Elecraft

KX3 settings for digital and other modes

Classic

List

Threaded

5 messages Options

Frank O'Donnell

KX3 settings for digital and other modes

Hi all, new ham here and a KX3 owner for three weeks. In the time I've
had the radio, I've used it exclusively for FT8. The first thing I did
was to set it up for digital modes using settings from a YouTube video
by K5ACL. Specifically:

AGC MD: off (default is on)

Mike bias: off (default is on)

RS232: Set to desired baud rate. KX3 supports max 38400 baud

RX EQ: off

TX EQ: off

TX GAIN: ALC 25 (this is the default)

Mode: USB

This all worked fine. Not long thereafter II changed from setting the
KX3 mode to USB, and have been using the Data mode instead.

Now I'm looking at expanding use of the radio to CW and perhaps to
voice. I therefore wanted to revisit the settings to make sure I
understand them all, and know which are important.

Some questions:

1) Do all of the above seem important for digital modes such as FT8? I
believe I read somewhere that when the KX3 is put into Data mode it will
make some of these changes anyway. Are there any I don't need to worry
about as long as I select Data mode for FT8 and other digital sessions?

2) Should I change any of the above settings for CW?

3) Should I change any of the above settings for phone? Wondering for
example about the mike bias and EQ.

Thanks for any possible help,

Frank K6FOD

______________________________________________________________
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]

Don Wilhelm

Re: KX3 settings for digital and other modes

Frank,

As you have indicated, those settings will get you started.
But definitely use DATA A, not USB.
Reason is that Compression and EQ is automatically set to zero, and your
SSB settings can remain undisturbed.

You mic gain setting is the most important when using data modes. Set
it so you have 4 bars solid on the ALC meter with the 5th bar flashing.

You may want to read the article dealing with setting the audio gains
(yes, there can be up to 3) that is on my website www.w3fpr.com. Scroll
the left column down to the bottom and click on the link to the article.

There is no sense in setting RS232 to a slower baud rate unless the
application software demands it.

For voice and CW modes, you want to have AGC on. TX and RX EQ can be
set to whatever your ears like.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 4/24/2018 4:02 PM, Frank O'Donnell wrote:

> Hi all, new ham here and a KX3 owner for three weeks. In the time I've
> had the radio, I've used it exclusively for FT8. The first thing I did
> was to set it up for digital modes using settings from a YouTube video
> by K5ACL. Specifically:
>
>
> AGC MD: off (default is on)
>
> Mike bias: off (default is on)
>
> RS232: Set to desired baud rate. KX3 supports max 38400 baud
>
> RX EQ: off
>
> TX EQ: off
>
> TX GAIN: ALC 25 (this is the default)
>
> Mode: USB
>
>
> This all worked fine. Not long thereafter II changed from setting the
> KX3 mode to USB, and have been using the Data mode instead.
>

______________________________________________________________
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]

Frank O'Donnell

Re: KX3 settings for digital and other modes

In reply to this post by Frank O'Donnell

Thanks very much, Walter -- a very helpful reminder of the relevant
manual sections. I'll particularly take a close look at your blog post
in preparation for working phone.

On 4/24/18 1:16 PM, Walter Underwood wrote:

