[Elecraft] K3/XV144 vs. KX3/XV144

[David Anderson]

For contesting in Europe ( I stress Europe because it is quite different to other areas of the world)  on 144 MHz you generally need very good strong signal handling and good selectivity as there are many stations running several hundred kW ERP often within line of sight of you. Imagine a mountaintop station with 16 yagis stacked often arranged to cover 360 degrees and running 3kW PEP output as some are permitted to do. Most normal transceivers even with fairly good transverters will fall apart under those circumstances. I have encountered receive systems that couldn't handle a line of sight station that was running 100 watts and a single antenna without overloading.

You don't say how serious you are in 144 MHz contesting, and whether you already own a K3 or a KX3 and whether you already have the XV144 transverter, so it is difficult to know what your question is and give you an answer.

The K3 would certainly be the better contest radio, though of course more expensive once you load it is with filters. The nice thing is you can add just the options you require, if you don't need HF and 100 watts etc. 

However there are better transverters available for contesting on 144 MHz than the XV144.  There is the very expensive Kuhne TR 144 H , and the M+E ME2T Pro from HA1YA. The very best is needed for serious contest use.

If you want to build something there is the Javornik. Now we have the G4DDK Anglian transverter kit available which is also good by all accounts. GM3SEK has recently built an Anglian transverter and PA -inside-  his K3/10. The Anglian LO can be injection locked to 10 MHz too.

HA1YA also makes banks of IF switched xtal filters that go between the transceiver and the transverter at the IF to further improve strong signal handling when you have close strong signals in contests.

I live on the extremity of Europe and have only a few local strong signals to contend with, so rarely encounter huge problems with receiver overload, more commonly it is the poor quality of transmitted signals that causes problems ( IMD from over driven amplifiers and transmitted wideband phase noise from poorly designed systems). So I am happy with my KX3 with an ME2T Pro transverter at 14 MHz IF. However if I lived in Central Europe I would probably need something a little better and would certainly consider the K3S.

Having the PX3 panadaptor is also nice for finding stations (search and pounce) on the band, it also shows very graphically the difference between a good narrow SSB signal and one that is being over driven and splattering.

73

David Anderson GM4JJJ 

> On 4 Nov 2015, at 10:32, Samir Popaja <7s7v at comhem.se> wrote:
> 
> Hello,
> 
> Is any difference between those two combo in prestanda for contesting?Will use only for contesting in Europe...
> 
> Skickat från min iPhone
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