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KX-3 Powered speaker suggestions?

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Ron Manfredi

KX-3 Powered speaker suggestions?

I prefer to operate without headphones, but find the audio output from
my KX-3 to be too weak to be usable, and the rigs' audio amp is not up
to driving an external speaker very well.   I tried both an amplified
Motorola speaker and a small MFJ unit, but when using SSB (10-15 Watts)
at home into a beam or into a dummy load I can hear myself quite clearly
in the speaker, so RF is getting in somehow.   (the rig's Monitor
function is not turned on!)   I have tried ferrites on both the power
and audio lines to the speaker, but they have not helped.   This is
while using an Astron RS-35 linear supply for both the rig and the
speaker.    Any suggestions, or powered speaker recommendations?

Ron,   WA2EIO.

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Re: KX-3 Powered speaker suggestions?

Ron,For a station speakers I use an older model of the West Mountain COMspkr. Works fine on KX2, KX3 and my laptop. 73Jim H k7sss In a message dated 8/3/2020 7:01:01 PM Pacific Standard Time, [hidden email] writes:
I prefer to operate without headphones, but find the audio output from my KX-3 to be too weak to be usable, and the rigs' audio amp is not up to driving an external speaker very well. Any suggestions, or powered speaker recommendations? Ron, WA2EIO. ______________________________________________________________Elecraft mailing listHome: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraftHelp: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htmPost: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.netPlease help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.htmlMessage delivered to [hidden email]
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Jim Brown-10

Re: KX-3 Powered speaker suggestions?

In reply to this post by Ron Manfredi

On 8/3/2020 6:58 PM, Ron Manfredi wrote:
> I tried both an amplified Motorola speaker and a small MFJ unit, but
> when using SSB (10-15 Watts) at home into a beam or into a dummy load I
> can hear myself quite clearly in the speaker, so RF is getting in somehow.

Powered speakers have a power amplifier built in, which are notorious
for RF susceptibility. The causes are typically poor shielding and/or
Pin One Problems, but things we do wrong (or fail to do) in the shack or
with our antennas can put lots of RF into a powered speaker, making it
more likely for RFI to occur. Motorola products are generally designed
for UHF 2-way applications, and are unlikely to have been designed for
use around HF transmitting antennas.

What antenna system are you using? If it's some form of end-fed wire
ending in the shack, does it have a counterpoise? It should. If up in
the air with a feedline, does it have a serious common mode choke at the
feedpoint? How is your station bonded? How is it grounded?

Station grounding and bonding is covered here.
http://k9yc.com/GroundingAndAudio.pdf

RFI is covered here. The chokes recommended for killing noise would also
appropriate for cables feeding the speaker (both power and audio).
http://k9yc.com/KillingReceiveNoise.pdf

Transmitting chokes are covered here. http://k9yc.com/2018Cookbook.pdf

73, Jim K9YC
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Gwen Patton

Re: KX-3 Powered speaker suggestions?

I bought a small, rechargeable Bluetooth speaker with an Aux input jack. I
can use it for more than just my KX3 that way. It's relatively small, a
little on the weighty side, and the battery lasts a long time. Charges with
microUSB fairly quickly. I have not noticed any effect on the speaker from
transmitting on the KX3, whether wired to the Aux jack via shielded 3.5mm
jumper cable, or by Bluetooth transmitter (below).

Tribit XSound Go: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07594HZ6Y

I do have a small Bluetooth transmitter I can plug into the radio and then
pair the speaker or my BT headset, but I rarely use it. The model
transmitter I got is no longer available, but these look decent:

(Note: I have NOT tried these transmitters. I may get one of them, because
they're BT 5.0 and have lower latency.)
https://www.amazon.com/TaoTronics-Bluetooth-Transmitter-Receiver-Simultaneously/dp/B01EHSX28M

https://www.amazon.com/TaoTronics-Bluetooth-Transmitter-Receiver-Wireless-dp-B01IV1H1ME/

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
73,
Gwen, NG3P

On Mon, Aug 3, 2020 at 11:23 PM Jim Brown <[hidden email]> wrote:

> On 8/3/2020 6:58 PM, Ron Manfredi wrote:
> > I tried both an amplified Motorola speaker and a small MFJ unit, but
> > when using SSB (10-15 Watts) at home into a beam or into a dummy load I
> > can hear myself quite clearly in the speaker, so RF is getting in
> somehow.
>
> Powered speakers have a power amplifier built in, which are notorious
> for RF susceptibility. The causes are typically poor shielding and/or
> Pin One Problems, but things we do wrong (or fail to do) in the shack or
> with our antennas can put lots of RF into a powered speaker, making it
> more likely for RFI to occur. Motorola products are generally designed
> for UHF 2-way applications, and are unlikely to have been designed for
> use around HF transmitting antennas.
>
> What antenna system are you using? If it's some form of end-fed wire
> ending in the shack, does it have a counterpoise? It should. If up in
> the air with a feedline, does it have a serious common mode choke at the
> feedpoint? How is your station bonded? How is it grounded?
>
> Station grounding and bonding is covered here.
> http://k9yc.com/GroundingAndAudio.pdf
>
> RFI is covered here. The chokes recommended for killing noise would also
> appropriate for cables feeding the speaker (both power and audio).
> http://k9yc.com/KillingReceiveNoise.pdf
>
> Transmitting chokes are covered here. http://k9yc.com/2018Cookbook.pdf
>
> 73, Jim K9YC
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
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>
> 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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Jim Brown-10

Re: KX-3 Powered speaker suggestions?

