[Elecraft] Using K3 for 2m EME
Lance Collister, W7GJ
w7gj at q.com
Tue Apr 9 21:48:35 EDT 2013
Hallo Olli,
It worked GREAT! I received ROCK SOLID stability reports from people I worked JT65B
mode today on 2m EME ;-) It is tied to the high stability oscillator that is in the
K3, but I have no external reference. I do have the KXV3A and the K144XV-F with
REFLOCK, and on the menu setting it says that it is locked onto that fort the
frequency. I have not checked with people to see how close my 2m frequency seems to
be, but I think it must be pretty close, and the stability is obviously good. Nice
to have the same stability now that I have been enjoying from the K3 on 6m EME ;-)
GL and VY 73, Lance
On 4/9/2013 10:58 PM, Oliver Dröse wrote:
> Hi Lance,
>
> and, how did it work? Curious to know, never put my K3/K144XV on the moon, just
> used for terrestrial modes like tropo and MS yet. And do you also have the REFLOCK
> board?
>
> Tnx & 73, Olli - DH8BQA
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lance Collister, W7GJ" <w7gj at q.com>
> To: <don at w3fpr.com>
> Cc: "Elecraft Mailing List" <elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Tuesday, April 09, 2013 5:08 PM
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Using K3 for 2m EME
>
>
>> Hi Don,
>>
>> We will see how it works today on 2m EME with the pair of BNC external coaxial
>> relays to control the K3's single 2m port ;-) VY 73, Lance
>>
>>
>>
>> On 4/8/2013 11:54 PM, Don Wilhelm wrote:
>>> Lance,
>>>
>>> My guess is that you will need to change to the external XV144 transverter which
>>> does have the capability of using separate TX and RX antennas (selectable at
>>> build time). The internal transverter does not have that capability.
>>>
>>> Yes, it does sound like an expensive oversight.
>>>
>>> 73,
>>> Don W3FPR
>>>
>>> On 4/8/2013 7:37 PM, Lance Collister, W7GJ wrote:
>>>> I wonder if anybody has any ideas about this. Prior to my trip to TX5K, I used
>>>> my K3 for receive on 2m EME by setting up the transverter port for a 28 to 144
>>>> MHz transverter, and I just plugged my 28 MHz converter into that nicely
>>>> isolated receive port. The receiver worked great, but I was eventually
>>>> interested in getting the internal 2m transmitter module so I could use the more
>>>> stable K3 on XMIT too. I was using my old IC746 as a separate transmitter on
>>>> 2m EME, and - as most of you know - it drifts quite noticeably every sequence.
>>>> And besides, I thought for traveling it would be convenient to have both 2m and
>>>> 6m capability in one lightweight box.
>>>>
>>>> So, now I have the 2m module installed in my K3 ;-) The problem is that I can
>>>> no longer use the transverter port....it is hard wired to the 2m module. And
>>>> apparently, the only 2m connector is the new one (a BNC called antenna jack #3)
>>>> that is used for box receive and transmit. So there seems to be no way to use
>>>> the K3 with a separate protected receive line anymore!
>>>>
>>>> For 6m EME, there is no problem - I just bring my 6m preamp line into the
>>>> separate RX ANT jack, and the 6m transmit power goes out through the UHF antenna
>>>> jack #2. For 2m EME, though, I can't figure out how to bring in a separate
>>>> receive line (either on 2m from my tower mounted preamp or after my receive
>>>> converter at 28 MHz) and still be able to transmit on 2m. The K3 does not
>>>> support cross band operation, so I cannot use the RX ANT jack to safely receive
>>>> my converter output on 28 MHz and still transmit using the internal 10w 2m module.
>>>>
>>>> Has anybody figured out a way to modify the circuitry or software to provide a
>>>> separate receive line for 2m operation? It seems like I just made a very
>>>> expensive mistake, and should have just bought an external transverter so I
>>>> could retain use of the separate transverter receive jack on the rear of the
>>>> K3. If not, I guess I will just have to go back to using the IC746 for my
>>>> transmitter on 2m, and defining a second transverter setting for the K3 that
>>>> will allow me to bring in my 28 MHz converter output into that receive only
>>>> jack. This latter option DOES seem to work, but of course, the internal
>>>> transmit capability of the K3 on 2m is thrown out the window.
>>>>
>>>> Of course, there is always the solution of adding more sequenced external
>>>> coaxial relays to switch the K3's solitary new BNC antenna jack #3, between my
>>>> driver amp input and my 2m preamp output. However, the whole point of this
>>>> expensive exercise was to try to take advantage of the great separate receiver
>>>> antenna capabilities offered by the K3 on all other bands, apparently EXCEPT if
>>>> you add the built-in 2m option :-(
>>>>
>>>> Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Elecraft Tech Support suggested
>>>> that I ask users for ideas, since they also are baffled on how to make this
>>>> work, and I guess are surprised at my application. MNI TNX and VY 73, Lance
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Lance Collister, W7GJ
>> (ex WA3GPL, WA1JXN, WA1JXN/C6A, ZF2OC/ZF8, E51SIX, 3D2LR, 5W0GJ, E6M)
>> P.O. Box 73
>> Frenchtown, MT 59834-0073
>> USA
>> TEL: (406) 626-5728
>> QTH: DN27ub
>> URL: http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj
>> Windows Messenger: W7GJ at hotmail.com
>> Skype: lanceW7GJ
>> 2m DXCC #11/6m DXCC #815
>>
>> Interested in 6m EME? Ask me about subscribing to the Magic Band EME
>> email group, or just fill in the request box at the bottom of my web
>> page (above)!
>>
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>
--
Lance Collister, W7GJ
(ex WA3GPL, WA1JXN, WA1JXN/C6A, ZF2OC/ZF8, E51SIX, 3D2LR, 5W0GJ, E6M)
P.O. Box 73
Frenchtown, MT 59834-0073
USA
TEL: (406) 626-5728
QTH: DN27ub
URL: http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj
Windows Messenger: W7GJ at hotmail.com
Skype: lanceW7GJ
2m DXCC #11/6m DXCC #815
Interested in 6m EME? Ask me about subscribing to the Magic Band EME
email group, or just fill in the request box at the bottom of my web
page (above)!
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