[Elecraft] Itching for a new rig

[Don Wilhelm]

Gary,

Maybe I can help.  The "high pitched hiss" problem has been tackled over 
2 years ago with the addition of an audio low pass filter.  The reports 
you are reading do not represent today's K3.  That is an unfortunate 
consequence of Elecraft offering upgraded K3s (and K2s) without 
releasing a new model number as some other manufacturers are predisposed 
to do - "if you want it fixed, buy the new model".  Elecraft does offer 
the means for owners to upgrade to the latest level, and that is unique 
in the "world of ham radios" as far as I know.

As for the K2 being more quiet than the K3, I believe that is an 
illusion.  The K3 is more sensitive than the K2, and its antenna input 
to audio output gain is higher than with the K2.  The result is that 
with "all knobs to the right" operation, the K3 audio will have a louder 
level of atmospheric band noise.  The solution is to turn off the preamp 
and add attenuation if that helps.  Another thing that will help a lot 
is the settings for the AGC parameters.  I encourage anyone with this 
"problem" to go to my website (www.w3fpr.com) and review the "Noisy K3" 
article.

The bottom line is that the K3 is highly configurable - the default 
settings are OK for many purposes, but can be refined for particular 
situations.  The K3 has more than ample gain, and its sensitivity is 
tops in its league - the roofing filters and DSP filtering will allow 
you to operate quite close to an adjacent signal on the band and you 
will not even know he is there - that is the best K3 strong point IMHO.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 11/30/2011 4:26 PM, Gary D Krause wrote:
> Thanks guys.  Every once in a while, I make a post like this because, I get
> itchy.  I know that there is at least one ham here that has a K3 but, I can't
> remember who that is.  I'm sure there are more.
>
> One of the things that has concerned me is that some have reported that the K3
> is hard to listen to after a while because, of high pitched hiss in the
> background.  I'm sure that this can be adjusted with all the audio settings
> that the K3 has, right?  I get the impression that some people don't quite
> understand how to use the settings correctly, get frustrated and give up.
>   Another reason to hear one for myself.  I've also notice that on the videos I
> have seen that the K2 always seems to be quieter than the K3 or any other rig.
>   I realize that they may not be using the best audio equipment, etc, but, it
> seems to be consistent with most videos I have seen.  Perhaps someone that has
> both the K3 and the K2 can shed some light on that here?
>
> Thanks,
> Gary
>
>
>
>
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