[Elecraft] Field Day Operation

[Michael Dinkelman]

K4D in operation at the Mike & Key GOTA station

https://photos.app.goo.gl/q9T96tUYEwVQhtaq9
https://photos.app.goo.gl/KV3ChVQ7JJSa8vsf9
https://photos.app.goo.gl/wJrLrryYkPrh7t1C8



On 6/30/2023 12:40 PM, Dave New, N8SBE wrote:
> Eric,
>
> I promised Margaret some 'in action' K4D Field Day pictures.  I 
> haven't forgotten, just been very busy in the aftermath of our 4A 
> Field Day effort this year so far.
>
> We've tried running 'cheap' GOTA stations over the previous few years, 
> and except for a Kenwood TS-590S, everything else we've tried in the 
> $1K-2K price category (or below) suffered badly from the other 
> stations we were running at our FD site.  An ICOM IC-7300 last year 
> and an IC-7610 (surprisingly) this year both suffered from frontend 
> overload.
>
> Considering the typical experience level of GOTA operators, trying to 
> copy SSB when is it being interrupted continuously by the nearby CW 
> station is very frustrating, and certainly not the kind of experience 
> we'd like to give our GOTA station visitors.
>
> This year, after trying the IC-7610, we pulled it and subbed in my 
> K3s/P3 that I had been holding in reserve in case my K4D didn't hold 
> up.  I'm happy to report my K4D ran with flying colors as our 
> multi-band CW station (80M at night, 20M-10M during the day).
>
> We also ran two other K3/P3 stations (with upgraded LOs, etc), one on 
> 40M CW, and the other on 40M SSB, and the last station ran multi-band 
> SSB and FT8 digital and was a Yaesu FTdx101d (superhet architecture 
> with 'vctune' frontend).  I did notice a slight increase in my noise 
> floor on my K4D when the Yaesu was running FT8 on the same band, but 
> it really didn't effect our operation. Considering that 20M CW was on 
> about 14.030 and FT8 on 14.074, we were relatively close to each 
> other, but operated peacefully with out interference.
>
> My experience with K3's running 2.8 kHz or narrower roofing filters, 
> we could get within 10-20 kHz of another station before we noticed any 
> interference, and that was mainly due to the Tx IMD of the other 
> stations.  The K4D, without K4HD roof filters, seemed to tolerate 
> getting within about 20 kHz before noticeable interference.  Ditto for 
> the Yaesu with it's roofing filter and 'vctune' technology.
>
> We topped 2000 contacts this year, with the CW stations making the 
> majority of the contacts.  We have some very good CW operators in the 
> club, and they are 'QSO machines' on the Elecraft radios.
>
> 73,
> -- Dave, N8SBE
>
> On 2023-06-26 10:59, Wayne Burdick wrote:
>> Thanks for your comments, Eric.
>>
>> Note that the K4 shares the same pedigree, and weighs only 2 pounds 
>> more, for the same reasons.
>>
>> 73,
>> Wayne
>> N6KR
>> 2A SCV
>>
>>
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