[Elecraft] K3 Power-hunting on FT8

[Joe Subich, W4TV]

Are you sure the "technically-qualified local ham" was not running his
tests in SSB instead of DATA A?  There are more than a few "technically-
qualified" individuals who insist on using SSB instead of DATA_A with
WSJTX and that makes all the difference in the ALC display.

Again, READ THE K3 OWNERS MANUAL and do what the manufacturer says.

73,

    ... Joe, W4TV

On 7/20/2023 10:33 PM, Pete Smith N4ZR wrote:
> OK guys - rather than reply individually, let me try to pull everything 
> together in one message.
> 
> In a previous effort at FT8 I followed the standard advice to set the 
> power slider in WSJT-X (on the lower RIGHT side) so that my K-3 showed 4 
> bars on the ALC meter, just below the threshold for ALC starting, and 
> that seemed to work fine.  Then a technically-qualified local ham showed 
> me spectrum analyzer images of a K-3 at 4 bars versus at no bars, and 
> the difference was startling - the no bars signal was clean and narrow, 
> while the 4-bars signal looked like some of those SSB sigs we hear 
> during contests, wide and with many artifacts.  I am not going to 
> identify my source here, but I'm fairly sure he reads this reflector, so 
> maybe he'll join the discussion
> 
> Anyway, I'm kind of at sea - WSJT-X works fine with no bars - I've 
> finished 12 and 17M, as well as digital DXCC in the last few weeks, 
> following his advice.  But the hunting typically takes almost 20 seconds 
> of transmitting - roughly 1 1/2 FT-8 cycles - to reach full power - and 
> happens every time I change bands, which puts me behind the curve if I 
> switch bands, see someone I need, and have to spend 1 1/2 transmit 
> cycles getting up to full power before I can call him effectively.
> 
> 73, Pete N4ZR
>