[Elecraft] K3 for SWL?

[Walter Underwood]

I was curious, so I tried an A/B test between my KX3 and my Lowe HF-150 Europa. Listening to Radio Havana Cuba on 6100, I eventually preferred the KX3. The Lowe had more highs, especially with the synchronous detector, but the signal was cleaner from the KX3. The KX3 does have a somewhat better antenna, a dipole with a balun and coax feed instead of a wire stapled to the top of the fence. I listened in USB with the filters wide open (0.05 to 4.05), NR off. To be fair, this was a fine signal, S9+10.

This was with my ham-cheap external speaker setup, an $8 audio amp and a $22 per pair set of Pyle 3” speakers.

wunder
K6WRU
Walter Underwood
CM87wj
http://observer.wunderwood.org/ (my blog)

> On Feb 1, 2017, at 9:07 PM, Walter Underwood <wunder at wunderwood.org> wrote:
> 
> This might help. It is a review of the KX3 as an SWL receiver. The K3 would add synchronous AM reception and wider filters.
> 
> http://swling.com/blog/2013/07/a-review-of-the-elecraft-kx3-a-world-class-transceiver-superb-shortwave-receiver/ <http://swling.com/blog/2013/07/a-review-of-the-elecraft-kx3-a-world-class-transceiver-superb-shortwave-receiver/>
> 
> wunder
> K6WRU
> Walter Underwood
> CM87wj
> http://observer.wunderwood.org/ (my blog)
> 
>> On Feb 1, 2017, at 8:26 PM, Dauer, Edward <edauer at law.du.edu> wrote:
>> 
>> I would like to hear from anyone who uses a K3 or K3S extensively for general coverage HF / short-wave listening.
>> 
>> I am looking for a table-top receiver with general coverage strictly for bedroom listening, as the station downstairs already includes a K3/100 system, a KX3 system, two K2s, and a K1.  This seems to be a neglected part of the radio market.  What is available seems pretty slim and, frankly, tinny.  The Sangean ATS-909X has the best reviews but still looks like something I would have taken to the beach rather than sat in front of while transfixed with the global reach of radio.  The new ICOM IC-R8600 looks good, with a range up to 3 gigs, but it’s not available yet and the price is likely to be in the multi-kilobuck range when it is released.
>> 
>> So, being a loyal member of the Elecraft community, I thought about a K3S with just the basic 10 watt TX that this particular radio would never use, no sub-RX, the general coverage bandpass filter and the other accessories that would extend its range down to LF, an AM roofing filter and naught else.
>> 
>> Then I thought about the ongoing commentary about the K3’s audio . . . .   because . . .
>> 
>> I confess that what I am trying to recreate is the warm sound of a 10-tube supperhet in a large walnut cabinet with a cloth speaker grille and an amber back-lighted circular dial driven by dial cord and ganged capacitors while listening to a Radio Moscow announcer crow about Sputnik.  Or so I now fantasize about my early radio experiences in the 1950s.
>> 
>> I will spend some quality time with my own K3 trying this idea out, but thought I would also ask for counsel from the group.  Is there something out there I haven’t seen yet?  Is it reasonable to think about using a K3S in just this way?
>> 
>> Thanks for whatever thoughts anyone can offer . . .
>> 
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