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6M Preamp

Greg - N4CC
The 6M preamp is now on the order page...just ordered
mine...   :-)  73 de Greg-N4CC

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Re: 6M Preamp

M0XDF
sorry, found it - thanks for the heads up - ordered mine to ship with  
KDVR3 - hell, no 6M until next May anyway!
:-)
73 de M0XDF, K3 #174
--
Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is
writing a book. -Marcus Tullius Cicero, statesman, orator and writer
(106-43 BC)

On 23 Oct 2008, at 01:22, Greg-N4CC wrote:

> The 6M preamp is now on the order page...just ordered mine...   :-)  
> 73 de Greg-N4CC

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Re: 6M Preamp

Augie "Gus" Hansen
David Ferrington, M0XDF wrote:
> sorry, found it - thanks for the heads up - ordered mine to ship with
> KDVR3 - hell, no 6M until next May anyway!

The 6m band often has great single and double hop E skip during late
November and most of December here in the USA. My European 6m DX
contacts were worked in mid December, but that was F2 propagation during
the peak of the previous solar cycle (assuming that we're now into the
new cycle).

Gus Hansen
KB0YH


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Re: 6M Preamp

Geoffrey Mackenzie-Kennedy
In reply to this post by M0XDF
David Ferrington, M0XDF, wrote on Thursday, October 23, 2008 2:10 AM

> ..... hell, no 6M until next May anyway! :-)

> 73 de M0XDF, K3 #174

--------------------------------------------

Don't count on that! :-)  At any point in a solar cycle 6m 'Sporadic E'
openings do occur during any month of the year, being much more frequent and
of longer duration during the mid summer and winter 'seasons'. A fact that I
have noted since first using 6m in 1956.

73,
Geoff
GM4ESD

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Re: 6M Preamp

M0XDF
Well, I 'may' not be QRV on 6M until then - depends when the PR6  
ships :-)

Thanks for the insight Geoff - I don't have a brilliant Ant for 6  
here, so hoping the pre-amp will help  me hear better.
73 de M0XDF, K3 #174
--
Dear God, Did you mean for the giraffe to look like that or was it an
accident? -Norma [Children's Letters to God, 1991]

On 23 Oct 2008, at 11:39, Geoffrey Mackenzie-Kennedy wrote:

> David Ferrington, M0XDF, wrote on Thursday, October 23, 2008 2:10 AM
>
>> ..... hell, no 6M until next May anyway! :-)
>
>> 73 de M0XDF, K3 #174
>
> --------------------------------------------
>
> Don't count on that! :-)  At any point in a solar cycle 6m 'Sporadic  
> E' openings do occur during any month of the year, being much more  
> frequent and of longer duration during the mid summer and winter  
> 'seasons'. A fact that I have noted since first using 6m in 1956.
>
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Re: 6M Preamp

Julian, G4ILO
David Ferrington, M0XDF wrote
Well, I 'may' not be QRV on 6M until then - depends when the PR6  
ships :-)

Thanks for the insight Geoff - I don't have a brilliant Ant for 6  
here, so hoping the pre-amp will help  me hear better.
73 de M0XDF, K3 #174
Well, given the current economic climate, at $250 (KXV3 + preamp) plus shipping to get performance that the stock K3 ought to have been capable of anyway, I think I'll pass on this.

I can always use the FT-817. Just how deaf is the K3 on 6m really, anyway?
Julian, G4ILO. K2 #392  K3 #222 KX3 #110
* G4ILO's Shack - http://www.g4ilo.com
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Re: 6M Preamp

M0XDF
Well, difficult for me to tell, since I don't have a great 6m ant.,  
but I think about par with 857 - a good many people on here have said  
is quiet deaf.
I have the KXV3 since I also have the XV144 - which I'll get around to  
building sometime!
--
Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it  
takes in.  -- Leonardo da Vinci

On 23 Oct 2008, at 13:05, Julian, G4ILO wrote:

>
>
> David Ferrington, M0XDF wrote:
>>
>> Well, I 'may' not be QRV on 6M until then - depends when the PR6
>> ships :-)
>>
>> Thanks for the insight Geoff - I don't have a brilliant Ant for 6
>> here, so hoping the pre-amp will help  me hear better.
>> 73 de M0XDF, K3 #174
>>
> Well, given the current economic climate, at $250 (KXV3 + preamp) plus
> shipping to get performance that the stock K3 ought to have been  
> capable of
> anyway, I think I'll pass on this.
>
> I can always use the FT-817. Just how deaf is the K3 on 6m really,  
> anyway?

