Newbie Questions for K3...subreceiver module

[Phil Hystad]

Gang,

Thanks for all the great e-mails and answers to my first round of K3 questions.  Lots of good information and advice.  I do have a few more questions but I will limit these of one question at a time.


Several people have advised to get the sub-receiver option.  Now, this really puts me on the fence as I have a sub-receiver in my Icom Pro III and I almost never use it.  Actually, I have never used it in an actual QSO, I have merely played with it from time to time.

So, my first question is, "Why do I want a sub-receiver?"...

Maybe a little about my background helps.  I got into ham radio as a novice (WN7ECQ) back in the mid-1960s.  Ham radio was very rudimentary back then with CW mode only, a transmitter and a few crystals, but a very good receiver (Hammarlund, HQ-170AC).  Then, after the Novice one-year license expired I let the hobby go silent for 38 years.  I was relicensed and back on the air in February/March 2004 with a used Icom 756 transceiver.

But, my operating style reflects a lot of my Novice experience rooted in the technology and practices of the 1960s.  Mostly CW, some SSB for some of the evening nets and other stuff when the band is hot and a periodically scheduled SSB QSO with some of my ham friends from back in those 1960 days.  Not much of a contester but I very much like the technology aspect, experimentation, SDR, and so on.  And, I am always looking to do new things that capture my interest.

So, I may be missing out on a huge corner of this hobby by not even knowing how someone makes use of a sub-receiver.  Thus, my question.

73,
phil, K7PEH

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[Cookie]

Maybe you don't need the sub-reciever Phil, but I have one and I use it a lot.

Here is what I do.  When I am working split, I tune the DX with the main receiver then push the A>B button to get the same frequency into the sub-receiver and press sub.  I adjust the volume on the sub and then when I determine as much as I can about where he is listening from him, the jerks on his frequency and the cluster I go  looking for a spot to call with the main receiver.  I can listen to my transmit frequency to be sure there is not a QSO on it while I listen to the DX and make my calls.  If the propagation is right and I am lucky, sometimes I can find where the DX is working and get a little advantage.

Sometimes when I am monitoring a dead band, like ten or six I sit one receiver on the SSB calling frequency and one on the CW calling frequency.

The sub-receiver must not be essential because a lot of us were using K3s before it was available.  But I sure like to have the sub-receiver and use it a lot.

Ancient Age is no excuse.  I am 69 years young and been licensed since 1956.  My first rig was a BC-455 Command Receiver and a home brew 6AG7/6BQ6 transmitter that ran 35 watts input and maybe 20 watts output as guessed with a 40 watt light bulb about half brilliance.
 Willis 'Cookie' Cooke
K5EWJ




________________________________
From: Phil Hystad <[hidden email]>
To: [hidden email]
Sent: Wed, November 18, 2009 11:23:06 AM
Subject: [Elecraft] Newbie Questions for K3...subreceiver module

Gang,

Thanks for all the great e-mails and answers to my first round of K3 questions.  Lots of good information and advice.  I do have a few more questions but I will limit these of one question at a time.


Several people have advised to get the sub-receiver option.  Now, this really puts me on the fence as I have a sub-receiver in my Icom Pro III and I almost never use it.  Actually, I have never used it in an actual QSO, I have merely played with it from time to time.

So, my first question is, "Why do I want a sub-receiver?"...

Maybe a little about my background helps.  I got into ham radio as a novice (WN7ECQ) back in the mid-1960s.  Ham radio was very rudimentary back then with CW mode only, a transmitter and a few crystals, but a very good receiver (Hammarlund, HQ-170AC).  Then, after the Novice one-year license expired I let the hobby go silent for 38 years.  I was relicensed and back on the air in February/March 2004 with a used Icom 756 transceiver.

But, my operating style reflects a lot of my Novice experience rooted in the technology and practices of the 1960s.  Mostly CW, some SSB for some of the evening nets and other stuff when the band is hot and a periodically scheduled SSB QSO with some of my ham friends from back in those 1960 days.  Not much of a contester but I very much like the technology aspect, experimentation, SDR, and so on.  And, I am always looking to do new things that capture my interest.

