Random thoughts from a K3 Field Tester

[Locherbob]

 I received my K3 several months ago; one of the very last in the group.
I still am not sure why I was selected for field testing - I am an
operator, not the sort of person who loves to "break" software and do
the detective work to see where a bug is.

 It is interesting to see the Field Test work. Various bugs are found
and dispatched, and operator options smoothed and streamlined. What
really amazes me and says so much for the K3 design team is that thus
far there have been only four hardware changes in the radio that Field
Testers have had to make, all of them trivial.

Anyhow, that said, I can happily  report that the K3 has exceeded my
expectations - and they were high. The receiver is incredibly quiet. The
crystal filters are the best I have ever had - and over the years I have
had some top line expensive radios, though none of the recent series
such as the 7800. The K3 is an absolute joy  to tune a band with.

When I built my K2 I was so delighted with its performance that it
became my station transceiver for the last 7 or 8 years. One of the
things I really loved about the K2 was the superb performance while
retaining a very simple interface. There were a number of "set and
forget" menu entries in the firmware that allowed the operator to tailor
the radio to his or her desires. Well, at first blush the K3 has more
controls, and there really is a bit more to learn, but they are
intuitive once one understands the philosophy of the radio - much the
same as the K2, and in return offer a lot of additional power and
flexibility.

I regularly used the RIT and XIT in the K2 - well, let me tell you, the
RIT and XIT of the K3 is a clear generation ahead. It was a useful
capability in the K2  - is a powerful tool in the K3.

The A/B VFO capabilities exceed that of the K2. An example - you are
chasing a DX station who is operating in a lot of QRM, so you sharpen up
the filters making copy a lot easier. But, the split pileup the DX
operator is working  is spread out all over the place, and looking for
the station he is working is really tough with the narrow filter. With
the K3, if you want, it is easy to set VFO "A" to a 200 hertz bandwidth
(or whatever) and have VFO "B" set at say 800 hertz bandwidth so that
you can easily look for the station the DX is working.

One of the things I loved about the K2 was the AGC - in the passband you
could easily tell who was strong and who was weak, while having perfect
copy on both of them. But a lot of operators prefer a flatter. more
processed signal so that all signals, weak and strong, sound alike. No
problem - the menu lets you set the AGC gain so you can have it your way.

The hardware noise blanker has not yet been distributed to most field
testers except for two who have both reported great results with
electric fence or power line problems. However, we all have the DSP
noise blanker function available. I have had some personal experience
with this. CW DX'er on 40 meters are sadly aware of the over the horizon
radar popularly called :"The Dragon", apparently radiating from China.
It comes on about one out of three mornings, and when it comes on it
simply kills the band. Well, I tried the K3 DSP noise blanker, which
allows the operator to set the level of intensity. I started cranking it
in and lo and behold, the Dragon virtually disappeared. I could still
tell it was there but it was no longer a factor in copying weak
stations, and with no noticeable artifacts. I switched it out and the
Dragon was right back there obliterating the band.

Trouble is, other people on the band lacking the K3 Noise Blanker still
get chased off the band. After it came on all the DX disappeared, except
for two Japanese stations ragchewing, obviously with strong enough
signals for each other to not have a problem. They were S4 here and
perfect copy with the K3 DSP noise blanker. I switched it off and they
got blasted away. Back on and they were easy copy. I am anticipating
great things this winter from the noise blanker when North American
stations are typically suffering from the Dragon while long path
European and Middle East stations are not hearing it at all.

 The K3 definitely will require a bit of study to use the huge number of
operator options in it - it is indeed  a feature rich radio. But it can
be used in a simplistic manner if desired, or the operator can exercise
all the bells and whistles. Wayne has promised to write Quick Start
guides for each mode to get the operator up and running quickly, and has
also promised an extensive tutorial  to accompany the manual.  I think
these items will be a great help to all new owners, no matter what their
level of experience.

 My comments here only scratch the surface of what is a marvelous
operating tool. I know I am thoroughly delighted with mine.

 73

 Bob Locher W9KNI

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[ayoshida]

Bob

Thank you very much for your very interesting report.
"Dragon killer" is most impressive.
As you know "Dragon" makes us very sad so some JAs
have tried to kill "Dragon" with top level radio.

de aki, ja1nlx

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob Locher" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2007 12:08 PM
Subject: [Elecraft] Random thoughts from a K3 Field Tester

