K2/100 75 meters lost receive

[k6dgw]

Jack,

For what it's worth to you, the K3 [out of the box or after calibration
if built] will run great with the default settings and you can start
making Q's as soon as you scanned the manual and understand the
important front panel controls.  Essentially everything in the menus is
configuration and Elecraft will have wisely sent you a functional radio.

73,

Fred K6DGW

On 6/24/2011 8:59 PM, Jack Chomley wrote:
> As far as me getting a K3? My best prior investment may be to buy the KE7X book and read it thoroughly. IF I can understand it's contents, there maybe a chance I could drive the K3?

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[AC7AC]

CONTENTS DELETED

The author has deleted this message.

[Gary Gregory]

Common sense is a good thing to have handy when firing up a new K3...Grin

All knobs to the right is not good..:-(

I found the K3 one of the most delightful radios to learn to use, coming
from an FTdx-9000D I was smitten by the simplicity of the K3 and just 'Wowed
Out' over what it could do. Three years plus down the track and I am still
very impressed and even now, just every now and then, I discover a forgotten
tweak and it reaffirms my belief in the K3.

Thanks to ALL the "Ele_Team", what a great product....

I still carry the manual wherever I take the K3...you just never know......

73's
Gary.

On 25 June 2011 13:07, Ron D'Eau Claire <[hidden email]> wrote:

> All you really need is the K3 and the "Quick Start Guide" Wayne included in
> the front of the Owner's manual. As Fred says, the defaults work FB and
> you'll be making QSO's minutes after you plug it in and hook up and
> antenna...
>
> Ron AC7AC
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [hidden email]
> [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of FredJensen
> Sent: Friday, June 24, 2011 7:10 PM
> To: [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] No RTFM
>
> Jack,
>
> For what it's worth to you, the K3 [out of the box or after calibration
> if built] will run great with the default settings and you can start
> making Q's as soon as you scanned the manual and understand the
> important front panel controls.  Essentially everything in the menus is
> configuration and Elecraft will have wisely sent you a functional radio.
>
> 73,
>
> Fred K6DGW
>
> On 6/24/2011 8:59 PM, Jack Chomley wrote:
> > As far as me getting a K3? My best prior investment may be to buy the
> KE7X
> book and read it thoroughly. IF I can understand it's contents, there maybe
> a chance I could drive the K3?
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
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>
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>
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>
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>

--

VK4FD - Motorhome Mobile
Elecraft Equipment
K3 #679, KPA-500 #018
Living the dream!!!
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[Dave KK7SS]

A loong time ago (>30 years!) I was instructed to write a manual for management, with an index and glossary, for a production control system that we had recently installed.

I was of the personal opinion that this would never be fully read if at all!! ("make work" item!)

So in the Glossary I inserted the following:
"Martini - if you read this, I will buy you one"

I never had to buy anyone a Martini.

--
Dave G  KK7SS
 Richland, WA

'59 Morris Minor 1000 - working on it..
'65 Sprite - in process :(
'76 Midget - co-owned with #4 Son :)
'06 Honda Civic Hybrid
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[Tony Estep]

On Sat, Jun 25, 2011 at 9:34 AM, Dave KK7SS <[hidden email]> wrote:

> A loong time ago (>30 years!) I was instructed to write a manual...I was of
> the personal opinion that this would never be fully read if at all...


Ah, I was once a manual writer. I ran out of money while going to college
and took a job writing manuals for a small engineering firm that made
transistor testers for Texas Instruments. Later, after I went back and
finished school, I was looking for a job and applied at a big electronics
company in St. Louis. The guy who interviewed me informed me that most of
the applicants had submitted writing samples that were unintelligible, and
the few whose writing passed muster couldn't figure out how the equipment
worked, so they didn't know what to say. He unrolled a huge, blue-line,
hand-drawn schematic and pointed to one of the stages. "What's that?" he
demanded. "Schmitt trigger," sez I. Whereupon he jumped up and began
gleefully pumping my hand. "Hooray!"

But after I got home and thought about it, I realized that the last thing in
the world I wanted to do was to write those manuals, and I wound up going in
a completely opposite direction.

