Re-post from KX3 reflector (a Field Tester's review)

[wayne burdick]

Hi all,

Matt (W6NIA) posted this to the KX3 list. Since it's the first report  
on one of the current field-test KX3s, he and I thought it would be of  
interest here, as well. He included a photo, but of course that can't  
be posted to this list.

73,
Wayne
N6KR

* * *

Elecraft KX3: Field Tester Review of S/N 6
All-

Attached is a photo of KX3 #6 [actually not--see note above--WB].  
It's an outdoor shot with the backlight off.  This unit is in Field  
Test here, which is its own type of milestone for all those waiting  
patiently.  I'll be writing objective appraisals of this FT unit.  
That will be my intent, anyway (objectivity).  This email is a first  
cut.  Read on.


My personal opinion is that this is the coolest amateur transceiver  
ever designed, built, or dreamed of.  Perfect size, perfect weight,  
VERY respectable performance.  You can *really* take the KX3 with you,  
and you’ll really want to.  Mine’s going everywhere with me, including  
the workplace!  I know my engineering staff will demand to see how  
Wayne and crew fit it all in, and how well the KX3 works.


After one day using this unit, I've reached the conclusion that the  
KX3 is basically ready for initial production.  As is usual for a  
'young' rig from Elecraft, firmware is still a work in progress.  This  
should be no surprise to anyone on this list.  The hardware is at  
near-100% shape, IMHO.  There are a few minor issues - mostly features  
not yet implemented.  And I mean minor.  If I weren't an engineering  
manager in the consumer products industry I would not have noticed any  
of them.  The electronics seems solid, and I've done a bit of lab  
testing for MDS and selectivity.  Most of my testing has been on the  
air though.  My lab testing shows MDS better than -136 dBm, but my  
signal generator can't extend any lower.  No problems with rejecting  
out of band signals (away from the roofing filter's coverage).


On the air:  I've had about fifteen CW QSOs, using between 1 and 12  
Watts output power.  The antenna is a homebrew multi-band vertical,  
ground mounted.  Four of these Qs were on battery power.  No  
differences were found between operating on external and internal  
power, except for the output power limitations due to batteries.  One  
Q was with an extremely weak QRP station in New Mexico.  The APF  
helped with this, to the point that I could not have pulled him out  
without the feature.  With APF engaged, his signal was 539 with rapid  
fades to 319.  He was running 0.5W and I was running 3 W.  Great  
ragchew, with very few repeats.

Except for Navy-Marine Corps MARS, I'm mostly a CW op.  Several SSB  
contacts went successfully after a false start: I had to finagle the  
MH3's input connection a bit (a virgin socket seating issue).  I set  
the MIC and CMP values by listening on a second receiver and built in  
MONitor, giving  MIC=18 and CMP=10 as the best combination.  Audio  
reports using the MH3 and this setting were excellent - "clear as a  
bell" and "good presence”.  Output using the internal speaker is  
adequate, though not amazingly loud.  Some of that is probably my 55  
year old ears and too many rock concerts when I was younger.  The  
frequency response seems relatively flat and lows are surprisingly  
well-represented.  Distortion is low (< 2% THD the way I hear it).

The FOC and NA contests run this weekend were an interesting  
environment for first-time ops on the KX3.  Lots of strong signals,  
many in excess of S9+25.  A majority of the QSOs mentioned above were  
near strong signals and with the roofing filter in place I had pretty  
good luck ignoring the big guns while working weak signals.  I have to  
admit this is completely subjective, however years of experience with  
the K3 also tells me that the KX3 has similar characteristics in this  
regard.  The best example from on-air testing was the NM CW station I  
mentioned above.  His signal was marginal, meaning the APF was  
essential for pulling him out of the band noise.  At the same time, 3  
to 4 KHz up was one of those big guns thumping away.  I could even  
hear key clicks from the contester, but only a tiny amount of blocking  
from his signal on the KX3.  That's what I mean by "similar to the  
K3".  It's not identical though.  I found instances where a little bit  
of a strong station's signal was near- or in-band, and as you would  
expect some pretty severe blocking occurred.  I'd recommend everyone  
make sure they have the roofing filter on the "essentials" list for  
purchase.  In many ways the roofer makes the KX3 what it was meant to  
be.