> For phone, follow the “Basic Voice-Mode Setup” in the KX3 manual (page
> 15). There are some additional settings collected from this list for
> TX EQ and compression, I put together a blog post with those.
>
> https://observer.wunderwood.org/2015/09/09/transmit-audio-and-compression-with-the-elecraft-kx3/
>
> DATA A mode automatically disables TX EQ, RX EQ, and compression. If
> that video suggests using USB and disabling EQ, I wouldn’t trust it,
> because it is giving wrong advice. Use the "DATA A and AFSK A (Audio
> Data Modes)" instructions in the KX3 manual instead (page 18).
>
> Also, I’m not sure I see the benefit of turning AGC off for digital
> modes. The radio has better information about signal strength than an
> audio codec can have.
>
> wunder
> K6WRU
> Walter Underwood
> CM87wj
> http://observer.wunderwood.org/ (my blog)
>
>> On Apr 24, 2018, at 1:02 PM, Frank O'Donnell <[hidden email]
>> <mailto:[hidden email]>> wrote:
>>
>> Hi all, new ham here and a KX3 owner for three weeks. In the time
>> I've had the radio, I've used it exclusively for FT8. The first thing
>> I did was to set it up for digital modes using settings from a
>> YouTube video by K5ACL. Specifically:
>>
>>
>> AGC MD: off (default is on)
>>
>> Mike bias: off (default is on)
>>
>> RS232: Set to desired baud rate. KX3 supports max 38400 baud
>>
>> RX EQ: off
>>
>> TX EQ: off
>>
>> TX GAIN: ALC 25 (this is the default)
>>
>> Mode: USB
>>
>>
>> This all worked fine. Not long thereafter II changed from setting the
>> KX3 mode to USB, and have been using the Data mode instead.
>>
>> Now I'm looking at expanding use of the radio to CW and perhaps to
>> voice. I therefore wanted to revisit the settings to make sure I
>> understand them all, and know which are important.
>>
>> Some questions:
>>
>> 1) Do all of the above seem important for digital modes such as FT8?
>> I believe I read somewhere that when the KX3 is put into Data mode it
>> will make some of these changes anyway. Are there any I don't need to
>> worry about as long as I select Data mode for FT8 and other digital
>> sessions?
>>
>> 2) Should I change any of the above settings for CW?
>>
>> 3) Should I change any of the above settings for phone? Wondering for
>> example about the mike bias and EQ.
>>
>> Thanks for any possible help,
>>
>> Frank K6FOD

Frank O'Donnell

Re: KX3 settings for digital and other modes

In reply to this post by Don Wilhelm

Don, thanks for the comments. I didn't mention it in my prior post, but
setting the mike gain to achieve ~4.5 bars on the ALC meter is indeed
something I paid a lot of attention to.

On that general topic, I've heard others talk about a couple of
strategies for making sure that you're getting a clean digital signal
out that isn't overmodulated. One is to have a local friend take a look
at your signal as received at their location. Another apparently is to
run your transceiver into a dummy load, then use an SDR or similar
receiver close by with a hank of wire as an antenna to sample the signal
you're putting out. I can't remember, however, if those discussions were
in the context of Elecraft radios. Does it seem reasonable to run my KX3
into a dummy load (perhaps with the power out turned down) and listen to
it with, say, an SDRplay to evaluate the signal out? Keeping the levels
low of course to protect the SDR.

One other point about the audio setup for digital. When I was getting my
gear configured, I tried using a couple of different soundcard devices.
One of them seemed to work fine with both right and left stereo channels
plugged in between the soundcard and KX3. When I tried the other
soundcard, however, I got a PTT error when powering up the KX3. After I
unplugged the stereo channel on that soundcard that went to the ring
connector on the KX3 mike in, everything worked fine. Is that a problem
known to occur with some soundcards?

Thanks again,

Frank K6FOD

On 4/24/18 1:24 PM, Don Wilhelm wrote:

> Frank,
>
> As you have indicated, those settings will get you started.
> But definitely use DATA A, not USB.
> Reason is that Compression and EQ is automatically set to zero, and
> your SSB settings can remain undisturbed.
>
> You mic gain setting is the most important when using data modes. Set
> it so you have 4 bars solid on the ALC meter with the 5th bar flashing.
>
> You may want to read the article dealing with setting the audio gains
> (yes, there can be up to 3) that is on my website www.w3fpr.com.
> Scroll the left column down to the bottom and click on the link to the
> article.
>
> There is no sense in setting RS232 to a slower baud rate unless the
> application software demands it.
>
> For voice and CW modes, you want to have AGC on. TX and RX EQ can be
> set to whatever your ears like.
>
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>
> On 4/24/2018 4:02 PM, Frank O'Donnell wrote:
>> Hi all, new ham here and a KX3 owner for three weeks. In the time
>> I've had the radio, I've used it exclusively for FT8. The first thing
>> I did was to set it up for digital modes using settings from a
>> YouTube video by K5ACL. Specifically:
>>
>>
>> AGC MD: off (default is on)
>>
>> Mike bias: off (default is on)
>>
>> RS232: Set to desired baud rate. KX3 supports max 38400 baud
>>
>> RX EQ: off
>>
>> TX EQ: off
>>
>> TX GAIN: ALC 25 (this is the default)
>>
>> Mode: USB
>>
>>
>> This all worked fine. Not long thereafter II changed from setting the
>> KX3 mode to USB, and have been using the Data mode instead.
>>
>
>