Tony KT0NY
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[k6dgw]

Writing good manuals is hard ... very hard.  Long ago, I saw a video and
read a report of a "usability test" for a computer program running on an
IBM XT [I said, "long ago."]  There was the XT and a case with a few 5
1/4" floppies [I already said, "long ago"] on the desk in a small room.  
The subject was to use the instruction manual to load the program from
the disk and begin using it.

1st instruction:  "Locate the XXXX program diskette in the case on the
desk."

     Subject checks the floppies, looks at the instruction again and
decides on one.

2nd instruction:  "Remove the diskette from the case."

     Subject lifts the floppy from the case ... leaving the paper
envelope in the case.

3rd instruction:  "Remove the diskette from the protective sleeve."

     Subject reads the instruction again, looks at the floppy, reads the
instruction a third time, pulls a Swiss Army knife from his pocket,
opens the scissors, and cuts the disk out of its cover.

Writing good manuals is very very hard.  While Elecraft manuals cannot
realistically be all things to all people in all situations, they do a
very good job. Next time you see an Elecraft Tech Writer, thank
him/her.  If you haven't had your 30th birthday, "floppy," "5 1/4,"
"paper envelope," and "protective sleeve" may not mean anything to you.

Fred K6DGW

On 6/25/2011 2:34 PM, Dave KK7SS wrote:
> So in the Glossary I inserted the following:
> "Martini - if you read this, I will buy you one"
>
> I never had to buy anyone a Martini.

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[Leigh L. Klotz Jr WA5ZNU]

wayne burdick wrote

Should we offer a small discount on complex products if a potential  
customer reads the entire manual and passes a test first?

Wayne
N6KR

There's plenty of things you can do with the K3 that are out of the ordinary, and you can stumble into them by accident.

I think a "validator" addition to the K3 Utility would be nice.

It could spot potential misconfigurations and provide a narrative-like description.

The K3 Utility already has a configuration save/restore utility.  A new "Validator" tab could read the same states using the CAT commands, and display something like this:

    * You cannot transmit because TEST mode is enabled.
    To disable TEST mode, press and hold TEST.

    * You have selected the separate RX ANT jack on bands 160 and 20m.  
    While it is common to use a separate RX antenna on low bands, it
    is likely you have selected it by accident on 20m, which is the
    current band your K3 is set to.  To disable the RX antenna on a
    band and antenna selection, select the band and ANT1 or
    ANT2 (with ANT) and press RX ANT.

    * DIGOUT1 is enabled on 40m ANT2 and you have a KPA500 connected
      via the ACC able.
    DIGOUT1 is a pin on the 15-pin ACC cable.  This will disable the
    KPA500 on 40m/ANT2.  To change this setting, select 40M and ANT2
    and hold CONFIG and change the DIGOUT 1 setting.

    * Filter 5 Center Frequency Offset is Zero
    Filter is is an Elecraft 200Hz filter and it has a non-zero
    Frequency offset.  While this is possible, it is more likely that
    you have not yet set the frequency offset.  Consult the package
    that your filter came in and look for the offset frequency.
    Select Filter 5 with XFIL and then hold CONFIG and select FL5
    FREQ and set it to the value specified.

    * XIT is enabled and non-zero
    XIT will cause your transmit frequency to differe from the VFO
    dial frequency by the amount shown in the VFO B display when you
    rotate the RIT/XIT knob.  You will see the green RIG/XIT led is
    lit, as well as the yellow + or - LED.  To disable XIT, tap the
    XIT button.

    * SPKR+PH is NO
    SPKR+PH is set to NO, which disables the K3 speaker.  If you have
    no audio, but your headphones work, hold CONFIG and navigate to
    SPKR+PH and use the VFO knob to set the value to YES.

Leigh/WA5ZNU

[Don Wilhelm-4]

  Leigh,

If you consider all the combinations and permutations to your
suggestion, I would believe it is an insurmountable task.  And even if
it were attempted, someone would find a different combination that would
bring "strange happenings".

There is no substitute for the user being familiar with the equipment
he/she is working with, and that fact extends from simple devices (such
as the basic lever) to complex equipment.  Here, I have to say, "do your
best to RT*M, and ask questions when you do not understand the manual or
its implications on your operation of the equipment".

