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I’m the proud father of
two Elecraft radios (K2 #1770
born in 2000 and K3 #2887
born in April 2009 - I really
ought to give them proper
names) plus a KPA500 amp and
W2 wattmeter.
I
built them all from kits,
partly to save a few $ but
mostly because I enjoy making
things. Like Heathkit
years before, the Elecraft
kits are excellent, providing
detailed step-by-step
instructions, all hardware
and electronic bits
(solder-it-yourself
components for the K2,
pre-made modules for the K3),
and if needed responsive
online support from
Elecraft’s chief
engineers plus the community
of builders and fans.
Everything worked first time
and is a joy to use.
The thrill of hearing the
first callsigns on a receiver
you’ve just finished is
hard to beat - actually
working DX with a homebrew
transceiver is superb.
These are not
beginners’ projects
though. The K2 took me
a month of evenings to build
and the K3 an intensive
day. While the K3 is a
‘no-solder’ kit
(basically assembling the
case and plugging in
pre-built modules and circuit
boards), learn to solder
properly before you
try building the K2!
Quick links
- The K2 suitcase set
- The K3, a serious radio for serious contesters, DXers and DXpeditioners
- W2 wattmeter
- KPA500 QSK amplifier
Elecraft K2
Both my Elecraft radios are physically compact and lightweight. The K2 is about the size of a car
radio. The K3 is about the size of a large box file, similar to other mid-sized ham transceivers but
considerably smaller and lighter than the FT1000 etc. Pelican waterproof cases or aluminium flight
cases with foam inserts are a good way to protect them both when travelling, and are small enough
to travel in the cabin as hand baggage ...
My QRP ‘suitcase set’ consists of the K2, some antenna wire and string, a Palm mini paddle, pen and
paper, and a small switched-mode PSU to recharge the rig’s internal 12V SLA battery, carefully
packed into the foam insert and ready to go in an emergency (living on a major fault line in one of
the world’s most active earthquake zones, that’s no joke). As well as in the shack on decent
antennas, I’ve used the K2 portable stylie on picnics and holidays in France, Brussels, and New
Plymouth feeding wires tossed over convenient lighthouses etc. The auto-ATU will tune almost
anything but wire dipoles and verticals make more efficient antennas than random wet strings.
I have bought the 100W PA kit for the K2 but don’t have time to build it yet. QRX. I might build it
into the separate EC2 enclosure, leaving the base K2 as a more portable QRP radio.
Elecraft K3
[If you’re unfamiliar with the K3, read a detailed and fair K3 review by G4AON.]
The K3 is more sophisticated than the K2 with a fully digital IF and AF using DSP for demodulation,
noise reduction, AGC etc., on receive and digitally generating the modulated waveform on transmit.
Mine has the second receiver option (giving SO2V at last, if not SO2R!). I can monitor the beacons
and CW end of 10m simultaneously. It is handy to be able to pick out callers in a pileup and figure
out where the DX is listening (in one ear) while simultaneously listening to the DX (in the other ear).
The K3 has a true diversity mode with two independent receivers, phase locked by dint of sharing a
common reference oscillator. Using a 30m fullwave loop on the subRX in my right ear and the beam,
vertical or dipoles on the main RX feeding my left ear, I find diversity mode is worth about 3dB due to
the loop partially filling-in QSB dips on the main antennas. Signals sway from side to side in my head,
floating across the gap between my ears (no comments please).
Whereas the K2 covers the main 9 shortwave bands 160-10m, the K3 also covers 60m and 6m,
with an optional internal 2m transverter also now available.
The K3 is not perfect however. It’s an ongoing project. Check out the spectrum anomalies on this
BeaconSee output for example: the horizontal white and pinkish lines are most likely artifacts of the
K3’s DSP:
By comparison, the following screenshot from my TS850 shows no such obvious artifacts:
There are already a few K3 mods and add-ons:
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Improve the LF audio response into headphones. The original 10uF AF coupling capacitors near
the headphone jack can usefully be increased to 100 or better still 330uF to avoid excessive LF
attenuation, but be careful to avoid stressing and lifting the solder pads. Note: increased bass
may not be to everyone’s liking. The stock K3 sound just fine to me.
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Alex UR5LAM suggests mods to the IF buffer amp too - details are unclear at this point but he
has published photos of the mods and comparative audio spectra showing 2-tone IMD
improvements: plot of K3/100 before mods shows a rather poor signal. After the hardware
mods, the signal is much improved. With the latest firmware’s improved AGC as well, the final
result is looking even better still.
