WPX-CW Thoughts from the 3830 Reflector - K5AF (Long)

[PaulK5AF]

I thought I'd post my thoughts from WPX CW Contest that I had posted on 3830, as well as some private correspondence I had on K3 issues.  I'm sure there are workarounds and/or fixes in the works for all of these items, but I'm new to the reflector and haven't had a chance to review all the archives.

SOAB LP SO2R

Comments:

My second K3 arrived Thursday evening, so I hooked it up and everything worked
great.  This was my maiden contest voyage for the new radios!

I sold my pair of Omni VIs in order to buy the K3s.  So far, I'm not sure there
is a clear-cut advantage with the K3.

Likes:  

- The receive audio is very pleasant.  
- The receiver is quiet and I made some contacts with weak stations that I may
not have been able to make with any other radio.
- I have my headphone switching set up so that I can switch to just the active
radio and utilize the audio effects.  Pretty cool!  The spatial effect helps
with sorting out signals, you can pick out callsigns in a crowded passband even
with the filters wide open!
- The radio interfaces well, there was always a slight lag with my Omni Six on
frequency display, mode changes, etc. with TR.  The K3 updates quickly and the
shift keys even work!
- Good QSK.

Dislikes:

- Ergomnomics:  After all the hype on K3 ergonomics, I am disappointed.  Why
the designers would waste a dual concentric control by putting sub controls on
it is beyond me!  IMHO, the bottom dual concentric (DC) control should be AF
and RF gain, the dual concentric control above it should be PBT(shift) and
width, on the inner and outer controls respectively. Replicate those controls
for the sub on a separate stalk.  The small knobs for shift and width  are
almost useless because they are small and the encoder interval is not granular
enough to really make precise adjustments, IMHO.
-  AGC:  My ears are still ringing from some very loud signals that the AGC
apparently did not knock down to an acceptable level.  With the Omni, I could
monitor one transceiver with the other and the AGC made it sound like just any
other signal on the band.  I need to study the manual to see how to taylor the
AGC to my liking.
-  In-band interference:  I'm accustomed to doing same-band SO2R with the
Omnis, in other words, call CQ on radio one and listening on the same band
(usually >20kHz away) for S&P possibilites.  Can't do that as well with the K3,
quite a bit more hash on transmit.  However, interference between individual
bands is excellent, as good or maybe better than the Omni.
-  Display:  Real hard to tell what options are selected.  Things like NR and
AGC selection are tiny!  
-  A/B VFO Selection:  K3 experts, please correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't
believe it is possible to have VFO A set to transmit and receive on one band,
and VFO B on another band.  This was a "secret weapon" that I used to bypass
the bandswitching on the Omni.  I'd have two bands set up for each radio and
just toggle between A and B VFOs to access them.  Can't do that with the K3 and
the up/down band switch is time consuming and ackward.
-  Another gripe regarding the up/down band buttons--it was almost instinctive
for me to hold them down continuously to change multiple bands (say from 20m to
80M)  If you do that, you'll change either the QSK setting or the VOX setting.
Changing the VOX setting is fatal if you're trying to call someone, because the
VOX must be on to key the radio.  That happened to me, and it took me a while to
figure it out.

I generally like the radio, I think I still have very much to learn, but I see
a lot of things that I feel could be improved. I'm putting a list together a
list for Elecraft.  The K3 ain't perfect, but it ain't bad!  Paul, K5AF

Here are additional comments that I sent in a private email which duplicates and expands on some of the information above:

I did not order the second receivers, figuring that I could install them later.  I only got minimal filtering since I don't operate much phone, I got the 1000 and 500 Hz filters, and I think they are more than adequate.
 
The ergonomics are clumsy for me, but then I have pretty big hands.  I just feel that it would make a lot more sense to combine the shift and width functions on one stalk, and the RF/AF on the other, and then have a separate AF/RF stalk for the sub receiver to the right of the RF/Sq control for the main receiver.  That way, as you shifted from the main to the sub receiver knob, there would be a corresponding shift with the left hand.  It seems as though their design criteria was more weighted toward the second receiver than toward optimizing the main radio functions.
 
A lot of guys don't like the display, and I'm one of them.  I just noticed this morning that I had the preselector on during the contest, I just never noticed it.  I've got pretty good vision, but will have to start wearing specs!
 
The IF DSP is amazing and yet I hardly used it with S&P.  Two reasons:  First of all, it is hard to find the small width knob and there's a bit of rotating needed to widen and narrow the BW.  The shift knob is more like a channel selector than smooth analog-feeling control -- it literally seems to jump from one center frequency selection to the next.  It is so sharp that you will often have a signal completely disappear with just one click of the knob.  It is wonderful for pileups, you can have ten stations calling and slice every one of them apart from the rest, but it is very cumbersome for S&P.
 
This next gripe is probably typical of most digital radios these days, but it is an irritant to me.  When transmitting, all digital receive functions are frozen.  If I'm running and I have to crunch the BW to pick out a weak signal who is slightly off frequency, I like to be able to reset the BW controls or turn on NR, etc, while sending my QSL/QRZ message so that I be ready for the next guy.  Could with the Omni, as it was all physical filters, can't with the K3.
 
I mentioned that I didn't use the DSP filtering much during S&P, one major reason was the AFX.  I think the Orion has something similar, but it really gives spatial dimension to different signals.  I have my phones set up to listen to both radios L/ R or either radio with the stereo effects.  Wonderful!
 
I will be sending my first K3 back for a major issue with SWR sensing and ALC.  It failed after having the radio just two days, and one of the techs helped me make some technical adjustments that allowed me to continue using the radio until after my second one arrived, which was this past week.  If I set the power above about 15W, the radio would go into thermal runaway and shuts down.  Thanks to their tech support and some internal adjustments, I can run it at about 120W and it doesn't shut down unless I try to use 100% duty cycle for 30 seconds or so.  I currently have no SWR function on the radio, but monitor it with my wattmeter.
 
You are probably right, what may now seem fundamental flaws will disappear as I learn to use the radio.  I'll be glad to hear your impressions when yours arrives.

Paul, K5AF

One additional item:

Is it possible to control the second radio tuning with the B VFO encoder on radio one.  I think it could be hardwired to do so, thoughts?