K3 RX issue with KAT3A?

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K3 RX issue with KAT3A?

Udo Langenohl - DK5YA
Gents,

in spring I made an upgrade to my K3 (#59xx) with the internal ATU
KAT3A. After this I guessed that there is a noise drop on all bands from
160 up to 10, but was not 100% sure. The strange thing: neighbor
stations with similar setup always gave much better reports than me, at
least 10 dB better. I was struggling a lot with my antennas, checked
coax every now and than etc. but everything was o.k. At that time my
main RX became suspicious.

Last week I bought a K3/10W (#39++) from a local ham as a backup here in
my shack. Comparing both rigs shows a huge difference in sensitivity.
Very weak signals, almost in the noise on 10 Meters are clearly audible
in the freshly bought K3 while there's almost nil on my old one. So i
fired up my HP8664A signal generator today and found my old K3 to be at
least 9dB worst compared to new one. This is for the main RX in my old
K3 while the second RX iny my old K3 is almost similar to the new K3
when fed through the AUX input (not through ANT 1!!).

So whats going on here? Something broken in my old K3 when I made the
upgrade with KAT3A? Wrong wired? I have no idea, perhaps you got one?

Udo, DK5YA
--
******************************************
Webs by DK5YA:                           *
http://www.mmmonvhf.de/          [editor]*
http://www.vhfdx.de/             [owner] *
http://www.palekastro.de/        [owner] *
http://www.solweb.de/            [owner] *
http://www.spessartwetter.de/    [owner] *
******************************************

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Re: K3 RX issue with KAT3A?

ae4pb
Use the K3 utility to save the config from the "Good" K3, then use the same
utility to save the config from the "suspect" K3. Finally use the K3 Utility
to restore the config from the "good" K3 into the "suspect" K3 and retest.

If that doesn't fix the issue then I'd start double checking the connections
per the assembly manual.


Jerry Moore
CDXA, INDEXA, SKCC, Fists
AE4PB, K3S - S.N. 010324
http://www.qrz.com/db/AE4PB
An Amateur is - Considerate, Loyal, Progressive, Friendly, Balanced, and
Patriotic.


-----Original Message-----
From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Udo
Langenohl - DK5YA
Sent: Monday, November 02, 2015 10:19 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: [Elecraft] K3 RX issue with KAT3A?

Gents,

in spring I made an upgrade to my K3 (#59xx) with the internal ATU KAT3A.
After this I guessed that there is a noise drop on all bands from
160 up to 10, but was not 100% sure. The strange thing: neighbor stations
with similar setup always gave much better reports than me, at least 10 dB
better. I was struggling a lot with my antennas, checked coax every now and
than etc. but everything was o.k. At that time my main RX became suspicious.

Last week I bought a K3/10W (#39++) from a local ham as a backup here in my
shack. Comparing both rigs shows a huge difference in sensitivity.
Very weak signals, almost in the noise on 10 Meters are clearly audible in
the freshly bought K3 while there's almost nil on my old one. So i fired up
my HP8664A signal generator today and found my old K3 to be at least 9dB
worst compared to new one. This is for the main RX in my old
K3 while the second RX iny my old K3 is almost similar to the new K3 when
fed through the AUX input (not through ANT 1!!).

So whats going on here? Something broken in my old K3 when I made the
upgrade with KAT3A? Wrong wired? I have no idea, perhaps you got one?

Udo, DK5YA
--
******************************************
Webs by DK5YA:                           *
http://www.mmmonvhf.de/          [editor]*
http://www.vhfdx.de/             [owner] *
http://www.palekastro.de/        [owner] *
http://www.solweb.de/            [owner] *
http://www.spessartwetter.de/    [owner] *
******************************************

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Re: K3 RX issue with KAT3A?

Guy Olinger K2AV
In reply to this post by Udo Langenohl - DK5YA
Adding the KAT3A gives you the possibility to be listening to a coax jack
with no antenna connected. To get started...

Make sure that CONFIG: KAT3 is *not* set to "not inst".  Be certain of that
by hitting the "ANT" and "RXANT" buttons that you are on the coax connector
you intend. After that there is the possibility that connecting the
mini-coax you may not have seated the mini-coax connectors correctly. When
fully seated, the little tabs on the connectors should be nearly up to the
shoulder of the mini-coax jacks.