73,
Don W3FPR

On 6/26/2011 5:50 PM, Leigh L. Klotz Jr WA5ZNU wrote:

> wayne burdick wrote:
>> Should we offer a small discount on complex products if a potential
>> customer reads the entire manual and passes a test first?
>>
>> Wayne
>> N6KR
>>
> There's plenty of things you can do with the K3 that are out of the
> ordinary, and you can stumble into them by accident.
>
> I think a "validator" addition to the K3 Utility would be nice.
>
> It could spot potential misconfigurations and provide a narrative-like
> description.
>
> The K3 Utility already has a configuration save/restore utility.  A new
> "Validator" tab could read the same states using the CAT commands, and
> display something like this:
>
>      * You cannot transmit because TEST mode is enabled.
>      To disable TEST mode, press and hold TEST.
>
>      * You have selected the separate RX ANT jack on bands 160 and 20m.
>      While it is common to use a separate RX antenna on low bands, it
>      is likely you have selected it by accident on 20m, which is the
>      current band your K3 is set to.  To disable the RX antenna on a
>      band and antenna selection, select the band and ANT1 or
>      ANT2 (with ANT) and press RX ANT.
>
>      * DIGOUT1 is enabled on 40m ANT2 and you have a KPA500 connected
>        via the ACC able.
>      DIGOUT1 is a pin on the 15-pin ACC cable.  This will disable the
>      KPA500 on 40m/ANT2.  To change this setting, select 40M and ANT2
>      and hold CONFIG and change the DIGOUT 1 setting.
>
>      * Filter 5 Center Frequency Offset is Zero
>      Filter is is an Elecraft 200Hz filter and it has a non-zero
>      Frequency offset.  While this is possible, it is more likely that
>      you have not yet set the frequency offset.  Consult the package
>      that your filter came in and look for the offset frequency.
>      Select Filter 5 with XFIL and then hold CONFIG and select FL5
>      FREQ and set it to the value specified.
>
>      * XIT is enabled and non-zero
>      XIT will cause your transmit frequency to differe from the VFO
>      dial frequency by the amount shown in the VFO B display when you
>      rotate the RIT/XIT knob.  You will see the green RIG/XIT led is
>      lit, as well as the yellow + or - LED.  To disable XIT, tap the
>      XIT button.
>
>      * SPKR+PH is NO
>      SPKR+PH is set to NO, which disables the K3 speaker.  If you have
>      no audio, but your headphones work, hold CONFIG and navigate to
>      SPKR+PH and use the VFO knob to set the value to YES.
>
> Leigh/WA5ZNU
>
>
> --
> View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/K2-100-75-meters-lost-receive-tp6510893p6518255.html
> Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
> ______________________________________________________________
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[Richard-3]

My favorite review of a manual on the end of the spectrum opposite from
Elecraft manuals:

       "The technical manual is a successful impediment to understanding."

Rich
NU6T

On 6/25/2011 8:16 AM, Tony Estep wrote:

> On Sat, Jun 25, 2011 at 9:34 AM, Dave KK7SS<[hidden email]>  wrote:
>
>> A loong time ago (>30 years!) I was instructed to write a manual...I was of
>> the personal opinion that this would never be fully read if at all...
>
> Ah, I was once a manual writer. I ran out of money while going to college
> and took a job writing manuals for a small engineering firm that made
> transistor testers for Texas Instruments. Later, after I went back and
> finished school, I was looking for a job and applied at a big electronics
> company in St. Louis. The guy who interviewed me informed me that most of
> the applicants had submitted writing samples that were unintelligible, and
> the few whose writing passed muster couldn't figure out how the equipment
> worked, so they didn't know what to say. He unrolled a huge, blue-line,
> hand-drawn schematic and pointed to one of the stages. "What's that?" he
> demanded. "Schmitt trigger," sez I. Whereupon he jumped up and began
> gleefully pumping my hand. "Hooray!"
>
> But after I got home and thought about it, I realized that the last thing in
> the world I wanted to do was to write those manuals, and I wound up going in
> a completely opposite direction.
>
> Tony KT0NY
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
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> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
>

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[wf8o]

Thanks Don!  I had the exact same problem.  Your solution was a complete repair!!
Thank you for your vast experience and the generousity to share it!!  My K2 is completely up to snuf!!

Sincerely 73 de Mike WF8O