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UR5LAM also suggests adding a 1uF capacitor to the LF amplifier chip to reduce the annoying
turn-on thumps and cracks - again I’m uncertain about the details as a photo is all we have to
go on. Personally I’m happy to live with the stock K3 on this.
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Solve a nasty transmit spur on K3s released in mid-2009 by removing a single capacitor.
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Rather than constantly reaching over to the rig or adding some sort of external switch box for
the 5 DVR/CW memory buttons (M1-M4 plus the REC button used to interrupt sending), a third
party utility called K-Keys lets me define function keys on the computer keyboard to command
the K3. Cool! It works fine with LP-PAN, sharing the actual serial port controlling the K3 with
other software such as N1MM, Logger32 and MMVARI.
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From Elecraft, there’s the P3 panadapter to watch signals across a band segment. Despite
rave comments from P3 owners, I manage OK by listening on the 2nd RX.
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Others? Let me know!
Useful K3 features
I’m discovering new features of the K3 all the time ...
Triggering the K3’s voice memories from N1MM contest logger
If you have the K3 DVR option installed, N1MM’s superb contest logger software can be configured to
trigger the K3’s voice memories using the PC’s function keys to send the relevant K3 commands:
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In N1MM, open the SSB memory config screen (Config --> Change CW/SSB/Digital Message
Buttons --> Change SSB Buttons).
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In the .WAV File column, instead of the file name of a .wav file on the PC, enter the appropriate
K3 command string to play the relevant memory:
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The four “CATA1ASC” commands shown in this screenshot play the K3’s voice memories M1
through M4 using function keys F1 through F4 respectively. You can send other commands to
the K3 in the same manner - check the K3 Programmers Guide for the available commands and
parameters.
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Click OK to save the config.
Test it at this stage if you wish by hitting F1 to F4 in N1MM (assuming you have already recorded
messages on the K3). Note: it’s best to put the K3 into TEST mode to avoid actually transmitting
the messages on air until you are ready to work people!
Now configure the radio port to send PTT commands: this will allow you to interrupt the memory
currently being sent with the PC’s ESCape key - dead handy if you press the play button just as
someone comes back to you:
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Go to the port config (Config --> Configure Ports, Telnet Address, Other)
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Identify the COM port you use to control the K3 from N1MM and click the SET button for that
port.
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Turn on “Radio PTT via command” by putting a checkmark in the box.
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Click OK to come out of the config menus.
If my instructions don’t work for you, try N6ML’s instructions instead.
“Instant CW split” macro
A handy way of instantly dropping the K3 straight into split mode in a pileup is to use the K3’s switch
macro facility. It avoids the need to press a whole set of buttons in the correct sequence when the
DX is calling “up 1” (or whatever) and the adrenalin is flowing fast. Here’s the instant CW split macro
I am currently using, with an explanation of each of the macro commands below:
SWT13;SWT13;UPB4;FT1;DV0;SB1;RT0;XT0;LK1;BW0060;BW$0270;MN111;MP001;MN255;
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 -----------12----------
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A>B [first time] copies the frequency from VFO A to VFO B, assuming I have found the DX on
VFO A and have nothing in particular on VFO B
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A>B [again] copies the mode (and other params?) from A to B
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Moves VFO B up by 1 kHz (4 is one of the set values - see the programmers’ guide for other
possible split values) - note: +1kHz is just a starting point - I usually tune VFO B from there
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Turns split on - this is the very step I sometimes forgot when doing this lot manually!!
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Turns diversity mode off
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Turns SubRX on to listen on my split TX frequency in the pileup on VFO B, while still listening to
the DX on A (useful to find the ideal calling spot)
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Turns RIT off in case it was set
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Turns XIT off in case it was set
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Locks VFO A so I can still move VFO B to find the best TX spot in the pileup to call but if I knock
VFO A by mistake, I won’t lose the DX frequency
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Tightens the filter on VFO A to 600Hz to cut down QRM on the DX frequency (since I routinely
run with the filters at about 2.7kHz, even in CW mode)
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Sets the filter on VFO B to 2.7kHz to listen for successful callers in the pileup
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Mixes audio from VFO A (the DX) in both ears with VFO B (my TX frequency in the pileup) in my
right ear only [MN111 is the code for the audio mix function; MP001 is a parameter; MN255
ends the code]
I have configured this sequence on the M3-hold macro key, in other words if I find some juicy CW DX
operating split, I just press and hold the M3 key to run the macro and set me up in split, transmitting
one up, listening on both the DX and my TX frequencies with the filters all set. Fantastic feature!
