New K3 Receive question

[Don Baucom]

last weekend I built #7462 (purchased at Dayton). I am thrilled! This weekend I will add the 100w PA.

I just did a A/B with my K2 #7261 and noticed the K3 has S5 to S6 noise on the meter and the K2 has none. The K2 is almost silent until a cw station is tuned in. The K3 also sounds great when a cw sig is tuned in, but there is more background noise. The noise seems too quiet for S6 but it is there.

both had pre amp on. both no dsp or nb. what adjustments should I make on the K3 for best cw receive on 20
I have the 500hz 5 pole and 400hz 8 pole installed.

thanks
K4YND
K1 #2999
K2 #7261
K3 #7462

[k6dgw]

Did you calibrate the S-meter?

What mode is the S-meter in?  In ABS mode it displays the actual input
signal level [if calibrated to 50uV=S9] regardless of preamp status.
Otherwise, activating the preamp will raise the S-meter by the preamp
gain.  Or, maybe it's the other way around, I can never remember. :-)

With the preamp off, does the noise decrease when you disconnect the
antenna?  Easy way to do that is switch to ANT 2.  If it does, you don't
need the preamp.

Side-by-side on same antenna, my K2 sounds like, and the S-meter closely
follows, the K3.  Both are very quiet until I find a signal.

73,

Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the 2013 Cal QSO Party 5-6 Oct 2013
- www.cqp.org

On 6/3/2013 5:34 PM, Don Baucom wrote:

> I just did a A/B with my K2 #7261 and noticed the K3 has S5 to S6 noise on
> the meter and the K2 has none. The K2 is almost silent until cw station is
> tuned in. The K3 also sounds great when a cw sig is tuned in, but there is
> more background noise. The noise sems too quiet for S6 but it is there.


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[Don Baucom]

Fred,
Thanks. I have a lot to learn. I also read the what W4ZV had to say. I cant wait to get home and adj the receiver.

One more question. What headphones should I use. My favorite is my Kenwood HS-5 but it is 8ohms. I also have a pair of MFJ 16 ohm headphones. The manual recommends 16 ohms. If I have to go with 16 ohms what is a nice set that is recommended.

73
Don
K4YND

[Mike K2MK]

Hi Don,

You can use any headphones. The listening volume may change from one set to the other but they'll all work. An extremely popular model among K3 users is the Yamaha CM500 which is quite comfortable and also has a boom microphone which can be flipped up out of the way. They connect directly to the rear jacks of the K3 and require no adapters. They are available everywhere online for under $45.

73,
Mike K2MK

Don Baucom wrote

Fred,
Thanks. I have a lot to learn. I also read the what W4ZV had to say. I cant wait to get home and adj the receiver.

One more question. What headphones should I use. My favorite is my Kenwood HS-5 but it is 8ohms. I also have a pair of MFJ 16 ohm headphones. The manual recommends 16 ohms. If I have to go with 16 ohms what is a nice set that is recommended.

73
Don
K4YND

[Jim Brown-10]

On 6/4/2013 4:19 AM, Don Baucom wrote:
> What headphones should I use. My favorite is my Kenwood
> HS-5 but it is 8ohms. I also have a pair of MFJ 16 ohm headphones. The
> manual recommends 16 ohms. If I have to go with 16 ohms what is a nice set
> that is recommended.

Headphone impedance is generally less important than voltage
sensitivity.  Most decent headphones will work well with a K3. I mostly
use a Yamaha CM500 headset (the boom mic also works VERY well with the
K3 -- simply plug both mic and headphones into the rear panel connectors
and turn on bias). Before I had that one, I used a set of Sony MDR-7506,
which works very well too. I'd guess both of these to be in the 100-200
ohm range.

If you find receive audio level a bit low, check the AF Gain setting in
the menu and make sure it's on HIGH.

73, Jim K9YC
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