How does the K3 perform on MW BCB?

[William Hein-2]

I am in the midst of a major shack gear purge (search my on eHam for the current list, putting a few items up every weekend).  I operated M/M stations in the past and now live in a 'normal' size house (which is increasingly cluttered with kids' toys) and want to get to down a manageable equipment equilibrium - therefore lots of gear to sell off.

I have a number of specialized SWL rxs that I am thinking of selling provided my K3 is a solid performer on the MW BCB (530 - 1710 kHz), a band which I enjoy DXing (I started as a AM band DXer in the late '60s).  I don't have at the moment a suitable low band rx antenna to put the K3 thru its paces ondown here so I'd like to hear from anyone who has used their K3 for critical MW listening and learn how it stacked up compared to specialzed SWL / communications rxs.

Note I have the KXV3 and KBPF3 modules installed in my K3.  Reading the K3 FAQ leads me to think that I'll want to use the XVTR IN jack for a MW rx antenna, true?  Or will just the normal RX ANT IN jack do?

Shame the K3 doesn't receive LW.  

73,
Bill AA4XT

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[Jim Brown-10]

On Wed, 8 Sep 2010 22:56:07 -0500, William Hein wrote:

>Reading the K3 FAQ leads me to think that I'll want to use the XVTR IN jack
>for a MW rx antenna, true?  Or will just the normal RX ANT IN jack do?

The K3 with KBP3 allows you to use ANY of the antenna inputs to receive on
the AM broadcast band. I'm not sure what you mean by critical listening, so
I'll tell you my experience. I am NOT presently an active AM SWL, but I did a
LOT of it as a kid. The widest filter I have is the 2.7 kHz filter, I've set
the radio for LSB RX and maximum bandwidth (4kHz) and tuned around the band.
It sounds VERY good. I've only listened to speech, but it's gotten very hard
to find music on the AM broadcast band nowadays. I have Beverages aimed at
the four quadrants (full wave on 160M), and they are very good RX antennas
for the AM MW broadcast band. I've also used my 80M dipoles and 160M
verticals to listen on the AM band, and they work great too.

So I'd say yes, the K3 should make a great RX for the AM MW band. For more
serious listening, you'll want a much wider roofing filter. It is my
understanding that you could simply wind your own coil and add a suitable
capacitor to form a series resonant circuit. It's on my "to do" list. :)

Another RX that I STRONGLY recommend for the AM broadcast band is a GE Super
Radio Three. This radio was originally designed by a consortium of AM
broadcast engineers at least 20 years ago, and it's a real beauty. It's built
in the form factor of a boom box, but with a very good front end, Medium and
Wide band IF, a very good 2-way speaker driven be a decent audio stage, and a
headphone output. The FM section is also pretty decent. There is a very good
built-in loop antenna and a single rabbit ear for FM, with terminals for
external antennas for both bands. It is MONO on both AM and FM.

Believe it or not, this is one of the best AM broadcast RX you can buy at amy
price. The original selling price was $40, later increased to $50. It was
first recommended to me by a colleague who was chief engineer of ABC's radio
operations in Chicago when I needed a high quality AM RX to feed the VIP
suites in a stadium for which I was designing a sound system (WGN AM did the
play by play of the games). The sound contractor thought I was nuts when I
specified it, but it worked great.

They've been out of production for several years, and you don't want the
latest production, which was a really crummy copy sold by Thompson after they
bought the company/product. I own three of the Super Radio III. I've never
seen the earlier versions. A search on your favorite auction site will find
them for sale.

If you want high fidelity audio, you want the SuperRadio III. If you want
absolute max sensitivity and bulletproof front end, the K3 is the choice.

73, Jim K9YC


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[Ken Kopp-3]

I'll second Jim's endorsement of the GE Super Radio series.
I have several, and they're simply the best.  I got mine from
AES / Las Vegas.  If they're now unavailable, you can watch
e-Bay.

The K3 is excellent for BCB listening, too.  I do have a 6 kHz
filter and a KBP3.

73! Ken Kopp - K0PP
       [hidden email]


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[Craig Smith]

Hi Bill.  Yes, the K3 works wonderfully for MW AM listening - performance
pretty much limited by your antenna.  You will want to use the RX antenna
input, which has better sensitivity than the other inputs at these
frequencies.  You already have the needed KBPF3 bandpass filters.  I would
recommend the "FM" (not a typo) filter if you will be doing much listening.
It will give you a full 5 KHz audio bandwidth, which is nice at times.   You
will of course also have the synchronous AM option available for more
demanding situations.   The P3 is also great on the BCB!

73   Craig  AC0DS



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[drewko]

I use the K3 for MW reception sometimes. I don't have any specialized
receivers to compare it to but it works great on these frequencies.
Why not just compare it to whatever other receivers you have available
there?

I use a homemade 3-ft loop antenna on the main ant jack, ATU bypassed.
The loop is tuneable and rotatable for nulling out interfering
stations. The K3's synchronous AM is really outstanding in combination
with the the directional loop. I got the wide FM filter specifically
for AM reception but you don't really need that for DX work. And don't
forget SSB mode for AM reception; it can be useful as well.

It would be nice if Elecraft had a  LF/VLF converter to go along with
their transverter line. I have a Jackson Harbor converter kit but
still haven't gotten around to putting it together. Palomar also used
to make a VLF converter. Not sure if either of these are still
available.

73,
Drew
AF2Z


On Wed, 08 Sep 2010 22:56:07 -0500, Bill AA4XT wrote:

>I am in the midst of a major shack gear purge (search my on eHam for the current list, putting a few items up every weekend).  I operated M/M stations in the past and now live in a 'normal' size house (which is increasingly cluttered with kids' toys) and want to get to down a manageable equipment equilibrium - therefore lots of gear to sell off.
>
>I have a number of specialized SWL rxs that I am thinking of selling provided my K3 is a solid performer on the MW BCB (530 - 1710 kHz), a band which I enjoy DXing (I started as a AM band DXer in the late '60s).  I don't have at the moment a suitable low band rx antenna to put the K3 thru its paces ondown here so I'd like to hear from anyone who has used their K3 for critical MW listening and learn how it stacked up compared to specialzed SWL / communications rxs.
>
>Note I have the KXV3 and KBPF3 modules installed in my K3.  Reading the K3 FAQ leads me to think that I'll want to use the XVTR IN jack for a MW rx antenna, true?  Or will just the normal RX ANT IN jack do?
>
>Shame the K3 doesn't receive LW.  
>
>73,
>Bill AA4XT
>

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[w8fn]

>It would be nice if Elecraft had a  LF/VLF converter to go along with
>their transverter line. I have a Jackson Harbor converter kit but
>still haven't gotten around to putting it together. Palomar also used
>to make a VLF converter. Not sure if either of these are still
>available.

I purchased and installed one of the Jackson Harbor converters, with
a 10 MHz output, early this year. It works very well and is extremely
inexpensive. Since I'm cursed with living less than 2 miles from a
50kW station on 1270 kHz, I opted for the improved performance filter
with the kit. The new converter replaced a Palomar converter, which
was totally useless in my environment. I took a look at the Palomar
circuit and found that it has a broadband gain stage AHEAD of the BCB
filter! The JH converter shrugs off the BC station, with the
exception of a few stray noises and cross-mod products, probably from
rectifying joints in guttering or wire fences.

73...
Randy, W8FN

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