an as-yet undetailed (that I can see) K3 spec

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an as-yet undetailed (that I can see) K3 spec

Steve Jackson-5
I wish there was a good way to know what the fans sound like in the K3/100.

Ironically, here at home I actually have an acoustic anechoic chamber (don't ask) and could make such a measurement ... if I had a suitable calibrated microphone, that is.  I wonder if Spectrogram or some other sound-graphing program would be able to electronically normalize an electret for flatness?  Maybe somebody will send me a K3 so I can publish the acoustic test results.  Ha!

Beyond issues of visual/tactile UI (which has been nearly beat to death), one of the things that bothers me about many rigs is the racket they make.

TenTec has that down; no fan needed except for high-duty-cycle modes, and my own personal experience shows that this is really not needed.  This is one big reason I'm leaning towards replacing my (fairly noisy) almost 8 year old K2/100 with an Omni VII.  

I really didn't like the constant fan noise from the Icom 756proII I had and the proIII is no better; the '756 receivers are not at par so they are out of the picking.  I don't 'do' Yaesu even if they had a decent rig, and Kenwood doesn't have a rig that is worth buying, either.  The new FlexRadio fan sounded VERY loud to me (at Dayton!!), and I don't fancy a radio without knobs anyway.  I modified my PC to all but eliminate the noise it makes.  So I do have a quiet shack and I like it that way.  I don't wear headphones.

At Dayton, the din of the room made it hard to hear Wayne talk, much less hear the K3.

So ...
Are there two fans on the K3, or just on the K3/100?
When do the two fans come on?  
Do they both run together, or sometimes just one?  
If just one, does the other spin freely?  
Is the speed variable?  
If so, how is it controlled?  
Can you set the trip points for when they (each or both) come on and off, or speed up and slow down?  
Can you set it so the fan doesn't come on at all in QRP 'mode' ?






       
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RE: an as-yet undetailed (that I can see) K3 spec

Ed Muns, W0YK
> I wish there was a good way to know what the fans sound like
> in the K3/100.

They sound the same on as when they are off, unless you really are in an
anechoic chamber.  They are incredibly quiet, so much so that I thought they
weren't working and had to go around behind the rig to verify the blades
were turning, even at the highest speed.  By contrast, the ProIII I have
currently sitting next to the K3 has very audible fan noise, sometimes even
detectable with headphones on.

This isn't an analytical answer, and yes with the right equipment you could
detect a dB level, but trust me, fan noise is not an issue with the K3.

73,
Ed - W0YK

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Re: an as-yet undetailed (that I can see) K3 spec

Steve Jackson-5
In reply to this post by Steve Jackson-5

> I wish there was a good way to know what the fans sound like
> in the K3/100.

They sound the same on as when they are off, unless you really are in an
anechoic chamber.  They are incredibly quiet, so much so that I thought they
weren't working and had to go around behind the rig to verify the blades
were turning, even at the highest speed.  By contrast, the ProIII I have
currently sitting next to the K3 has very audible fan noise, sometimes even
detectable with headphones on.

This isn't an analytical answer, and yes with the right equipment you could
detect a dB level, but trust me, fan noise is not an issue with the K3.

---  Ed, thanks, that IS **exactly** what I wanted to know.
---  Your ready comparison with a known noise source is the gold standard for me.
---  Very much appreciated!
---  I'm sure we will eventually see an SPL spec from Aptos, along with more
---  operational details of the cooling system / theory of operation as time goes on.
---  gl 73 de Steve KZ1X/4







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Re: an as-yet undetailed (that I can see) K3 spec

Tom Hammond-2
In reply to this post by Steve Jackson-5
Hi Steve:

>I wish there was a good way to know what the fans sound like in the K3/100.

For MOST conditions, they don't sound like ANYTHING... they're
virtually silent!

This afternoon I did some CW>RTTY at 100W output, and for 5-6 minutes
at a stretch... the fans cycled up to speed 3 or maybe 4 (top speed).
I was able to tell they were running, but there was NEVER any
indication of a whirlwind, or anything such as you might expect.. . I
placed my hand over the vent holes on the top cover and there was
quite a bit of (COOL) air coming out, so I was able to confirm that
they were running at a relatively high setting, though the sound was
truly minimal...

>Beyond issues of visual/tactile UI (which has been nearly beat to
>death), one of the things that bothers me about many rigs is the
>racket they make. TenTec has that down; no fan needed except for
>high-duty-cycle modes, and my own personal experience shows that
>this is really not needed.  This is one big reason I'm leaning
>towards replacing my (fairly noisy) almost 8 year old K2/100 with an
>Omni VII.  I really didn't like the constant fan noise from the Icom
>756proII I had and the proIII is no better; the '756 receivers are
>not at par so they are out of the picking.  I don't 'do' Yaesu even
>if they had a decent rig, and Kenwood doesn't have a rig that is
>worth buying, either.  The new FlexRadio fan sounded VERY loud to me
>(at Dayton!!), and I don't fancy a radio without knobs anyway.  I
>modified my PC to all but eliminate the noise it makes.  So I do
>have a quiet shack and I like it that way.  I don't wear headphones.
>At Dayton, the din of the room made it hard to hear Wayne talk, much
>less hear the K3. So ... Are there two fans on the K3, or just on the K3/100?

NO fans on the QRP K3... two fans on the KPA3 (100W PA) blowing
directly onto the heatsink.

>When do the two fans come on?  Do they both run together, or
>sometimes just one?  If just one, does the other spin freely?  Is
>the speed variable?  If so, how is it controlled?  Can you set the
>trip points for when they (each or both) come on and off, or speed
>up and slow down?  Can you set it so the fan doesn't come on at all
>in QRP 'mode' ?

Both fans run at the same time WHEN they run. They are set to come on
at preset (in firmware, NOT user settable) heatsink temperatures.
There are four (4) speeds... I never hear the first two speeds at all
(my shack's pretty quiet as well), and I can usually just tell when
speed 3 kicks in. Speed 4 is discernable, but certainly not
objectionable at all.

73,

Tom Hammond   N0SS

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Re: an as-yet undetailed (that I can see) K3 spec

N6TR
In reply to this post by Steve Jackson-5
On Sat, Sep 22, 2007 at 02:17:06PM -0700, Steve Jackson wrote:

> Are there two fans on the K3, or just on the K3/100?

Two.

> When do the two fans come on?  

Either when the PA gets hot enough or you can turn them on a constant speed.

> Do they both run together, or sometimes just one?  

Both.

> Is the speed variable?  

Yes.

> If so, how is it controlled?  

By menu setting or temperature.

> Can you set it so the fan doesn't come on at all in QRP 'mode' ?

Yes.

I have never heard them.

Tree
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