#911 built

[rlindzen]

The K3/100 kit I ordered last December arrived.  It went together
fairly smoothly (in about ten hours), and there were no error
messages when I powered up.  I also ordered Rose Kopp's cloth case
which is attractive, well made, and perfect for packing the K3 in my
roller board when I go to France for the summer.

My only gripe is with the owner's manual.  I have never used a
software defined rig before, and I found the description of the
various menu and config choices fairly baffling.  Somehow (with help
from Scott and Dale), I've got the K3 functioning well on both SSB
receive and transmit, but I have little idea of what, exactly, the
numerous parameters actually mean and how they interact with each
other.  Also, the acronyms tend to pile up a bit mercilessly.  It
would be great if there were an extended discussion of all these
choices, a description of possible starting values and an explanation
of what would change (and how much) if one chose different
parameters.  In brief, I would love a 'K3 for Idiots' type
manual.  Is there any chance that some kind soul would prepare such a
document.  Of course, it would have to change with software updates,
but this would be less difficult in the absence of any need for a
hard copy.  Although the reflector has discussions of such matters,
it would be nice to have a coherent (and authoritative) discussion in
a single place of such topics as 'how to use the K3 to pull weak
signals out of the noise' or 'what can be done - both good and bad -
with AGC.'  Of course, I could join other K3 users in discovering all
this stuff by trial and error, but with all the available variables
to play with, this could be life's work.

Given that the K3 works well already, I suppose I could decide to
leave well enough alone, but the manual leaves me with the distinct
feeling that one could do much better.  Alas, the reflector makes it
clear that I could also do much worse as well.

73,

Dick, KA1SA

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[KM5Q]

Dick,

I found the manual to be very clear. I'm really an analog guy. I am a  
slow learner and fast forgetter with a lot of digital devices. My  
Yaesu VHF HT drives me CRAZY. On the other hand, I've had FUN learning  
to use the K3, so I can only speak well of the manual.

The manual works for me but it assumes the reader has a background in  
CW/SSB transceiver concepts. My previous HF transceiver is 30 years  
old. I was almost completely inactive in the field for 20 years. Yet I  
understand all except the more arcane parameters I've read in the  
manual and actually enjoy configuring and experimenting.

The concepts you need in order to understand the K3 manual are of a  
general variety that you can learn from ARRL publications etc.

This is my view, and hopefully some useful advice -- NOT criticism!

Windy KM5Q
K3 #764



> My only gripe is with the owner's manual. I have never used a  
> software defined rig before, and I found the description of the  
> various menu and config choices fairly baffling. ...
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[rlindzen]

Dear Windy,

Don't worry about your email being taken as criticism; criticism
might be deserved.  After playing with the K3 for a few days, much of
the manual makes a bit more sense.  However,  I would still like to
see a more detailed and simpler discussion of noise blanking, noise
reduction (yes I saw the wiki discussion), AGC and how they play with
each other.  Listening to weak SSB signals on 160 and SSB, I have the
feeling that I could do much better with a better understanding of the above.

73,

Dick, KA1SA

At 04:23 PM 5/25/2008, KM5Q wrote:

>Dick,
>
>I found the manual to be very clear. I'm really an analog guy. I am a
>slow learner and fast forgetter with a lot of digital devices. My
>Yaesu VHF HT drives me CRAZY. On the other hand, I've had FUN learning
>to use the K3, so I can only speak well of the manual.
>
>The manual works for me but it assumes the reader has a background in
>CW/SSB transceiver concepts. My previous HF transceiver is 30 years
>old. I was almost completely inactive in the field for 20 years. Yet I
>understand all except the more arcane parameters I've read in the
>manual and actually enjoy configuring and experimenting.
>
>The concepts you need in order to understand the K3 manual are of a
>general variety that you can learn from ARRL publications etc.
>
>This is my view, and hopefully some useful advice -- NOT criticism!
>
>Windy KM5Q
>K3 #764
>
>
>
>>My only gripe is with the owner's manual. I have never used a
>>software defined rig before, and I found the description of the
>>various menu and config choices fairly baffling. ...
>_______________________________________________
>Elecraft mailing list
>Post to: [hidden email]
>You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
>Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
>http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>
>Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
>Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com

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