K3S KTCXO3-1 possible problem
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I have a K3S, purchased factory built, February 2019. This included the 1 ppm TCXO3-1-F option.
A few months later, I noticed that SSB signals heard on 50.125.000 MHz all sounded a bit off frequency. Hence, I performed a reference oscillator calibration, using method 2. Because of my relatively short distance to WWV, the variability in the signal strength made its use difficult. Instead, I used a GPS disciplined TCXO as my 10 MHz standard. The GPSDO had been on for several hours before any calibration and the transceiver had been on for, at least, three hours. The frequency display on the K3S was set to 10.000.000 MHz. Beats were displayed on a Weston VU meter, driven by an opamp, connected across the external speaker output. This allows beats to be easily seen, that are less than one per second. The REF CAL as received from the factory was 49.379.766 On 7/10/2019, I changed the REF CAL setting to 49.379.448 (I chalked this change up to possible crystal aging.) On 11/30/2019, the REF CAL setting was changed to 49.379.110 On 3/1/2020 the REF CAL setting was changed to 49.378.926 On 1/16/2021 REF CAL was changed to 49.378.495 On 1/30/2021 REF CAL was changed to 49.378.484 On 2/22/2021 REF CAL was changed to 49.378.508 (the first time the setting has been increased) I have also noticed a change of several Hz in the beat note between the transceiver having been on for half an hour and having been on for three or four hours. This seems odd behavior to me for a high stability, 1 ppm TCXO. The transceiver is in a room, with a temperature of 70, plus or minus, 3 degrees Fahrenheit. There is nothing on top of the transceiver and there is plenty of space below, behind and on either side of the radio. There are no other heat sources near the transceiver. Am I being overly critical, or do you think this is unusual behavior for a KTCXO3-1? I posed this question to Elecraft tech support. The reply did not address my question as to whether this KTCXO3-1 is misbehaving. The reply only said that “We have no KTCXO3-1 and have no orders to restock at this time.” The tech, who replied, also gave me sourcing information for, apparently, the oscillator part on the board. Thanks in advance for any time taken to reply to my post. Gary, KØCX ______________________________________________________________ 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] |
Re: K3S KTCXO3-1 possible problem
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Hello Gary,
Elecraft reported having problems with the TCXOs a while back. Mine isn't very well behaved, either, but it stays within a few Hertz compared to WWV on 10 MHz. ---- 73, Mike Cizek W0VTT -----Original Message----- From: [hidden email] <[hidden email]> On Behalf Of Gary Peterson Sent: Tuesday, 9 March, 2021 13:40 To: [hidden email] Subject: [Elecraft] K3S KTCXO3-1 possible problem I have a K3S, purchased factory built, February 2019. This included the 1 ppm TCXO3-1-F option. A few months later, I noticed that SSB signals heard on 50.125.000 MHz all sounded a bit off frequency. Hence, I performed a reference oscillator calibration, using method 2. Because of my relatively short distance to WWV, the variability in the signal strength made its use difficult. Instead, I used a GPS disciplined TCXO as my 10 MHz standard. The GPSDO had been on for several hours before any calibration and the transceiver had been on for, at least, three hours. The frequency display on the K3S was set to 10.000.000 MHz. Beats were displayed on a Weston VU meter, driven by an opamp, connected across the external speaker output. This allows beats to be easily seen, that are less than one per second. The REF CAL as received from the factory was 49.379.766 On 7/10/2019, I changed the REF CAL setting to 49.379.448 (I chalked this change up to possible crystal aging.) On 11/30/2019, the REF CAL setting was changed to 49.379.110 On 3/1/2020 the REF CAL setting was changed to 49.378.926 On 1/16/2021 REF CAL was changed to 49.378.495 On 1/30/2021 REF CAL was changed to 49.378.484 On 2/22/2021 REF CAL was changed to 49.378.508 (the first time the setting has been increased) I have also noticed a change of several Hz in the beat note between the transceiver having been on for half an hour and having been on for three or four hours. This seems odd behavior to me for a high stability, 1 ppm TCXO. The transceiver is in a room, with a temperature of 70, plus or minus, 3 degrees Fahrenheit. There is nothing on top of the transceiver and there is plenty of space below, behind and on either side of the radio. There are no other heat sources near the transceiver. Am I being overly critical, or do you think this is unusual behavior for a KTCXO3-1? I posed this question to Elecraft tech support. The reply did not address my question as to whether this KTCXO3-1 is misbehaving. The reply only said that “We have no KTCXO3-1 and have no orders to restock at this time.” The tech, who replied, also gave me sourcing information for, apparently, the oscillator part on the board. Thanks in advance for any time taken to reply to my post. Gary, KØCX ______________________________________________________________ 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] ______________________________________________________________ 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] |
Re: K3S KTCXO3-1 possible problem
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In reply to this post by Gary Peterson
IMHO and a nutshell, the TCXO isn't.