>
> I received my K3 several months ago; one of the very last in the group.
> I still am not sure why I was selected for field testing - I am an
> operator, not the sort of person who loves to "break" software and do
> the detective work to see where a bug is.
>
> It is interesting to see the Field Test work. Various bugs are found
> and dispatched, and operator options smoothed and streamlined. What
> really amazes me and says so much for the K3 design team is that thus
> far there have been only four hardware changes in the radio that Field
> Testers have had to make, all of them trivial.
>
> Anyhow, that said, I can happily  report that the K3 has exceeded my
> expectations - and they were high. The receiver is incredibly quiet. The
> crystal filters are the best I have ever had - and over the years I have
> had some top line expensive radios, though none of the recent series
> such as the 7800. The K3 is an absolute joy  to tune a band with.
>
> When I built my K2 I was so delighted with its performance that it
> became my station transceiver for the last 7 or 8 years. One of the
> things I really loved about the K2 was the superb performance while
> retaining a very simple interface. There were a number of "set and
> forget" menu entries in the firmware that allowed the operator to tailor
> the radio to his or her desires. Well, at first blush the K3 has more
> controls, and there really is a bit more to learn, but they are
> intuitive once one understands the philosophy of the radio - much the
> same as the K2, and in return offer a lot of additional power and
> flexibility.
>
> I regularly used the RIT and XIT in the K2 - well, let me tell you, the
> RIT and XIT of the K3 is a clear generation ahead. It was a useful
> capability in the K2  - is a powerful tool in the K3.
>
> The A/B VFO capabilities exceed that of the K2. An example - you are
> chasing a DX station who is operating in a lot of QRM, so you sharpen up
> the filters making copy a lot easier. But, the split pileup the DX
> operator is working  is spread out all over the place, and looking for
> the station he is working is really tough with the narrow filter. With
> the K3, if you want, it is easy to set VFO "A" to a 200 hertz bandwidth
> (or whatever) and have VFO "B" set at say 800 hertz bandwidth so that
> you can easily look for the station the DX is working.
>
> One of the things I loved about the K2 was the AGC - in the passband you
> could easily tell who was strong and who was weak, while having perfect
> copy on both of them. But a lot of operators prefer a flatter. more
> processed signal so that all signals, weak and strong, sound alike. No
> problem - the menu lets you set the AGC gain so you can have it your way.
>
> The hardware noise blanker has not yet been distributed to most field
> testers except for two who have both reported great results with
> electric fence or power line problems. However, we all have the DSP
> noise blanker function available. I have had some personal experience
> with this. CW DX'er on 40 meters are sadly aware of the over the horizon
> radar popularly called :"The Dragon", apparently radiating from China.
> It comes on about one out of three mornings, and when it comes on it
> simply kills the band. Well, I tried the K3 DSP noise blanker, which
> allows the operator to set the level of intensity. I started cranking it
> in and lo and behold, the Dragon virtually disappeared. I could still
> tell it was there but it was no longer a factor in copying weak
> stations, and with no noticeable artifacts. I switched it out and the
> Dragon was right back there obliterating the band.
>
> Trouble is, other people on the band lacking the K3 Noise Blanker still
> get chased off the band. After it came on all the DX disappeared, except
> for two Japanese stations ragchewing, obviously with strong enough
> signals for each other to not have a problem. They were S4 here and
> perfect copy with the K3 DSP noise blanker. I switched it off and they
> got blasted away. Back on and they were easy copy. I am anticipating
> great things this winter from the noise blanker when North American
> stations are typically suffering from the Dragon while long path
> European and Middle East stations are not hearing it at all.
>
> The K3 definitely will require a bit of study to use the huge number of
> operator options in it - it is indeed  a feature rich radio. But it can
> be used in a simplistic manner if desired, or the operator can exercise
> all the bells and whistles. Wayne has promised to write Quick Start
> guides for each mode to get the operator up and running quickly, and has
> also promised an extensive tutorial  to accompany the manual.  I think
> these items will be a great help to all new owners, no matter what their
> level of experience.
>
> My comments here only scratch the surface of what is a marvelous
> operating tool. I know I am thoroughly delighted with mine.
>
> 73
>
> Bob Locher W9KNI
>
> _______________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
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> You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
> Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft   
>
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
> Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com

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[Clark Macaulay KE4RQ]

Wow...after the last week's series of comments from some who have become far too aggravated as they wait for their K3 and questioning the integrity of Elecraft, this is a breath of fresh air.  Thanks, Bob, for taking the time to share your thoughts and experience. For those that don't of W9KNI, Bob is one of the top DXers in the world and has published what for me is the finest book on getting started in DXing, "The Complete DXer" and a died-in-the-wool K2 advocate.  
   
  I'm enjoying all of the excitement about the K3 even though I haven't (and can't) order one.  It's not very often that all of can share in the field testing/revision/product launch of what may the most impactful product annoucement for in many years: exceptional performance at a price that many can afford (if they sell a few of their 'other' rigs!).  So, while I don't read all of the K3 posts, I do read a lot of them just to stay tuned to the buzz.  
   
  I am a NEW K2 user: just put #6110 on the air a few weeks ago and am still building some of the options.  So, I sort through the digest version of the daily message, pick out the ones I want to read, and move on.  No muss, no fuss (man...that's dating myself).  So, from my perspective, keep the K3 buzz coming and let me enjoy, from a distance, the excitement of the K3 while I learn and use the K2.  Maybe someday my K2 will have a big brother/sister...
   
  73 de Clark ke4rq
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