Just bought a K3/10. What upgrades should I get?

[w1awb]

Years ago I built a nice K2/100 which I still have and love but I saw a K3/10 for sale this morning on QRZ and bought it. It should get here Tuesday. It’s serial number is 3521 and the seller said it had been back to Elecraft in the last couple years for updates. not sure what that means exactly. It has the 400 hz cw filter and an SSB filter but that’s all I’m sure of. I’m 95% CW here and not a hard core contester. There seem to be all sorts of little tweaks and major upgrades and stuff that needs other things installed to work etc. My head is spinning from reading the options. I am certainly getting the 100 watt module and I guess I should get the new synth module if it doesn’t have it. Any advice? This will be by far the best and most modern radio I have owned. Thanks in advance.

Andy B      W1AWB
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[Bill Frantz]

Andy, congratulations on your new radio. I would operate it as
you receive it for a while while deciding what upgrades you
might need.

The 400 Hz filter is popular for CW, so I would see if it is
satisfactory for your operating needs. The 100W upgrade is easy
to install, but do you need an internal tuner? The new synth is
a definite improvement, but if you aren't working in crowded
conditions (DX pileups or contests), the old one is not bad.

If you are thinking about some particular upgrade, ask here and
you will get a lot of advice, sometimes contradictory.

73 Bill AE6JV

On 1/28/17 at 5:20 PM, [hidden email] wrote:

>Years ago I built a nice K2/100 which I still have and love but
>I saw a K3/10 for sale this morning on QRZ and bought it. It
>should get here Tuesday. It’s serial number is 3521 and the
>seller said it had been back to Elecraft in the last couple
>years for updates. not sure what that means exactly. It has the
>400 hz cw filter and an SSB filter but that’s all I’m sure
>of. I’m 95% CW here and not a hard core contester. There seem
>to be all sorts of little tweaks and major upgrades and stuff
>that needs other things installed to work etc. My head is
>spinning from reading the options. I am certainly getting the
>100 watt module and I guess I should get the new synth module
>if it doesn’t have it. Any advice? This will be by far the
>best and most modern radio I have owned. Thanks in advance.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Frantz        | Airline peanut bag: "Produced  | Periwinkle
[phone]      | in a facility that processes   | 16345
Englewood Ave
www.pwpconsult.com | peanuts and other nuts." - Duh | Los Gatos,
CA 95032

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[Brian Hunt]

> On Jan 28, 2017, at 17:20, <[hidden email]> <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> Years ago I built a nice K2/100 which I still have and love but I saw a K3/10 for sale this morning on QRZ and bought it. It should get here Tuesday. It’s serial number is 3521 and the seller said it had been back to Elecraft in the last couple years for updates. not sure what that means exactly. It has the 400 hz cw filter and an SSB filter but that’s all I’m sure of. I’m 95% CW here and not a hard core contester. There seem to be all sorts of little tweaks and major upgrades and stuff that needs other things installed to work etc. My head is spinning from reading the options. I am certainly getting the 100 watt module and I guess I should get the new synth module if it doesn’t have it. Any advice? This will be by far the best and most modern radio I have owned. Thanks in advance.
>
> Andy B      W1AWB
> ______________________________________________________________
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>
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[Brian Hunt]

Oops. Sorry for the fat-finger spurious emission.

Congrats on your acquisition!  My K3/100 is going on 7 years old and is about 500 units newer than yours. I have only the 400 Hz filter and it's all I seem to need. Like you I'm 95% CW op with some contesting and DX chasing.

Some folks like the internal ATU but I don't have it since I use a resonant antenna or a remote ATU.

I think the new synth improves weak signal receive.

The biggest add I've done is the P3 and it has revolutionized the way I operate. It's hard to beat a picture of what's happening around you on the band.

Good luck. I know you'll love the K3.

73,
Brian, K0DTJ
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[Don Wilhelm]

Andy,

Congratulations on your purchase.

As far as options go, first look at your antenna - if you have all
resonant antennas, you do not need the tuner, but if you use a tuner,
get the KAT3A - or if you plan on the KPA500 later, get the KAT500 instead.

Next consider your operating desires.  If you will be doing SWLING, get
the KBPF3.  If you want coverage down to 100kHz, you will need both the
KBPF3 and the new synthesizer.  There is also a capacitor that should be
added when upgrading to the new synthesizer for coverage down to 100kHz.

If you do DXing, where you are operating split often, get the
subreceiver.  If you order the subRX, a new synthesizer comes with it,
so you will need to upgrade the synthesizer in your K3.

Doing voice operation, especially contests?  You may want the DVR option.

As far as filters go, operate with the filters you have until you can
decide if additional roofing filters are wanted.  Remember that these
are roofing filters and not the final filters - the DSP in the K3
provides the final filtering, and its bandwidth has nothing to do with
the roofing filters.
If you have the subRX and want to do much diversity receive, you should
match the filters in the SubRX and the mainRX for best results.

