[Elecraft] SO2R thoughts

[Al Lorona]

> 1)  another K3 ...Downside:  Expensive, 
> It's more fun to have different rigs to play with, and like others, I find
> the K3 can be kind of "harsh" to listen to for many hours.

Really? The K3 is the least-fatiguing receiver I've ever heard.
 
It makes me wonder if folks are making judicious use of the many tools available to make a K3 sound good.
 
The RF Gain needs to be backed off and the RX EQ adjusted to compensate for your ears, your speakers or headphones, your bandwidth, your room, and your mood. Same with HI and LO cut. You may have the bandwidth too wide (or too narrow) for the purpose. Just because somebody says that 2.8 kHz or 1.8 kHz is the 'right' bandwidth means nothing.
 
The AGC system allows a wide range of settings that make big differences. A good hour is required to set it up properly. I suspect many don't know how or haven't bothered. Their opinions are worthless to me.
 
IN GENERAL -- I'm generalizing here-- in general, you will have the ATT engaged and/or your RF Gain backed off of max; your RX EQ will be something other than flat; you will have spent a day dialing in your AGC settings. If not, your K3 is probably not set to the optimum. I'm not saying anything new here.
 
Someone should set up a place where we can upload recordings made with a K3 to dispel this continuing myth that the K3 is 'noisy', 'harsh', 'fatiguing', etc. And sorry, YouTube videos made by pointing a camera at a K3 and picking up room sound do *not* count.
 
On the other hand, if you participate in contests, most contesters' audio is so bad that, yes, I can understand your fatigue during a contest.
 
Al  W6LX