[Elecraft] KX3 + JT9 -- any successes?

[Martin AA6E]

Hello, all,

I've been working with my stock KX3 and HF JT65 / JT9 via the WSJT-X program.  Brief 
results:

--Mostly bad luck with JT modes until I did the "Extended VFO Temperature 
Compensation Procedure".
--After doing the procedure, I can work JT65 pretty reliably for P ~ < 3 W.
--I can decode JT9 sometimes, but I can't get anyone to decode my transmissions.  (20M)

The result of the temperature calibration was that I seemed to have +/- 1 Hz 
stability (compensation?) at 50 MHz from 22 to 55 C.  I thought that was pretty good, 
but it still does not seem to give good JT9 results.  (JT9 is extremely narrow-band 
with 9 tones spaced at 1.7 Hz across ~15 Hz of bandwidth.)

I have seen what some folks have done with larger heat spreaders and heat sinks, and 
even cooling fans.  Has anyone tried liquid cooling? (Just kidding!)

My question is whether any of these strategies have resulted in reliable operation 
for JT9 -- or should I just scratch that mode off my list? (I do have good experience 
with this software and JT9 on the Ten-Tec Orion.)

I'm not complaining.  Nobody promised the KX3 was good for EME -- or VLF datacom!  It 
is a shame that there's not better thermal isolation for the reference oscillator.  I 
think Elecraft meets its own (vague - what time scale, what environmental 
conditions?) +/-1 ppm "typical" spec, but the problem is that we need better 
stability than that over a 1-minute transmission cycle  -- .05 ppm or even .01 ppm.  
A typical TCXO like the Orion's will do that, since the oscillator is thermally well 
separated from the PA heat sink.

TIA / 73
Martin AA6E