K3 Auto Notch distortion

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K3 Auto Notch distortion

NZ0T
After a firmware update quite a while ago (I don't remember which one but it was more than a year ago) I have had bad distortion using the Auto Notch on SSB.  I have heard others say the same - is there anything that can be done about this?  Mine is bad enough to make the Auto Notch unusable and I use the manual notch instead.  I'm primarily a CW op but my SSB use is for local nets on 75 meters and with a group every night on 160 phone and those are bands that Auto Notch would be very handy to have!

73 Bill NZ0T
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Re: K3 Auto Notch distortion

KD8NNU
I also find in SSB that this is the case, but it is also the case on my
other mfg radios that I use mobile.

So maybe its the nature of the math that is used to remove it from the
signal.

Don

~73
Don
KD8NNU


On Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 9:16 AM, NZ0T wrote:

> After a firmware update quite a while ago (I don't remember which one
> but it
> was more than a year ago) I have had bad distortion using the Auto
> Notch on
> SSB.  I have heard others say the same - is there anything that can be
> done
> about this?  Mine is bad enough to make the Auto Notch unusable and I
> use
> the manual notch instead.  I'm primarily a CW op but my SSB use is for
> local
> nets on 75 meters and with a group every night on 160 phone and those
> are
> bands that Auto Notch would be very handy to have!
>
> 73 Bill NZ0T
>
> --
> View this message in context:
> http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/K3-Auto-Notch-distortion-tp7227087p7227087.html
> Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
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Re: K3 Auto Notch distortion

Nate Bargmann
In reply to this post by NZ0T
* On 2012 26 Jan 08:18 -0600, NZ0T wrote:
> After a firmware update quite a while ago (I don't remember which one but it
> was more than a year ago) I have had bad distortion using the Auto Notch on
> SSB.  I have heard others say the same - is there anything that can be done
> about this?  Mine is bad enough to make the Auto Notch unusable and I use
> the manual notch instead.  I'm primarily a CW op but my SSB use is for local
> nets on 75 meters and with a group every night on 160 phone and those are
> bands that Auto Notch would be very handy to have!

While watching the effect of the autonotch on USB a CW signal in
the passband on 20m with Fldigi, I see an interesting set of audio
frequency bands that appear to be notches on either side of the desired
notched signal but not on the signal itself.  Meanwhile the manual notch
is a nice ~200 Hz wide band of notched audio.

First, a screenshot with no notch enabled:

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa106/N0NB/Ham%20radio/k3-no-notch.png

Second, the auto-notch:

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa106/N0NB/Ham%20radio/k3-auto-notch.png

Finally, the manual notch:

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa106/N0NB/Ham%20radio/k3-manual-notch.png

It must be noted that the sensitivity of the waterfall is affected by
the values in the lower left corner of each image.  The -16 sets the
upper signal level in dB and the 60 sets the range of the display.
Adjusting the upper signal level higher (more positive) makes the manual
notch appear wider and adjusting it lower (more negative) makes it
appear to be more narrow.  These controls are analogous to the P3's Ref
Level and Scale settings.

73, de Nate N0NB >>

--

"The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all
possible worlds.  The pessimist fears this is true."

Ham radio, Linux, bikes, and more: http://www.n0nb.us
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Re: K3 Auto Notch distortion

Jim Brown-10
On 1/26/2012 11:08 AM, Nate Bargmann wrote:
> I have had bad distortion using the Auto Notch onSSB.

ANY filter, whether it uses analog components or DSP (which is a
simulation of analog components) has a phase response associated with
the amplitude response, and the greater the amplitude response changes,
the greater will be the phase response changes. These changes in
amplitude and phase are simply another form of  DISTORTION, and the
greater the distortion, the more likely we are to HEAR it.  For example,
when the crystal filters in the K2 are aligned for narrow SSB bandwidth,
the amplitude response is QUITE bumpy, and the resulting phase
distortion makes it hard to listen to.

Now, it is POSSIBLE to detect a single frequency and reproduce it, then
carefully add it precisely equal in amplitude and 180 degrees out of
phase with the interfering signal without adding distortion.  I don't
know what method(s) Elecraft is using.