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Re: 6M Preamp

W7GJ, Lance
In reply to this post by Greg - N4CC
David Ferrington, M0XDF wrote:
> sorry, found it - thanks for the heads up - ordered mine to ship with
> KDVR3 - hell, no 6M until next May anyway!
> :-)
> 73 de M0XDF, K3 #174

You will appreciate the extra dB improvement if you try to make any weak signal
contacts. I know that most of the 6m operators around the world live in
geomagnetically friendly places and only get on for strong signals on Es and F2, but
there are a growing number of us weak signal operators who are coming to appreciate
the real magic that 6m has to offer.

Now that we are at the bottom of the solar cycle, the conditions for EME are BEST,
and I worked two new DXCC so far this week on 6m EME. Frankly, there is DX EVERY
MONTH on 6m if you are patient and willing to look for it ;-) The K3 (with an
external preamp) is ready-made for working weak signal modes such as JT65A because
the computer interface is built-in - GREAT JOB, Elecraft! I am very much looking
forward to the next new 6m DXCC contact with someone who has a K3 and an ACOM 1000!

GL and VY 73, Lance

--
Lance Collister, W7GJ (ex: WN3GPL, WA3GPL, WA1JXN, WA1JXN/C6A, ZF2OC/ZF8)
P.O. Box 73
Frenchtown, MT 59834 USA
QTH: DN27UB
TEL: (406) 626-5728
URL: http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj
2m DXCC #11/6m DXCC #815


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Re: 6M Preamp

Dave, G4AON
In reply to this post by Greg - N4CC
Julian, from my earlier measurements (from per my web site): "Adding an
external pre-amplifier between the RF out and RF in of a KXV3 interface
improves the sensitivity by 10 dBm giving 10 dB SINAD at -136 dBm in 400
Hz bandwidth and a MDS of -146 dBm -which compares to an MDS of -136 dBm
without the pre-amp. The pre-amp I am using is an Advanced Receiver
Research Inc. model P50VDG with power derived from the +12 Volt output
of the K3. There is no need to add a 10 dB attenuator after the pre-amp
as the K3 attenuator works fine to reduce strong signals and in any
event the pre-amp can be switched out by pressing the "RX ANT" switch on
the K3."

The 0.5 dB NF Advanced Receiver Research 6m pre-amp is a similar package
to the PR6, except it only has the IN/OUT sockets.
http://www.advancedreceiver.com/

73 Dave, G4AON
K3/100 #80
=================================

Well, given the current economic climate, at $250 (KXV3 + preamp) plus
shipping to get performance that the stock K3 ought to have been capable of
anyway, I think I'll pass on this.

I can always use the FT-817. Just how deaf is the K3 on 6m really, anyway?

-----
Julian, G4ILO. K2 #392 K3 #222.

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Re: 6M Preamp

Julian, G4ILO

Dave G4AON wrote
Julian, from my earlier measurements (from per my web site): "Adding an
external pre-amplifier between the RF out and RF in of a KXV3 interface
improves the sensitivity by 10 dBm giving 10 dB SINAD at -136 dBm in 400
Hz bandwidth and a MDS of -146 dBm -which compares to an MDS of -136 dBm
without the pre-amp.
That sounds like a huge improvement, but the ARR is a high-end preamp if I am not mistaken. I guess my question is really, is the K3 inferior to other transceivers in its price class as regards 6m sensitivity? Most people would accept the need to purchase accessories to get the last bit of performance. Paying out $150 (or $250) to bring the performance up to what it should have been in the first place is a different matter.
Julian, G4ILO. K2 #392  K3 #222 KX3 #110
* G4ILO's Shack - http://www.g4ilo.com
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RE: 6M Preamp

Joe Subich, W4TV-3

> That sounds like a huge improvement, but the ARR is a
> high-end preamp if I am not mistaken. I guess my question is
> really, is the K3 inferior to other transceivers in its price
> class as regards 6m sensitivity?

I believe the tests were made with the economy version of the ARR
preamp (P50VD: 1.3 dB nf, 15 dB gain).  The P50VD is $49.95 ...
A similar preamp is available from Down East Microwave .. the
6MLNA (0.7 dB nf, 18 dB gain) is $64.00 ($35.00 kit).  