One thing that’s notable and exceptional:  I haven’t seen any of the  
typical issues of a “zero IF” architecture.  No image problems, no  
ripple in the passband (in either SSB or CW), no audio artifacts.  The  
advantage to a zero IF architecture is that there’s no “donut hole”  
around the IF frequency; there are others too – one single conversion  
takes less space than multiple conversions, less power consumed, less  
heat generated.

As a Navy-Marine Corps MARS operator, I’m looking forward to using the  
KX3 in our ECOM exercises.  Its size and power consumption are perfect  
for such types of portable operation.  It’s the item that will take  
the least amount of space in your Go Kit.


Sorry so much of this is non-quantitative.  I'll try to get more out  
after another day or two.



Standard disclaimer:  I am not employed by nor do I have a fiduciary  
interest in Elecraft.



73,

Matt Zilmer, W6NIA / NNN0UET / NNN0GAF THREE
NMCM RMS Winmor: NNU9ET-5: Upland, CA.
mzilmer@...
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[Igor Sokolov-2]

How can one subscribe to KX3 reflector please?

73, Igor UA9CDC
----- Original Message -----
From: "Wayne Burdick" <[hidden email]>
To: "Elecraft Reflector" <[hidden email]>
Sent: Monday, February 06, 2012 11:37 PM
Subject: [Elecraft] Re-post from KX3 reflector (a Field Tester's review)


Hi all,

Matt (W6NIA) posted this to the KX3 list. Since it's the first report
on one of the current field-test KX3s, he and I thought it would be of
interest here, as well. He included a photo, but of course that can't
be posted to this list.

73,
Wayne
N6KR

* * *

Elecraft KX3: Field Tester Review of S/N 6
All-

Attached is a photo of KX3 #6 [actually not--see note above--WB].
It's an outdoor shot with the backlight off.  This unit is in Field
Test here, which is its own type of milestone for all those waiting
patiently.  I'll be writing objective appraisals of this FT unit.
That will be my intent, anyway (objectivity).  This email is a first
cut.  Read on.


My personal opinion is that this is the coolest amateur transceiver
ever designed, built, or dreamed of.  Perfect size, perfect weight,
VERY respectable performance.  You can *really* take the KX3 with you,
and you’ll really want to.  Mine’s going everywhere with me, including
the workplace!  I know my engineering staff will demand to see how
Wayne and crew fit it all in, and how well the KX3 works.


After one day using this unit, I've reached the conclusion that the
KX3 is basically ready for initial production.  As is usual for a
'young' rig from Elecraft, firmware is still a work in progress.  This
should be no surprise to anyone on this list.  The hardware is at
near-100% shape, IMHO.  There are a few minor issues - mostly features
not yet implemented.  And I mean minor.  If I weren't an engineering
manager in the consumer products industry I would not have noticed any
of them.  The electronics seems solid, and I've done a bit of lab
testing for MDS and selectivity.  Most of my testing has been on the
air though.  My lab testing shows MDS better than -136 dBm, but my
signal generator can't extend any lower.  No problems with rejecting
out of band signals (away from the roofing filter's coverage).


On the air:  I've had about fifteen CW QSOs, using between 1 and 12
Watts output power.  The antenna is a homebrew multi-band vertical,
ground mounted.  Four of these Qs were on battery power.  No
differences were found between operating on external and internal
power, except for the output power limitations due to batteries.  One
Q was with an extremely weak QRP station in New Mexico.  The APF
helped with this, to the point that I could not have pulled him out
without the feature.  With APF engaged, his signal was 539 with rapid
fades to 319.  He was running 0.5W and I was running 3 W.  Great
ragchew, with very few repeats.

Except for Navy-Marine Corps MARS, I'm mostly a CW op.  Several SSB
contacts went successfully after a false start: I had to finagle the
MH3's input connection a bit (a virgin socket seating issue).  I set
the MIC and CMP values by listening on a second receiver and built in
MONitor, giving  MIC=18 and CMP=10 as the best combination.  Audio
reports using the MH3 and this setting were excellent - "clear as a
bell" and "good presence”.  Output using the internal speaker is
adequate, though not amazingly loud.  Some of that is probably my 55
year old ears and too many rock concerts when I was younger.  The
frequency response seems relatively flat and lows are surprisingly
well-represented.  Distortion is low (< 2% THD the way I hear it).