So, I may be missing out on a huge corner of this hobby by not even knowing how someone makes use of a sub-receiver.  Thus, my question.

73,
phil, K7PEH

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[Vic K2VCO]

Phil Hystad wrote:

> So, my first question is, "Why do I want a sub-receiver?"...

I use it for two things:

1) Diversity reception. I find that weak CW reception is greatly improved with diversity.
For example, on 40M, I use a dipole connected to the main antenna and a small vertical on
the subreceiver. When the signal fades on one antenna, it often comes up on the other. And
the response to noise seems to be different in the two receivers. The result it that far
fewer characters are 'questionable', and copy is easier.

2) Pileups. I listen to the DX station on the main receiver and the pileup in the sub; the
K3 is in split mode so it will transmit on the sub's frequency.  I have the K3 set up to
use the same antenna in this case, but I use a narrow bandwidth in the main and a wider
one in the sub. I have set the K3 to send the main signal to both ears and the sub only to
the left in this mode. This allows me to easily pick out the station that the DX is
working and be on the right frequency when I call him.

This sounds complicated, but the K3 is designed to do this stuff (the antenna setup is
sticky for diversity/non-diversity, and the channelization of the audio only affects
non-diversity). Combined with the macro capability, it takes ONE button-press on the K3 to
activate either of these modes.

--
73,
Vic, K2VCO
Fresno CA
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco
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[Phil Hystad]

Dave,

Thanks for your comments and I do agree with the notion that given that the K3 is so modular that "...you can always add it later"  -- albeit, with a but and a however...

But and However -- I hear that there is an extra degree of complexity and rework to put in the sub-receiver later so if I think I might want it later then it behooves me to get it up front.  Now, I am still on the fence, it may come down to the cost of the whole configuration.

phil

On Nov 18, 2009, at 2:10 PM, Dave, W8OV wrote:

> Phil Hystad wrote:
>> Gang,
>> Thanks for all the great e-mails and answers to my first round of K3 questions.  Lots of good information and advice.  I do have a few more questions but I will limit these of one question at a time.
>> Several people have advised to get the sub-receiver option.  Now, this really puts me on the fence as I have a sub-receiver in my Icom Pro III and I almost never use it.  Actually, I have never used it in an actual QSO, I have merely played with it from time to time.
>> So, my first question is, "Why do I want a sub-receiver?"...
>> Maybe a little about my background helps.  I got into ham radio as a novice (WN7ECQ) back in the mid-1960s.  Ham radio was very rudimentary back then with CW mode only, a transmitter and a few crystals, but a very good receiver (Hammarlund, HQ-170AC).  Then, after the Novice one-year license expired I let the hobby go silent for 38 years.  I was relicensed and back on the air in February/March 2004 with a used Icom 756 transceiver.
>> But, my operating style reflects a lot of my Novice experience rooted in the technology and practices of the 1960s.  Mostly CW, some SSB for some of the evening nets and other stuff when the band is hot and a periodically scheduled SSB QSO with some of my ham friends from back in those 1960 days.  Not much of a contester but I very much like the technology aspect, experimentation, SDR, and so on.  And, I am always looking to do new things that capture my interest.
>> So, I may be missing out on a huge corner of this hobby by not even knowing how someone makes use of a sub-receiver.  Thus, my question.
>> 73,
>> phil, K7PEH
>
> Phil,
>
> My operating sounds somewhat like yours.  Mostly casual ragchewing, piddling around in contests, but not seriously.  I had a subreceiver in my previous transceiver, but decided to save the money when I ordered the K3.  I don't miss it at all.  I am able to work split without it on the few occasions I need it.  The beauty of the modular system is that if you decide you need it, you can always add it later.
>
> 73,
>
> Dave, W8OV

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[Don Wilhelm-4]

Phil,

Believe me, it is not much more trouble to install the SubRX later than
it is during the initial construction.
I think the biggest headache of adding the SubRX is  routing the
cables.   Some will say that removing the Front Panel to add the 2nd DSP
board is the hardest part, but if you have assembled your K3 from the
kit version, it will be easy for you.  That feeling of difficulty is
natural for those who have purchased a factory built K3.  One of the
advantages of building the kit version is that you do become familiar
with how it goes together.