Remember that you do not have to add everything at once.  Operate it for
a while to decide if you want the capability afforded by the added options.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 1/28/2017 8:20 PM, [hidden email] wrote:
> Years ago I built a nice K2/100 which I still have and love but I saw a K3/10 for sale this morning on QRZ and bought it. It should get here Tuesday. It’s serial number is 3521 and the seller said it had been back to Elecraft in the last couple years for updates. not sure what that means exactly. It has the 400 hz cw filter and an SSB filter but that’s all I’m sure of. I’m 95% CW here and not a hard core contester. There seem to be all sorts of little tweaks and major upgrades and stuff that needs other things installed to work etc. My head is spinning from reading the options. I am certainly getting the 100 watt module and I guess I should get the new synth module if it doesn’t have it. Any advice? This will be by far the best and most modern radio I have owned. Thanks in advance.
>
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[Vic Rosenthal]

He said he is a CW guy, so I would recommend the new synth just for the
cleaner QSK and less jitter at higher speeds.

73,
Vic, 4X6GP
Rehovot, Israel
Formerly K2VCO
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco/

On 29 Jan 2017 03:31, Bill Frantz wrote:
> The new synth is a definite improvement, but if you aren't working in
> crowded conditions (DX pileups or contests), the old one is not bad.
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[Alan. G4GNX]

Whilst I agree with your comments Don, I would say that perhaps a more
important task would be to check the serial number, then go through all of
the modifications that have been made and perform any that may matter to
you. Many of the parts for mods are free from Elecraft (well done Elecraft)
so it doesn't have to cost a fortune.

Also, by delving inside your rig, you will learn a lot about "how it ticks".

73,

Alan. G4GNX

-----Original Message-----
From: Don Wilhelm
Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2017 3:09 AM
To: [hidden email] ; elecraft
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Just bought a K3/10. What upgrades should I get?

Andy,

Congratulations on your purchase.

As far as options go, first look at your antenna - if you have all
resonant antennas, you do not need the tuner, but if you use a tuner,
get the KAT3A - or if you plan on the KPA500 later, get the KAT500 instead.

Next consider your operating desires.  If you will be doing SWLING, get
the KBPF3.  If you want coverage down to 100kHz, you will need both the
KBPF3 and the new synthesizer.  There is also a capacitor that should be
added when upgrading to the new synthesizer for coverage down to 100kHz.

If you do DXing, where you are operating split often, get the
subreceiver.  If you order the subRX, a new synthesizer comes with it,
so you will need to upgrade the synthesizer in your K3.

Doing voice operation, especially contests?  You may want the DVR option.

As far as filters go, operate with the filters you have until you can
decide if additional roofing filters are wanted.  Remember that these
are roofing filters and not the final filters - the DSP in the K3
provides the final filtering, and its bandwidth has nothing to do with
the roofing filters.
If you have the subRX and want to do much diversity receive, you should
match the filters in the SubRX and the mainRX for best results.

Remember that you do not have to add everything at once.  Operate it for
a while to decide if you want the capability afforded by the added options.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 1/28/2017 8:20 PM, [hidden email] wrote:

> Years ago I built a nice K2/100 which I still have and love but I saw a
> K3/10 for sale this morning on QRZ and bought it. It should get here
> Tuesday. It’s serial number is 3521 and the seller said it had been back
> to Elecraft in the last couple years for updates. not sure what that means
> exactly. It has the 400 hz cw filter and an SSB filter but that’s all I’m
> sure of. I’m 95% CW here and not a hard core contester. There seem to be
> all sorts of little tweaks and major upgrades and stuff that needs other
> things installed to work etc. My head is spinning from reading the
> options. I am certainly getting the 100 watt module and I guess I should
> get the new synth module if it doesn’t have it. Any advice? This will be
> by far the best and most modern radio I have owned. Thanks in advance.
>

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[Kjeld Holm]

Dear Andy,

I agree with Bill
" The 400 Hz filter is popular for CW, so I would see if it is satisfactory
for your operating needs. The 100W upgrade is easy to install, but do you
need an internal tuner? The new synth is a definite improvement, but if you
aren't working in crowded conditions (DX pileups or contests), the old one
is not bad."

If you want to operate without a computer the P3 will be interesting. I had
a computer and four monitors already so I went with LP2 and CW Skimmer. This
combination has been very helpful in DX pile ups (and monitoring the DX
window on any band) - you are 95% CW op I remember.

Vy 73 de OZ1CCM, Kjeld

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[Nr4c]

Depends on what you want end up with.

I wanted everything.

So I prioritized all the mods by price (high to low) and joined the "Mod of the month club".  Bought something every payday. Took a while but I ended up with a great radio and had fun building it.

Also got to learn each new feature without being so inundated with all at once.

Sent from my iPhone
...nr4c. bill

> On Jan 28, 2017, at 8:20 PM, <[hidden email]> <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> Years ago I built a nice K2/100 which I still have and love but I saw a K3/10 for sale this morning on QRZ and bought it. It should get here Tuesday. It’s serial number is 3521 and the seller said it had been back to Elecraft in the last couple years for updates. not sure what that means exactly. It has the 400 hz cw filter and an SSB filter but that’s all I’m sure of. I’m 95% CW here and not a hard core contester. There seem to be all sorts of little tweaks and major upgrades and stuff that needs other things installed to work etc. My head is spinning from reading the options. I am certainly getting the 100 watt module and I guess I should get the new synth module if it doesn’t have it. Any advice? This will be by far the best and most modern radio I have owned. Thanks in advance.
>
> Andy B      W1AWB
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
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> 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]

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