On 8/3/2020 8:51 PM, Gwen Patton wrote:
> I do have a small Bluetooth transmitter I can plug into the radio and then
> pair the speaker or my BT headset, but I rarely use it.

Although I haven't tried it, I suspect that the latency would make it
useless when sending CW with a paddle or straight key. (I haven't used a
straight key since I was a Novice, almost 65 years ago.)

73, Jim K9YC
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Gwen Patton

Re: KX-3 Powered speaker suggestions?

I didn't notice that much latency, but I did just order a 5.0 model (which
has much lower latency than early BT versions) mostly because it might be
useful for other things, has a 20-hour battery life, and can operate while
charging. If it is high enough to bug you, the Aux cable works fine and has
practically no latency. (Yes, I know there's a minuscule latency from speed
of transmission through wires, but let's not be pedantic to the point of
absurdity, you'll never hear the latency on a wired connection.)

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
73,
Gwen, NG3P

On Tue, Aug 4, 2020 at 12:00 AM Jim Brown <[hidden email]> wrote:

> On 8/3/2020 8:51 PM, Gwen Patton wrote:
> > I do have a small Bluetooth transmitter I can plug into the radio and
> then
> > pair the speaker or my BT headset, but I rarely use it.
>
> Although I haven't tried it, I suspect that the latency would make it
> useless when sending CW with a paddle or straight key. (I haven't used a
> straight key since I was a Novice, almost 65 years ago.)
>
> 73, Jim K9YC
> ______________________________________________________________
> 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
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>

Grant Youngman-2

Re: KX-3 Powered speaker suggestions?

In reply to this post by Ron Manfredi

I’ve tried several powered speakers on my KX3. Currently, I use a (discontinued) Sony SRS-X33 I bought at Best Buy when I got the KX3 a few years ago. I use it wired. Plays really well if you EQ out all the low end. It isn’t large, but it is relatively heavy. Last year I dropped almost $200 on a highly recommended FOXL Dash 7. While I really like how it sounds, and it’s slimmer and much lighter than the Sony and packs better in the Go Bag, it’s a monster of an RF generator. So it’s useless. If your hand is anywhere near it you become the antenna. Probably has a DC-DC converter in there that is completely unfiltered and unshielded. The Sony is dead quiet. I have another thingy around here somewhere, also recommended, and inexpensive, which is so flimsy I managed to break it after about a months use. And the audio from it was thin and sub-par anyway.

All of that said, I’ve never had an issue with KX3-level RF getting into any of these. I do use my KX3 at home, but even then it’s “backyard portable”, into simple wire antennas, without any concern about grounding/bonding/etc. My wire antennas use the feed coax as the counterpoise, with a choke right at the KX3. And I haven’t had any RF issues with any of these.

There may of course be other issues, But it could simply be the speakers themselves. The problem is you could try 5 of them before you find one that’s RF quiet and doesn’t act like a modulation monitor.

Grant NQ5T

> On Aug 3, 2020, at 9:58 PM, Ron Manfredi <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> I prefer to operate without headphones, but find the audio output from my KX-3 to be too weak to be usable, and the rigs' audio amp is not up to driving an external speaker very well. I tried both an amplified Motorola speaker and a small MFJ unit, but when using SSB (10-15 Watts) at home into a beam or into a dummy load I can hear myself quite clearly in the speaker, so RF is getting in somehow. (the rig's Monitor function is not turned on!) I have tried ferrites on both the power and audio lines to the speaker, but they have not helped. This is while using an Astron RS-35 linear supply for both the rig and the speaker. Any suggestions, or powered speaker recommendations?
>
> Ron, WA2EIO.

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Eric Norris-2

Re: KX-3 Powered speaker suggestions?

In reply to this post by Ron Manfredi

For simple, small, portable-friendly speakers, I used various models of
iHome speakers (I used to carry a pair for emergencies when I gave a lot of
presentations, and they would actually fill a room albeit at a whisper
level. The "emergencies" became so frequent I began lugging my small bass
amp). Later, I switched to an AlexMic, which, although more expensive, has
beacoup audio power AND saves room cuz it's also a MIC. Also rechargeable.

73 Eric WD6DBM

On Mon, Aug 3, 2020, 6:58 PM Ron Manfredi <[hidden email]> wrote:

> I prefer to operate without headphones, but find the audio output from
> my KX-3 to be too weak to be usable, and the rigs' audio amp is not up
> to driving an external speaker very well. I tried both an amplified
> Motorola speaker and a small MFJ unit, but when using SSB (10-15 Watts)
> at home into a beam or into a dummy load I can hear myself quite clearly
> in the speaker, so RF is getting in somehow. (the rig's Monitor
> function is not turned on!) I have tried ferrites on both the power
> and audio lines to the speaker, but they have not helped. This is
> while using an Astron RS-35 linear supply for both the rig and the
> speaker. Any suggestions, or powered speaker recommendations?
>
> Ron, WA2EIO.
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> 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]