Don Wilhelm

Re: KX3 settings for digital and other modes

Frank,

If you have the audio level set correctly, there should be no distortion
unless the KX3 power control mechanism has a problem. The 1st 4 bars of
the KX3 ALC meter are not showing ALC at all. ALC activation does not
start until the 5th bar.

Yes, you can operate into a dummy and listen with another receiver - it
does not have to be an SDR receiver, most any will do.

I have not heard of a soundcard which would apply an effective ground on
the right channel (PTT).

73,
Don W3FPR

On 4/24/2018 8:48 PM, Frank O'Donnell wrote:

> Don, thanks for the comments. I didn't mention it in my prior post,
> but setting the mike gain to achieve ~4.5 bars on the ALC meter is
> indeed something I paid a lot of attention to.
>
> On that general topic, I've heard others talk about a couple of
> strategies for making sure that you're getting a clean digital signal
> out that isn't overmodulated. One is to have a local friend take a
> look at your signal as received at their location. Another apparently
> is to run your transceiver into a dummy load, then use an SDR or
> similar receiver close by with a hank of wire as an antenna to sample
> the signal you're putting out. I can't remember, however, if those
> discussions were in the context of Elecraft radios. Does it seem
> reasonable to run my KX3 into a dummy load (perhaps with the power out
> turned down) and listen to it with, say, an SDRplay to evaluate the
> signal out? Keeping the levels low of course to protect the SDR.
>
> One other point about the audio setup for digital. When I was getting
> my gear configured, I tried using a couple of different soundcard
> devices. One of them seemed to work fine with both right and left
> stereo channels plugged in between the soundcard and KX3. When I tried
> the other soundcard, however, I got a PTT error when powering up the
> KX3. After I unplugged the stereo channel on that soundcard that went
> to the ring connector on the KX3 mike in, everything worked fine. Is
> that a problem known to occur with some soundcards?
>
> Thanks again,
>
> Frank K6FOD
>
>
> On 4/24/18 1:24 PM, Don Wilhelm wrote:
>> Frank,
>>
>> As you have indicated, those settings will get you started.
>> But definitely use DATA A, not USB.
>> Reason is that Compression and EQ is automatically set to zero, and
>> your SSB settings can remain undisturbed.
>>
>> You mic gain setting is the most important when using data modes. Set
>> it so you have 4 bars solid on the ALC meter with the 5th bar flashing.
>>
>> You may want to read the article dealing with setting the audio gains
>> (yes, there can be up to 3) that is on my website www.w3fpr.com.
>> Scroll the left column down to the bottom and click on the link to
>> the article.
>>
>> There is no sense in setting RS232 to a slower baud rate unless the
>> application software demands it.
>>
>> For voice and CW modes, you want to have AGC on. TX and RX EQ can be
>> set to whatever your ears like.
>>
>>
>> 73,
>> Don W3FPR
>>
>> On 4/24/2018 4:02 PM, Frank O'Donnell wrote:
>>> Hi all, new ham here and a KX3 owner for three weeks. In the time
>>> I've had the radio, I've used it exclusively for FT8. The first
>>> thing I did was to set it up for digital modes using settings from a
>>> YouTube video by K5ACL. Specifically:
>>>
>>>
>>> AGC MD: off (default is on)
>>>
>>> Mike bias: off (default is on)
>>>
>>> RS232: Set to desired baud rate. KX3 supports max 38400 baud
>>>
>>> RX EQ: off
>>>
>>> TX EQ: off
>>>
>>> TX GAIN: ALC 25 (this is the default)
>>>
>>> Mode: USB
>>>
>>>
>>> This all worked fine. Not long thereafter II changed from setting
>>> the KX3 mode to USB, and have been using the Data mode instead.
>>>
>>
>>
>
>