[Elecraft] K3 Receiver mush

[Vic Rosenthal 4X6GP]

I remember this, and had forgotten what I set them at. I just looked and 
I see that I have SLP=003 and THR=14! That is practically no AGC at all. 
In contests I sometimes turn up the SLP to protect my ears, but for 
normal DXing this is what I've gotten used to and I like it.

73,
Vic, 4X6GP
Rehovot, Israel
Formerly K2VCO
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco/

On 22 Feb 2017 09:42, Ian White wrote:
> Re-posting from April 2016, and earlier:
>
> 73 from Ian GM3SEK
>
>
> ***************
>
> The factory default AGC THReshold for the K3 and K3S is very, very low.
> Measurements by KE7X [1] have shown that the default setting of THR=5
> corresponds to an AGC onset at less than S3, whereas competing rigs have
> a threshold of S7 or even higher. This very low AGC threshold is what
> allows the AGC to be activated by band noise.
>
> Elecraft's factory defaults of THR=5 and SLP=12 compress all signals
> above the AGC threshold into a very narrow range of audio output levels
> [see the measurements by KE7X]. This makes for comfortable
> broadcast-style listening - but there is price to be paid. The default
> settings tend to hide the real-life differences in the strengths of
> incoming signals - important differences that DXers and contesters
> *need* to hear, in order to pick individual signals out of a pileup.
>
> Following complaints from DXers, DXpeditioners and contesters about this
> so-called "pileup mush", and following further series of measurements by
> KE7X, Elecraft eventually did increase the available range of AGC
> THReshold settings (the v4.51 firmware upgrade).
>
> Following the release of FW v4.51, the consensus within the
> [K3-contesting] Yahoo group about the most important settings for DXing
> and contesting has been as follows.
>
> * AGC THR: increase to at least 8 (from default = 5) and preferably to
> 12, and then take some time to become re-accustomed to the increased
> range of audio levels [2]. (Some users recommend as high as 14, if your
> ears can handle it.)
>
> * AGC SLP: decrease to 8 or even less (from default = 12). Lower SLP
> settings allow stronger signals to sound somewhat louder, and thus more
> realistic, but the range of variation will be partly determined by the
> THR setting already made; so always experiment with THR first, and with
> SLP afterwards.
>
> * AGC DCY = SOFT (not default=NOR). The User Manual claims that "The
> SOFT setting can reduce IMD caused by traditional AGC, and is especially
> useful in 'pileup' conditions, in some cases making it unnecessary to
> turn AGC off."
>
> The settings recommended above have essentially solved the problem of
> "pileup mush" for those who have tried them... but regrettably, Elecraft
> has done almost nothing to make DXers and contesters  aware that such
> changes are possible.
>
> More than 3 years after the firmware release notes boasted that v4.51
> "greatly improves signal clarity in pile-ups and other high-noise or
> dense-signal situations, especially with threshold set to 12 or higher",
> that information is *still* missing from the User Manual. There is also
> no information on how to create different 'profiles' of AGC settings for
> different types of users.
>
> Meanwhile, Elecraft's factory AGC defaults remain exactly as they were,
> still optimized apparently for comfortable 'listening', while many DXers
> and contesters remain unaware that their K3/K3S could actually be *so*
> much better.
>
>
>
> [1] http://www.ke7x.com/home/miscellaneous-k3-information
>
> [2] It is important to give any increased AGC THReshold setting an
> extended trial. To anyone accustomed to an artificially restricted range
> of audio signal levels, a higher setting will initially sound quite
> 'aggressive' - even though the new setting is much closer to real life.