> Most people would accept the need to purchase accessories to get
> the last bit of performance. Paying out $150 (or $250) to bring
> the performance up to what it should have been in the first place
> is a different matter.

I don't know that you can say performance on six meters should
have been higher than the performance on the HF bands.  There
are probably more K3 users who will never use six meters in any
serious way than those who will.  However, the Elecraft preamp
does represent a substantial premium for RX Loop pass-through and
ease of integration.  Whether the premium is justified is a
decision for the user and the option allows those who need it
to get the performance without taxing those who will never benefit
from it.

73,

   ... Joe, W4TV
 





> -----Original Message-----
> From: [hidden email]
> [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Julian, G4ILO
> Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2008 1:35 PM
> To: [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] 6M Preamp
>
>
>
>
>
> Dave G4AON wrote:
> >
> > Julian, from my earlier measurements (from per my web
> site): "Adding
> > an
> > external pre-amplifier between the RF out and RF in of a
> KXV3 interface
> > improves the sensitivity by 10 dBm giving 10 dB SINAD at
> -136 dBm in 400
> > Hz bandwidth and a MDS of -146 dBm -which compares to an
> MDS of -136 dBm
> > without the pre-amp.
> >
> That sounds like a huge improvement, but the ARR is a
> high-end preamp if I am not mistaken. I guess my question is
> really, is the K3 inferior to other transceivers in its price
> class as regards 6m sensitivity? Most people would accept the
> need to purchase accessories to get the last bit of
> performance. Paying out $150 (or $250) to bring the
> performance up to what it should have been in the first place
> is a different matter.
>
> -----
> Julian, G4ILO. K2 #392  K3 #222.
> http://www.g4ilo.com/ G4ILO's Shack  
> http://www.ham-directory.com/ Ham
> Directory    http://www.g4ilo.com/kcomm.html KComm for
> Elecraft K2 and K3
> --
> View this message in context:
> http://n2.nabble.com/6M-Preamp-tp1366337p1369090.html
> Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>
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RE: 6M Preamp

Julian, G4ILO

Joe Subich, W4TV-3 wrote
I don't know that you can say performance on six meters should
have been higher than the performance on the HF bands.  There
are probably more K3 users who will never use six meters in any
serious way than those who will.  However, the Elecraft preamp
does represent a substantial premium for RX Loop pass-through and
ease of integration.  Whether the premium is justified is a
decision for the user and the option allows those who need it
to get the performance without taxing those who will never benefit
from it.
I'm not saying that performance on six meters should have been higher than the performance on the HF bands. I'm saying that it should not be worse than an IC-756 PRO III, a TS-2000 or an FT-2000 would be, considering the claims made about the K3's performance.

I have no idea of the proportion of K3 users who will never use 6 meters in any serious way. However I think there are quite a few, such as myself, who will have some fun on the band from time to time simply because modern HF transceivers now include it. I'm certainly not serious enough about 6m to spend money on a preamp for it, so I'm feeling a little short-changed after receiving information that the K3 is so deaf on 6m that you need one. The other radios mentioned above certainly are usable on 6m without a preamp by all but the most diehard enthusiast who would probably want it at the masthead anyway.
Julian, G4ILO. K2 #392  K3 #222 KX3 #110
* G4ILO's Shack - http://www.g4ilo.com
* KComm - http://www.g4ilo.com/kcomm.html
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K3 6M receive performance

Ken Kopp-3
Julian, others ...

The K3 is ... in my opinion ... quite adequate on 6M.  I would
certainly -not- say it's "deaf".  I have now logged a few hundred
contacts on the band using my K3 and it's performance is OK.

73!

Ken Kopp - K0PP
[hidden email]
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Re: K3 6M receive performance

Greg - AB7R
My first time on 6M was with the K3 so I really don't have anything to compare it
to.  That said, I was pleasantly surprised to work some JAs with 100W and a
homebrew 2-el moxon at about 20ft.  

-------------------------
73,
Greg - AB7R
Whidbey Island WA
NA-065


On Thu Oct 23 12:03 , "Ken Kopp"  sent:

>Julian, others ...
>
>The K3 is ... in my opinion ... quite adequate on 6M.  I would
>certainly -not- say it's "deaf".  I have now logged a few hundred
>contacts on the band using my K3 and it's performance is OK.
>
>73!
>
>Ken Kopp - K0PP
>[hidden email]
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Re: 6M Preamp

Doug Alspaugh
In reply to this post by Julian, G4ILO
I wonder if someone from Elecraft might step in here with a comment on what their position is regarding 6 mtr sensitivity. Here, I am able to hear a beacon that is about 25 miles from my QTH with a very minimum of an antenna. I am waiting for a 6 mtr opening to see if I can make any contacts but would be interested in knowing what Elecraft says about the 6 mtr operaiton of the K3.


