Low Serial Numbered K3
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Any problems with buying a K3 with a low serial number, say that has
had hardware updates and alignments? Darryl, KK5IB ______________________________________________________________ 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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Darryl,
I would say no problem at all. consistent with the Elecraft upgrade policy, even the earliest K3 can be upgraded to the most recent level. If all the hardware updates have been applied and the firmware updated, it is just as good as a brand new K3. If you want to check an older K3 to see if the hardware mods have been installed, go to the Mods and Notes tab on the Elecraft website www.elecraft.com and download the applicable mod instructions - most of them tell you how to check to see if the mod has been installed - some may require physical inspection, but others can be determined by easier means. 73, Don W3FPR On 9/22/2014 11:18 PM, Darryl J Kelly wrote: > Any problems with buying a K3 with a low serial number, say that has > had hardware updates and alignments? > Darryl, KK5IB > ______________________________________________________________ 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 KK5IB
Mine is #642. It did a short stint in the Elecraft Medical Center for
slightly Sickly Electronics early on for a failed component I didn't want to track down. They brought it up to what was then "production." The only other mod I've done was the IF output gain mod [destroy an SM resistor and replace it with a different value resistor] when I got the P3 much much later. K3's don't seem to wear out, and unlike me, are not affected by an accumulation of birthdays. OK, I finally had the "cracking knobs syndrome," Elecraft sent me new ones, I had saved the allen wrench for them, and all was well. I would make sure that any HW mods published after the one you're considering was born are not critical to your operating requirements, particularly if your needs are somewhat esoteric like EME and the like. Load the latest production FW, run through the calibration procedures [no test equipment required], and call CQ. Mine works just like advertised. 73, Fred K6DGW - Northern California Contest Club - CU in the 2014 Cal QSO Party 4-5 Oct 2014 - www.cqp.org ______________________________________________________________ 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 KK5IB
Darryl,
No worry as long as all the HW mod and FW were updated. Mine is also an early version but I did all the HW and FW updates. 73 Johnny VR2XMC ________________________________ 寄件人︰ Darryl J Kelly <[hidden email]> 收件人︰ [hidden email] 傳送日期︰ 2014年09月23日 (週二) 11:18 AM 主題︰ [Elecraft] Low Serial Numbered K3 Any problems with buying a K3 with a low serial number, say that has had hardware updates and alignments? Darryl, KK5IB ______________________________________________________________ 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 KK5IB
Hi Darryl,
There were an awful lot of mods that might have been needed depending on the serial number. Even if the unit had no mods it still might be a good purchase as long as the price reflects the money you'll have to invest to upgrade it. The DSP board upgrade is considered very important by many K3 owners and it is not listed with the other K3 mods on the mods and notes page. You can find it only on the spare parts page. It is called K3DSPUPGD. The DSP mod is not listed here (??): http://www.elecraft.com/K3/k3_app_notes.htm K3DSPUPGD can be found here: http://www.elecraft.com/order_form_parts.htm#K3%20Parts 73, Mike K2MK
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In reply to this post by KK5IB
I'd like to think that there wouldn't be such a problem with an early
unit. Mine's s/n 24, so the first kit from Oct, 2007. Every applicable mod has been made to it, and I had one of the techs go over it looking for update opportunities. He couldn't find any, and everything was in spec. Elecraft may be the first Amateur Radio transceiver manufacturer to ensure that there is no stigma associated with a low s/n transceiver, as long as it's kept up to date. Other manufacturers develop upgrades that will only work on serial number so-and-so and up. We don't have that problem with the K3, something else that sets it apart besides its specs and performance. If you're expecting to buy an early K3, I'd suggest getting copies of all the mod instructions and using them to inspect your candidate K3 for mods and upgrades. This at least is reassuring, if not downright necessary. Some of the PCBAs have different fab and assembly rev levels. Except for the DSP(s), I was told that all other board changes over the years maintain the same specs. The DSP upgrade actually improves performance at audio frequencies, and there is an exchange program for the older rev DSPs that defers some of the cost of the new ones. 73, matt W6NIA On Mon, 22 Sep 2014 22:18:27 -0500, you wrote: >Any problems with buying a K3 with a low serial number, say that has >had hardware updates and alignments? >Darryl, KK5IB >______________________________________________________________ >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] -- "Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe." -A. Lincoln ______________________________________________________________ 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 Mike K2MK
I could never hear the effect of the DSP board modification, despite pretty good hearing. But we had some *very* discriminating customers with even better hearing; hence the mod.
