Elecraft

Elecraft K3s, etc. bonding

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stengrevics

Re: Elecraft K3s, etc. bonding

My tower grounds are my house grounds. All hardline is separately grounded though individual rods and tied to the house ground. My transceiver is tied to the house ground.

I seriously doubt tying other equipment to that ground will reduce noise levels at all, not to speak of the difficulty of trying to tie my laptop to same. I operate primarily 6 meters.

To confirm this, I have recently used a portable spectrum analyzer with a near field antenna to look for noise sources in the house. Not only does my equipment produce no noise, nothing else in the house does either.

John
WA1EAZ

> On Apr 24, 2020, at 2:18 AM, Rick Bates, NK7I <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> And in the meantime, lightning protection helps to reduce the noise and risks of 'everyday' static noise sources like wind, snow, blowing dust and even rain static. HELPS, not removes.
>
> Having (last fall) just installed a basic dissipation system, the difference can be quite startling and can allow one to hear a LOT better. My noise floor also dropped from 10-35 dB with an average of 20 dB the moment I tied it into the existing house safety grounds. And that was not only increased safety but was cheaper than most low band reception arrays (which I'll add as well). 'New' DX; SCORE!
>
> Just as any other station feature, one can continue to enhance or upgrade lightning protection and bonding over time until there is less return than cost expended.
>
> One more often forgotten note: ALL wiring coming into a building, must be bonded to the common safety ground; satellite dishes, telephone/DSL wires, cable TV... ALL of them or lightning will 'find a way' to ruin your day.
>
> Rick NK7I
>
>
> On 4/23/2020 10:44 PM, Vic Rosenthal wrote:
>> Serious lightning protection is something else, and can be very expensive. But although bonding the equipment won’t protect you against direct lightning strikes, it does help to keep everything at the same potential and reduce the possibility of damage from less violent static discharges.
>>
>> Victor 4X6GP
>>
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Edward R Cole

Re: Elecraft K3s, etc. bonding

In reply to this post by TKNorris

Interesting statement. How did you determine this?

I brought home from work my professional service monitor and checked
my K3 (SN-4340) s-meter. Except from S0-S1 all other steps were
exactly 6-dB. S9 = -73 dBm as advertised. I didn't bother much
measuring above S9 so cannot comment on linearity in that region.

I also measured both K3 and KX3 preamps on ON/OFF on 50 & 28 MHz:
<http://www.kl7uw.com/HF.htm>http://www.kl7uw.com/HF.htm

Note K3 sensitivity using -73 dBm on 50-MHz with internal preamp off
was S8 and S9+5 with internal preamp on. This was using my XG3 as
signal source so it might be slightly inaccurate (+/- 1 dB). I
checked the XG3 with my mw power meter for accurate output at 0
dBm. Subsequent to these measurements Elecraft came out with the PR6
to help K3 sensitivity on 10m & 6m and I have not checked whether
that effects s-meter readings (probably).

You might note that I tested 50-MHz sensitivity using an ARR Gasfet
preamp that has 24-dB gain. It raises baseline noise due to the gain
but I use it for 6m eme. Slightly better than the PR6, but I use
just the PR6 for non-eme use. Built-in bypass connectors on the PR6
make using the ARR easy to switch in/out.

73, Ed - KL7UW

Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2020 07:48:58 -0400
From: John Stengrevics <[hidden email]>
To: Morgan Bailey <[hidden email]>
Cc: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K4 S-meter characteristics
Message-ID: <[hidden email]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

Agree completely. I find all S meters to be totally inaccurate and
next to useless, including my K3S?.

73, Ed - KL7UW
http://www.kl7uw.com
Dubus-NA Business mail:
[hidden email]
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TKNorris

Re: Elecraft K3s, etc. bonding

I am reviewing Jim's (K9YC) slides and have gotten to the DC Power Supply
(forget the slide #s) . I currently have a Alinco DM-330MV which supplies
my needs. However, after looking internally and studying the schematics,
there is no way to isolate circuit return (negative) from the chassis case
ground. Unless I had some insulated, plastic grommet type washers that
would hold/isolate the 6 mounting screw heads above (and the threads thru
the PCB holes) the circuit return PCB Trace that physically & electrically
attach the PCB to the chassis. There is an internal jumper connecting the
DC Neg connector to the chassis but without isolating the circuit board
return traces from the chassis I'm spinning my wheels. If I read Jim's
comments right I just do his slide steps 1 & 2 and accept the chassis
ground on the DC negative connector?
Thanks for any experienced advice.
Tom,
NB5Q

On Fri, Apr 24, 2020, 10:08 Edward R Cole <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Interesting statement. How did you determine this?
>
> I brought home from work my professional service monitor and checked
> my K3 (SN-4340) s-meter. Except from S0-S1 all other steps were
> exactly 6-dB. S9 = -73 dBm as advertised. I didn't bother much
> measuring above S9 so cannot comment on linearity in that region.
>
> I also measured both K3 and KX3 preamps on ON/OFF on 50 & 28 MHz:
> <http://www.kl7uw.com/HF.htm>http://www.kl7uw.com/HF.htm
>
> Note K3 sensitivity using -73 dBm on 50-MHz with internal preamp off
> was S8 and S9+5 with internal preamp on. This was using my XG3 as
> signal source so it might be slightly inaccurate (+/- 1 dB). I
> checked the XG3 with my mw power meter for accurate output at 0
> dBm. Subsequent to these measurements Elecraft came out with the PR6
> to help K3 sensitivity on 10m & 6m and I have not checked whether
> that effects s-meter readings (probably).
>
> You might note that I tested 50-MHz sensitivity using an ARR Gasfet
> preamp that has 24-dB gain. It raises baseline noise due to the gain
> but I use it for 6m eme. Slightly better than the PR6, but I use
> just the PR6 for non-eme use. Built-in bypass connectors on the PR6
> make using the ARR easy to switch in/out.
>
> 73, Ed - KL7UW
>
> Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2020 07:48:58 -0400
> From: John Stengrevics <[hidden email]>
> To: Morgan Bailey <[hidden email]>
> Cc: [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K4 S-meter characteristics
> Message-ID: <[hidden email]>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
>
> Agree completely. I find all S meters to be totally inaccurate and
> next to useless, including my K3S?.
>
>
> 73, Ed - KL7UW
> http://www.kl7uw.com
> Dubus-NA Business mail:
> [hidden email]
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to [hidden email]
>