I'm tempted also to turn the subRX preamp off and maybe turn its attenuator on to reduce the
subRX audio and QRM from the pileup, using PA0$;RA1$; but meanwhile I simply use the AF/SUB
knob to reduce the volume of VFO B relative to A.
“Instant reverse split”
Sometimes I try CW to break through SSB pileups, but the K3 won’t let me transmit cross-mode
while split, so I have started listening to the DX on the sub-receiver and transmitting non-split on VFO
A with the following macro:
SWT13;SWT13;FR0;DV0;SB1;MN111;MP002;MN255;RT0;XT0;BW$0160;BW0280;UP4;LK$1;
The MN111; MP002; MN255; codes put the audio from the subreceiver (the DX) in both ears, with
VFO A (the pileup) only in my left ear. Other commands are similar to those in the instant split
macro e.g. narrow bandwidth for the DX, wide open for the pileup. I also lock the subreceiver to
prevent me accidentally tuning away from the DX.
There is a slight drawback to reverse split: I can’t simply spot the DX call with a Control-D in Logger32 since that picks the frequency from VFO A, which is the QSX not DX frequency. I need to
remember to swap A/B VFOs first, then swap back.
“Instant CW pileup”
The following macro is handy to start ‘listening up 1’ with a single button press, when I generate a
CW pileup:
SWT13;SWT13;UP4;FT1;DV0;SB1;RT0;XT0;LK$1;BW0270;BW$0060;MN111;MP002;MN255;
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 -----------12----------
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A>B [first time] copies the frequency from VFO A to VFO B
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A>B [again] copies the mode (and other params?) from A to B
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Moves VFO A up by 1 kHz (4 is one of the set values - see the programmers’ guide for other
possible split values) - note: +1 is just a common starting value! I normally tune from there.
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Turns split on
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Turns diversity mode off
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Turns SubRX on to keep an ear on my TX frequency, while also listening to the pileup
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Turns RIT off
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Turns XIT off
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Locks VFO B, allowing me to tune through the pileup on VFO A without the risk of accidentally
knocking my TX frequency on VFO B
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Opens the filter on VFO A to 2.7kHz to catch callers who are not right on my announced split
freq (I can always narrow the bandwidth on A using the width control if the pileup gets too big,
but mostly I prefer to pick out individual callers ‘by ear’)
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Narrows the filter on VFO B to 600Hz to avoid hearing split callers too close to my TX freq,
while still listening for those who fail to split or cops who QRM my TX freq
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Mixes audio from VFO A (the pileup) in both ears and from VFO B (my TX freq) on the right ear
only
“Unsplit”
Here’s a macro to clear the splits and reset the K3 quickly to my normal unsplit setup:
FT0; LK0; LK$0; SWT13; BW0270; DV1;
1 2 3 4 5 6
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Turn off split
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Unlock VFO A
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Unlock VFO B
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Copy the VFO A frequency to VFO B
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Set VFO A to 2.7kHz bandwidth
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Turn on diversity mode which sets VFO B to the same filter settings as A and automatically puts
VFO A audio in my left ear using the main antenna and the subRX on my right ear using the
receive antenna
Other K3 features and tips
If, like me, you use Logger32 with the K3 and if, also like me, you prefer to use the K3 in CW-REV
mode rather than CW, there’s a simple workaround to get the K3 to stay in CW-REV when you click
on a DXcluster spot - see my Logger32 page for details, also how to get Logger32’s DVK function to
trigger the K3’s DVR memories.
 If you also have a K3, check out the nifty K3-EZ program from
N2BC. Like Elecraft’s own K3 Utility program, it communicates
with the rig, checking its configuration and allowing you to modify
settings more easily on your PC than through the setup menus.
Nice job!
Another useful little program is K-Keys which sends K3 (or indeed
K2) command macros from the PC using function keys. I use it
to command the K3’s DVR, triggering the CW and voice memories
without having to reach for the front of the rig. K-Keys was
written by Ken, KE3C, for the VE2DXY Zone 2 contesting team,
and is beggar-ware (they ask for a $10 donation to the VE2DXY
club - fair enough).
K-Keys sends its commands via the serial port, which in my case
is a cheap USB-serial adapter from BY via Dick Smith Electronics.