I would even say that if you are mostly a casual operator (and
especially if you are working on a budget), you may want to order only
the basic K3 (plus KAT3 if you do not have all resonant antennas) and
operate it for a while before deciding on the additional filters and
options that you would like to have in it.  Once the SubRX is in place,
adding filters to the main board is more difficult, so you ideally would
want to determine the filter set you want to end up in both the main and
SubRX before actually adding the SubRX - that is only my opinion, others
may (and will) differ.

73,
Don W3FPR

Phil Hystad wrote:
> Dave,
>
> Thanks for your comments and I do agree with the notion that given that the K3 is so modular that "...you can always add it later"  -- albeit, with a but and a however...
>
> But and However -- I hear that there is an extra degree of complexity and rework to put in the sub-receiver later so if I think I might want it later then it behooves me to get it up front.  Now, I am still on the fence, it may come down to the cost of the whole configuration.
>
> phil
>  
>
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[Andy Faber]

Phil,
 It's no big deal to add the subrx later.  Don't make a decision based on
that as an issue.
  73, andy, ae6y
----- Original Message -----
From: "Phil Hystad" <[hidden email]>
To: "Dave, W8OV" <[hidden email]>
Cc: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 2:17 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Newbie Questions for K3...subreceiver module

> Dave,
>
> Thanks for your comments and I do agree with the notion that given that
> the K3 is so modular that "...you can always add it later"  -- albeit,
> with a but and a however...
>
> But and However -- I hear that there is an extra degree of complexity and
> rework to put in the sub-receiver later so if I think I might want it
> later then it behooves me to get it up front.  Now, I am still on the
> fence, it may come down to the cost of the whole configuration.
>
> phil
>
> On Nov 18, 2009, at 2:10 PM, Dave, W8OV wrote:
>
>> Phil Hystad wrote:
>>> Gang,
>>> Thanks for all the great e-mails and answers to my first round of K3
>>> questions.  Lots of good information and advice.  I do have a few more
>>> questions but I will limit these of one question at a time.
>>> Several people have advised to get the sub-receiver option.  Now, this
>>> really puts me on the fence as I have a sub-receiver in my Icom Pro III
>>> and I almost never use it.  Actually, I have never used it in an actual
>>> QSO, I have merely played with it from time to time.
>>> So, my first question is, "Why do I want a sub-receiver?"...
>>> Maybe a little about my background helps.  I got into ham radio as a
>>> novice (WN7ECQ) back in the mid-1960s.  Ham radio was very rudimentary
>>> back then with CW mode only, a transmitter and a few crystals, but a
>>> very good receiver (Hammarlund, HQ-170AC).  Then, after the Novice
>>> one-year license expired I let the hobby go silent for 38 years.  I was
>>> relicensed and back on the air in February/March 2004 with a used Icom
>>> 756 transceiver.
>>> But, my operating style reflects a lot of my Novice experience rooted in
>>> the technology and practices of the 1960s.  Mostly CW, some SSB for some
>>> of the evening nets and other stuff when the band is hot and a
>>> periodically scheduled SSB QSO with some of my ham friends from back in
>>> those 1960 days.  Not much of a contester but I very much like the
>>> technology aspect, experimentation, SDR, and so on.  And, I am always
>>> looking to do new things that capture my interest.
>>> So, I may be missing out on a huge corner of this hobby by not even
>>> knowing how someone makes use of a sub-receiver.  Thus, my question.
>>> 73,
>>> phil, K7PEH
>>
>> Phil,
>>
>> My operating sounds somewhat like yours.  Mostly casual ragchewing,
>> piddling around in contests, but not seriously.  I had a subreceiver in
>> my previous transceiver, but decided to save the money when I ordered the
>> K3.  I don't miss it at all.  I am able to work split without it on the
>> few occasions I need it.  The beauty of the modular system is that if you
>> decide you need it, you can always add it later.
>>
>> 73,
>>
>> Dave, W8OV
>
> ______________________________________________________________
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>
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> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html 

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[AC7AC]

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