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relatively newbie - what's your best tip for me?

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Anne Dirkman

relatively newbie - what's your best tip for me?

I've had my license since 2011 with very little exposure to amateur radio
before that - pretty much started from scratch... Just won a KX3 over the
weekend at my DX Convetion.and am looking for guidance. What is the first
thing* you wish* *someone would have told YOU* about your Kx3. Any tips
and hints will be considered. .

I'm heading to the Supefest at HRO next weekend and am making my list of
what I will need. I've done some DXing at home and on on the shore and
contesting and would really like to get in to portable operation with a
minimal amount of setup so I can enjoy the sunny shores of Lake Michigan,
operating at the parks and local Maritime Museum.

Started reading the manual overnight, I was told it's a steep learning curve
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
*--*
*Anne Dirkman*
*KC9YL*
*See you on the air!!!*
*73*
[image: Picture]
*kilo-charlie-nine-yankee-lima*

*-.- -.-. ----. -.-- .-..*
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wayne burdick

Re: relatively newbie - what's your best tip for me?

Administrator

Hi Anne,

Congratulations!

As the principal designer I can make a few suggestions:

- Keep the preamp on most of the time. As with most quadrature downconversion radios, this dramatically improves the S/N ratio. Turn off the preamp and/or turn on the attenuator only if you have very strong signals to contend with (like a nearby ham or broadcast station).

- If you’re a CW op, be sure to try CWT (CW tuning), which can tune in signals automatically when you tap SPOT. Also try APF (audio peaking filter) for CW. It’s a very narrow filter, but works like magic on really weak signals.

- Data modes are a lot of fun. There’s an RTTY contest this weekend, so by all means tap DATA, select FSK-D mode, turn on text decode using the TEXT switch, and practice tuning in some RTTY signals. You’ll them from about 14080 to 14100 kHz during contests; otherwise, typically 14080-14090. RTTY stations will be decoded and displayed right on the radio’s VFO B display. You can transmit in this mode using the keyer paddle (or the terminal function of KX3 Utility). You can decode/display/send CW and PSK31/PSK63 in the same way.

- If you’re not hearing much on the bands, check WWV at 5.0000, 10.000, 15.000, and 20.000 MHz. These give you a rough idea of what conditions are like. I find that if WWV is S9+10 dB or stronger on a given frequency, the nearby ham bands should have activity. If not, start it! Call CQ. Also try listening for 6 and 10 meter beacons if there’s a high-frequency opening. Dxmaps.com is a great tool for watching for openings.

- The KX3’s LCD is transflective, which means you can read it in direct sunlight. You’ll need to take the radio outdoors for this purpose, and of course that’s what we designed it for (hint!). Of course the display also has a backlight for indoor and nighttime conditions.

- I hope you won a KXAT3 ATU, too! This makes all the difference when operating portable.

- You can use any type of AA batteries internally, but I’d recommend Lithium non-rechargeable 1.5 V AA camera batteries. OTOH, if you have the internal charger, you *must* use NiMH cells. When running from internal batteries, recommended power level is 5 W or less. With an external supply you can run up to 15 W on 80-15 m and 10 W on the other bands.

Have fun!

73,
Wayne
N6KR

> On Sep 21, 2017, at 9:54 PM, Anne Dirkman <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> I've had my license since 2011 with very little exposure to amateur radio
> before that - pretty much started from scratch... Just won a KX3 over the
> weekend at my DX Convetion.and am looking for guidance. What is the first
> thing* you wish* *someone would have told YOU* about your Kx3. Any tips
> and hints will be considered. .
>
> I'm heading to the Supefest at HRO next weekend and am making my list of
> what I will need. I've done some DXing at home and on on the shore and
> contesting and would really like to get in to portable operation with a
> minimal amount of setup so I can enjoy the sunny shores of Lake Michigan,
> operating at the parks and local Maritime Museum.
>
> Started reading the manual overnight, I was told it's a steep learning curve
> Any suggestions would be appreciated.
> *--*
> *Anne Dirkman*
> *KC9YL*
> *See you on the air!!!*
> *73*
> [image: Picture]
> *kilo-charlie-nine-yankee-lima*
>
> *-.- -.-. ----. -.-- .-..*
> ______________________________________________________________
> 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
> Message delivered to [hidden email]

______________________________________________________________
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
Message delivered to [hidden email]

Vic Rosenthal

Re: relatively newbie - what's your best tip for me?

In reply to this post by Anne Dirkman

I have the K3 book in this series, and it helped me enormously. Here are
the KX3 versions:

<http://www.ke7x.com/The-KX3>

Everything is in the official manual, but the KE7X books are very
well-organized, both for learning and for answering your specific questions.

I've had a K3 since it came out (I have ser. no. 7) and the KE7X book
still sits on my desk.

73,
Victor, 4X6GP
Rehovot, Israel
Formerly K2VCO
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco/
On 22 Sep 2017 07:54, Anne Dirkman wrote:

> I've had my license since 2011 with very little exposure to amateur radio
> before that - pretty much started from scratch... Just won a KX3 over the
> weekend at my DX Convetion.and am looking for guidance. What is the first
> thing* you wish* *someone would have told YOU* about your Kx3. Any tips
> and hints will be considered. .
>
> I'm heading to the Supefest at HRO next weekend and am making my list of
> what I will need. I've done some DXing at home and on on the shore and
> contesting and would really like to get in to portable operation with a
> minimal amount of setup so I can enjoy the sunny shores of Lake Michigan,
> operating at the parks and local Maritime Museum.
>
> Started reading the manual overnight, I was told it's a steep learning curve
> Any suggestions would be appreciated.
> *--*
> *Anne Dirkman*
> *KC9YL*
> *See you on the air!!!*
> *73*
> [image: Picture]
> *kilo-charlie-nine-yankee-lima*
>
> *-.- -.-. ----. -.-- .-..*

Don Wilhelm

Re: relatively newbie - what's your best tip for me?

