[Elecraft] K3-PR10

[Dale Boresz]

Fred,

Clearly, my QTH on the shore of Lake Erie about 15 miles East of 
Cleveland, Ohio is not as quiet as yours. I don't doubt that the K3 
could benefit from a preamp on 10 meters -- IF -- one lives in a quiet 
enough location to be able to appreciate it. My location does not qualify.

I compared the K3 rx performance on 10m with that of my FLEX-5000A, and 
both indicate  the noise floor rising about 8 to 9 dB when the Hex Beam 
is connected. So, it's clear to me that the ambient noise level of my RF 
environment already exceeds the noise floor of the receivers, and I 
wouldn't benefit from the PR-10.

Please note: I am not saying that the PR-10 would not be beneficial for 
some stations, and I'm quite sure that the Elecraft engineers wouldn't 
develop and market the PR-10 for lack of anything better to do.  I've 
always operated from this area, so it's the only RF environment I know, 
and based upon my tests, the PR-10 would provide no benefit here, at 
this QTH. It would be nice if the rf environment was a bit quieter, but 
I'm still having fun.

73, Dale
WA8SRA


On 10/26/2012 8:11 AM, Fred Smith wrote:
> Dale
>
> Your missing the better receiver of the 5000 on 10m, and yes I live in the
> country on a farm with 7 elements on 10m at 60'. My suggestion would be for
> you to buy a 5000 and then you would hear the difference this is not a knee
> jerk statement but one that was checked over many months with instant A/B
> antenna switching to the same antenna. What are you using for your
> comparison between the 2 radios other than an A/B side by side? I also have
> a P3/SVGA and an SDR-IQ on the FTDX-5000 for a Panadpter for measurements.
>
> For starters you might put up a better antenna a little higher and from the
> sounds of it find somewhere that is in a quieter location to take advantage
> of weak signal work. I'm very happy with my K3's and the K2, KPA500 and plan
> on keeping them but there is no perfect radio all have their faults and
> strong points. I don't know why some refuse to believe that a radio can be
> lacking in any area no matter who made it, I have never had that problem. I
> am not a brand loyal person but one who buys what he feels is the best
> performing radio that meets his needs and a company he likes.
>
> For now Elecraft meets my needs and are responsive to its customers with
> products and support. I do believe that if Wayne or Eric thought that a 10m
> preamp was not necessary they would not have one on the planning boards. For
> all their feedback to customers is why I choose Elecraft they do not hide
> their head in the sand.
>
> 73,
> Fred/N0AZZ
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net
> [mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Dale Boresz
> Sent: Friday, October 26, 2012 5:01 AM
> To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3-PR10
>
> Fred,
>
> You must have an enviably quiet QTH (or a very poor antenna) if you find
> that the K3 can benefit from a preamp on 10m. I work a lot of weak signal CW
> on 10m with a simple Hex Beam up about 45 feet. Even with the Hex Beam's low
> gain, I can see the noise floor drop by about 9 dBm when I disconnect the
> antenna from the K3 with the antenna pointed to the quietest part of the sky
> in the early morning hours when the band is clearly not open. These
> measurements were taken using both the P3 and the K3's built-in AFV amd dBV
> measurement functionality.
>
> Based upon the above measurements, the band noise is already one and a half
> S-Units above the receiver's noise floor, so it seems to me that in terms of
> improving the signal to noise ratio, a preamp would be of little value.
>
> What am I missing here? (perhaps a quieter location  ;-)   )
>
> 73, Dale
> WA8SRA
>
>
>
> On 10/26/2012 4:51 AM, Fred Smith wrote:
>> Tim
>>
>> I can address this a little comparing my FTDX-5000MP and my K3's the
>> k3's receivers are not up to the level of the Yaesu 5000 on the high
>> bands. But quite the other way around on the low bands in IMHO but
>> 6/10m really needs a good preamp for sure.
>>
>> 73,
>> Fred/N0AZZ
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