[Elecraft] K3 Contest Configuration Setup

[Jim Brown]

On 4/14/2014 12:46 PM, Sam Morgan wrote:
> please share their *Contesting* setup with us, for both SSB and CW.

K6LL has shared his ALC settings, and I defer to him. I've shared my 
audio settings many time -- for TXEQ, the three lowest bands maximum 
cut, 6 dB cut for the fourth band, then tweak on the basis of signal 
reports. For most mics, leave the rest of the bands flat. If a mic 
sounds "spitty" (too much high end), back off the highest band.

Mic gain and compression "by the manual," paying no attention to the 
numerical values of control readouts, but carefully watching compression 
on the mater, and setting it for 10 dB on audio peaks.

Computer playback level coming out of the computer should be set to that 
voice peaks are about 6 dB below clip level at the sound card (clip is 
typically 1 volt peak, so set it for 0.5 volt peak). Then set line input 
gain so that you get the same indicated compression on computer playback 
as you do with the live mic. Obviously, be careful when recording your 
messages so that they are recorded cleanly, without distortion. If 
possible, use the same mic for these voice messages as with the radio. 
This is quite simple if you're using a mic like the Yamaha CM500.

The K3 should ALWAYS be set up with no ALC between it and a power amp, 
and the K3 power output should be set to the level that results in the 
desired power output from the amp. My KPA500 gets to full power with 29W 
drive; I need between 40 and 50w to drive my Ten Tec Titans to full power.

I set up my P3s for maximum averaging, with a tall waterfall display 
that gives me a full minute at a time. For contesting, I set the scale 
for 42 dB; for general operation, I use 24 dB. I set the Fixed Tune 
mode, and assign the Fixed Tune toggle to one of the buttons. I assign 
the Peak/Average toggle to another button. The remaining six are set for 
sweep widths of 2 kHz, 10 kHz, 20 kHz, 50 kHz, 100 kHz, and 200 kHz. 
Now, all I need to change on the P3 during most contests is the 
sensitivity, to keep band noise near the bottom of the display so that 
weak signals are more clearly displayed.

Before each contest that I'm taking seriously, I run through all bands 
on both radios setting drive levels, leaving frequencies on each band 
near where I plan to operate, setting the P3 display limits to match the 
normal operating frequency range of that particular contest. And I tune 
up on each band and each antenna, note the settings, look for any 
antennas or settings that have changed since the last time around, and 
look for the cause of those differences as a potential failure.

Hope this helps.

73, Jim K9YC