You might want to listen to it before upgrading. 73, Wayne N6KR On Sep 23, 2014, at 5:41 AM, Mike K2MK <[hidden email]> wrote: > Hi Darryl, > > There were an awful lot of mods that might have been needed depending on the > serial number. Even if the unit had no mods it still might be a good > purchase as long as the price reflects the money you'll have to invest to > upgrade it. > > The DSP board upgrade is considered very important by many K3 owners and it > is not listed with the other K3 mods on the mods and notes page. You can > find it only on the spare parts page. It is called K3DSPUPGD. > > The DSP mod is not listed here (??): > http://www.elecraft.com/K3/k3_app_notes.htm > > K3DSPUPGD can be found here: > http://www.elecraft.com/order_form_parts.htm#K3%20Parts > > 73, > Mike K2MK > > > Darryl J Kelly wrote >> Any problems with buying a K3 with a low serial number, say that has >> had hardware updates and alignments? >> Darryl, KK5IB > > > > > > -- > View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/Low-Serial-Numbered-K3-tp7593319p7593329.html > Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. > ______________________________________________________________ > 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 k6dgw
I have # 174, very few mod done and due to other commit tents, no f/w upgrade in the last 12 months - still works great - When I can get to using it.
73 de David, M0XDF (K3 #174, P3 #108) -- David On 23 Sep 2014, at 05:56, Fred Jensen <[hidden email]> wrote: > Mine is #642. It did a short stint in the Elecraft Medical Center for slightly Sickly Electronics early on for a failed component I didn't want to track down. They brought it up to what was then "production." The only other mod I've done was the IF output gain mod [destroy an SM resistor and replace it with a different value resistor] when I got the P3 much much later. > > K3's don't seem to wear out, and unlike me, are not affected by an accumulation of birthdays. OK, I finally had the "cracking knobs syndrome," Elecraft sent me new ones, I had saved the allen wrench for them, and all was well. I would make sure that any HW mods published after the one you're considering was born are not critical to your operating requirements, particularly if your needs are somewhat esoteric like EME and the like. Load the latest production FW, run through the calibration procedures [no test equipment required], and call CQ. > > Mine works just like advertised. > > 73, > > Fred K6DGW > - Northern California Contest Club > - CU in the 2014 Cal QSO Party 4-5 Oct 2014 > - www.cqp.org > > ______________________________________________________________ > 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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Hi all,
Mine is #82. I have very few mods done, probably the only one of importance is the HAGC mod. Radio is working perfectly. Fans are inaudible, yet radio is running cool with the low duty cycle SSB transmissions I am using for DX hunting. Firmware, however, is up to date, well at least almost. AB2TC - Knut
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Re: Low Serial Numbered K3
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Hi all, My serial number 12xx is not as low as some, but I had my share of mods in the K3. I've done them all myself including adding the LPF on the DSP board (which was an improvement in my case). Implementing the mods was never a problem, thanks to the good documentation on the elecraft website and all info in this reflector. As for firmware, I follow all updates. Never regretted that. (It becomes vital if you start adding a KPA etc. There have been several updates that improved the overall performance.) 73 Arie PA3A ______________________________________________________________ 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 Mike K2MK
On Tue,9/23/2014 5:41 AM, Mike K2MK wrote:
> The DSP board upgrade is considered very important by many K3 owners and it > is not listed with the other K3 mods on the mods and notes page. You can > find it only on the spare parts page. It is called K3DSPUPGD. I'm an audio geek, and I see no need for RX audio below 300 Hz in a ham RX. Rolloff above 4 kHz is a good thing, but not worth $110 to me. :) Now, if you want to use your K3 to listen to AM broadcasts including music, that's a different story. BUT -- $110 comes close to getting you one of the excellent Tecsun consumer AM/FM/Shortwave/Aircraft band receivers like the PL660 ($120) or PL880 ($180). The PL880 was recently reviewed in QST. I own a PL660 and the much smaller PL380, which is my "hotel" radio. 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 Message delivered to [hidden email] |
Re: Low Serial Numbered K3
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On 2014-09-24 1:17 PM, Jim Brown wrote: > I'm an audio geek, and I see no need for RX audio below 300 Hz in a > ham RX. Rolloff above 4 kHz is a good thing, but not worth $110 to > me. :) After 25+ years in broadcasting and recording studios, I agree. The one audio response modification I put in both of my low S/N K3s is the low- pass audio filter just to eliminate the high frequency audio IMD and DAC clock leakage. The resulting ~100 - 4500 Hz response is just fine for occasional AM broadcast - including music - using a decent speaker. The original 10 uF coupling capacitors on the headphone output are just fine with headphones other than the cheap 8 Ohm stuff and provide reasonable response to 200 Hz or less with most quality headphones or headsets. 73, ... Joe, W4TV On 2014-09-24 1:17 PM, Jim Brown wrote: > On Tue,9/23/2014 5:41 AM, Mike K2MK wrote: >> The DSP board upgrade is considered very important by many K3 owners >> and it >> is not listed with the other K3 mods on the mods and notes page. You can >> find it only on the spare parts page. It is called K3DSPUPGD. > > I'm an audio geek, and I see no need for RX audio below 300 Hz in a ham > RX. Rolloff above 4 kHz is a good thing, but not worth $110 to me. :) > Now, if you want to use your K3 to listen to AM broadcasts including > music, that's a different story. BUT -- $110 comes close to getting you > one of the excellent Tecsun consumer AM/FM/Shortwave/Aircraft band > receivers like the PL660 ($120) or PL880 ($180). The PL880 was recently > reviewed in QST. I own a PL660 and the much smaller PL380, which is my > "hotel" radio. > > 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 > 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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