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K3 slightly off frequency

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K3 slightly off frequency

I have a K3 kit that's been back to the factory for repair and alignment,
and a K3S that was factory made and aligned. Regardless which one I'm
using, most of the time when I get "spotted" by RBN, my frequency is listed as
being 100hz higher than listed on the K3's front panel digital readout.
This has often made me wonder if both of my K3's are slightly off frequency.
Could it be that many/most K3's are "slightly off frequency"?

73,
Dick- K9OM

In a message dated 4/9/2017 1:08:53 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
[hidden email] writes:

A few of us in Fremont, CA have a weekly 10 meter net. I have a friend
with a K3 who always sounds off frequency. When I use my K3, I've been told
that I am off frequency. There are a couple of KX3 users who don't seem to
have a problem. When I use my Kenwood TS-590 I seem to be on frequency.
Is the K3 known, in general, for being slightly off frequency??
Thanks, Steve ?KG6HJU

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Don Wilhelm

Re: K3 slightly off frequency

Dick,

It is easy to check your K3 or K3S (or any other radio). I suggest you
do so before concluding that your radio is off frequency.

Tune to WWV at the highest frequency you can receive in CW mode and zero
beat the carrier - you can use CWT if you are not good at zero-beating.
Make sure you are zero-beating the carrier and not one of the
transmitted tones. The tones come and go minute by minute, but the
carrier is always present.

Stations that cannot receive WWV can use of of the other standard
stations around the world.

If your K3 is off frequency, do the Reference Oscillator calibration and
check again.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 4/9/2017 5:42 PM, Dick via Elecraft wrote:
> I have a K3 kit that's been back to the factory for repair and alignment,
> and a K3S that was factory made and aligned. Regardless which one I'm
> using, most of the time when I get "spotted" by RBN, my frequency is listed as
> being 100hz higher than listed on the K3's front panel digital readout.
> This has often made me wonder if both of my K3's are slightly off frequency.
> Could it be that many/most K3's are "slightly off frequency"?
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Don Wilhelm

Re: K3 slightly off frequency

In reply to this post by Elecraft mailing list

Dick,

Another thing to check (and I assume CW operation) - make sure you are
listening at the same pitch as you have set in the sidetone pitch.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 4/9/2017 5:42 PM, Dick via Elecraft wrote:
> I have a K3 kit that's been back to the factory for repair and alignment,
> and a K3S that was factory made and aligned. Regardless which one I'm
> using, most of the time when I get "spotted" by RBN, my frequency is listed as
> being 100hz higher than listed on the K3's front panel digital readout.
> This has often made me wonder if both of my K3's are slightly off frequency.
> Could it be that many/most K3's are "slightly off frequency"?
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Don Wilhelm

Re: K3 slightly off frequency

In reply to this post by Elecraft mailing list

For all those having some similar occurrance - first make sure RIT and
XIT are turned off. The yellow LED in the lower left corner of the K3
should be off for both transmit and receive.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 4/9/2017 5:42 PM, Dick via Elecraft wrote:
> I have a K3 kit that's been back to the factory for repair and alignment,
> and a K3S that was factory made and aligned. Regardless which one I'm
> using, most of the time when I get "spotted" by RBN, my frequency is listed as
> being 100hz higher than listed on the K3's front panel digital readout.
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Elecraft mailing list

Re: K3 slightly off frequency

In reply to this post by Don Wilhelm

I dial in the frequency, zerobeat, I want and use the pitch or RIT to get the "sound" I want.
Mel, K6KBE

From: Don Wilhelm <[hidden email]>
To: [hidden email]; [hidden email]
Sent: Sunday, April 9, 2017 3:06 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 slightly off frequency

Dick,

Another thing to check (and I assume CW operation) - make sure you are
listening at the same pitch as you have set in the sidetone pitch.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 4/9/2017 5:42 PM, Dick via Elecraft wrote:
> I have a K3 kit that's been back to the factory for repair and alignment,
> and a K3S that was factory made and aligned. Regardless which one I'm
> using, most of the time when I get "spotted" by RBN, my frequency is listed as
> being 100hz higher than listed on the K3's front panel digital readout.
> This has often made me wonder if both of my K3's are slightly off frequency.
> Could it be that many/most K3's are "slightly off frequency"?
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Don Wilhelm

Re: K3 slightly off frequency

Mel and all,

If you are talking about CW, then using RIT is a sure way to get the
actual received frequency different than the transmitted frequency. In
fact, that is one easy way to define RIT.
During RX, the K3 will show the actual frequency (at your chosen
sidetone pitch) that you are listening to.
But if you have RIT or XIT turned on, the transmit frequency will be
different than the receive frequency.

Hopefully your perception of "zerobeat" means that you have tuned the
signal until the tone is equal to your sidetone pitch (SPOT) and not an
attempt to tune to zero frequency (which is incorrect and will produce
'strange' frequency readings).