Since Logger32 or N1MM or MMTTY or K3 Utility also need to talk
to the K3 at the same time, I use LP-Bridge by N8LP to share the
serial connection amongst all these programs.
The K3’s DVR memories work well on SSB and CW but I find the user interface confusing ... cue the
helpful DVR operating instructions by KE7X.
Here's a tip for AFSK RTTY users on the K3. The tones transmitted by the PC should match the
tones expected by the K3, particularly if you have the TX audio filters turned on (it’s a menu option).
If they don't (for example if you try to respond to a signal too high or too low in the audio frequency
range), the PC audio will trip the VOX but little if any RF will emerge and the K3 sidetone/monitor will
be quiet or silent. I discovered this when changing to a new sound card. I'm now using a second
card to separate PC bleeps, MP3s, YouTube audio etc. from my pure RTTY tones. While playing with
the settings, I discovered the K3’s PITCH setting in AFSK modes. The low tones (915Hz) sound nicer
to my CW-tuned ear than the default high tones (2125Hz), so I set the K3 to 915. I neglected to
change the MMTTY setting - largely because I tend to use "NET" in MMTTY to set the transmitted
tones to match the received tones, which lets me 'tune' on RTTY just by clicking in the middle of
RTTY sigs on the MMTTY waterfall (I hope my convoluted description makes sense!). With NET off,
MMTTY defaults to high tones which the K3's line input evidently filters out (although the VOX
presumably triggers on raw audio before the filter).
So, it seems NET in MMTTY is probably not a good idea with the K3 which expects tones to match its
setting, within some margin-for-error anyway (not much with the RTTY transmit filter option set). I'll
just have to tune the receiver to match the tones that MMTTY sends without NET, and set those
tones to 915Hz. Having set the 915Hz tones in MMTTY, I saved the MMTTY profile to stop it
reverting to the high tones every time MMTTY is re-started (same applies when using MMTTY within
Logger32: set the tones then save the profile).
According to someone on the Elecraft reflector, the K3’s numerous birdies can be significantly
reduced if not eliminated by carefully dressing the cables within the case, knocking out the remainder
using the clever LO displacement function in firmware. With a quiet receiving location, birdies on the
high bands are the most annoying so perhaps I should give that a try, next time I have the case
open.
K3 REF CAL re-calibration
Re-calibrating the K3’s VFO frequency is easy if you can have a high quality frequency reference such
as a GPS-trained Rubidium source, or can hear WWV or WWVH:
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Turn on your K3 and wait a good while (e.g. a couple of hours) for the rig’s internal
temperatures to stabilize in your normal shack operating conditions. Don’t even bother trying
this if your shack temperature fluctuates wildly while you are operating.
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Tune to your frequency reference in CW mode. You should hear a carrier at roughly the same
pitch as your CW sidetone (if you are uncertain of that, hold the SPOT button to hear your
sidetone and check its pitch). If you are using WWV, pick the highest frequency where you can
receive a strong enough signal to discern its pitch clearly (e.g. 20MHz) as that accentuates any
error compared to using lower frequencies (e.g. 10MHz).
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Hold the Mode-down button to switch to CW-REV mode. If the pitch changes, your VFO is off
frequency. Switch back and forth a few times to be sure you can hear the difference.
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Hold the MENU button to go into the main configuration options.
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Turn the small VFO B knob to find the REF CAL option and
make yourself a little note of the
current value -
well the last 3 or 4 digits at least.
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Turn the VFO knob to adjust the REF CAL value up or down by a few Hz or tens of Hz - you
should hear the pitch change a bit as you do so.
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Flick back and forth between CW and CW-REV to hear whether the pitch is the same. If the
difference is greater than before step 5, you may have moved the VFO CAL the wrong way, so
go back to the original value and shift it a bit the other way. [You may also have gone the right
way but too far: don’t worry, you’ll get there in the end!]
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Repeat steps 5 and 6 repeatedly, making smaller moves of the VFO CAL as you get closer the
point at which you can no longer hear any difference in pitch between CW and CW-REV.
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You’re done! Tap MENU to exit the menu.
If you are not good at discerning small differences in pitch by ear, or want to be even more accurate,
use audio spectrum analysis software such as SpectrumLab (ideally using a fine resolution setting
such as FFT input size of 16384) to compare the pitch more accurately between CW and CW-REV.
You should be able to get the pitch difference to less than 2Hz.
