hair 
started in ham radio, we learned early on that receivers should 
generally be run with the AF gain fairly high and to control the 
sensitivity with the RF gain. Sadly, that method has fallen into dis-use 
as more hams don't bother to sudy the fundamentals of how their radios 
work.  Yes, the S-meter is not calibrated when the RF gain is turned 
down, but the radio works better that way. :)

73, Jim K9YC