[Elecraft] Backpacking and the KX3

[Wayne Burdick]

Hi Joshua,

This is one of the primary uses we had in mind for the KX3. If you include the internal ATU and battery and the attached keyer paddle, it's fully self-contained -- just add antenna wire. If you also want to minimize the size of your mic, try one of these (or similar):

    http://www.miniinthebox.com/3-5mm-mini-microphone-for-laptop-pc_p169034.html

This will plug directly into the KX3's mic jack. For PTT you can use the XMIT switch, which is right next to the mic jack. Or you can use VOX.

For antennas, assuming you have trees or other ad-hoc supports available, you can use a random-length wire for both the antenna and ground. Toss one wire in a tree (etc.) and lay the other on the ground. The KXAT3 ATU will tune a 25' or so wire on 40 meters and up. Use twice that length to also get down to 80 and 60 m. You can connect the wires to a BNC-to-binding post adapter, like our model #BNC-BP. For wire, I recommend #26 "Silky" from the Wireman.

To maximize battery life, turn the LCD backlight off when not needed, and use stereo headphones rather than the internal speaker. Ear buds work great, and since they're stereo, you'll also be able to use the radio's audio effects and dual watch (dual RX). Dual RX is great for QRP because you can be listening to one station--waiting for them to sign--while tuning around looking for others. (QRP emphasizes listening over transmitting.)

This station will weight about two pounds, or a bit more if you carry a set of spare batteries.

73,
Wayne
N6KR


On Feb 6, 2015, at 5:56 AM, Joshua Gould <jg.k8wxa at gmail.com> wrote:

> Has anyone taken your KX3 on a backpacking trip?  I'm looking for tips as
> this was part of the reason that I chose the KX3 and not some other base
> rig. I will be hopefully getting back into backpacking and will be looking
> forward to using the KX3 trail side...
> 
> Thanks in advance!
> 
> 73,
> Joshua Gould
> K8WXA
> EM89pn
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