[Elecraft] Starting values for AGC with MCU 4.51 ???

Wed May 23 09:13:19 EDT 2012

Dave has eardrums made of neoprene.  He does an audio headset version of
bungee jumping off a bridge.

But I should talk.  For some time at NY4A, I would operate an MP with the
AGC off, using the limiting of its rather limited DSP to limit the pain, so
I could hear the 40m DL/OK QRP basement wet noodle antenna crowd down
amongst all the IMD generated stuff that we thought was band noise until
the K3 came out.  Then AGC worked again.  Now AGC works even better.

I've gotten so spoiled...  I may never run a contest with AGC off again.  I
may lose my charter membership in the
I-can-listen-to-anything-at-any-volume-and-show-no-sign-of-pain Club I
earned in the '50's handling traffic on 80 meters in the summer time using
an old National that only had AGC for AM signals.

73, Guy.

On Wed, May 23, 2012 at 8:40 AM, Brian Alsop <alsopb at nc.rr.com> wrote:

> Have you tried these settings?  It's easy to do with a signal generator.
> You might not like them.
>
>  From what I can tell your settings kick in the AGC at S9.  At that
> point you have about 54db of audio change from weakest to strongest.
> It then goes up from there.  How much depends upon how Elecraft has
> warped the slope so your ears don't get blown up.
>
> The AF limiter will probably kick in often and produce a horrible
> sounding signal to save your ears.
>
> The strategy to fiddle with AF/RF controls to keep AF levels acceptable
> always seemed an added chore that the radio should be doing.
>
> 73 de Brian/K3KO
>
>
> On 5/23/2012 00:31, Dave Hachadorian wrote:
> > I'll be in the WPX CW this weekend, using the rare prefix call
> > sign KZ7X.  I'm hoping for some good pileups to test things out!
> >
> > I'll be using these settings:
> > agc dcy soft
> > hld 0.2
> > pls nor
> > slp 0
> > thr 20
> > f 200
> > s 020
> > af lim nor 030
> > front panel  agc fast
> > Use min preamp, max attenuator, and min rf gain to keep weak
> > signals just clearly readable.
> >
> > My idea behind those settings is to keep dynamic range as high as
> > possible before agc even begins to actuate.
> >
> > If agc compression becomes a big issue, I will try turning agc
> > off, and setting rf and af gain to keep signals in the range
> > where they need to be (weak signals readable, and loud signals
> > below the AF Limiter).  I have a new sensitive headphone setup,
> > and new sound deadening in the amplifier that may help in this
> > regard.  Thanks to K3NA for this idea:
> > http://wiki.contesting.com/index.php/Setting_receiver_gain_controls
> >
> > That's my plan, and I'm stickin' to it!
> >
> > Dave Hachadorian, K6LL
> > Yuma, Arizona
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Peter Chamalian
> > Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2012 2:48 PM
> > To: 'Jack Colson' ; elecraft at mailman.qth.net
> > Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Starting values for AGC with MCU 4.51 ???
> >
> > I have not had a sufficiently large or loud pile up to test the
> > AGC mods
> > under "battle conditions".  Perhaps this weekend...
> >
> > I have my AGC values all set at the default levels except AGC THR
> > which is
> > 13.
> >
> > I'll be interested to hear what others are doing.
> >
> > Pete, W1RM
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Jack Colson [mailto:jcolson7 at tampabay.rr.com]
> > Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2012 5:19 PM
> > To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
> > Subject: [Elecraft] Starting values for AGC with MCU 4.51 ???
> >
> > With all the comments about the upgraded or improved AGC is their
> > a
> > consensus as to starting values?  I realize that these can be
> > tailored for
> > specific situations but a default starting set would be helpful.
> >
> > Thank you in advance,
> > 73,
> > Jack, W3TMZ
> >
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