Anne,

I also would recommend the Fred Cady KE7X book.
They are available in printed form from Elecraft or a .pdf version at
the link Vic provided.

It is a real study guide for the operation of the KX3, and as such
contains exercises to help you learn all about it.

If you go from start to finish, you will know about everything
concerning the operation of the KX3 under various operating conditions.

As Vic indicated, the manual contains everything, but is more of a
manual than an operating guide if you are not familiar with HF operation.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 9/22/2017 6:22 AM, Victor Rosenthal 4X6GP wrote:

> I have the K3 book in this series, and it helped me enormously. Here are
> the KX3 versions:
>
> <http://www.ke7x.com/The-KX3>
>
> Everything is in the official manual, but the KE7X books are very
> well-organized, both for learning and for answering your specific
> questions.
>
> I've had a K3 since it came out (I have ser. no. 7) and the KE7X book
> still sits on my desk.
>
> 73,
> Victor, 4X6GP
> Rehovot, Israel
> Formerly K2VCO

Jack Spitznagel

Re: relatively newbie - what's your best tip for me?

In reply to this post by wayne burdick

Congratulations Anne.
My contribution:
1. Get Fred Cady’s book. (another vote)
2. If you run digital modes with a soundcard device make sure you read the advice in the book about setting up the soundcard, paying particular attention to setting the ALC level properly. The generic setting information provided in the digital program instructions Will Not Work for the KX3. ALC in Elecraft radios works differently than any other major brand of tranceiver.
3. Try not to fall in love with it! 🙂 Good luck.

Jack KD4IZ

Sent from my iPhone

> On Sep 22, 2017, at 02:05, Wayne Burdick <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> Hi Anne,
>
> Congratulations!
>
> As the principal designer I can make a few suggestions:
>
> - Keep the preamp on most of the time. As with most quadrature downconversion radios, this dramatically improves the S/N ratio. Turn off the preamp and/or turn on the attenuator only if you have very strong signals to contend with (like a nearby ham or broadcast station).
>
> - If you’re a CW op, be sure to try CWT (CW tuning), which can tune in signals automatically when you tap SPOT. Also try APF (audio peaking filter) for CW. It’s a very narrow filter, but works like magic on really weak signals.
>
> - Data modes are a lot of fun. There’s an RTTY contest this weekend, so by all means tap DATA, select FSK-D mode, turn on text decode using the TEXT switch, and practice tuning in some RTTY signals. You’ll them from about 14080 to 14100 kHz during contests; otherwise, typically 14080-14090. RTTY stations will be decoded and displayed right on the radio’s VFO B display. You can transmit in this mode using the keyer paddle (or the terminal function of KX3 Utility). You can decode/display/send CW and PSK31/PSK63 in the same way.
>
> - If you’re not hearing much on the bands, check WWV at 5.0000, 10.000, 15.000, and 20.000 MHz. These give you a rough idea of what conditions are like. I find that if WWV is S9+10 dB or stronger on a given frequency, the nearby ham bands should have activity. If not, start it! Call CQ. Also try listening for 6 and 10 meter beacons if there’s a high-frequency opening. Dxmaps.com is a great tool for watching for openings.
>
> - The KX3’s LCD is transflective, which means you can read it in direct sunlight. You’ll need to take the radio outdoors for this purpose, and of course that’s what we designed it for (hint!). Of course the display also has a backlight for indoor and nighttime conditions.
>
> - I hope you won a KXAT3 ATU, too! This makes all the difference when operating portable.
>
> - You can use any type of AA batteries internally, but I’d recommend Lithium non-rechargeable 1.5 V AA camera batteries. OTOH, if you have the internal charger, you *must* use NiMH cells. When running from internal batteries, recommended power level is 5 W or less. With an external supply you can run up to 15 W on 80-15 m and 10 W on the other bands.
>
> Have fun!
>
> 73,
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
>
>
>
>> On Sep 21, 2017, at 9:54 PM, Anne Dirkman <[hidden email]> wrote:
>>
>> I've had my license since 2011 with very little exposure to amateur radio
>> before that - pretty much started from scratch... Just won a KX3 over the
>> weekend at my DX Convetion.and am looking for guidance. What is the first
>> thing* you wish* *someone would have told YOU* about your Kx3. Any tips
>> and hints will be considered. .
>>
>> I'm heading to the Supefest at HRO next weekend and am making my list of
>> what I will need. I've done some DXing at home and on on the shore and
>> contesting and would really like to get in to portable operation with a
>> minimal amount of setup so I can enjoy the sunny shores of Lake Michigan,
>> operating at the parks and local Maritime Museum.
>>
>> Started reading the manual overnight, I was told it's a steep learning curve
>> Any suggestions would be appreciated.
>> *--*
>> *Anne Dirkman*
>> *KC9YL*
>> *See you on the air!!!*
>> *73*
>> [image: Picture]
>> *kilo-charlie-nine-yankee-lima*
>>
>> *-.- -.-. ----. -.-- .-..*
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> 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
>> Message delivered to [hidden email]
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> 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
> Message delivered to [hidden email]

Lynn W. Taylor, WB6UUT-2

Re: relatively newbie - what's your best tip for me?

In reply to this post by Anne Dirkman

Fred Kady's book.

73 -- Lynn

On 9/21/2017 9:54 PM, Anne Dirkman wrote: