K3 Update: It keeps getting better...

[Rick Tavan N6XI]

Folks keep asking me how the field test is going. I think it's going
very well. Almost all the changes Elecraft has published have been
software. The hardware I have seen is very stable. There were a few
missing pull-up resistors and a ground jumper which we added easily in
the field. The front panel labels are being revised. But the hardware
behind this software-defined radio is proving itself remarkably close
to final detail and quality. So I have been telling those who ask that
the K3 field test is really SMOP, what we call in the software
industry a "simple matter of programming." That big job is proceeding
well, with new features, fixes and tuneups coming through every few
days. They are a snap to download and with each download the K3 keeps
getting better and better.

One of the more recent features added to the K3 software was VOX. It
was worth the wait! This is one of the smoothest I've used and the
anti-VOX is perfect. I've yet to have speaker audio trip it. It's easy
to adjust gain to match various microphones so that relaxed, quiet
speech triggers the VOX instantly but normal breathing and ambient
noise very rarely cause false triggers. Pickup is very fast - no need
to prefix a transmission with "Uhh..." to avoid losing a syllable.
There are no switching transients, either, so I can set the delay very
short. Superb!

73,

/Rick N6XI
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[Brett gazdzinski-2]

Tell us more!

How is the audio quality out of the stock speaker
and the line outputs?

What kind of power output/duty cycle does the rig get.
(I thought someone reported 125 watts for hours with no problem!)

What filters do you have and how do they work, notice a big
difference between different filters?

How well does the sync AM detector work?


Brett
N2DTS

> -----Original Message-----
> From: [hidden email]
> [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Rick Tavan N6XI
> Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2007 2:43 AM
> To: Elecraft Reflector
> Subject: [Elecraft] K3 Update: It keeps getting better...
>
> Folks keep asking me how the field test is going. I think it's going
> very well. Almost all the changes Elecraft has published have been
> software. The hardware I have seen is very stable. There were a few
> missing pull-up resistors and a ground jumper which we added easily in
> the field. The front panel labels are being revised. But the hardware
> behind this software-defined radio is proving itself remarkably close
> to final detail and quality. So I have been telling those who ask that
> the K3 field test is really SMOP, what we call in the software
> industry a "simple matter of programming." That big job is proceeding
> well, with new features, fixes and tuneups coming through every few
> days. They are a snap to download and with each download the K3 keeps
> getting better and better.
>
> One of the more recent features added to the K3 software was VOX. It
> was worth the wait! This is one of the smoothest I've used and the
> anti-VOX is perfect. I've yet to have speaker audio trip it. It's easy
> to adjust gain to match various microphones so that relaxed, quiet
> speech triggers the VOX instantly but normal breathing and ambient
> noise very rarely cause false triggers. Pickup is very fast - no need
> to prefix a transmission with "Uhh..." to avoid losing a syllable.
> There are no switching transients, either, so I can set the delay very
> short. Superb!
>
> 73,
>
> /Rick N6XI
> _______________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Post to: [hidden email]
> You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
> Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
>  http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft   
>
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
> Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
>

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[Rick Tavan N6XI]

On 7/19/07, Brett gazdzinski <[hidden email]> wrote:
> Tell us more!
>
> How is the audio quality out of the stock speaker

It's very good for such a small speaker. You can easily discern those
OTA signals with good transmitted audio from those with poor audio.
The AF equalizer lets you adjust the tonal quality. The hiss level is
extremely low, much lower than my FT-1000MP.

> and the line outputs?

I haven't used them much for listening. I did check one pair of
headphones and found the output level too low for that set. Line Out
isn't intended for unamplified listening but rather for stuff like
sound card input. For that, it works very well. It gives me audio
levels that make for very easy, clean copy of RTTY and PSK. That's the
purpose.

>
> What kind of power output/duty cycle does the rig get.
> (I thought someone reported 125 watts for hours with no problem!)

Dunno. I have only the QRP version so far. The 100W amp has two big
fans with temperature controlled cycling. They want the K3 to be the
best digital mode rig on the market, so RTTY with its continuous duty
cycle is a design point. It will be fun to see how warm it gets in
that application!

>
> What filters do you have and how do they work, notice a big
> difference between different filters?

I have the 400 Hz and 2.8 Hz 8-pole filters. They're the same
excellent filters we get from INRAD for after-market upgrade of other
radios. I like to listen to CW at 500-600 Hz. When I do that, the 2.8
KHz roofing filter cuts in (it has to) and I can hear more "around" my
freq. I have a 1.0 KHz roofer on order with the second receiver and it
may end up in the main receiver. My desire for optimal roofing filters
is for contesting in crowded neighborhoods. For general operating, the
wider filter and DSP are very adequate. This is subjective stuff -
YMMV.

>
> How well does the sync AM detector work?

I don't think it's available to testers yet.

>
>
> Brett
> N2DTS
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: [hidden email]
> > [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Rick Tavan N6XI
> > Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2007 2:43 AM
> > To: Elecraft Reflector
> > Subject: [Elecraft] K3 Update: It keeps getting better...
> >
> > Folks keep asking me how the field test is going. I think it's going
> > very well. Almost all the changes Elecraft has published have been
> > software. The hardware I have seen is very stable. There were a few
> > missing pull-up resistors and a ground jumper which we added easily in
> > the field. The front panel labels are being revised. But the hardware
> > behind this software-defined radio is proving itself remarkably close
> > to final detail and quality. So I have been telling those who ask that
> > the K3 field test is really SMOP, what we call in the software
> > industry a "simple matter of programming." That big job is proceeding
> > well, with new features, fixes and tuneups coming through every few
> > days. They are a snap to download and with each download the K3 keeps
> > getting better and better.
> >
> > One of the more recent features added to the K3 software was VOX. It
> > was worth the wait! This is one of the smoothest I've used and the
> > anti-VOX is perfect. I've yet to have speaker audio trip it. It's easy
> > to adjust gain to match various microphones so that relaxed, quiet
> > speech triggers the VOX instantly but normal breathing and ambient
> > noise very rarely cause false triggers. Pickup is very fast - no need
> > to prefix a transmission with "Uhh..." to avoid losing a syllable.
> > There are no switching transients, either, so I can set the delay very
> > short. Superb!
> >
> > 73,
> >
> > /Rick N6XI
> > _______________________________________________
> > Elecraft mailing list
> > Post to: [hidden email]
> > You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
> > Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
> >  http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> >
> > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
> > Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
> >
>
>

--
"In days of old, when ops were bold, and sidebands not invented,
The word would pass, by pounding brass, and all were well contented."
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[Rick Tavan N6XI]

On 7/19/07, Joseph Trombino Jr <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
>
> Glad to see that you have been having fun with your K3 beta unit.
>
> A good portion of the folks on the Elecraft list are CW OPS and along with
> them I would be interested in knowing about the QSK/Sidetone on the K3.

I operate 90% CW. The sidetone sounds great - like a pure sinusoid. So
does the QSK. It has some low level clicks but is very pleasant to
listen to. This is at 15W - I don't have the 100W amp yet. Wayne says
it may get better in the future when they have time to tune the
software a little more.  I ran a QSK test with N6TV and he was able to
break a chain of dits at around 30 WPM with as little as one dit on
his end. This isn't easy since his dit would, on average, overlap one
of mine by 50%. A dah was easy to detect at 30+. Real sending should
be detectable at higher speeds than I usually operate (40+). This is
first-class QSK and you can turn it on and off with a button without
disturbing your favorite semi-breakin delay setting.

73,

/Rick N6XI



--
"In days of old, when ops were bold, and sidebands not invented,
The word would pass, by pounding brass, and all were well contented."
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[Rick Tavan N6XI]

Let me clarify my comment: the only "clicks" I hear are low level
artifacts in the headphones. I've listened to the outgoing signal on
another receiver and it is completely clean.

/Rick

On 7/19/07, Rick Tavan N6XI <[hidden email]> wrote:

> I operate 90% CW. The sidetone sounds great ... So
> does the QSK. It has some low level clicks but is very pleasant to
> listen to.
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