Another point.  NO audio stage is ideal -- there is SOME distortion,
which consists of harmonics and even intermod products -- and a strong
heterodyne can produce fairly strong harmonics. If the fundamental is
there, it MASKS the harmonics (within our ear/brain) so that we don't
hear them, but if the fundamental is removed, they can be quite
audible.  Audio engineers have learned to recognize various kinds of
distortion products by listening to the distortion output of a
distortion analyzer, which is essentially a notch filter.

Bottom line -- ALL notch filters have audible artifacts. I use the notch
only when I need it, and leave it off when I don't.

73, Jim Brown K9YC
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Re: K3 Auto Notch distortion

Tobyp
In reply to this post by NZ0T
Nate,  thanks for confirming the RX Notch distortion,  and also for the input on the TX audio report on MCU 4.47.

I have just gone back to 4.39 and made a contact with a friend,  and the problem I was having is gone now.  The audio is normal.  Yesterday,  he said it was not so great.   AS far as the Notch,  I will just use the manual notch.  Looking at your screen shot of what the auto notch is doing,  I am scratching my head trying to  figure out what is happening.  The manual notch looked great.

I am used to having a auto notch and manual notch which is inside the AGC loop,  and it worked very well compared to what I am experiencing now with the K3.  

Toby  W4CAK

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Re: K3 Auto Notch distortion

Tim Tucker
In reply to this post by Nate Bargmann
I've noticed and observed this exact same thing while using MixW or DM780.
The auto notch doesn't kill the desired signal like it should - it appears
that it's "missing" on either side of the signal.  The manual notch works
as it should.

On Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 11:08 AM, Nate Bargmann <[hidden email]> wrote:

>
> While watching the effect of the autonotch on USB a CW signal in
> the passband on 20m with Fldigi, I see an interesting set of audio
> frequency bands that appear to be notches on either side of the desired
> notched signal but not on the signal itself.  Meanwhile the manual notch
> is a nice ~200 Hz wide band of notched audio.
>
> First, a screenshot with no notch enabled:
>
> http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa106/N0NB/Ham%20radio/k3-no-notch.png
>
> Second, the auto-notch:
>
> http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa106/N0NB/Ham%20radio/k3-auto-notch.png
>
> Finally, the manual notch:
>
>
> http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa106/N0NB/Ham%20radio/k3-manual-notch.png
>


-------------------------------------------
Owner, worldwidedx.com
AE6LX, Amateur Radio
NNN0ITA, Navy MARS
NNN0GAF FOUR, Southern CA Training Director, Navy MARS
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Re: K3 Auto Notch distortion

Tony Estep
On Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 2:32 PM, Tim Tucker <[hidden email]> wrote:
> I've noticed and observed this exact same thing while using MixW or DM780.
> The auto notch doesn't kill the desired signal like it should - it appears
> that it's "missing" on either side of the signal....
==========
Yep, it's really clear when you watch it on a waterfall. I see exactly
the same thing Nate and Tim are seeing. It takes only a minute to test
this and see the very clear result.

It appears that the auto-notch is correctly finding the offending
carrier, because there are equally-spaced attenuations on either side.
But for whatever reason, it's not notching the same way the manual
notch is doing.

This is probably something that will get addressed in firmware in due course.

Tony KT0NY
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Re: K3 Auto Notch distortion

N2TK
I can't seem to find this problem with 4.42. The Auto-notch seems to work
well. Sometimes on 40M SSB I leave it on to get rid of the broadcast
carriers.
No complaints.
73,
N2TK, Tony

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email]
[mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Tony Estep
Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2012 3:49 PM
To: Tim Tucker
Cc: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 Auto Notch distortion

On Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 2:32 PM, Tim Tucker <[hidden email]> wrote:
> I've noticed and observed this exact same thing while using MixW or DM780.
> The auto notch doesn't kill the desired signal like it should - it
> appears that it's "missing" on either side of the signal....
==========
Yep, it's really clear when you watch it on a waterfall. I see exactly the
same thing Nate and Tim are seeing. It takes only a minute to test this and
see the very clear result.

It appears that the auto-notch is correctly finding the offending carrier,
because there are equally-spaced attenuations on either side.
But for whatever reason, it's not notching the same way the manual notch is
doing.

This is probably something that will get addressed in firmware in due
course.