Wes N7WS On 3/9/2021 12:40 PM, Gary Peterson wrote: > I have a K3S, purchased factory built, February 2019. This included the 1 ppm TCXO3-1-F option. > > A few months later, I noticed that SSB signals heard on 50.125.000 MHz all sounded a bit off frequency. Hence, I performed a reference oscillator calibration, using method 2. Because of my relatively short distance to WWV, the variability in the signal strength made its use difficult. Instead, I used a GPS disciplined TCXO as my 10 MHz standard. The GPSDO had been on for several hours before any calibration and the transceiver had been on for, at least, three hours. The frequency display on the K3S was set to 10.000.000 MHz. Beats were displayed on a Weston VU meter, driven by an opamp, connected across the external speaker output. This allows beats to be easily seen, that are less than one per second. > > The REF CAL as received from the factory was 49.379.766 > On 7/10/2019, I changed the REF CAL setting to 49.379.448 (I chalked this change up to possible crystal aging.) > On 11/30/2019, the REF CAL setting was changed to 49.379.110 > On 3/1/2020 the REF CAL setting was changed to 49.378.926 > On 1/16/2021 REF CAL was changed to 49.378.495 > On 1/30/2021 REF CAL was changed to 49.378.484 > On 2/22/2021 REF CAL was changed to 49.378.508 (the first time the setting has been increased) > > I have also noticed a change of several Hz in the beat note between the transceiver having been on for half an hour and having been on for three or four hours. This seems odd behavior to me for a high stability, 1 ppm TCXO. The transceiver is in a room, with a temperature of 70, plus or minus, 3 degrees Fahrenheit. There is nothing on top of the transceiver and there is plenty of space below, behind and on either side of the radio. There are no other heat sources near the transceiver. > > Am I being overly critical, or do you think this is unusual behavior for a KTCXO3-1? > > I posed this question to Elecraft tech support. The reply did not address my question as to whether this KTCXO3-1 is misbehaving. The reply only said that “We have no KTCXO3-1 and have no orders to restock at this time.” The tech, who replied, also gave me sourcing information for, apparently, the oscillator part on the board. > > Thanks in advance for any time taken to reply to my post. > > Gary, KØCX > > > > > > > > ______________________________________________________________ > 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] ______________________________________________________________ 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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In reply to this post by Gary Peterson
Hi Gary;
That one is defective. The RefCal # really should be in the range of 49.379.600 to 49.380.400. (+- 400hz from 49.380.000). If out of that range, and you have the K144XV with Reflock, it will be too far for the RefLock to pull it on freq. Same for the K3EXREF, but the range is a bit wider. If it settles down and is just too far out of range, you can take the sticker off and tweak it closer to 49.380.000. Go as high as you can, then back down a little. You don't want to be too close to it's limit as it will go wacky. We do still have the standard oscillators, part E850323 or E660033. Keith WE6R Elecraft K3/K4 Tech. ______________________________________________________________ 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] |
Re: K3S KTCXO3-1 possible problem
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In reply to this post by Mike Cizek W0VTT
Anyone tried one of these? https://www.ebay.com/itm/KTCXO-3-Compatible-Elecraft-K3-TCXO-1-PPM-High-Stability-Ref-Osc-Compatible/182814802678?hash=item2a909c82f6:g:7qsAAOSwWr5Z2Y7t 73, Hank K4HYJ ----- Original Message ----- From: Mike Cizek W0VTT ([hidden email]) Date: 03/09/21 15:02 To: Gary Peterson ([hidden email]), [hidden email] Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3S KTCXO3-1 possible problem Hello Gary, Elecraft reported having problems with the TCXOs a while back. Mine isn't very well behaved, either, but it stays within a few Hertz compared to WWV on 10 MHz. ---- 73, Mike Cizek W0VTT -----Original Message----- From: [hidden email] <[hidden email]> On Behalf Of Gary Peterson Sent: Tuesday, 9 March, 2021 13:40 To: [hidden email] Subject: [Elecraft] K3S KTCXO3-1 possible problem I have a K3S, purchased factory built, February 2019. This included the 1 ppm TCXO3-1-F option. A few months later, I noticed that SSB signals heard on 50.125.000 MHz all sounded a bit off frequency. Hence, I performed a reference oscillator calibration, using method 2. Because of my relatively short distance to WWV, the variability in the signal strength made its use difficult. Instead, I used a GPS disciplined TCXO as my 10 MHz standard. The GPSDO had been on for several hours before any calibration and the transceiver had been on for, at least, three hours. The frequency display on the K3S was set to 10.000.000 MHz. Beats were displayed on a Weston VU meter, driven by an opamp, connected across the external speaker output. This allows beats to be easily seen, that are less than one per second. The REF CAL as received from the factory was 49.379.766 On 7/10/2019, I changed the REF CAL setting to 49.379.448 (I chalked this change up to possible crystal aging.) On 11/30/2019, the REF CAL setting was changed to 49.379.110 On 3/1/2020 the REF CAL setting was changed to 49.378.926 On 1/16/2021 REF CAL was changed to 49.378.495 On 1/30/2021 REF CAL was changed to 49.378.484 On 2/22/2021 REF CAL was changed to 49.378.508 (the first time the setting has been increased) I have also noticed a change of several Hz in the beat note between the transceiver having been on for half an hour and having been on for three or four hours. This seems odd behavior to me for a high stability, 1 ppm TCXO. The transceiver is in a room, with a temperature of 70, plus or minus, 3 degrees Fahrenheit. There is nothing on top of the transceiver and there is plenty of space below, behind and on either side of the radio. There are no other heat sources near the transceiver. Am I being overly critical, or do you think this is unusual behavior for a KTCXO3-1? I posed this question to Elecraft tech support. The reply did not address my question as to whether this KTCXO3-1 is misbehaving. The reply only said that “We have no KTCXO3-1 and have no orders to restock at this time.” The tech, who replied, also gave me sourcing information for, apparently, the oscillator part on the board. Thanks in advance for any time taken to reply to my post. Gary, KØCX ______________________________________________________________ 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] ______________________________________________________________ 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] ______________________________________________________________ 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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