The FOC and NA contests run this weekend were an interesting
environment for first-time ops on the KX3.  Lots of strong signals,
many in excess of S9+25.  A majority of the QSOs mentioned above were
near strong signals and with the roofing filter in place I had pretty
good luck ignoring the big guns while working weak signals.  I have to
admit this is completely subjective, however years of experience with
the K3 also tells me that the KX3 has similar characteristics in this
regard.  The best example from on-air testing was the NM CW station I
mentioned above.  His signal was marginal, meaning the APF was
essential for pulling him out of the band noise.  At the same time, 3
to 4 KHz up was one of those big guns thumping away.  I could even
hear key clicks from the contester, but only a tiny amount of blocking
from his signal on the KX3.  That's what I mean by "similar to the
K3".  It's not identical though.  I found instances where a little bit
of a strong station's signal was near- or in-band, and as you would
expect some pretty severe blocking occurred.  I'd recommend everyone
make sure they have the roofing filter on the "essentials" list for
purchase.  In many ways the roofer makes the KX3 what it was meant to
be.

One thing that’s notable and exceptional:  I haven’t seen any of the
typical issues of a “zero IF” architecture.  No image problems, no
ripple in the passband (in either SSB or CW), no audio artifacts.  The
advantage to a zero IF architecture is that there’s no “donut hole”
around the IF frequency; there are others too – one single conversion
takes less space than multiple conversions, less power consumed, less
heat generated.

As a Navy-Marine Corps MARS operator, I’m looking forward to using the
KX3 in our ECOM exercises.  Its size and power consumption are perfect
for such types of portable operation.  It’s the item that will take
the least amount of space in your Go Kit.


Sorry so much of this is non-quantitative.  I'll try to get more out
after another day or two.



Standard disclaimer:  I am not employed by nor do I have a fiduciary
interest in Elecraft.



73,

Matt Zilmer, W6NIA / NNN0UET / NNN0GAF THREE
NMCM RMS Winmor: NNU9ET-5: Upland, CA.
mzilmer@...
______________________________________________________________
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 

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

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[Thomas Horsten]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KX3/

On 6 February 2012 19:25, Igor Sokolov <[hidden email]> wrote:

> How can one subscribe to KX3 reflector please?
>
> 73, Igor UA9CDC
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Wayne Burdick" <[hidden email]>
> To: "Elecraft Reflector" <[hidden email]>
> Sent: Monday, February 06, 2012 11:37 PM
> Subject: [Elecraft] Re-post from KX3 reflector (a Field Tester's review)
>
>
> Hi all,
>
> Matt (W6NIA) posted this to the KX3 list. Since it's the first report
> on one of the current field-test KX3s, he and I thought it would be of
> interest here, as well. He included a photo, but of course that can't
> be posted to this list.
>
> 73,
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
> * * *
>
> Elecraft KX3: Field Tester Review of S/N 6
> All-
>
> Attached is a photo of KX3 #6 [actually not--see note above--WB].
> It's an outdoor shot with the backlight off.  This unit is in Field
> Test here, which is its own type of milestone for all those waiting
> patiently.  I'll be writing objective appraisals of this FT unit.
> That will be my intent, anyway (objectivity).  This email is a first
> cut.  Read on.
>
>
> My personal opinion is that this is the coolest amateur transceiver
> ever designed, built, or dreamed of.  Perfect size, perfect weight,
> VERY respectable performance.  You can *really* take the KX3 with you,
> and you’ll really want to.  Mine’s going everywhere with me, including
> the workplace!  I know my engineering staff will demand to see how
> Wayne and crew fit it all in, and how well the KX3 works.
>
>
> After one day using this unit, I've reached the conclusion that the
> KX3 is basically ready for initial production.  As is usual for a
> 'young' rig from Elecraft, firmware is still a work in progress.  This
> should be no surprise to anyone on this list.  The hardware is at
> near-100% shape, IMHO.  There are a few minor issues - mostly features
> not yet implemented.  And I mean minor.  If I weren't an engineering
> manager in the consumer products industry I would not have noticed any
> of them.  The electronics seems solid, and I've done a bit of lab
> testing for MDS and selectivity.  Most of my testing has been on the
> air though.  My lab testing shows MDS better than -136 dBm, but my
> signal generator can't extend any lower.  No problems with rejecting
> out of band signals (away from the roofing filter's coverage).
>
>
> On the air:  I've had about fifteen CW QSOs, using between 1 and 12
> Watts output power.  The antenna is a homebrew multi-band vertical,
> ground mounted.  Four of these Qs were on battery power.  No
> differences were found between operating on external and internal
> power, except for the output power limitations due to batteries.  One
> Q was with an extremely weak QRP station in New Mexico.  The APF
> helped with this, to the point that I could not have pulled him out
> without the feature.  With APF engaged, his signal was 539 with rapid
> fades to 319.  He was running 0.5W and I was running 3 W.  Great
> ragchew, with very few repeats.
>
> Except for Navy-Marine Corps MARS, I'm mostly a CW op.  Several SSB
> contacts went successfully after a false start: I had to finagle the
> MH3's input connection a bit (a virgin socket seating issue).  I set
> the MIC and CMP values by listening on a second receiver and built in
> MONitor, giving  MIC=18 and CMP=10 as the best combination.  Audio
> reports using the MH3 and this setting were excellent - "clear as a
> bell" and "good presence”.  Output using the internal speaker is
> adequate, though not amazingly loud.  Some of that is probably my 55
> year old ears and too many rock concerts when I was younger.  The
> frequency response seems relatively flat and lows are surprisingly
> well-represented.  Distortion is low (< 2% THD the way I hear it).
>
> The FOC and NA contests run this weekend were an interesting
> environment for first-time ops on the KX3.  Lots of strong signals,
> many in excess of S9+25.  A majority of the QSOs mentioned above were
> near strong signals and with the roofing filter in place I had pretty
> good luck ignoring the big guns while working weak signals.  I have to
> admit this is completely subjective, however years of experience with
> the K3 also tells me that the KX3 has similar characteristics in this
> regard.  The best example from on-air testing was the NM CW station I
> mentioned above.  His signal was marginal, meaning the APF was
> essential for pulling him out of the band noise.  At the same time, 3
> to 4 KHz up was one of those big guns thumping away.  I could even
> hear key clicks from the contester, but only a tiny amount of blocking
> from his signal on the KX3.  That's what I mean by "similar to the
> K3".  It's not identical though.  I found instances where a little bit
> of a strong station's signal was near- or in-band, and as you would
> expect some pretty severe blocking occurred.  I'd recommend everyone
> make sure they have the roofing filter on the "essentials" list for
> purchase.  In many ways the roofer makes the KX3 what it was meant to
> be.
>
> One thing that’s notable and exceptional:  I haven’t seen any of the
> typical issues of a “zero IF” architecture.  No image problems, no
> ripple in the passband (in either SSB or CW), no audio artifacts.  The
> advantage to a zero IF architecture is that there’s no “donut hole”
> around the IF frequency; there are others too – one single conversion
> takes less space than multiple conversions, less power consumed, less
> heat generated.
>
> As a Navy-Marine Corps MARS operator, I’m looking forward to using the
> KX3 in our ECOM exercises.  Its size and power consumption are perfect
> for such types of portable operation.  It’s the item that will take
> the least amount of space in your Go Kit.
>
>
> Sorry so much of this is non-quantitative.  I'll try to get more out
> after another day or two.
>
>
>
> Standard disclaimer:  I am not employed by nor do I have a fiduciary
> interest in Elecraft.
>
>
>
> 73,
>
> Matt Zilmer, W6NIA / NNN0UET / NNN0GAF THREE
> NMCM RMS Winmor: NNU9ET-5: Upland, CA.
> mzilmer@...
> ______________________________________________________________
> 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
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> 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
>

______________________________________________________________
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Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

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Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html