73, Guy K2AV

On Mon, Nov 2, 2015 at 10:18 AM, Udo Langenohl - DK5YA <[hidden email]>
wrote:

> Gents,
>
> in spring I made an upgrade to my K3 (#59xx) with the internal ATU KAT3A.
> After this I guessed that there is a noise drop on all bands from 160 up to
> 10, but was not 100% sure. The strange thing: neighbor stations with
> similar setup always gave much better reports than me, at least 10 dB
> better. I was struggling a lot with my antennas, checked coax every now and
> than etc. but everything was o.k. At that time my main RX became suspicious.
>
> Last week I bought a K3/10W (#39++) from a local ham as a backup here in
> my shack. Comparing both rigs shows a huge difference in sensitivity. Very
> weak signals, almost in the noise on 10 Meters are clearly audible in the
> freshly bought K3 while there's almost nil on my old one. So i fired up my
> HP8664A signal generator today and found my old K3 to be at least 9dB worst
> compared to new one. This is for the main RX in my old K3 while the second
> RX iny my old K3 is almost similar to the new K3 when fed through the AUX
> input (not through ANT 1!!).
>
> So whats going on here? Something broken in my old K3 when I made the
> upgrade with KAT3A? Wrong wired? I have no idea, perhaps you got one?
>
> Udo, DK5YA
> --
> ******************************************
> Webs by DK5YA:                           *
> http://www.mmmonvhf.de/          [editor]*
> http://www.vhfdx.de/             [owner] *
> http://www.palekastro.de/        [owner] *
> http://www.solweb.de/            [owner] *
> http://www.spessartwetter.de/    [owner] *
> ******************************************
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> 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]
>
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Re: K3 RX issue with KAT3A?

markmusick
In reply to this post by ae4pb
Jerry and Udo,
You can't save the configuration file from one K3 and then load it into
another K3. The configuration file contains the serial number and
calibration information specific to the K3 you're saving the configuration
file for.
I think you can print out the configuration files for each K3 and compare
them. Then change only the parameters that are not K3 specific.
There was an earlier thread that addressed a possible way to remove the
specific K3 information from the configuration file and only load the non K3
specific parameters.
I don't remember the details or even if it was determined that it was
possible. You will have to search the archives.
Hope you find the solution.

73,

Mark, WB9CIF
K3-3505 and K3-7436


-----Original Message-----
From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of
[hidden email]
Sent: Monday, November 2, 2015 5:09 PM
To: 'Udo Langenohl - DK5YA' <[hidden email]>; [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 RX issue with KAT3A?

Use the K3 utility to save the config from the "Good" K3, then use the same
utility to save the config from the "suspect" K3. Finally use the K3 Utility
to restore the config from the "good" K3 into the "suspect" K3 and retest.

If that doesn't fix the issue then I'd start double checking the connections
per the assembly manual.


Jerry Moore
CDXA, INDEXA, SKCC, Fists
AE4PB, K3S - S.N. 010324
http://www.qrz.com/db/AE4PB
An Amateur is - Considerate, Loyal, Progressive, Friendly, Balanced, and
Patriotic.


-----Original Message-----
From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Udo
Langenohl - DK5YA
Sent: Monday, November 02, 2015 10:19 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: [Elecraft] K3 RX issue with KAT3A?

Gents,

in spring I made an upgrade to my K3 (#59xx) with the internal ATU KAT3A.
After this I guessed that there is a noise drop on all bands from
160 up to 10, but was not 100% sure. The strange thing: neighbor stations
with similar setup always gave much better reports than me, at least 10 dB
better. I was struggling a lot with my antennas, checked coax every now and
than etc. but everything was o.k. At that time my main RX became suspicious.

Last week I bought a K3/10W (#39++) from a local ham as a backup here in my
shack. Comparing both rigs shows a huge difference in sensitivity.
Very weak signals, almost in the noise on 10 Meters are clearly audible in
the freshly bought K3 while there's almost nil on my old one. So i fired up
my HP8664A signal generator today and found my old K3 to be at least 9dB
worst compared to new one. This is for the main RX in my old
K3 while the second RX iny my old K3 is almost similar to the new K3 when
fed through the AUX input (not through ANT 1!!).

So whats going on here? Something broken in my old K3 when I made the
upgrade with KAT3A? Wrong wired? I have no idea, perhaps you got one?

Udo, DK5YA
--
******************************************
Webs by DK5YA:                           *
http://www.mmmonvhf.de/          [editor]*
http://www.vhfdx.de/             [owner] *
http://www.palekastro.de/        [owner] *
http://www.solweb.de/            [owner] *
http://www.spessartwetter.de/    [owner] *
******************************************

______________________________________________________________
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]

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Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

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Re: K3 RX issue with KAT3A?

ae4pb
Ok, ty..
 The only way I know of currently to save the settings out is to use HRD.
I'm actually writing a program in my spare time to see if I can write a
utility to read/write configs specifically for this purpose.
Jer

Jerry Moore
CDXA, INDEXA, SKCC, Fists
AE4PB, K3S - S.N. 010324
http://www.qrz.com/db/AE4PB
An Amateur is - Considerate, Loyal, Progressive, Friendly, Balanced, and
Patriotic.


-----Original Message-----
From: Mark E. Musick [mailto:[hidden email]]
Sent: Monday, November 02, 2015 1:32 PM
To: [hidden email]; 'Udo Langenohl - DK5YA';
[hidden email]
Subject: RE: [Elecraft] K3 RX issue with KAT3A?

Jerry and Udo,
You can't save the configuration file from one K3 and then load it into
another K3. The configuration file contains the serial number and
calibration information specific to the K3 you're saving the configuration
file for.
I think you can print out the configuration files for each K3 and compare
them. Then change only the parameters that are not K3 specific.
There was an earlier thread that addressed a possible way to remove the
specific K3 information from the configuration file and only load the non K3
specific parameters.
I don't remember the details or even if it was determined that it was
possible. You will have to search the archives.
Hope you find the solution.

73,

Mark, WB9CIF
K3-3505 and K3-7436


-----Original Message-----
From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of
[hidden email]
Sent: Monday, November 2, 2015 5:09 PM
To: 'Udo Langenohl - DK5YA' <[hidden email]>; [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 RX issue with KAT3A?

Use the K3 utility to save the config from the "Good" K3, then use the same
utility to save the config from the "suspect" K3. Finally use the K3 Utility
to restore the config from the "good" K3 into the "suspect" K3 and retest.

If that doesn't fix the issue then I'd start double checking the connections
per the assembly manual.


Jerry Moore
CDXA, INDEXA, SKCC, Fists
AE4PB, K3S - S.N. 010324
http://www.qrz.com/db/AE4PB
An Amateur is - Considerate, Loyal, Progressive, Friendly, Balanced, and
Patriotic.


-----Original Message-----
From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Udo
Langenohl - DK5YA
Sent: Monday, November 02, 2015 10:19 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: [Elecraft] K3 RX issue with KAT3A?

Gents,

in spring I made an upgrade to my K3 (#59xx) with the internal ATU KAT3A.
After this I guessed that there is a noise drop on all bands from
160 up to 10, but was not 100% sure. The strange thing: neighbor stations
with similar setup always gave much better reports than me, at least 10 dB
better. I was struggling a lot with my antennas, checked coax every now and
than etc. but everything was o.k. At that time my main RX became suspicious.

Last week I bought a K3/10W (#39++) from a local ham as a backup here in my
shack. Comparing both rigs shows a huge difference in sensitivity.
Very weak signals, almost in the noise on 10 Meters are clearly audible in
the freshly bought K3 while there's almost nil on my old one. So i fired up
my HP8664A signal generator today and found my old K3 to be at least 9dB
worst compared to new one. This is for the main RX in my old
K3 while the second RX iny my old K3 is almost similar to the new K3 when
fed through the AUX input (not through ANT 1!!).

So whats going on here? Something broken in my old K3 when I made the
upgrade with KAT3A? Wrong wired? I have no idea, perhaps you got one?

Udo, DK5YA
--
******************************************
Webs by DK5YA:                           *
http://www.mmmonvhf.de/          [editor]*
http://www.vhfdx.de/             [owner] *
http://www.palekastro.de/        [owner] *
http://www.solweb.de/            [owner] *
http://www.spessartwetter.de/    [owner] *
******************************************

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
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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]

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Post: mailto:[hidden email]

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Re: K3 RX issue with KAT3A?

Udo Langenohl - DK5YA
In reply to this post by Udo Langenohl - DK5YA
The suspect was pursued, caught, arrested and taken to the garbage with
the soldering iron. It was a defective pin diode that caused the loss of
10 dB. Thanks to all who have given me advice.

73 Udo, DK5YA

Am 02.11.2015 um 16:18 schrieb Udo Langenohl - DK5YA:

> Gents,
>
> in spring I made an upgrade to my K3 (#59xx) with the internal ATU
> KAT3A. After this I guessed that there is a noise drop on all bands from
> 160 up to 10, but was not 100% sure. The strange thing: neighbor
> stations with similar setup always gave much better reports than me, at
> least 10 dB better. I was struggling a lot with my antennas, checked
> coax every now and than etc. but everything was o.k. At that time my
> main RX became suspicious.
>
> Last week I bought a K3/10W (#39++) from a local ham as a backup here in
> my shack. Comparing both rigs shows a huge difference in sensitivity.
> Very weak signals, almost in the noise on 10 Meters are clearly audible
> in the freshly bought K3 while there's almost nil on my old one. So i
> fired up my HP8664A signal generator today and found my old K3 to be at
> least 9dB worst compared to new one. This is for the main RX in my old
> K3 while the second RX iny my old K3 is almost similar to the new K3
> when fed through the AUX input (not through ANT 1!!).
>
> So whats going on here? Something broken in my old K3 when I made the
> upgrade with KAT3A? Wrong wired? I have no idea, perhaps you got one?
>
> Udo, DK5YA
______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
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