If you screw up completely, reset the REF CAL to the value you noted in step 5 and either give it
another go or just “live with it”. Minor frequency errors really don’t matter at all in normal ham
usage. I re-check my K3 every few months, and usually come up with the same REF CAL value of
49.379.781 (yours will differ). I only bother with this at all because I want to report the actual
frequencies of HF beacons as accurately as I can, partly so I can identify them later from the same
information having tuned them in carefully using the CWT function.
K3 remote tuning knob
Thanks to TradeMe (NZ’s eBay equivalent), I picked up a cool USB PowerMate knob from Griffin
Technology for $not-a-lot. The knob is marketed as a desktop volume knob for your PC but the
PowerMate driver software is actually quite flexible, allowing it to simulate keystrokes and hence
send commands to your applications when you rotate the knob, tap it or hold it down. The free KTune utility by G4ILO lets me use the knob to tune the K3, sharing the K3’s serial port through the
free LP-bridge software from Telepost Inc. Amazingly, despite all those links in the chain, it works
(well mostly - occasionally I need to close and reopen KTune). Tapping the knob cycles through the
tuning rate settings, while holding it resets it to the slowest rate. Now I can manually scan through
the 10m beacons or find my slot in the pileups without having to reach over to the K3’s front panel
at the back of my desk. Luxury!
K3 + Sennheiser headset 
Santa brought me a fabulous Christmas present this year - a
Sennheiser PC 230 headset
. I have
been a fan of Sennheiser headphones for about 25 years. For the last 3 or 4 years, I have been
happily using a pair of Sennheiser PX 100 lightweight folding headphones to listen for several hours a
day to my K3. The audio quality and comfort were excellent, while the open style means I can hear
things happening around me, such as someone knocking at the door. The new PC 230 basically
adds an electret microphone on a little adjustable boom so I no longer need to use the old Kenwood
handheld mic for my rare forays onto SSB. A switch in the boom turns the mic on as it swivels down
into place. The mic has a noise-cancelling pickup on the outward side of the boom, and the
headphones have a rotary volume control neatly built into the right earpad. Cool!
To make it work on the K3, I had to turn on the microphone bias (press ‘2’ when in the MIC menu option to toggle bias on/off) and adjust the mic gain and compression to suit. The mic seems to
have plenty of gain: I have it set at just 6 on the low-gain setting (press ‘1’ in MIC to toggle high/low
gain).
The PC 230 lead is comfortably long enough to stretch underneath the operating desk and plug into the K3’s rear panel phone and mic connectors, reducing the frontpanel clutter and clearing my desk a
bit. I may leave the front panel mic settings configured for the Heil headset that I have been using
for contesting. The Heil has closed headphones and a restricted bandwidth mic insert, although I
could achieve the same effect on a full-range mic using the K3’s TX equalizer settings, so perhaps it is
time to retire the old Heil.
My K3 wish-list & bugs
The K3’s firmware is amazing in what it can do but inevitably there are a few little bugs and flaws.
Here’s my current wish list:
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I often use a footswitch to hold the PTT closed during an over, mostly to stop the amplifier
dropping out. If I release the PTT footswith while sending CW (relying on VOX to continue
holding the PTT) or even if I turn on the PTT while the rig is already sending on VOX, the K3
sometimes messes up the character being sent. PTT handling should really be a lower priority
than CW sending ... [I now workaround this bug by using QSK, barefoot or with the KPA500!];
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Curiously, while the K3 happily lets me send CW while in SSB mode, it refuses to do so if I
assert the PTT line, or if operating split;
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Fast tuning is a pain: even with two speed control buttons (fine and rate) and using the clarifier
as a fast-tune knob, it is awkward to get between, say, the 10m beacon sub-band and CW or
SSB sections. “Ballistic tuning” was once mooted by Elecraft, meaning that the tune rate will
increase with the rate of spin of the VFO knob/s, and would be nice. Meanwhile I am using the
RIT/XIT encoder knob to move more quickly, and to set the VFO to round kHz values;
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I’m finding it hard to learn to use the appropriate memory store or recall buttons, so I
sometimes overwrite a memory by mistake (it might help if the V--> M button was physically
more distinctive - I’ve coloured mine red with a marker pen until I learn to be more careful!);
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There is no quick memo function like on the TS850, FT1000 and others. That’s a really useful
way to store the current settings, whizz off to check something out, and return to where I left
off. A single button-press was mostly all it took, or I could tune between 5 quick memo stores
using a knob [I’m now using M2 as a single temporary memory. Not quite as easy or flexible
as a true quick memo function but good enough for now.];
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The internal keyer allows messages to be repeated but the repeat delay can only be set from
the config menu. Since the main VFO and sub VFO knobs are locked out during TX, it would be
handy to be able to adjust the delay with one of these, while still sending ...