73 Doug N3QW


----- Original Message -----
From: "G4ILO Julian" <[hidden email]>
To: [hidden email]
Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2008 2:52:27 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: RE: [Elecraft] 6M Preamp




Joe Subich, W4TV-3 wrote:

>
> I don't know that you can say performance on six meters should
> have been higher than the performance on the HF bands.  There
> are probably more K3 users who will never use six meters in any
> serious way than those who will.  However, the Elecraft preamp
> does represent a substantial premium for RX Loop pass-through and
> ease of integration.  Whether the premium is justified is a
> decision for the user and the option allows those who need it
> to get the performance without taxing those who will never benefit
> from it.
>
I'm not saying that performance on six meters should have been higher than
the performance on the HF bands. I'm saying that it should not be worse than
an IC-756 PRO III, a TS-2000 or an FT-2000 would be, considering the claims
made about the K3's performance.

I have no idea of the proportion of K3 users who will never use 6 meters in
any serious way. However I think there are quite a few, such as myself, who
will have some fun on the band from time to time simply because modern HF
transceivers now include it. I'm certainly not serious enough about 6m to
spend money on a preamp for it, so I'm feeling a little short-changed after
receiving information that the K3 is so deaf on 6m that you need one. The
other radios mentioned above certainly are usable on 6m without a preamp by
all but the most diehard enthusiast who would probably want it at the
masthead anyway.

-----
Julian, G4ILO. K2 #392  K3 #222.
http://www.g4ilo.com/ G4ILO's Shack   http://www.ham-directory.com/ Ham
Directory    http://www.g4ilo.com/kcomm.html KComm for Elecraft K2 and K3
--
View this message in context: http://n2.nabble.com/6M-Preamp-tp1366337p1369367.html
Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com.

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Re: 6M Preamp

wayne burdick
Administrator
In reply to this post by Greg - N4CC
G4AON asked about the K3's price class vs. 6 m sensitivity.

The K3 was designed from the ground up to exceed the dynamic range of
every ham transceiver available. That it does (see Sherwood, the QST
review, or our own K3 page).

In order to achieve this, we had to use a down-conversion design to a
low I.F. This requires narrow band-pass filters on each ham band, plus
supplemental image-rejection filtering on the highest bands. Other rigs
make different tradeoffs -- usually sacrificing dynamic range.

The narrow BPFs result in a loss ahead of the existing preamp and
switching mixer that is nearly ideal for the HF bands, in terms of
maximizing dynamic range in challenging operating situations. That was
our primary goal. (We were also trying to keep the basic transceiver
affordable, and achieve a form-factor consistent with DXpeditions and
portable operation in general. There are many more things we wanted to
add that were outside budgetary constraints, but we adding the needed
"hooks" in the I/O.)

For some applications on 6 m you might want a lower NF, and we took
this into account by providing a path into which you could patch an
external preamp, if necessary. Thus the RX IN and RX OUT jacks on the
KXV3. We also provided a way to power it (12VDC OUT) and turn it off/on
(DIGOUT1). We also included through-mode jacks on the PR6 itself so it
can be bypassed while still allowing the connection of RX antennas or
filters for other bands.

The resulting MDS with the PR6 inserted is better than nearly every HF
transceiver that also covers 6 m. Of course many 6-m stations doing
weak-signal work already have external preamps either in the shack or
mounted at the antenna, and they likely will not need the PR6.

73,
Wayne
N6KR

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Re: Re: 6M Preamp

Vic K2VCO
wayne burdick wrote:

> For some applications on 6 m you might want a lower NF, and we took this
> into account by providing a path into which you could patch an external
> preamp, if necessary. Thus the RX IN and RX OUT jacks on the KXV3. We
> also provided a way to power it (12VDC OUT) and turn it off/on
> (DIGOUT1). We also included through-mode jacks on the PR6 itself so it
> can be bypassed while still allowing the connection of RX antennas or
> filters for other bands.
>
> The resulting MDS with the PR6 inserted is better than nearly every HF
> transceiver that also covers 6 m. Of course many 6-m stations doing
> weak-signal work already have external preamps either in the shack or
> mounted at the antenna, and they likely will not need the PR6.

In order to tell if your installation requires a preamp, a simple rule
of thumb is to listen to band noise while switching between your antenna
and a dummy load. If the band noise increases when the antenna is
connected, then a preamp would not improve your ability to hear weak
signals.

--
73,
Vic, K2VCO
Fresno CA
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco
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RE: K3 6M receive performance

Bob Serwy
In reply to this post by Ken Kopp-3
I use my K3 often on 6 meters.  I have no problem hearing stations on 6
meters.  I can hear the noise increase when I connect my 4 element 6 meter
beam to the radio.  So at my QTH, I do not need any additional receive gain.
Also the dynamic range is much better on 6 meters then it was on my IC 756
Pro III.  Local stations would desense the Pro III.  I can't tell they are
there with the K3.


Bob Serwy - N9RS

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email]
[mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Ken Kopp
Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2008 2:04 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: [Elecraft] K3 6M receive performance

Julian, others ...

The K3 is ... in my opinion ... quite adequate on 6M.  I would certainly
-not- say it's "deaf".  I have now logged a few hundred contacts on the band
using my K3 and it's performance is OK.

73!

Ken Kopp - K0PP
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Re: K3 6M receive performance

Augie "Gus" Hansen
Bob Serwy wrote:
> I use my K3 often on 6 meters.  I have no problem hearing stations on 6
> meters.  I can hear the noise increase when I connect my 4 element 6 meter
> beam to the radio.  So at my QTH, I do not need any additional receive gain.
> Also the dynamic range is much better on 6 meters then it was on my IC 756
> Pro III.  Local stations would desense the Pro III.  I can't tell they are
> there with the K3.
>  

Same result here with several antennas (4- and 5-element Yagis, a
J-pole, and a simple horizontal dipole). By the way, I sold the Pro III.

Gus Hansen
KB0YH

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Re: 6M Preamp

W7GJ, Lance
In reply to this post by Greg - N4CC
Julian, G4ILO wrote:

> I'm not saying that performance on six meters should have been higher than
> the performance on the HF bands. I'm saying that it should not be worse than
> an IC-756 PRO III, a TS-2000 or an FT-2000 would be, considering the claims
> made about the K3's performance.
>
> I have no idea of the proportion of K3 users who will never use 6 meters in
> any serious way. However I think there are quite a few, such as myself, who
> will have some fun on the band from time to time simply because modern HF
> transceivers now include it. I'm certainly not serious enough about 6m to
> spend money on a preamp for it, so I'm feeling a little short-changed after
> receiving information that the K3 is so deaf on 6m that you need one. The
> other radios mentioned above certainly are usable on 6m without a preamp by
> all but the most diehard enthusiast who would probably want it at the
> masthead anyway.
>
> -----
> Julian, G4ILO. K2 #392 K3 #222.
> http://www.g4ilo.com/ G4ILO's Shack http://www.ham-directory.com/ Ham
> Directory http://www.g4ilo.com/kcomm.html KComm for Elecraft K2 and K3

Hello Julian,

Yes, other HF/6m transceivers such as the IC756 and IC746 are also relatively
insensitive when it comes to 6m. I understand the typical HF/6m transceiver has a
front end noise figure in the neighborhood of 5 or 6 dB on 6m and some are much
worse. Part of the tradeoff for handling strong signals on 20m I suppose. For most
strong signal applications it makes little difference.

Putting a low noise preamp such as the one offered by Elecraft ahead of your receiver
typically will give you a dB or so more sensitivity, provided you have low loss
feedline. If you are using lossy old RG8 or RG58 then you might as well not bother
with a preamp because if there was a weak signal there at the antenna, it will be
gone at your rig anyway. For strong signal openings who cares about a dB or two?
For weak signal contacts from a quiet QTH, that can make all the difference.

It is great to have a rig like the K3 where you have an option. GL and VY 73, Lance
--
Lance Collister, W7GJ (ex: WN3GPL, WA3GPL, WA1JXN, WA1JXN/C6A, ZF2OC/ZF8)
P.O. Box 73
Frenchtown, MT 59834 USA
QTH: DN27UB
TEL: (406) 626-5728
URL: http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj
2m DXCC #11/6m DXCC #815


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