[Elecraft] K3 & Centurion Amp

[Michael Marx]

Hi All,

I have a K3 which I had been using with a little Emtron 800 w amp.   It works fine and the QSK is just great.  It keys in a conventional way by connecting a cable between the PTT jack on the K3 and the PTT jack on the Emtron amp.  I can use the K3's keyed (which I do) or an external keyer attached to the K3.

The other day I decided to try the K3 with my Ten Tec Centurion amp.  The way it is keyed is kind of different.  You run the line from your keyer to the AMP KEY IN jack and then the KEY OUT on the amp goes to the K3's straight key jack.  This is the way they accomplish the time sequencing of the relays so there is no hot switching.  This works and for the most part works well but is not quite as satisfactory as the Emtron.  The QSK is a bit laggy and every so often there is a loud popping noise in the audio while I am sending.  This happens mostly around 30 WPM.  Slower speeds do not cause the popping quite so much.   I run the AGC in the FAST position.

I am wondering if I can change the AGC settings in the CONFIG menu to help this problem?   There are so many of them, I'm unsure of which AGC setting to try changing.  So, could someone who is smarter and more savvy than I am recommend what to do about this?   I know that CW QRQ setting might help, but since you cannot use it in SPLIT mode, it is of little use while DX'ing.

I will go back to the Emtron if I have to, but it has a very noisy blower and puts out about 300 to 400 watts less than the Centurion, so I'd rather use the Centurion if I can make it "play" better.

Thanks in a advance for any enlightenment anyone can give me

73
Mike WB0SND


Michael Marx
sndtubes at vacuumtubes.com

www.vacuumtubes.com