K3 on 6 Meters

[w7aqk]

There hasn't been much discussion about using the K3 on 6 meters.  I suppose
that is mainly due to the fact that 6 meters is pretty much "hibernating"
right now.  I have only made a couple of contacts locally on 6 meters with
the K3, so I can't say much about how it performed.

The other day I was chatting with my friend Jim Duffey, KK6MC, who does like
to tinker with 6 meters when it perks up.  He knows I don't really have a
good 6 meter antenna, and he gave me the task of building one.  He thinks in
a month or so things will liven up on 6, and he wants to try and work me on
that band.  His suggestion was to build a Moxen antenna, and he referred me
to N2MH's website for a good design.  See www.n2mh.net.

It looked simple enough, so I went down to Home Depot and found some angle
aluminum like N2MH had used.  It wasn't exactly cheap--about $35 for what I
needed, but that's not terrible.  With hardware, etc. I probably have about
$45 in the thing.  I probably could have done better if I knew where to
shop.

Anyway, the antenna goes together pretty easily, and preliminary testing
seems to be positive.  I still need to add a good coax connector, but that
won't be difficult.  It's a pretty compact antenna, and should be easily
supported on just about any kind of pole or mast.  You get some gain, and
some directivity too.  It's not fancy, but I thought others might be
interested in giving 6 meters a try with their K3's.  If you are like me,
and didn't have an antenna, here is something you can do fairly easily.  If
you aren't into building, you might take a look at the "stressed Moxon" sold
by Par Electronics.

Unfortunately, I may be talking to myself on 6 meters for the time being,
but Jim assures me that things should "start happening" on that band pretty
soon.  So, now is the time to get ready.  In the meantime, I plan to put
this thing up in the air a little bit, and see what I might hear.  It may
only be locals, but even that should work out better than with my R8 (which
does cover 6 meters) since the Moxon will be horizontally polarized.  That
seems to be the choice among folks around here.

Dave W7AQK

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[w6jd]

Sporadic E (Es) season is just around the corner.

Doug
W6JD

 6 meters for the time being,

> but Jim assures me that things should "start happening" on that band pretty
> soon. So, now is the time to get ready. In the meantime, I plan to put
> this thing up in the air a little bit, and see what I might hear. It may
> only be locals, but even that should work out better than with my R8 (which
> does cover 6 meters) since the Moxon will be horizontally polarized. That
> seems to be the choice among folks around here.
>
> Dave W7AQK
>
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[Bill VanAlstyne W5WVO]

Yes, Dave, you can rest assured that there are many present and near-future K3
owners waiting with bated breatrh for this year's sporadic-E season to start.
Where you are in AZ, monitor 50125 kHz for occasional "early bird" openings
starting around mid-April; the "main event" gets going around May 15 and lasts
through August 15, typically. If you have never experienced a 6-meter
sporadic-E season, you're in for a real fun (and probably addictive)
experience!

And get that 1.8 kHz roofing filter ready for the ARRL and CQ VHF contests in
June/July. If the band is open, you'll need it!

Bill W5WVO
DM65
K3 late April / early May

[hidden email] wrote:

> Sporadic E (Es) season is just around the corner.
>
> Doug
> W6JD
>
> 6 meters for the time being,
>> but Jim assures me that things should "start happening" on that band
>> pretty soon. So, now is the time to get ready. In the meantime, I
>> plan to put this thing up in the air a little bit, and see what I
>> might hear. It may only be locals, but even that should work out
>> better than with my R8 (which does cover 6 meters) since the Moxon
>> will be horizontally polarized. That seems to be the choice among
>> folks around here.
>>
>> Dave W7AQK
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Elecraft mailing list
>> Post to: [hidden email]
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[DW Holtman]

Hello,

I'm doing the next best thing. I just ordered a 6 Meter transverter (XV-50)
from Elecraft. I'm going to be building a Moxon antenna and turn it with a
TV rotor.  It will not be a powerhouse, but should get me in some openings.

Best,
DW Holtman
WB7SSN

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill W5WVO" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>; "David Yarnes" <[hidden email]>; "Elecraft Reflector"
<[hidden email]>
Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2008 3:42 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 on 6 Meters

> Yes, Dave, you can rest assured that there are many present and
> near-future K3 owners waiting with bated breatrh for this year's
> sporadic-E season to start. Where you are in AZ, monitor 50125 kHz for
> occasional "early bird" openings starting around mid-April; the "main
> event" gets going around May 15 and lasts through August 15, typically. If
> you have never experienced a 6-meter sporadic-E season, you're in for a
> real fun (and probably addictive) experience!
>
> And get that 1.8 kHz roofing filter ready for the ARRL and CQ VHF contests
> in June/July. If the band is open, you'll need it!
>
> Bill W5WVO
> DM65
> K3 late April / early May
>
> [hidden email] wrote:
>> Sporadic E (Es) season is just around the corner.
>>
>> Doug
>> W6JD
>>
>> 6 meters for the time being,
>>> but Jim assures me that things should "start happening" on that band
>>> pretty soon. So, now is the time to get ready. In the meantime, I
>>> plan to put this thing up in the air a little bit, and see what I
>>> might hear. It may only be locals, but even that should work out
>>> better than with my R8 (which does cover 6 meters) since the Moxon
>>> will be horizontally polarized. That seems to be the choice among
>>> folks around here.
>>>
>>> Dave W7AQK
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> 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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>
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[Tom-5]

David Yarnes wrote:
 >There hasn't been much discussion about using the K3 on 6 meters.
 >Unfortunately, I may be talking to myself on 6 meters for the time
being, but Jim assures me that things should "start happening" on that
band pretty soon.

    Dave, as others have stated, standby. 6 meters popped open 30
seconds at a time this weekend, about once an hour. This will change.
The nice thing about six is that when the band opens from E skip, just
about any antenna will work. Many folks work each other with antennas
propped up on their decks. I love the band so much, that I have a second
K3 ordered just for my six meter remote base. I live in a very poor VHF
location, but my six meter remote is located at the highest "hill"
around here. (we don't have mountains here in Michigan!). This height
helps for ground wave and extended ground wave, but doesn't make too
much difference for E skip. Right now the rig is a TS-2000, but I'm
looking forward to the K3 with Simons incredible HRD program.

    I would encourage any K3 owner who has not ever tried six to get a
"squalo" type antenna from KU4AB, M-squared and others. $100 for an
antenna and coax, and you will have fun.

    Hang loose, and I'll work you from EN72..

    Tom K8TB

p.s., I hope the SSB squelch is on the to-do list for the K3. I used to
have a Icom 551D that had a great squelch. I left the rig on all weekend.



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