73,
Don W3FPR

On 4/9/2017 6:14 PM, Mel Farrer wrote:

> I dial in the frequency, zerobeat, I want and use the pitch or RIT to
> get the "sound" I want.
>
> Mel, K6KBE
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* Don Wilhelm <[hidden email]>
> *To:* [hidden email]; [hidden email]
> *Sent:* Sunday, April 9, 2017 3:06 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [Elecraft] K3 slightly off frequency
>
> Dick,
>
> Another thing to check (and I assume CW operation) - make sure you are
> listening at the same pitch as you have set in the sidetone pitch.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>
> On 4/9/2017 5:42 PM, Dick via Elecraft wrote:
> > I have a K3 kit that's been back to the factory for repair and
> alignment,
> > and a K3S that was factory made and aligned. Regardless which one I'm
> > using, most of the time when I get "spotted" by RBN, my frequency
> is listed as
> > being 100hz higher than listed on the K3's front panel digital readout.
> > This has often made me wonder if both of my K3's are slightly off
> frequency.
> > Could it be that many/most K3's are "slightly off frequency"?
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email] <mailto:[hidden email]>
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net <http://www.qsl.net/>
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to [hidden email] <mailto:[hidden email]>
>
>

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Elecraft mailing list

Re: K3 slightly off frequency

Good question Don, Check out on this. If the sending station is tuned in to a zero beat that is I match my K3 frequency to his, then turn on the RIT to get a pitch I like. Doesn't that make my Tx signal the same as his?
Mel, K6KBE

From: Don Wilhelm <[hidden email]>
To: Mel Farrer <[hidden email]>; "[hidden email]" <[hidden email]>; "[hidden email]" <[hidden email]>
Sent: Sunday, April 9, 2017 3:46 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 slightly off frequency

Mel and all,

If you are talking about CW, then using RIT is a sure way to get the
actual received frequency different than the transmitted frequency. In
fact, that is one easy way to define RIT.
During RX, the K3 will show the actual frequency (at your chosen
sidetone pitch) that you are listening to.
But if you have RIT or XIT turned on, the transmit frequency will be
different than the receive frequency.

Hopefully your perception of "zerobeat" means that you have tuned the
signal until the tone is equal to your sidetone pitch (SPOT) and not an
attempt to tune to zero frequency (which is incorrect and will produce
'strange' frequency readings).

73,
Don W3FPR

On 4/9/2017 6:14 PM, Mel Farrer wrote:

Don Wilhelm

Re: K3 slightly off frequency

Mel,

The answer depends on whether or not you define "zero beat" correctly -
which is to tune in the signal to the same pitch as your SPOT tone.

In other words, your statement "match my K3 frequency to his" is not
sufficiently informative. It all depends on how you match his
frequency. What the dial says on his transceiver is not relevant, the
only thing important is what you are hearing.

Would it not be better (and easier) for you to change the PITCH of your
SPOT tone to the pitch you like to hear?
That means there is no need to use RIT most of the time - if you tune
the incoming signal to that same tone, you will be on the same
frequency. The K3 then uses that pitch as the center of the filter
passband (unless SHIFT is set somewhere other than default) and is the
pitch used for zero beating.

The normal use of RIT is when you have called CQ and a station comes
back to you not exactly on your transmit frequency - RIT can then be
used to tune that station in and not create a situation where the QSO
"walks up the band" with each transmission - your TX frequency stays put
and the other station's TX frequency also stays put.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 4/9/2017 7:04 PM, Mel Farrer wrote:
> Good question Don, Check out on this. If the sending station is
> tuned in to a zero beat that is I match my K3 frequency to his, then
> turn on the RIT to get a pitch I like. Doesn't that make my Tx signal
> the same as his?
>

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John Dolan

Re: K3 slightly off frequency

In reply to this post by Don Wilhelm

Also, Check to see that you are not on COARSE tuning. In SSB mode, you can
easily be off frequency when the COARSE setting is chosen. I have
experienced this recently and when I turned off coarse, I was able to tune
the rig onto frequency. It seems that COARSE had me in the "ball park"
but not quite on the correct frequency. The more I am using my k3S, the
more I am finding out about these things.

73, John WB4YAL

*Many of life's problems can be solved by simply deciding what we can do
without. -JohnDolan <https://www.qrz.com/db/WB4YAL>*

On Sun, Apr 9, 2017 at 6:02 PM, Don Wilhelm <[hidden email]> wrote:

> For all those having some similar occurrance - first make sure RIT and XIT
> are turned off. The yellow LED in the lower left corner of the K3 should
> be off for both transmit and receive.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>
> On 4/9/2017 5:42 PM, Dick via Elecraft wrote:
>
>> I have a K3 kit that's been back to the factory for repair and alignment,
>> and a K3S that was factory made and aligned. Regardless which one I'm
>> using, most of the time when I get "spotted" by RBN, my frequency is
>> listed as
>> being 100hz higher than listed on the K3's front panel digital readout.
>>
> ______________________________________________________________
> 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]
>