Tony KT0NY
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Re: K3 Auto Notch distortion

Bill K9YEQ
I loaded 4.47 and note no difference.  I am not using any external software,
just external stereo speakers.

73,
Bill
K9YEQ

-----Original Message-----

I can't seem to find this problem with 4.42. The Auto-notch seems to work
well. Sometimes on 40M SSB I leave it on to get rid of the broadcast
carriers.
No complaints.
73,
N2TK, Tony

-----Original Message-----

On Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 2:32 PM, Tim Tucker <[hidden email]> wrote:
> I've noticed and observed this exact same thing while using MixW or DM780.
> The auto notch doesn't kill the desired signal like it should - it
> appears that it's "missing" on either side of the signal....
==========
Yep, it's really clear when you watch it on a waterfall. I see exactly the
same thing Nate and Tim are seeing. It takes only a minute to test this and
see the very clear result.

It appears that the auto-notch is correctly finding the offending carrier,
because there are equally-spaced attenuations on either side.
But for whatever reason, it's not notching the same way the manual notch is
doing.

This is probably something that will get addressed in firmware in due
course.

Tony KT0NY

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Re: K3 Auto Notch distortion

Bill Coleman-2
In reply to this post by KD8NNU

On Jan 26, 2012, at 9:59 AM, [hidden email] wrote:

> I also find in SSB that this is the case, but it is also the case on my
> other mfg radios that I use mobile.
>
> So maybe its the nature of the math that is used to remove it from the
> signal.

I have the K2/100 with the KDSP2. In SSB, I leave the auto-notch on all the time. I've never noticed any distortion.

However, on the K3/100, the auto-notch appears to produce a barely noticeable distortion.

Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL        Mail: [hidden email]
Web: http://boringhamradiopart.blogspot.com
Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
           -- Wilbur Wright, 1901

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Re: K3 Auto Notch distortion

Bill Clarke
It is more than barely noticeable or you would not have mentioned it!  I
too have noticed it and it really bugs me - very unlike the fine
auto-notch filters found on the Kenwood, Icom, and Yaesu rigs. The nay
sayers in this group will quickly tell you they don't hear it or give
excuses for its existence. Don't buy into it - the distortion does exist
and it is very annoying. To me, there is no excuse for the notch filter
distortion to exist on the expensive K3 - when it does not exist on
$1000 rigs.

As a work around, I have found the following settings go a long way to
eliminate the distortion. Be advised - these settings are for armchair
copy on 75, 40, and 160 meters. I don't know if they would do well for
contesting or DXing - of which I do neither.

**K3 settings (Config Menu):
     AGC DLY - NORM
     AGC HLD - 0
     AGC PLS - NORM
     AGC SLP - 4
     AGC THR - 12
     AGC F -       120
     AGC S -       20
     Shift -          1.4
     Width -        2.7
     RF Gain -    90
     ATT -           ON
     RX EQ         1         -2
                          2        0
                          3        +9
                          4        +12
                          5        +11
                          6        +14
                          7        -16
                          8        -16

Be sure to read the "Noisy K3" section on http://www.w3fpr.com/ -
excellent information!

The disclaimer:  Your mileage for the above settings may vary -
depending upon speaker selection, personal preferences, and your hearing
acuity.

Note:  I made all of my settings by hand, using the K3 menus. I did NOT
use K3 EZ as that program will sometimes upset the AGC settings.


**
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Re: K3 Auto Notch distortion

Eduardo González
Several months ago I did a commentary about autonotch noisy effect and
compare it with autonotch of cheapy radios. Responses I got was elecraft is
working on solution, but time have passed and all those months autonotch is
practically unusable. I'm sure that problem is only a aspect of software
optimization

Edu (yy4gmj)
On Mar 12, 2013 6:02 AM, "Bill Clarke" <[hidden email]> wrote:

> It is more than barely noticeable or you would not have mentioned it!  I
> too have noticed it and it really bugs me - very unlike the fine auto-notch
> filters found on the Kenwood, Icom, and Yaesu rigs. The nay sayers in this
> group will quickly tell you they don't hear it or give excuses for its
> existence. Don't buy into it - the distortion does exist and it is very
> annoying. To me, there is no excuse for the notch filter distortion to
> exist on the expensive K3 - when it does not exist on $1000 rigs.
>
> As a work around, I have found the following settings go a long way to
> eliminate the distortion. Be advised - these settings are for armchair copy
> on 75, 40, and 160 meters. I don't know if they would do well for
> contesting or DXing - of which I do neither.
>
> **K3 settings (Config Menu):
>     AGC DLY - NORM
>     AGC HLD - 0
>     AGC PLS - NORM
>     AGC SLP - 4
>     AGC THR - 12
>     AGC F -       120
>     AGC S -       20
>     Shift -          1.4
>     Width -        2.7
>     RF Gain -    90
>     ATT -           ON
>     RX EQ         1         -2
>                          2        0
>                          3        +9
>                          4        +12
>                          5        +11
>                          6        +14
>                          7        -16
>                          8        -16
>
> Be sure to read the "Noisy K3" section on http://www.w3fpr.com/ -
> excellent information!
>
> The disclaimer:  Your mileage for the above settings may vary - depending
> upon speaker selection, personal preferences, and your hearing acuity.
>
> Note:  I made all of my settings by hand, using the K3 menus. I did NOT
> use K3 EZ as that program will sometimes upset the AGC settings.
>
>
> **
> ______________________________**______________________________**__
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> Post: mailto:[hidden email].**net <[hidden email]>
>
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Re: K3 Auto Notch distortion

N0AZZ
In reply to this post by Bill Clarke
Well truth be told I have been using my first K3/# 5299 since July of last
it was a basic model I bought used, then a fully loaded one K3/# 6730 I
bought the last 1/4 of 12.

I have not really noticed this all that much it does what I want it to
remove carriers most of all. But what do I know I only listen to the 8-12
hrs a day in my spare time the rest I listen to my KX3, K2, IC-9100 or one
of my old FT-101 lines of radios now 4 of those 8>).

But since I sold my FTDX-5000MP that I owned for 2 years 90+% of my time has
been spent using my K3's although sometimes it is hard to figure which
Elecraft radio I want to use that day.

Fred/N0AZZ

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email]
[mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Bill Clarke
Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2013 5:32 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 Auto Notch distortion

It is more than barely noticeable or you would not have mentioned it!  I too
have noticed it and it really bugs me - very unlike the fine auto-notch
filters found on the Kenwood, Icom, and Yaesu rigs. The nay sayers in this
group will quickly tell you they don't hear it or give excuses for its
existence. Don't buy into it - the distortion does exist and it is very
annoying. To me, there is no excuse for the notch filter distortion to exist
on the expensive K3 - when it does not exist on
$1000 rigs.

As a work around, I have found the following settings go a long way to
eliminate the distortion. Be advised - these settings are for armchair copy
on 75, 40, and 160 meters. I don't know if they would do well for contesting
or DXing - of which I do neither.

**K3 settings (Config Menu):
     AGC DLY - NORM
     AGC HLD - 0
     AGC PLS - NORM
     AGC SLP - 4
     AGC THR - 12
     AGC F -       120
     AGC S -       20
     Shift -          1.4
     Width -        2.7
     RF Gain -    90
     ATT -           ON
     RX EQ         1         -2
                          2        0
                          3        +9
                          4        +12
                          5        +11
                          6        +14
                          7        -16
                          8        -16

Be sure to read the "Noisy K3" section on http://www.w3fpr.com/ - excellent
information!

The disclaimer:  Your mileage for the above settings may vary - depending
upon speaker selection, personal preferences, and your hearing acuity.

Note:  I made all of my settings by hand, using the K3 menus. I did NOT use
K3 EZ as that program will sometimes upset the AGC settings.


**
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Re: K3 Auto Notch distortion

NZ0T
In reply to this post by Eduardo González
I love my K3.  It's the best rig I've ever used, let alone owned.  But the auto notch is a weak point.  Yes, it does find and eliminate carriers but it introduces significant distortion.  The manual notch is superb and does not introduce any distortion so that's what I use.  What is perplexing to me is that the Icom IC-7200 I recently acquired as a back up rig has an auto notch that works very well while introducing little to no distortion.  The 7200 is a nice entry level rig but no where near a match for the K3 except for the auto  notch.  I'll just keep hoping for an auto notch fix.