The best thing about Elecraft, though, is that I can (and do!) whine about all the above directly to the
guys who write the firmware, and perhaps eventually they will get fixed. Other software defined
radios are also updated from time to time but users appear to have little say in what changes are
made by the manufacturers.
Elecraft W2 wattmeter
I bought the W2 mostly to address a simple problem: I sometimes forget to change antennas after
changing band and wanted a gizmo that would instantly lock out and so protect my old valve
amplifier if the SWR was too high. The W2 does that, and has LED bargraphs displaying forward and
reflected power. Fair enough.
It has a drawback, though, compared to big old Yaesu power meter I used to use. The Yaesu uses a
traditional analogue meter which gives better resolution (though probably worse accuracy) than the
W2. When tuning my old valve amp, the load and plate tuning is critical on some bands. The
analogue meter is better to squeeze out the last few percent of efficiency.
The kit was easy to assemble and works well, within the limitations of the LED bargraph anyway.
With hindsight, perhaps I should have invested in an LP-100A meter since its higher resolution LCD
display would be better for tuning the amp.
The connection between pickup head and display box uses an Ethernet cable. It would be interesting
to site the head remotely, at the far end of my long coax runs, in order to check how much power is
being lost in the cables and connectors ... but the supplied cable is only a couple of meters long. A
30m Ethernet cable evidently introduces too much resistance, but looking at the circuit diagram, I
see there are 1k resistors in most of the lines: I bet if I bridge them, it will work over the long cable.
<To be continued ...!>
Elecraft KPA500 amplifier
The KPA500 is a 500W “key down for 10 minutes” FET amplifier running at 60V with a built-in mains
power supply. It uses fast electronic switching and hence gives totally silent QSK - no relays to click
and wear out. It is a no-tune design with low pass filters selected automatically for each band (160
to 6m) using RF sensing or a connection from the transceiver - more on that below.
As with the K3, building the kit involves assembling a set of panels and strengtheners for the case
and a few pre-constructed PCBs, the PA unit being the main one with its large heatsink. The kit
instructions said nothing about which way to mount the fan and it had no markings to show which
way it blows. In the end I put it with the label outside: it sucks air in through the top vents and blows
it out of the rear of the amp, which is the way I like it. It is nice and quiet, especially compared to
the roar of 4 muffin fans inside my old valve amp.
Aside from silent QSK, the size and weight of the KPA500 were big attractions for me as I plan to use
it for DXpeditioning. It is the same size as the K3 so it will fit into a flight case and can be taken in
the cabin of a plane as hand luggage. It weighs 12kg, about half of which is the toroidal transformer.
If needs be, the transformer can be removed without too much trouble and carried separately.
I foolishly neglected to buy the Elecraft cable linking the K3 to the KPA500, thinking I could make one
up from connectors in my junk box ... but not only did I have none of the 15-way 3-row D-sub VGA
connectors, I couldn’t even find a source to buy them in NZ. Elecraft wanted a ridiculous US$70 to
ship me the cable so instead I found a local supplier of VGA extension cables: cables marked “
VESA DCC compliant
” have all 15 pins connected straight through with no gaps, no shorts and no cross
-links to the shield. Sure enough, a VESA DCC VGA extender cable from an NZ supplier was correctly
wired and, at 0.5m tip-to-tip, the perfect length provided the K3 and KPA500 are immediately
adjacent on the desk (a longer cable would have been better). After checking the pin numbering (it’s
embossed on the female connector), I carefully pulled out pins 1, 2, 7 and 8 from the male end with
a pair of long nose pliers giving each pin a slight twist to extract it whole rather than just break it off.
It works well: the K3 and KPA500 are slaved to the same band. Band changes can be made from
either one. The K3’s power can be set for two levels per band, allowing about 23W drive if the amp
is operating or some other level (e.g. 5 or 100W) when the amp is in standby. The K3 shows “KPA
STANDBY” or “KPA OPERATE” and beeps once when the amp changes status, in case I didn’t notice
the amp’s OPER/STBY LED change.
QRQ QSK is a joy to use. Not only can I hear immediately when someone comes back to me, or
QRMs me, or comes back to someone else, I can also turn the beam when CQing on CW to find the
strong reflections that usually mean I’m getting out well in that direction. I can also hear when my
signal is going twice around the world!
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