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1. Dual Concentric Potentiometers AF SUB gain controls for main receiver inner or smaller knob and sub receiver outer ring or larger knob 801 SUB gain and or squelch controls for main and sub receiver Two menu entries are provided to control squelch directly CONFIG SQ MAIN and SQ SUB They can also be used to reconfigure the RF gain controls as squelch for either receiver See the Config Menu listing for details pg 50 Multi Function Controls The upper two multi function controls set up receiver filtering The lower two controls adjust transmit settings Each control has two primary functions white labels and a secondary function yellow Tap a control knob to alternate between its primary functions indicated by two LEDs Hold a knob 1 2 second or longer to select its secondary function Filter Controls The primary functions of the filter controls are SHIFT Shift passband either direction LO CUT Adjust low frequency response CUT Adjust high frequency response WIDTH Adjust width of the passband As these settings change so does the filter graphic Crystal filters are selected automatically See Using DSP and Crystal Filtering pg 23 The secondary functions of these controls are Normalizing the passband sets the bandwidth to a fixed per mode value e g 400 Hz in CW mode and centers
2. To store or recall quick memories V M before but instead of rotating VFO A tap 0 9jor 1 4 To add or change a memory s text label First tap M V then select a memory 00 99 using VFO A Next rotate VFO B to select each label position in turn as indicated by the flashing cursor Use VFO A to change characters After editing tap M gt V again Labels can be edited at any time including when you initially store a memory using V gt M e An asterisk used as the first character of alabel designates a channel hopping memory pg 37 16 Digital Voice Audio Recorder Two switches are dedicated to the DVR KDVR3 option See page 27 for additional information Start stop audio playback When record or playback is active the C icon appears It flashes during playback Start stop audio record The DVR is also used for message record and play in voice modes Message Record Play Controls Five switches provide record and playback of outgoing messages M1 M2 M3 4 and These switches provide single tap play hold to repeat and other functions that are convenient for contests and for sending often repeated text or voice messages during QSOs For details on CW message record play see pg 28 The same messages can be used with
3. n o5 1 co amp e 1 o 3 A Put on your wrist strap or touch a grounded surface before touching any K3 components or modules in the following steps LJ If you have the KRX3 option installed refer to its manual for instructions on removing the sub receiver module 67 LJ Locate the crystal filters you presently have installed in slots FL1 FL5 on the RF board or sub receiver FILTER LOCATIONS FL5 FL4 FL2 FL1 ESD SENSITIVE WEAR A GROUNDED WRIST STRAP OR TOUCH AN UNPAINTED METAL GROUND BEFORE HANDLING THE RF BOARD There may be a mix of 5 pole filters below left and 8 pole filters right Elecraft KFL3A 2 8K by Inrad LJ Review the information below to ensure that your crystal filter setup conforms to K3 requirements You can install up to five crystal filters FL1 FL5 on the RF board and five on the sub receiver KRX3 FM operation requires a 12 5 kHz or wider filter AM transmit requires a 6 kHz filter and SSB DATA CW transmit requires a 2 7 or 2 8 kHz filter other bandwidths can be used for receive in these modes Filters as narrow as 200 Hz can be used for CW and narrow band data receive A mix of 5 pole and 8 pole filters can be used There are two rules regarding where these filters can be installed in the K3 and how they re used Rule 1 If you plan to use a p
4. gt 4 40 1 4 6 4 mm 744 INSIDE ZINC PAN e TOOTH SCREW WASHER LJ Re install the bottom cover if applicable using seven 4 40 x 3 16 black pan head screws Replace the screws securely but do not over tighten them All screws must be used to maintain shielding performance The top cover and sub receiver if applicable will be re installed in at later step LJ Turn to Crystal Filter Setup pg 43 Follow all instructions for the main receiver and transmitter LJ If you have the KRX3 option re install the sub receiver module as described in the KRX3 manual Then turn to Crystal Filter Setup and follow all instructions for the sub receiver LJ Position the top cover on the K3 with its rear tab inserted under the top edge of the rear panel Then plug the speaker wire into P25 on the KIO3 board at the left rear of the K3 KIO3 BOARD IN BACK LEFT CORNER OF CHASSIS ORIENT CONNECTOR AS SHOWN TO SPEAKER LJ Secure the top cover with 4 40 x 3 16 flat head screws at all locations This completes crystal filter installation 70
5. set to HF TRNS the BANDO 3 outputs follow the NOR table when HF 6 m bands are selected and the TRNS table when a transverter band is selected 19 Transverter Control Whenever the K3 is on a transverter band one for which CONFIG XVn ON is set to YES 5 volts will appear on AUX I O pin 7 XVTR ON Otherwise this pin will be at 0 V This can be used with Elecraft XV series transverters as an enable signal on pin 8 of J6 CONTROL A AUX I O Pin 7 can alternatively be used as a transmit inhibit signal in multi transmitter stations See TX INH below For transverter keying you can use KEYOUT LP signal pin 10 of the AUX I O connector or the KEY OUT jack RCA Also with TRNS or HF TRNS the DIGOUTO line AUX I O pin 6 will output 0 V when low power mode is selected for the current transverter band CONFIG XVn PWR At all other times DIGOUTO will be floating Hi Z The K3 s BANDO0 2 outputs emulate the Elecraft K60XV s XVTRO 2 signals when is set to TRNS or HF TRNS However BANDO 2 on are open drain signals while XVTRO 2 on the K60XV are TTL TX INH Transmit Inhibit Signal Pin 7 of the AUX I O connector can be configured as a transmit inhibit input signal by setting CONFIG TX INH to ON Holding pin 7 low will then prevent the K3 from transmitting An external 2 2 to 10 K pull up resistor to 5 VDC is required A If TX INH is set to OFF pin 7 re
6. aa C t Rd 42 Firmware Upgrades eene 42 Configuration roseo ta oro cot eene 43 Crystal Filter Setup sse 43 Option Module Enables 44 Miscellaneous Setup sss 44 VFO A Knob Friction Adjustment 45 VFO B Knob Friction Adjustment 45 Real Time Clock Battery Replacement 45 Calibration Procedures es e eerta 46 ence retener 46 Wattmeter niian mini aai a aan e 46 Transmitter 46 Reference Oscillator sss 47 Front Panel Temperature Sensor 48 PA Temperature 48 S MSIE ote ee teres 48 Menu Functions noob dud 49 MAIN 12 4 0 0 2020 00 nennen 49 CONFIG Mert tette re 50 Troubleshooting s m eerte ome 55 Parameter Initialization sss 55 General Troubleshooting 1 2222 04 56 Module 57 Theory OT ODGFLAUlGI et a eu 61 RF BOARD ener 61 and 3 22 2 21 24 63 incen Ee tee eee 63 Front Panel and DSP sss 63 teet tn te ret He Pen 64 te eee ise eed 65 Block 66 Appendix A Crystal Filter Installation 67 A Note to K3 Owners On
7. Built in PSK RTTY and CW text decode display Dual VFOs A and B with separate weighted tuning knobs EIA 232 standard DE 9F USB adapter option Full control of all radio functions Line level isolated TX RX audio interface stereo outputs front and rear stereo headphone jacks stereo speaker jack 0 dBm typ BNC connectors KXV3 Option BNC connector KXV3 Option see pg 36 for interface recommendations Key Keyer Computer Paddle PTT In and KEY Out Band information output via binary interface and AUXBUS on ACC connector Accuracy Approx 20 ppm 2 seconds day U S and E U date formats Battery 3 V coin cell see pg 45 for replacement instructions 13 8 V nominal 11 V min 15 V max 17 22 A typical in TX for K3 100 3 4 A typical in TX for K3 10 0 9A typical RX sub receiver off Recommended supply 13 8VDC 25A continuous duty for K3 100 13 8VDC 6A for K3 10 8 5 Ibs 3 85 kg max all options installed Enclosure only 4 0 x 10 7 x 10 0 in HWD 10 2 x 27 2 x 25 4 cm with projections 4 4 11 1 x 11 8 in 11 2 x 28 2 x 30 0 cm RECEIVERS Main and Sub Sensitivity IMD3 Dynamic Range Blocking Dynamic Range Image Rejection IF Rejection S Meter Noise Blanker 8 Band RX graphic EQ Filter Controls 136 dBm typical preamp on 500Hz b w gt 100 dB typical at 5 10 and 20 kHz spacing 140 dB typical at 5 10 and 20 kHz spacing gt 70 dB gt 70 dB Nom 59 50 uV
8. TXGN pwr T 00 Troubleshooting Shows transmit gain constant for the present band and power mode where pwr LP 0 12W HP 15 120W or MW 0 1 5 mW The gain constant is updated whenever the function is activated on a given band at one of three specific power levels 5 0 W 50 W and 1 00 milliwatt See transmit gain calibration procedure pg 46 If TX ALC above is OFF the TXGN parameter can be set manually at very fine resolution This should only be done for troubleshooting purposes TXG VCE T 0 0 dB Balances voice transmit peak power in relation to CW peak power in TUNE mode Typically left at 0 0 VCO MD T 064 Troubleshooting VCO L C range view change calibrate Once the VCO is calibrated pg 46 the parameter which appears here will include NOR at all times You can change the setting to troubleshoot VCO L C ranges When finished set the parameter back to NOR 127 then exit the menu and change bands to restore the original setting VFO gt Function Copies VFO B s frequency to VFO A Cannot be used within the menu itself must be assigned to a programmable function switch VFO CRS Per mode Per mode coarse tuning rate hold and tune VFO A or B Also applies to the RIT XIT tuning knob if CONFIG VFO OFS is set to ON and both RIT and XIT are turned OFF VFO CTS 200 VFO counts per turn 100 200 or 400 Smaller values result in easier fine tuning of VF
9. This feature is especially useful when you re learning CW or if someone who doesn t know CW is looking over your shoulder while you make CW QSOs It s also indispensable for CW to DATA operation pg 32 Dual Passband CW Filtering DUAL PB Turning on in CW mode allows you to listen to a narrow filter bandwidth the set within a wider attenuated filter bandwidth the See page 33 CW Message Record Play A Messages can only be recorded using the internal keyer not a hand key or external keyer e If text decode is on pg 31 CW text sent using the internal keyer is shown on VFO B pg 31 Use to check messages off air pg 13 There are 8 message buffers arranged in two banks of 4 Buffers hold 250 characters each To switch banks hold 39 Message Record To start recording tap then 1 1 4 The remaining buffer space will be displayed as you send Tap again to stop Message Play Tap M1j M4 to play To cancel tap REC You can also hit the keyer paddle key or any switch besides M1 M4 to cancel play Auto Repeat To auto repeat a message Hold rather than tap M1J M4 MAIN MSG RPT sets the message repeat interval 1 to 255 seconds Chaining Tapping 1 4 during playback chains another message onto the message being p
10. High performance fully independent sub receiver with its own set of 5 crystal filter slots 32 bit DSP module noise blanker optional general coverage band pass filter array KBPF3 see below and auxiliary antenna input KBPF3 General coverage band pass filter array that allows the K3 main or sub receiver to cover the entire LF and HF range of 0 5 to 30 MHz If you want general coverage in both main and sub receivers two KPBF3 modules are required KXV3 RF I O module including receive antenna in out jacks see pg 36 transverter interface pg 36 and a buffered output pg 36 The RX ANT in out jacks can be used to patch in external per band filters or low noise preamps 1 High stability TCXO 1 PPM firmware correctable to better than 0 5 ppm see calibration instructions pg 47 42 Firmware Upgrades New features and improvements are available to all K3 owners via firmware upgrades Upgrades may also be required when you install new option modules Please visit the Elecraft K3 software page www elecraft com K3 software to obtain our free firmware download utility A The K3 firmware download utility may not be available on all common computer platforms Checking your Firmware Revision Use the CONFIG menu s FW REVS menu entry to determine your firmware revision The serial number of your transceiver if needed can be obtained using the SER NUM menu entry K3 Firmware Self
11. band H x x High power level specifies a value in watts and use of the main antenna jack s This should be used with caution as you could damage a transverter left connected to these antenna jacks accidentally L x x Low power level species a value in milliwatts which requires the KXV3 option XVx OFS 0 00 Offset 79 99 to 9 99 kHz for transverter band x 1 9 1 9 to select xvtr band Compensates for oscillator multiplier chain errors XVx ADR TRNI Physical decode address 1 to 9 assigned to transverter band x 1 9 1 9 to select xvtr band Applies to attached Elecraft XV series transverters and Elecraft KRC2 Also see CONFIG KIO3 Note Decode address range may vary depending on the type of attached device 54 Troubleshooting The K3 is a highly modular transceiver With the information provided here you ll be troubleshooting to the module level not to the component level In many cases problems can be resolved by changing a menu setting loading new firmware pg 42 or initializing parameters to factory defaults see below Hardware troubleshooting procedures including detailed module substitution voltage checks signal tracing etc can be found in the K3 Service Manual Due to the use of fine pitch ICs integrated circuits in the K3 most signal tracing must be done very carefully using fine tip probes Please do not attempt
12. use to lock B Turn sub receiver on off pg 35 SUB VFO A can optionally be coarse tuned using the RIT XIT offset control if both RIT and XIT are off See CONFIG VFO OFS Direct Frequency Entry To jump to any frequency within the tuning range of the tap FREQ ENT then enter 1 to 3 MHz digits a decimal point and 0 to 3 kHz digits Follow this with Enter to accept or FREQ ENTI to cancel The decimal point 18 optional if no kHz digits are entered making it very easy to get to the low end of most ham bands Examples 1 825 MHz FREQ ENT 1 8025 1 000 MHz FREQ 50 100 MHz FREQ ENT 5 0 1 If four or more digits are entered without a decimal point a value in kHz is assumed Keypad Each keypad switch has tap and hold functions listed below These switches are also used for direct frequency entry to select quick memories 0 9 and for selecting fields in certain menu entries such as time date filter and transverter setup VFO Controls Upper row The upper row of numeric keypad switches is used to set up VFOs A and B Their functions are Exchange VFO contents Set up VFO and sub receiver REV Exchange VFO A and B temporarily A gt B Copy VFO A to VFO B also see CONFIG
13. 0 91 This has no effect on performance firmware compensates for the offset e Select the remaining filters and adjust their frequency offsets as required Receive Filter Enables Per Mode You must specify which of the five crystal filters is enabled for receive in each mode e Use VFO B to locate the FLx ON menu entry Tap SUB to set up sub receiver filters Otherwise make sure the SUB icon is OFF e Tap MODE until the LSB icon appears Tap or use XFIL to select FL1 Set FL1 ON to YES or NO using VFO A You should enable both narrow and wide filters for use in SSB modes since they may be used during copy of data SSB or AM signals e Use XFIL to go to FL2 FLS in turn and enable or disable these filters for LSB mode select each of the other modes in turn USB CW DATA AM and FM For each mode set up the FL1 FL5 enables Filter Loss Compensation Narrow crystal filters tend to have more passband loss than wide filters You can compensate for this effect by specifying an amount of added gain to use for each filter in receive mode e Use VFO B to find FLx GN menu entry e SUB to set up sub receiver filters Otherwise make sure the SUB icon is OFF e or XFIL to select a filter to modify e Use VFO A to set the gain in dB In general you ll
14. IF2 Sub RX IF GROUP not responding A6810 or KNB3 U2 De install the KNB3 module on KRX3 first tap SUB when in the KNB3 menu entry If that doesn t eliminate the error message de install the KRX3 module Note The sub receiver cannot be operated without a KNB3 because this module includes T R switching circuitry Do not attempt to bypass it using jumpers The main receiver can still be used ERR IOI MISO line stuck low asserted De install option modules one at a time If no failing option module can be found there may be a problem on the RF board ERR IO3 KIO3 not responding The KIO3 may be defective Note The K3 can be operated temporarily without the KIO3 installed You ll need to use headphones and there will be no computer or AF I O available on the rear panel ERR LPF No response from LPF shift registers De install option modules one at a time If no failing option module can be found there may be a problem on the RF board ERR KPAIO3 module not responding Remove the KPA3 module and set CONFIG KPA3 to PAIO NOR If this eliminates the error message the problem is likely to be on the KPA3 module If not the problem may be on the KPAIO3 module remove it as well and set CONFIG KPA3 to NOT INST ERR PL1 2 ERR SY1 2 ERR SY3 4 ERR SY5 6 ERR VCO ERR VC4 VPLL out of range on band change to view actual PLL voltage set CONFIG TECH MD to ON then tap DISP
15. ON resistance resulting in low loss and high signal handling capability Since this type of mixer requires low drive there s very little leak 62 through of the local oscillator synthesizer signal The mixer also incorporates a balanced VHF low pass filter to suppress both internally and externally generated VHF UHF spurs This keeps the K3 s HF spur complement extremely low despite the use of a down conversion system architecture and KAT3 The basic K3 10 includes a KANT3 antenna input module If you ve ordered a KAT3 antenna tuner the KANT3 is not required and will not be supplied with the kit In either case the module plugs into the RF board at the back right corner Both the KANT3 and KAT3 provide antenna surge protection as well as resistors for bleeding off static DC charge The KAT3 provides a wide range switchable C in C out L network for matching a variety of antennas with SWR as high as 10 1 100 W or 20 1 10 W There are 8 inductors and 8 capacitors in the L network each switched with a DPDT relay for high reliability The KAT3 also includes a second antenna jack and associated switching relay There s an additional jack on the board for routing the unused non transmit antenna to the KRX3 sub receiver module KIO3 All audio and digital computer I O is routed through the KIO3 The KIO3 is made up of three PC boards Main Audio IO and Digital IO The Main KIO3 board plugs directly into the RF board It i
16. RX Incl O R Aux RF ncludes C O Figure 3 Main Sub Receiver Routing with KAT3 Installed 39 with KAT3 and KX V3 Figure 4 shows the antenna possibilities with both the KAT3 and KXV3 installed The main receiver can use ANT 1 2 or RX ANT IN The sub receiver can either share the main receiver s RF source or use its auxiliary input meaning either the non transmit KAT3 antenna or AUX RF In the latter case you could use two receive only antennas one for each receiver or wire RX ANT IN to AUX RF as described previously Ant 1 V RX Ant V Ant 2 W KAT3 ATU Figure 4 Main Sub Receiver Routing with KXV3 and KAT3 Antenna Selection Controls Main Receiver Tap ANT Main RX to select 1 or ANT 2 To select the receive antenna RX ANT IN tap ANT will turn on In this case you ll still be able to tap ANT to select ANT 1 or 2 for use with the transmitter Sub Receiver if Installed and Turned On Includes C O R The RX icon First hold VFO B subreceiver direct control BSET will appear on the VFO A display While in BSET mode tapping ANT switches the sub between the main RF path and its aux input If the sub is sharing the main RF path the antenna icons will be the same for main and sub If the sub is using its aux input the antenna icons will reflect the sub s aux RF source CONFIG KRX3 Antenna I
17. TX gain at 50 W on ALL bands Milliwatt TX Gain Calibration KXV3 This applies only if you have the KX V3 option installed RF I O module e Switch to 160 m Set the CONFIG KXV3 menu entry to TEST which forces all bands to use the KXV3 s transverter output jack and output to be limited to 0 1 5 mW Set power to exactly 1 00 milliwatts 0 dBm e Hold TUNER the power output indication on the VFO B display should be about 1 mW Then tap XMIT to exit TUNE e Repeat the above procedure on 80 6 m Set CONFIG KXV3 back to NOR Tap MENU to exit the menu Reference Oscillator The K3 s reference oscillator is a TCXO or temperature compensated crystal oscillator It is normally calibrated at assembly time or by the factory There are two types 5 ppm and 1 ppm A Before attempting reference calibration allow the transceiver to warm up at room temperature for about 15 minutes cover on The 5 ppm TCXO standard can be calibrated using an accurate frequency counter Method 1 or by zero beating the sidetone against a reference signal or broadcast station Method 2 The 1 ppm TCXO optional can also be calibrated using Method 1 or 2 However its accuracy can be improved to better than 0 5 ppm by directly entering supplied calibration data Method 3 Be sure to keep the data sheet that was supplied with the oscillator 47 Method 1 Frequency Counter e Locate the CONFI
18. Transmit Testing The K3 allows you to listen to your CW keying test your mic and compression settings or monitor DATA tones without transmitting an on air signal To do this hold right end of the MODE control While you re in TEST mode the TX icon will flash slowly as a reminder that you re off air Hold say again to return to normal operation Voice Modes Mode Selection Tap either end of MODE to select LSB USB AM or FM mode Holding the left end of this control selects an alternate mode The alternate for AM is AM S synchronous AM on receive pg 27 In FM mode enables a per band repeater offset Microphone Selection The K3 provides both front and rear panel mic jacks Some operators prefer to use the rear panel jack to minimize cable clutter around the front panel Use MAIN MIC SEL to select the front panel FP or rear panel RP jack This menu entry can also be used select a mic gain range as well to apply a bias voltage for electret microphones The front panel mic jack is compatible with the Elecraft MH2 MD2 Proset K2 and some other 8 pin mics see pg 13 for pinout and bias settings The rear panel mic jack accommodates a 3 5 mm 1 8 phone plug and can be used in conjunction with the rear panel PTT IN jack An 8 pin to 3 5 mm adapter cable is available pg 42 Voice Monitoring The K3 s voice monitor allows you to hear the way your voice will sound at your
19. above each control Holding a control activates its secondary function e g described below Filter Presets and Per Mode Normalization Each operating mode provides two filter presets I and II which store DSP filter settings and crystal filter selections You can alternate between the two by holding The presets for VFOs and B independent Whichever preset is in effect will be updated as you adjust the filter controls The current settings will be saved for later recall anytime you change modes VFOs or bands or recall a memory To get quickly to a standard per mode bandwidth and reset any passband shift or cut hold NORM normalize The normalized bandwidth is 400 Hz in CW and DATA modes 2 8 kHz in SSB modes and 6 kHz for AM Presets are not used in FM mode Reducing Interference and Noise The K3 provides a number of ways to cut interference including DSP noise reduction manual and auto notch and noise blanking Also see Audio Effects AF X pg 33 There are actually two noise blankers one at the first KNB3 module and the other at the 2nd I F DSP A Noise reduction noise blanking and notch filtering should only be used when necessary These signal processing techniques are extremely effective but can introduce side effects In some cases simply reducing the crystal filter or DSP bandwidth may be the most effective interference reduction strategy This is espec
20. and use VFO B to locate the PLL1 and PLL2 voltage displays General problem with PLL VCO or other circuitry on a synthesizer module VCO calibration errors VFO A will show error data e g E 00039 report this value to Elecraft customer support Verify that the oscillator can on the KREF3 is fully plugged in and is not in backwards Make sure all internal cables are plugged in specifically the cables between the KREF3 and KSYN3 modules synthesizers Try re calibrating the applicable VCO CONFIG VCO MD tap SUB within the menu entry if you saw ERR PL2 to make sure you re calibrating the sub receiver s synthesizer If this doesn t work try removing the 2 synthesizer for the sub receiver and set CONFIG KRXS to NOT INST If this eliminates the error the sub synth may be defective You can also try swapping it with the main synth to see if it can be calibrated in this slot ERR REF Missing KREF3 module Verify that the oscillator can on the KREF3 is fully plugged in Make sure all internal cables are plugged in between the KREF3 and other modules If this doesn t help the problem may be on the KREF3 module or the RF board Note The K3 cannot be used without a KREF3 module 59 ERR TXG Transmit gain constant out of range This usually indicates a problem with band pass filter alignment or one of the low pass filters In either case it could affect one or two bands See se
21. enable these set CONFIG TECH MD to ON Set TECH MD to OFF afterward Synthesizer This procedure is normally done at assembly time or by the factory Hold and find the CONFIG VCO MD menu entry Set the parameter fully clockwise to CAL Exit the menu The synthesizer will be tested and calibrated calibrate the 274 synthesizer for the sub receiver locate CONFIG VCO MD and set the parameter to CAL tap SUB to turn on the SUB icon then exit the menu Wattmeter If desired power readings shown during can be adjusted to match an external wattmeter To account for all K3 circuitry involved this must be done at 5 0 W at 50 W K3 100 only and at 1 00 mW if the KXV3 option is installed Low Power 5 W Wattmeter Calibration e Switch to 20 meters e the ATU into bypass mode hold e Connect a 50 W capable dummy load 5 W for K3 10 and an accurate wattmeter to ANTI e Switch to ANTI by tapping ANT Set power to exactly 5 0 watts Hold and locate the CONFIG WMTR LP menu entry Hold fI adjust menu parameter for a reading of 5 0 W on the external wattmeter Then tap XMIT to exit TUNE e Tap MENU to exit the menu 46 High Power 50 W Wattmeter Calibration This applies to the K3 100 only Use the same procedure as shown for 5 watts but set power to 50 W The wattmeter calibration menu entry name will change to CONFIG WM
22. is in the 17 I F where it can use very narrow blanking widths It is most effective at blanking AC line noise lightning and other very broadband noise Noise Reduction Noise reduction is quite different from noise blanking It attempts to mathematically eliminate random background noise while preserving meaningful signals Tap NR to turn on noise reduction Only applicable if AGC is on Hold to tailor noise reduction for the present band conditions using the VFO B knob In general the higher the NR parameter value the more background noise will be removed If it is set too high it may degrade weak signals Notch Filtering Notch filtering can remove interfering carriers while leaving the desired signal relatively unaffected The K3 provides automatic and manual notch tuning Auto notch will find and remove one carrier and in some cases more than one it is available in voice modes AGC must also be on to use auto notch Manual notch removes one carrier at a specified pitch and can be used in CW and DATA modes as well as voice Since manual notching sets up a fixed rather than adaptive notch it can even suppress a keyed carrier i e a CW signal Tap INTCH to select auto notch NTCH icon Tap a second time to select manual notch adds lt gt icon Tap again to turn notch filtering off Hold to adjust the manual notch frequency using VFO B This also selects manual notch Tran
23. microphone when enabled via the MAIN MIC SEL menu entry Both Digital and Audio IO boards include extensive bypassing and decoupling to help prevent RF signals getting into the radio through cables attached to their respective connectors Front Panel and DSP The Front Panel is a large plug in module that includes both the Front Panel and DSP boards as well as the Aux DSP if a sub receiver is installed and digital voice recorder module if the KDVR3 option is installed Front Panel Board This board provides the K3 s user interface 35 custom labeled switches two dual concentric potentiometers for gain and squelch control seven shaft encoders custom 240 segment high contrast LCD and 13 discrete LED 63 indicators Mic and headphones can be plugged into the front panel or optionally at the rear panel see KIO3 description pg 63 The Front Panel PCB also includes the microcontroller unit MCU which manages the operation of the K3 All inputs whether from a switch knob or external PC are recognized and acted on by the MCU All control outputs such as switching from transmit to receive sending a CW code element adjusting the transmitter power controlling LED brightness etc are produced by the MCU The Front Panel also contains a large amount of EEPROM memory for parameter storage and FLASH memory for program storage This allows the K3 to be re programmed with the newest firmware by a simple download from the In
24. modes filter bandwidths or other settings as required It s even possible to do diversity receive In this case the VFOs for the two receivers would be linked together and you d use two different antennas The sub receiver or sub for short has the same specifications and performance as the main receiver This sets the K3 apart from most other transceivers in its class others may provide only a simple dual watch function with no independent crystal filtering or an independent sub receiver with mediocre performance The sub receiver also has the same filter options as the main receiver Up to five crystal filters can be installed in the sub receiver as well as a general coverage L C band pass filter module KBPF3 pg 42 The sub also includes an I F noise blanker There are three main modules associated with the KRX3 option the sub receiver itself a KSYN3 synthesizer and a second I F DSP All three must be installed and enabled before the sub receiver can be used For information on installing and configuring the sub receiver refer to the KRX3 option installation manual Sub Receiver Controls There are several controls directly related to the sub receiver the SUB switch VFO B and its associated display SUB AF GAIN and SUB RF GAIN which can be assigned to either main or sub squelch instead using CONFIG SQ SUB Other sub receiver settings can be viewed or changed using described later SUB
25. of four multifunction controls 24 Each has two primary functions indicated by green LEDs The knob has a built in switch tap it to select either CMP compression level or PWR power output Hold the knob in to access its secondary function MON itor level Tap again to restore the primary function Rotate the SHIFT LOCUT and HICUT WIDTH controls 23 to adjust the filter passband Crystal filters FL1 FL5 are automatically selected as you change the bandwidth Tap either knob to alternate between shift width and hicut locut Hold SHIFT LOCUT to NORMalize the bandwidth e g 400 Hz CW 2 8 kHz SSB Hold HICUT WIDTH to alternate between two filter setups I and II per mode Tap 13 to select crystal filters manually this also removes any passband shift Hold 8 to see CMP ALC levels While talking set MIC 25 for 4 7 bars of ALC and CMP for the desired compression Then return to SWR PWR Pg 26 Optional Hold 6 for TX TEST mode Allows off air TX adjustments pg 13 Hold CMP PWR 24 to set speech MON itor level tap to return to CMP PWR Hold 7 to select PTT or VOX Hold SPEED to set VOX DELAY Additional details VOX pg 27 TX EQ pg 33 MIC pg 49 SSB AM FM pg 26 SPEED 25 sets the CW keyer speed Hold this knob to set semi break in DELAY Hold 05 7 to select full break in QSK icon on semi b
26. one antenna jack ANT1 SO239 The signal from ANT 1 is routed through the antenna input module to the main receiver as well as to the transmitter The KRX3 sub receiver if installed can share the ANT 1 signal via a passive splitter and relay K1 When the sub receiver is off or is switched to its auxiliary RF input K1 bypasses the splitter so it will have no effect on either receiver An extra RF I O connector location is provided AUX RF BNC The sub receiver s auxiliary input can optionally be routed to this connector K1 then selects either the main RX path or AUX RF as the sub receiver s RF source The sub receiver has its own full set of ham band and optional general coverage band pass filters KBPF3 but its image rejection will be best when sharing the main path which includes the receive transmit low pass filters KANTS3 Ant Input Module Ant 1 V Main RX Figure 1 Basic Main Sub Receiver Routing no KAT3 or KXV3 K3 with KXV3 RF I O Module If the KXV3 option is installed Figure 2 a separate receiving antenna can be connected to the RX ANT IN jack Relay K2 then selects either ANTI or RX ANT for the main receiver Note The low pass filters will not be in the path when RX ANT is selected This will rarely be an issue since the main receiver has a full set of ham band band pass filters You can use external filters with RX ANT IN if required Relay allows the sub receiver to share the main receiver s RF
27. pg 13 Hold 13 to adjust VFO B settings independently of VFO A pg 35 Tap SUB 20 to turn on the sub receiver pg 42 VFO B controls its frequency The sub receiver can use its auxiliary input or share antennas with the main receiver Which antennas are available to main and sub receivers depends on installed options pg 42 To store a frequency memory tap Mj 14 then tap M1 M4 15 to save a per band quick memory or tap 0 9 to save a general purpose quick memory or rotate VFO A to select from memories 0 99 then tap V gt Mj again to save Tap M gt V to recall Pg 16 REC and 1 4 15 are also used to record play voice CW DATA messages The KDVR3 option is required for voice messages and pg 16 MENU amp 8 access the MAIN and CONFIG menus VFO B selects entries VFO A changes parameters In general CONFIG menu entries are used less often Tapping DISP 8 within menus shows information about each entry on VFO B pg 49 Up to 10 menu entries be assigned to programmable function switches and BA 16 are dedicated programmable functions Any of M1 M4 15 can be used as and or Hold programmable functions if they re not being used for message play pg 49 RX and TX EQ MAIN menu provide 8 bands of receive transmit equaliza
28. source or use its auxiliary RF input This means that two receiving antennas could be used But it s also possible to route a single receiving antenna to both the RX ANT IN and AUX RF jacks using a adapter This would allow the sub receiver to use the antenna connected to RX ANT IN even if the main receiver were using ANT 1 No external splitter is required because only one of the receivers will be connected to the receiving antenna at a time Not shown is the RX ANT OUT jack The RX ANT IN OUT jacks can be used together to patch in an external band pass or low pass filter or low noise preamp for the main shared RF path see pg 17 38 Includes C O R Main RX Ant1 V Ant Input Module Figure 2 Main Sub Receiver Routing with KXV3 Installed K3 with KAT3 ATU The KAT3 internal ATU replaces the KANT3 antenna input module provides a second SO239 antenna jack ANT 2 As shown in Figure 3 relay K3 routes either ANT 1 or ANT 2 to the main RF path The antenna not routed to the main path the non transmit antenna is available for the sub receiver Relay K1 selects either the main RX path show here or the non transmit antenna The sub receiver s auxiliary input can optionally be routed to the AUX RF connector rather than to the non transmit KAT3 antenna The sub receiver would be able to use either the main path transmit antenna or AUX RF KAT3 ATU Ant 1 V Ant 2 V Main RX KRX3 Sub
29. sub receiver s auxiliary antenna 1 unused KAT3 ATU antenna 2 AUX RF jack 3 AUX RF in parallel with the RX ANT IN jack on the KXV3 For details on sub receiver antenna sources see pg 22 Note the sub receiver option includes three modules receiver synthesizer and DSP All three must be installed or the K3 will report an error on power up KXV3 Not Inst If KXV3 option is installed set to ON exit menu and turn power off on This option is required for use of RXANT and low level transverter I O LCD TST OFF Changing the parameter turns on all LCD segments LIN OUT 30 Sets the LINE OUT level LINE OUT connections go to PC soundcard inputs NB SAVE NO Set to YES to save noise blanker on off state per band Noise blanker levels both DSP and I F are always saved per band regardless of this setting PA TEMP N A Ifa KPA3 100 W PA module is installed shows KPA3 heatsink temperature and allows it to be adjusted See calibration procedure on page 48 PTT KEY OFF OFF Allows selection of RTS or DTR RS232 lines to activate PTT or key the K3 See pg 18 Note If a computer or other device asserts RTS or DTR while you re in this menu entry the K3 will switch to TEST mode zero power output as a precaution The TX icon will flash as a reminder To avoid this make sure software applications have flow control and or keying options turned OFF while you re changing the PTT KEY selection REF CAL or 49380000 Used to precisely calib
30. test the K3 against the other receiver When the RX ANT 18 not selected RX icon off the will be receiving on its main antenna jack and the other receiver will have no input If you then tap ANT the will have no receive antenna while the other receiver will be operating from the K3 s main antenna A If you re comparing the K3 to a transceiver and using its transmit receive antenna be sure to set its power to 0 so you won t damage the KX V3 when you transmit Buffered I F Output The KXV3 provides a buffered isolated first signal at the IF OUT jack This signal is at approximately 8 215 MHz compatible with some panadapters also known as spectrum scopes A You must use a short very high quality coax cable between the K3 and the panadapter Additional isolation may also be required If signals are allowed to leak into the buffered output they will be audible on quiet bands and can degrade K3 receiver performance 36 Using Transverters Nine user definable bands are provided for use with transverters Once enabled individually these bands will appear in the band rotation following 6 meters You can use Elecraft X V Series transverters and most other transverter types with the K3 Transverter Band Setup Transverter bands are set up using the XV menu entries In all cases tap 1 9 within the menu entry to select a transverter band to configu
31. to 1 uV output the S meter should now indicate about S 2 to S 3 If not change SMTR SC by 1 unit try 15 first then 13 then 16 then 12 After each SMTR SC change re adjust the SMTR OF setting for an S 9 indication When you have completed this procedure disconnecting the signal generator should now show NO bars on the S meter Menu Functions There are two groups of menu functions MAIN Tapping DISP while viewing the menu shows help and CONFIG Tap to access the MAIN information about the present menu entry in the menu hold fe to access the CONFIG menu VFO B display area For most entries the default You can hold MENU to Menu entries that you d parameter value is shown in parentheses at the start like quick access to can be assigned to of the help text Long help text strings can be programmable function switches pg 13 interrupted by tapping any switch MAIN Menu Entry Default Description AFX MD Delay 5 Audio Effects Available selections DELAY 1 5 quasi stereo and BIN similar to Binaural I Q ALARM OFF Set alarm Auto Power On time Tap 1 to turn alarm on off tap 2 3 to set HH MM LCD ADJ 8 LCD viewing angle and contrast Use higher settings if the radio is used at or above eye level If adjusted incorrectly bargraphs
32. turns the sub receiver and SUB icon on If you re using stereo headphones or speakers you ll hear the sub receiver on the right side and main receiver on the left With a single speaker or mono phones the two will be added together and the MAIN and SUB AF GAIN controls will adjust the relative amount of signal from each 35 BSET Direct Sub receiver Control Normally all receive mode controls including Maa NB SHIFT WIDTH etc pertain to VFO A and the main receiver To view or change the settings for the sub receiver VFO B hold VFO A will show BSET While in BSET mode the S meter will reflect the sub receiver s signal level You can change the sub receiver control settings as well as the MODE You can also change the sub receiver s band using BSET if CONFIG VFO IND VFO A and B independent is set to YES Tap or hold again to exit BSET Split Mode with the Sub receiver When operating split VFO A is the receive frequency and VFO B the transmit frequency If the sub receiver is on you ll be able to listen to both your receive and transmit frequencies in receive mode Hold to turn split mode on or off In many cases you may want to set up the two receivers differently For example if you re working DX split you can listen to the DX station in a very narrow bandwidth on the main receiver VFO A while using a
33. want to add 1 2 dB for 400 500 Hz filters and 3 4 dB for 200 250 Hz filters e Select the remaining filters and adjust their gain parameter as required Transmit Crystal Filter Selection Per Mode This step applies only to filters on the RF board e Select CW mode by tapping MODE e Use VFO B to find the FLTX CW menu entry e Rotate VFO A to select a CW transmit filter 2 7 or 2 8 kHz Note Key clicks may result if a narrower filter is selected for CW transmit MODE to select LSB The menu entry will change from FLTX CW to FLTX SB e Select the filter to be used during SSB and DATA transmit 2 7 or 2 8 kHz This setting is overridden automatically for ESSB pg 44 e Ifapplicable select a 6 kHz filter for AM FLTX AM and 12 5 kHz for FM FLTX FM you re using a 2 7 kHz 5 pole filter for SSB transmit you can optionally fine tune its FLx FRQ parameter to equalize LSB and USB transmit characteristics Monitor with a separate receiver and use headphones or have another station listen Option Module Enables K3 options can be installed at any time Once an option has been installed use the associated CONFIG menu entry to enable it see list below Then turn the K3 off and turn it back on This allows the K3 to find and test the module e ATU module set KAT3 to BYP e general coverage band pass filter module set KBPF3 to NOR if you re install
34. wider bandwidth for VFO B so you can look for a clear calling frequency Sub Receiver RF Input Sources The sub receiver gets its RF input either from the main receiver sharing the main antenna jacks or RX ANT IN or from its auxiliary antenna input There are four possible ways to wire the sub receiver s auxiliary RF input as explained in the KRX3 option installation manual CONFIG KRX3 is used to specify which of these you ve used see pg 50 For a full description of sub receiver RF input sources please see Main and Sub Receiver Antenna Routing pg 37 Receive Antenna In Out The RX ANT IN OUT jacks supplied with the KXV3 option have various uses e Low noise receiving antenna Some operators use a Beverage tuned loop or other low noise receiving antenna You can connect such antenna to the RX ANT IN jack then tap RX ANT to select it The RX icon will turn on e Narrowband filters or preamps You can patch in a specialized filter or preamp between RX ANT IN OUT ANT to switch the filter in per band It will be in line only during receive so you can use crystal filters or amplifiers with low power ratings e Test signal injection The RX ANT IN jack is ideal to inject a test signal because the generator won t be damaged if you transmit e Receiver comparisons If you connect the RX ANT OUT jack to a second receiver and leave the RX ANT IN jack open you can A B
35. will be too light or heavy during keying LCD BRT 6 LCD backlight brightness Use DAY in bright sunlight 2 to 8 for indoor lighting LED BRT 4 LED brightness relative to LCD backlight brightness Exception if LCD BRT is set to DAY LEDs are set to their maximum brightness MIC SEL FP low Mic line transmit audio source mic gain range and mic bias Source selections range FP front panel 8 pin MIC jack RP rear panel 3 5 mm MIC jack and LINE IN bias on rear panel LINE IN jack Tap 1 to toggle between Low and High mic gain range for the selected mic Tap 2 to turn mic BIAS on off turn on for electret mics MSG RPT 6 Message repeat interval in seconds 0 to 255 To repeat a message hold M1 M4 rather than tap A 6 10 sec interval is about right for casual CQing Shorter intervals may be needed during contests and longer for periodic CW beacons RPT OFS 2400 Sets the transmit offset in kHz for repeater operation from 2560 kHz to 2540 kHz Per VHF band or band segment RX EQ 0 dB Receiver audio graphic equalizer VFO A is used 8 band bargraph where each each character shows the boost or cut 16 dB to 16 dB in 1 dB increments for a given band AF band The 8 bands are 0 05 0 1 0 2 0 4 0 8 1 2 2 4 and 3 2 kHz Tap 1 8 to select an AF band VFO A selects boost cut CLR to reset all bands to 0 dB TX EQ 0 dB Transmit audio graphic equalizer voice modes only Functions th
36. 3 the input comes from the 10 W amplifier see below The output of the low pass filters is routed through the forward reflected power bridge then on to either the antenna input module KANT3 or the KAT3 automatic antenna tuner which plugs in at far right Low Power Amplifier LPA and T R Switching The large hole near the back middle area of the RF PCB is where the 10 W low power amplifier module plugs in The LPA has three connectors that mate with the RF board and its power transistors attach to the rear bottom cover which serves as a heat sink This construction method allows the 10 W module to be tested separately during production Also in this area is the T R transmit receive switch but you ll need to turn the RF board upside down to see most of the components The K3 s T R switch uses high power high isolation PIN diodes rather than relays resulting in no switching noise during keying Low Power Amplifier LPA The low power amplifier module is capable of up to 12 W power output and in the case of the K3 10 is the final amplifier stage In the K3 100 it provides drive to the KPA3 module The LPA has three gain stages the last two of which use high power MOSFET transistors to allow coverage up through 6 meters At the input to the first gain stage is a 5 dB attenuator which is switched in under firmware control at certain power levels to optimize transmit gain distribution Band Pass Filters BPFs At back left is the ban
37. 45 VFO B Knob Friction Adjustment Use the supplied 5 64 2 mm Allen wrench to loosen the VFO B knob s set screw Between the knob and front panel is a felt washer which when compressed reduces the spin rate Move the knob in or out in small increments until the desired rate is obtained Then re tighten the set Screw Real Time Clock Battery Replacement A K3 components or modules can be easily be damaged by ESD electrostatic discharge To avoid this put on a grounded wrist strap with 1 megohm series resistor or touch a grounded surface before touching anything inside the enclosure An anti static work mat is strongly recommended The battery for the real time clock calendar is located on the left side of the RF board To access it turn power off then remove the top cover as described in Appendix A Remove the old battery Replace it with the same type of 3 V lithium coin cell CR2032 BR2032 equivalent The terminal is clearly marked on the battery it must be oriented as indicated by the symbol on the RF board Re install the top cover To set the time date and date format refer to the following CONFIG menu entries TIME DATE and DATE MD Calibration Procedures A All calibration procedures are firmware based Please do not adjust any of the trimmer capacitors or potentiometers inside the K3 they been carefully aligned at the factory Most calibration procedures use Tech Mode menu entries To
38. B menu entry and change the value from OFF to one of the provided selections 3 5 4 0 etc See cautions below e With ESSB enabled the transmit EQ menu entry name changes to MAIN TX EQ to allow you to independently adjust EQ at the selected wider bandwidth The amount of adjustment required at each EQ band may vary significantly depending on the selected ESSB transmit bandwidth e Ifyou assign TX ESSB to a programmable function switch pressing it will alternate between ESSB TX OFF and the last bandwidth you selected using the menu A Carrier suppression passband shape delay characteristics fidelity and other aspects of ESSB performance are not specified Use ESSB only after carefully monitoring your signal A Settings above 3 5 kHz may have flatter passband response and better fidelity but there may also be an increase in low level transmit spurious responses typically lt 80 dBc 34 General Coverage Receive If you wish to tune the full 0 5 to 30 MHz range with low loss you can install a KBPF3 module This module includes eight band pass filters that cover all of the areas between the ham bands The K3 will automatically switch between the narrow ham band filters to the KBPF3 filters as you tune the VFOs A KBPF3 module can be installed on the RF board for use with the main receiver and or on the sub receiver module KRX3 The CONFIG VFO CRS menu entry can be used to select coarse VFO tuning rates for A
39. CW to DATA pg 32 For voice message record play see Digital Voice Recorder pg 27 RIT and XIT Controls RIT RIT receive incremental tuning on off Programmable function switch pg 21 XIT XIT transmit incremental tuning on off GI Programmable function switch pg 21 CLR Sets RIT XIT offset to 0 tap again to restore offset to previous value Hold for 2 seconds to copy present RIT offset to VFO A before clearing The RIT XIT offset control sets the offset for RIT and Three LEDs above the control show at a glance whether an offset is in effect pg 11 Rear Panel Connector Groups Antennas KPA3 Dig AF and KXV3 RF 1 4 RS232 ACC SPKRS PHONES MIC IN LINE OUT O O Q STEREO MONO MONO STEREO IF OUT RX ANTS 99698 XVTR A 42VDC IN 12VDC OUT maj 0 5 A MAX SWITCHED GROUND SERIAL NO 05000 PADDLE KEY PTTIN KEY OUT REF IN gt A The appearance of your rear panel may vary depending upon the options installed Antennas ANT1 SO 239 is standard ANT2 SO 239 is supplied with the KAT3 automatic antenna tuner option which includes an antenna switch controlled from the front panel Both jacks are nominally 50 ohms when the ATU is bypassed or not installed The AUX RF connector 27 is for use with the KRX3 opt
40. D and DATA A pg 29 Selects alternate modes CW REV DATA REV AM S pg 26 and FM pg 26 Selects TX NORM or TX TEST TX LCD icon flashing TX TEST allows you to test keying mic level etc without actually transmitting POWER Turns on or off Also see Alarm and Auto Power On pg 34 and forced firmware load pg 42 MENU Displays the MAIN menu Use VFO A to change parameters and VFO B to move to the next entry Tap DISP to get help with the current menu entry default value shown in parentheses Also see Programmable Switch Functions pg 21 Displays the CONFIG menu Manually operated transmit Places the into transmit mode same as PTT pg 24 Keys the transmitter in CW mode at the present power level See Using the ATU pg 22 Selects the receive antenna RX pg 12 DISP Shows an alternate display on VFO B including time date voltage etc Use the VFO B knob to select the desired display pg 34 Selects voice transmit bargraph modes SWR and RF or CMP and ALC pg 26 Places into low power CW transmit mode and matches the antenna using the KAT3 automatic antenna tuner pg 22 Puts the ATU into normal mode ATU icon on or bypass mode pg 22 ANT Selects ANT 1 or 2 and recalls the last ATU settings used for that antenna saved per band
41. DI LIE PHONES MENU DISP 4 ELECRAFT K3 TRANSCEIVER ATU XMIT TUNE ins ANT SUB JIN 5 1 om ELECRAFT K3 HIGH PERFORMANCE 160 6 METER TRANSCEIVER OWNER S MANUAL Revision C1 November 18 2007 Copyright O 2007 Elecraft Inc All Rights Reserved Contents A Note to 3 Key to Symbols and Text Styles 3 Quick Start Guides ao du e oleo s 4 IntroduetioD re 7 K3 Features node he s 7 ecrire ierit erret dein 8 Customer Service and Support 10 Front Patel 11 Control Groups 11 DISDlay sieut OR 12 tee dee ite 13 Front Panel Connectors esses 13 Primary Controls sse 13 Multi Function Controls sss 14 VFO Tuning 18 22 14 nc eem 15 Memory 1 2 16 Message Record Play Controls 16 RIT XIT Controls sess 16 Rear Pate oc decer ore er re e E Ene ed 17 Connector Groups esser 17 18 Basic 21 Receiver 23 Reducing Interference and Noise 24 Transmitter Setup essere 25 Voice Modes
42. G REF CAL menu entry If the menu entry name is REF xxC tap 1 to change it to REF CAL e Connect a frequency counter with 1 Hz or better accuracy to J1 on the reference oscillator module Measure the exact frequency in Hz e Using VFO A set the REF CAL parameter to match this frequency Then exit the menu Method 2 Zero Beating Select CW mode Set WIDTH to about 2 8 kHz A wide filter passband is necessary since you may need to move the REF CAL parameter a significant amount e Tune the to a strong commercial AM broadcast station e g WWV or another known accurate reference signal Set the VFO to the exact known frequency of the signal Using MONI set the sidetone monitor level to roughly match the volume level of the received broadcast or reference signal Locate CONFIG REF CAL If the menu entry is REF xxC tap 1 to select REF CAL e SPOT to enable the sidetone e Adjust the REF CAL parameter using VFO A until the sidetone is zero beated with the signal As you approach the correct frequency you ll hear an undulating beat note between the two signals The slower the beat note the closer they are If it pulses at a rate of once per second or slower you re within 1 Hz of the signal e Cancel and exit the menu Method 3 1 ppm TCXO Option e Locate the CONFIG REF CAL menu entry Tap to c
43. L controls are assigned to squelch via CONFIG SQ MAIN or SQ SUB rotate squelch controls fully counter clockwise 2 RF GAIN too low set RF gain controls fully clockwise 3 filter bandwidth too narrow set WIDTH or tap 56 XFIL and also verify filter configuration settings 4 switching to an open receive antenna on the KXV3 RX ANT IN 5 switching the KAT3 to an open antenna jack 6 CONFIG REF CAL parameter not adjusted properly e Received signal too low in amplitude 1 Try setting CONFIG AF GAIN to the HI range 2 check headphone and speaker plugs and cables 3 make sure that CONFIG RX EQ settings are either flat or have not been set for a large amount of cut 4 recheck all filter configuration settings particularly the CONFIG FLx BW FLx GN and FLx FRQ menu entries 5 verify that CONFIG REF CAL is properly adjusted General problem with transmit and or receive performance Many problems can be caused by the power supply voltage being too low or by a noisy or intermittent supply Check your power supply s on off Switch voltage fuses if applicable and DC cabling The K3 provides both voltage and current monitoring pg 34 e General problem with firmware behavior 1 Check all relevant menu settings see MAIN and CONFIG menu listings in the previous section In addition to the information in the manual each menu entry provides help text by tapping DISP 2 Try loading the latest microcontrol
44. M and SSB modes AM coarse tuning rates include 5 9 and 10 kHz matching the requirements for various broadcast band segments e Sensitivity below 1 8 MHz will be reduced due to the high pass response of the T R switch which protects the PIN diodes VFO B Alternate Displays The VFO B display can show time date supply voltage current drain KPA3 heatsink temperature front panel compartment temperature and other useful information Tapping DISP turns the selected alternate display on or off Rotate the VFO B knob to select the desired display If CONFIG TECH MD is ON additional VFO B alternate displays will be available for alignment and troubleshooting These are described in the K3 Service Manual Alarm and Auto Power On Once you ve set the K3 s real time clock CONFIG TIME you can use MAIN ALARM to set an alarm This can be used to remind you of a schedule net or start of a contest When an alarm is set an asterisk appears in the time display Time can be displayed by tapping DISP A The K3 will turn ON automatically if it was off at alarm time It will be set for the same band and mode that was in effect when power was turned off Using the Sub Receiver The KRX3 option adds a fully independent high performance second receiver or sub receiver to the K3 With the sub receiver installed you can monitor two different frequencies or even two different bands using different
45. NT again to cancel Pg 15 Hold to start stop scanning must be preceded by a memory recall pg 37 The RIT and XIT offset knob 17 has LEDs that show 0 offset pg 16 Tap CLR 16 to zero the offset Hold CLR for gt 2 sec to add the offset to VFO A then zero it The TX LED 4 indicates that the K3 is in transmit mode The Af LED turns on if the RX and TX frequencies are unequal RITJXIT cross mode etc Pg 13 XMIT 8 is equivalent to PTT 35 Hold to put out full CW power in any mode Tap 8 to initiate antenna matching Hold to enable or bypass the ATU ANT selects ANT1 or ANT2 RX ANT selects main RX antenna KXV3 Tap 12 to enable DSP and LF noise blanking Hold to set NB levels using VFO DSP and VFO B LF Fully CCW is OFF in both cases Pg 15 NR 12 to turn on noise reduction Hold to tailor noise reduction for the present band conditions pg15 12 once to select auto notch NTCH icon and a second time to select manual notch adds lt icon Hold to adjust manual notch frequency Pg 24 Hold 13 to enter split mode RX on VFO A TX on VFO B If VFOs A and B are on different frequencies in SPLIT mode the Delta F LED Af will turn on
46. O larger values result in faster QSY VFO FST 50 Hz Specifies the faster of the two VFO tuning rates RATE The faster rate is 50 Hz per step by default but can be set to 20 Hz if desired In this case VFO CTS 400 is recommended to ensure adequate fast QSY speed VFO IND NO If set to YES VFO B can be set to a different band than VFO A which allows listening to two bands at once main sub This menu entry is not available unless the subreceiver is installed VFO OFS OFF If ON the RIT XIT offset control can be used to tune VFO A in large steps when both RIT and XIT are turned off The step sizes vary with mode see VFO CRS and are the same as the VFO tuning rates WMTR pwr 100 Wattmeter calibration parameter pwr is the power mode LP 0 12W HP 15 120W or MW 0 1 5 mW See calibration procedure pg 46 XVx ON NO Set to YES to turn on transverter band x 1 9 tap 1 9 to select band XVx RF 144 Lower edge for band x 1 9 0 999 MHz Tap 1 9 to select band 53 XVx IF 28 Specify band to use as the for transverter band x 1 9 Tap 1 9 to select band I F band selections include 7 14 21 28 and 50 MHz XVx PWR H 0 1 Allows fixed or variable power level for XVTR band x Tap f1 9 to select xvtr
47. OX PTT and OSK In voice and data modes use to select VOX pg 13 or PTT push to talk PTT can still be used even with VOX selected Set VOX gain and anti vox level using MAIN VOX GN and ANTIVOX In CW mode use to select either VOX or PTT transmit VOX enables user activated hit the key transmit while PTT requires the use of PTT IN pg 17 or KMIT before CW can be sent When the VOX icon is on in CW mode you can use to select full QSK icon semi break in For more on break in keying see pg 28 Transmit Metering Normally the transmit bargraph shows SWR and RF power output The SWR range is 1 1 to 3 1 The RF range is 0 to 12 W in 1 W units or 0 to 120 W in 10 W units The power scale changes from watts to watts x10 between 12 and 13 watts In voice modes you can use to switch to compression C MP and automatic level control AL C metering See page 26 for information on adjusting the MIC and CMP controls If you have a KXV3 installed you can use milliwatt level power output This is intended for use with transverters but it can also allow the K3 to act as a very stable very low noise signal generator To route RX and TX through the XVTR jacks on all bands set CONFIG KXV3 to TEST When milliwatt level output is in effect rotating PWR will show milliwatts on VFO A and dBm dB relative to 1 milliwatt on VFO B Off Air
48. See RIT and Front Panel Connectors PHONES You can use either mono or stereo headphones at either the front or rear panel headphone jack Also see pg 33 MIC An Elecraft MH2 MD2 Proset K2 or other compatible mic can be used see pinout below To select the front or rear panel mic and to turn bias on off use the MAIN MIC SRC menu entry Bias must be turned on for the MH2 MD2 and Proset K2 It must be off for Heil mics using the HC4 or 5 elements Mic jack viewed from front of K3 Mic audio low Z 600 ohms PTT DOWN button UP button FUNCTION button 8V 10 mA max 7 8 Ground QV PWN If applicable not used on MH2 or MD2 FP ACC This connector RJ 45 6 pins is located on the bottom of the transceiver near the VFO B knob It is used with accessory devices 13 Primary Controls BAND Tap the left right end of this switch to move to the next lower higher ham band pg 11 Selects voice operated or keying activated transmit VOX icon on or PTT controlled transmit Also see pg 26 Selects either full break in QSK icon on semi break in keying if VOX is selected in CW mode Also see pg 26 MODE Tapping the left or right end of this switch selects one of the primary operating modes When DATA is selected the switch is used to specify FSK D AFSK A PSK
49. TEREO ACC r XVTR A 12VDC OUT 0 5 A MAX SWITCHED 12VDC IN e GROUND PADDLE KEY PTTIN KEY OUT REF IN O 6 6 c6 Connections The Basics Filter e Controls Voice Modes CW Mode 36 Data Modes CQ 31 Connect a power supply to the DC input jack 26 see Specifications pg 8 On the K3 100 a circuit breaker is provided on the fan panel for the 100 W stage 30 You can power an accessory device from the switched DC output jack 38 0 5 A max Connect an antenna to ANTI 29 If you have an ATU installed pg 22 you can connect a second antenna to ANT2 28 If the KXV3 is installed you can connect a separate RX antenna to RX ANT IN 34 The AUX RF connector 27 is optional see pg 17 Press POWER 5 to turn on If there are any error indications refer to pg 58 and Functions Tapping briefly activates the function labeled on a switch Holding for about 1 2 second activates the function labeled beneath a switch Tap either end of 7 to select a band and tap MODE 6 to select the mode Set the AF gain using AF 2 Set RF to max SUB controls are discussed on pg 12 The large knob 22 controls VFO A upper display 10 The medium knob 19 controls VFO B lower display 11 VFO A is main RX TX except in SPLIT pg 34 CMP PWR is one
50. TR HP 1 0 Milliwatt Meter Calibration KXV3 This applies only if you have the KXV3 option installed RF I O module Set the CONFIG KXV3 menu entry to TEST which forces all bands to use the KXV3 s transverter output jack and output to be limited to 0 1 5 mW The wattmeter calibration menu entry name will change to CONFIG WMTR MW e Connect a dummy load and an accurate RF voltmeter to XVTR OUT Set power to exactly 1 00 milliwatts 0 dBm Hold adjust the WMTR MW menu parameter for a reading of 0 224 Vrms on the external voltmeter Then tap XMIT to exit TUNE Set CONFIG KXV3 back to NOR Transmitter Gain This procedure is normally done at assembly time or by the factory It compensates for per band transmit gain variation providing accurate power control It must be done on every band Low Power 5 W TX Gain Calibration e Switch to 160 meters e the ATU into bypass mode hold e Connect a dummy load to ANTI e Switch to ANTI by tapping ANT Set power to exactly 5 0 watts Hold the power reading shown on VFO B should be about 5 watts Tap KMIT to exit TUNE e Repeat this procedure 80 6 meters High Power 50 W TX Gain Calibration This applies to the K3 100 only Use the same procedure as shown for 5 watts but set power to 50 W and use a 50 W dummy load The power output indication should be about 50 watts Calibrate
51. Test If the K3 detects an error in its firmware an incorrect checksum it will flash the TX LED and show MCU LD on the LCD with backlight off If this occurs connect the K3 to your computer and reload firmware While firmware is loading the Delta F LED Af will flash When the download is complete the K3 should reset and run normally Forcing a Firmware Download If you accidentally load an old or incompatible firmware version and find the K3 unresponsive do the following 1 unplug the K3 from the power supply and wait 5 seconds 2 plug the power supply back in 3 hold the K3 s POWER switch in after about 10 seconds you ll see the TX LED flash you ll also see MCU LD on the LCD 4 load the correct firmware version Other Ways to Upgrade Your Firmware If you don t have Internet access you can purchase a firmware upgrade on CD If you don t have a computer you can send your K3 to Elecraft to be upgraded See Customer Service and Support pg 10 Configuration Configuring your K3 involves installing options and crystal filters as well as customizing menu settings based on your personal preferences Option modules come with their own installation manuals Once they re installed they must be enabled using their associated menu entries see pg 50 Crystal Filter Setup Crystal filter installation is covered in detail in Appendix A pg 67 Once filters have been installed or move
52. VFO B gt A SPLIT Enable SPLIT receive transmit Holding allows VFO B and the sub receiver if on to be set up directly pg 35 As long as BSET is displayed all VFO related controls and display elements apply to VFO B An alternative is to set up VFO A then gt 15 Receiver Control amp Misc Lower Rows A Receiver control functions normally apply to VFO A If BSET is in effect they apply to VFO B The sub receiver when turned on uses the VFO B settings PRE Preamp on off Attenuator on off AGC AGC slow fast OFF AGC off on XFIL Select next available crystal filter see CONFIG FLx ON Dual passband CW or dual tone RTTY filtering pg 28 NB Noise blanker on off pg 24 LEVEL Noise blanker levels pg 24 use VFO A knob to select DSP blanker and VFO B to setup I F blanker NR Noise reduction on off pg 24 Noise reduction parameter adjust use VFO B knob pg 24 NTCH Notch filter auto manual off pg 24 Manual notch frequency pg 24 use VFO B knob SPOT Spot tone on off manual or auto spot if CWT is on pg 32 CW sidetone PITCH PSK center pitch FSK AFSK MARK tone and shift pg 29 or FM tone setup pg 27 CWT CW data tuning aid on off pg 12 turn on to use auto spot Text decode CW or DATA pg 31 use VFO B knob to select mode AFX Audio effects
53. What is covered During the first year after date of purchase or if shipped from factory date product is shipped to customer Elecraft will replace defective or missing parts free of charge post paid We will also correct any malfunction to kits or assembled units caused by defective parts and materials Purchaser pays inbound shipping to us for warranty repair we pay shipping to return the repaired equipment to you by UPS ground service or equivalent to the continental USA and Canada Alaska Hawaii and outside U S and Canada actual return shipping cost paid by owner What is not covered This warranty does not cover correction of kit assembly errors It also does not cover misalignment repair of damage caused by misuse negligence or builder modifications or any performance malfunctions involving non Elecraft accessory equipment The use of acid core solder water soluble flux solder or any corrosive or conductive flux or solvent will void this warranty in its entirety Also not covered is reimbursement for loss of use inconvenience customer assembly or alignment time or cost of unauthorized service Limitation of incidental or consequential damages This warranty does not extend to non Elecraft equipment or components used in conjunction with our products Any such repair or replacement is the responsibility of the customer Elecraft will not be liable for any special indirect incidental or consequential damages including but not limite
54. X shift registers De install the KRX3 module ERR BP4 No response from sub RX KBPF3 option De install the KBPF3 module on KRX3 ERR DS1 No main DSP SPI echo Reload DSP 1 firmware ERR DS2 Main DSP SPI echo not inverted Reload DSP1 firmware ERR 053 No AUX DSP SPI echo Reload DSP2 firmware Note CONFIG KRX3 must be OFF unless the KRX3 option is installed which includes the aux DSP module DSP2 ERR 054 AUX DSP SPI echo not inverted Reload DSP2 firmware Note CONFIG KRX3 must be OFF unless the KRX3 option is installed which includes the aux DSP module ERR DSE Missing echo from a DSP command Reload DSP1 firmware and DSP2 firmware if applicable ERR DSX Extended DSP command timeout Reload firmware and DSP2 firmware if applicable ERR On chip EEPROM read write test failed MCU may be defective front panel Try re loading MCU firmware first then try initializing parameters pg 55 ERR EE2 External EEPROM read write test failed EEPROM may be defective front panel Try re loading MCU firmware first then try initializing parameters pg 55 ERR FW2 General firmware problem Try re loading MCU firmware first then try initializing parameters pg 55 ERR IF1 RF board IF GROUP not responding A6810 De install the KNB3 module on RF board Note The K3 cannot be operated without a KNB3 because this module includes T R switching circuitry Do not attempt to bypass it using jumpers 58 ERR
55. als you may wish to use the attenuator NE or reduce the RF GAIN setting Crystal Filter Selection You can install as many as five crystal roofing filters in the K3 s main receiver and another five in the sub receiver KR X3 pg 35 Bandwidths as narrow as 200 Hz and variable bandwidth filters are available thanks to the K3 s low first I F intermediate frequency of 8 215 MHz See Appendix A for recommended crystal filter bandwidths for each mode To select a crystal filter manually tap XFIL The FL1 FL5 icons show the current selection This sets the DSP passband to match the crystal filter and removes any passband shift or lowcut hicut The K3 will also select the most appropriate crystal filters automatically as you adjust the SHIFT WIDTH Lo CUT and HI CUT controls 23 Filter Passband Controls As you rotate the filter controls shift width hicut locut the associated parameter value is shown on VFO The filter graphic shows the width and location of the passband as illustrated below In these specific examples segments that turned off as a result of control movement are shown in gray w MER v Shift Each DSP control has an integral switch Tapping the control alternates between the two primary functions for that control for example HI CUT and WIDTH This is indicated by the two LEDs
56. and to set up text decode Select either FSK D or PSK D mode A small T should appear below DATA icon e Ifyou haven t used text decode before try tuning in a few stations turn on CWT pg 31 Tips for improved copy in tough band conditions are provided on page 31 e Plug a keyer paddle into the PADDLE jack The first time you try CW to DATA set PWR to 0 watts or use TX mode pg 13 All CW you send will be transmitted as data and displayed on VFO B You ll hear a CW sidetone as well as PSK or FSK tones Adjust the data monitor volume using To adjust the CW sidetone monitor level temporarily switch back to CW mode e Whenever you pause the will remain in data idle state for about four seconds before automatically dropping To extend the timeout send the CW double dash or BT prosign which is not transmitted as data e To cut short the idle transmit period and exit to receive mode send IMmediately exit This character 1s not transmitted as data e When recording CW messages for use during CW to DATA you can add at the end to cut the idle time when they re played back e The CW abbreviation for and ES is not used in data modes and might lead to confusion Other prosigns can be used including KN SK and AR you set VFO for CW mode rather than DATA mode and use cross mode pg 34 your CW will not be conver
57. ansmit audio equalization is provided to compensate for variations in microphones and your voice MAIN TX EQ works exactly the same as RX EQ and can be used during transmit If you re using ESSB pg 34 a separate set of transmit EQ settings is provided When ESSB is on the TX EQ menu entry name changes to TX EQ as are reminder of which TX EQ set you re changing While adjusting TX EQ you can listen to the voice monitor signal using headphones use to set the level or listen to the K3 s transmitted signal on another receiver SPLIT Operation Normally VFO A is used for both receive and transmit When mode is selected VFO B becomes the transmit VFO The SPLT icon turns on and the TX arrow points to B pg 12 In addition the Delta F LED Af turns on yellow This will alert you at a glance that your receive and transmit frequencies and or modes are not be the same Extended Single Sideband ESSB ESSB refers to the use of a wider transmit audio bandwidth than is traditionally provided by SSB transceivers An increase in bandwidth may improve fidelity in voice communications and may be less fatiguing to listen to The K3 s normal SSB receive bandwidth is about 2 7 to 2 8 kHz If you have a 6 kHz filter installed you can listen to ESSB stations up to approximately this bandwidth by adjusting the WIDTH control ESSB transmit is set up as follows Locate the CONFIG TX ESS
58. any controls The VFO B display is alphanumeric so it can show decoded text from digital modes CW RTTY PSK31 as well as menus time and date help messages etc Multi Function Controls pg 14 The upper two knobs set up receiver DSP filtering The lower two control transmit parameters including keyer speed mic gain speech compression and power output level LEDs above each knob show which function is active tapping the knob alternates between them Pressing and holding these knobs 1 2 second or longer provides access to secondary functions 11 RIT XIT Keypad pg 15 This group of switches is numbered for use during memory store recall and direct frequency entry but each switch also has normal tap and hold functions The upper row of switches are VFO controls The remaining rows control receive mode and miscellaneous functions such as noise reduction and text decode display Memories pg 16 These switches control frequency memory store recall message record play and audio record playback with the DVR 1 4 also be used as up to eight tap hold programmable function switches VFOs pg 14 The large knob controls VFO A the smaller knob controls VFO B The four switches between the VFO knobs select tuning rates and control related functions RIT XIT pg 16 Three switches control RIT and XIT on off and clear offset zero The knob below the RIT XIT switches selects the off
59. ap REC then tap the buffer to restore M1 M4 then tap REC again Band and Mode Selection Tap either end of the switch to select the desired ham band 160 through 6 meters You can also go directly to any desired frequency using direct frequency entry pg 15 or recall a frequency memory pg 16 Tap either end of MODE to select the operating mode Hold to select an alternate mode if required This include CW REV pg 28 DATA REV pg 29 AM S synchronous detection pg 27 and FM FM repeater split pg 27 Antenna Selection and Matching ATU KAT3 If you have the KAT3 antenna tuner installed you can select ANT1 or ANT2 by tapping ANT If the ATU icon is on the antenna can be matched for best SWR by tapping ATU Hold 3 to alternate between AUTO autotune enabled and BYPASS e Holding ANT allows a name to be assigned to the present antenna e g YAGI While editing the name VFO B selects the character position to change VFO A cycles through available characters A Z 0 9 symbols RX Antenna KXV3 With the KXV3 installed you can tap to select a receive only antenna RX ANT IN The K3 also has an RX ANT OUT jack for use with in line filters low noise preamps etc see pg 36 Sub Receiver Antenna KRX3 For sub receiver antenna selection see Mai
60. articular filter for both transmitting and receiving main receiver you ll need to install it on the RF board You can optionally install a filter of the same or similar bandwidth on the sub receiver for receive only use This is recommended since it will keep the receivers identical Rule 2 You can install any filter in any slot and can leave any slot empty in anticipation of installing a crystal filter there later However you should install the widest filter closest to FL1 the next widest to its left etc Here are two examples that could each apply to either receiver assuming you follow the rules above 6 kHz AM FL1 saved for FM filter FL2 2 7 kHz SSB CW DATA FL2 6kHz AM FL3 1 8 kHz SSB CW DATA FL3 2 8kHz SSB CW DATA FLA 500 Hz CW DATA FL4 saved for variable bandwidth filter FL5 200 Hz CW DATA FL5 400 Hz CW DATA 68 L Fill in the table below include sub receiver info if applicable Use pencil since you may change the configuration later BANDWIDTH can be obtained from the model number of each filter 5 pole filters have a FREQ OFFSET marked on the side of one of the crystals e g 0 85 The offset for all 8 pole filters is 0 00 RF BOARD MAIN RX amp TX SUB RECEIVER RX ONLY POSITION BANDWIDTH FREQOFFSET POSITION BANDWIDTH FREQ OFFSET FL1 FL1 FL2 FL2 FL3 FL3 FL4 FL4 FL5 FL5 LJ If you ll be changing RF board filters Turn the K3 up
61. behalf of our entire design team we d like to thank you for choosing the Elecraft K3 transceiver The K3 like its predecessor the 2 our desire to go beyond what other high performance transceivers have offered It isn t just a home station rig at about 8 pounds it can accompany you wherever you go whether it s out to your back porch or halfway around the world And of course it s the only rig in its class that you can build yourself But above all we want the K3 to be ready for any operating situation you may encounter and be more fun to use than any desktop transceiver you ve ever owned 73 Wayne N6KR Eric WA6HHQ Key to Symbols and Text Styles A Important read carefully e Operating tip LSB LCD icon or characters LED Enter keypad function XMIT Tap switch function labeled on a switch Hold switch function labeled below a switch hold for 1 2 sec to activate SQL Rotary control without integral switch PWR Tap switch function of rotary control labeled above a knob Ta Hold switch function of rotary control labeled below a knob hold for 1 2 sec MAIN VOX GN Typical MAIN menu entry CONFIG KAT3 Typical CONFIG menu entry Quick Start Guide To get started using your K3 right away please read this page and the two that follow trying each of the controls The text uses braces to refer to numbered elements in the front and rear panel illustrations be
62. ce as well as music will have excellent fidelity FM Operation An FM bandwidth crystal filter is required on the RF board for FM transmit and receive pg 44 The filter bandwidth is fixed in this mode presets and filter controls are not used FM defaults to simplex transmit and receive on the same frequency The following controls and menu entries are used for repeater setup e Holding switches between simplex TX and TX This is indicated by the and icons near the FM icon e Repeater offsets can be programmed on a per band basis See MAIN RPT OFS e Tone encode is set up by holding 22441 Rotate VFO A to select a CTCSS tone frequency or the European repeater access tone 1750 Hz Use VFO B to turn tone encode on or off All of the settings described above are saved in frequency memories CW Mode CW Normal and Reverse Select CW mode by tapping either end of MODE Hold to alternate between CW normal and CW reverse REV icon CW reverse differs from CW normal only in receive mode using the upper rather than lower sideband If you SPOT or auto spot a CW signal pg 32 then switch between CW normal and reverse the pitch of the received signal should stay the same Basic CW Mode Controls In CW mode sets the sidetone volume Hold to adjust the sidetone pitch The peak in response of all crystal filters will track the sidetone pitch no filter adjustmen
63. cons Sub Receiver Auxiliary RF Source ANT 1 or2 opposite of main KAT3 ATU non transmit antenna ANT AUX RF jack ANT RX AUX RF in parallel with RX ANT IN on KXV3 40 Remote Control of the K3 With appropriate software any computer with an RS232 port or a USB to RS232 adapter can be used to control the K3 K3 to computer connections needed for RS232 communications and control functions are covered on page 18 Third party logging and contesting software is available for various computers and operating systems Most applications written for the K2 should work with the K3 and some provide K3 specific features For a list of K3 compatible software applications including configuration requirements please visit www elecraft com K3 software Remote Control Commands The K3 has a rich set of remote control commands including over 150 commands that directly control the two DSPs With appropriate software various extensions to DSP functionality can be made available to the operator including customized filters fine control over noise reduction per mode parametric EQ absolute level metering in dB and unique tuning aids remote control commands use ordinary ASCII text so they can be easily tested using a terminal emulator 41 For example the command FA returns the current VFO A frequency Using the same command you can set the VFO A frequency e g FA00007040000 sets the VFO to 7 040 MHz Man
64. d all of the steps described below must be completed Filter Bandwidth Turn the K3 on Hold the hold function of the MENU switch to access the CONFIG menu group e Locate the FLx BW menu entry which will be used in the next step to set up filter bandwidths x will be replaced with 1 through 5 corresponding to crystal filters FL1 FLS e SUB to set up sub receiver filters Otherwise make sure the SUB icon is OFF Tap 1 or use XFIL to select FL1 e Using VFO A adjust the bandwidth parameter so that it matches the filter installed at the FL1 position Use the filter information table you filled out in Appendix A e Select the remaining filters by tapping 2 thorugh or adjusting their bandwidth parameters according to the table e Stay in the menu as you continue on to the next filter setup step Filter Frequency Offset e Use VFO B to find the FLx FRQ menu entry e 50 to set up sub receiver filters Otherwise make sure the SUB icon is OFF Tap or use XFIL to select FL1 e Adjust VFO A so that the parameter matches FL1 s marked frequency offset as recorded in 43 the filter information table Appendix A The default value 0 00 corresponds to the nominal filter center frequency of 8215 0 kHz Most 5 pole filters will have an offset e g
65. d to any loss of business or profits 10 Front Panel This reference section describes all front panel controls the liquid crystal display LCD LEDs and connectors Operating instructions are covered in later sections Control Groups Primary Controls Display Keypad Memories SS pL 4 p 4 menu ose ELECRAFT TRANSCEIVER ev 45 vew QSK CONFIG METER 81 3 5 7 9 20 n AM wm FTTTYTTTTYT SWR 2 3 RF 50 100 280 AF PLAY B SET SPLIT Usb wo PRE AGC ka 508 TX SPEED MIC c CMP PWR e N 5 27 DELAY MIC RF sqL 9 SUB gt TEST TUNE ATU AGC S PRE ATT OFF DUAL E F B Fr zu P 7 C POWER AN 5 NB NR LEVEL ADJ Aper TXQ Qf AF 9 SUB SHIFT LO CUT HI WIDTH spot f cwr a PHONES FY D PITCH TEXTDEC DATAMD PFI Q NORM 1711 CLR Multi Function Primary Controls pg 13 These controls provide basic transceiver setup including power on off band operating mode AF and RF gain and squelch ATU and transmit controls display modes and menus Display pg 12 The LCD shows signal levels VFO A and B frequencies filter bandwidth operating mode and the status of m
66. de Set MODE to CW e Hold then select CW 5 40 lower WPM range using VFO B Below the CW icon you should see a T showing that text decode is enabled The TX ONLY setting decodes only CW you send internal keyer the T does not appear in this case e Adjust the threshold THR using VFO A Start with AUTO Manual settings 1 30 improve copy in many cases see below Tap to exit text decode setup e You ll probably want to turn on CWT tuning aid pg 28 This also enables auto spot CW Text Decode Tips e SPOT or auto spot a signal first then tune slowly until recognizable words appear In difficult conditions reduce WIDTH low as 50 Hz 100 200 Hz for faster CW to as optimize text decode use manual threshold settings Start with THR 5 With CWT on adjust the threshold so that the CWT bar flashes in sync with the received CW signal decode very fast CW use CW 30 90 The K3 uses slow AGC during CW text decode overriding the selected AGC setting DATA Text Decode Setup To set up text decode for DATA modes Set MODE to DATA Then hold and select either AFSK A FSK D or PSK D mode using VFO Tap to exit the data mode display For AFSK A or FSK D hold and select the desired mark shift setting The lowest mark tone selection 915 Hz may be more pleasant to listen to than
67. ded In most cases the default parameter values will provide adequate S meter accuracy If you re calibrating the sub receiver s S meter 1 tap SUB 2 hold to switch the S meter and controls over to the sub receiver 3 tap ANT if necessary to set up the sub to share the main RF path pg 40 Switch to 40 m or a band applicable to your signal generator and select CW mode Set transmit power to 0 0 W using PWR Turn preamp on PRE attenuator off 48 Tap AGC to select slow AGC AGC S Bypass the ATU if installed by holding Set RF GAIN to maximum fully clockwise Note If you ve assigned the RF gain control for the present receiver to squelch its RF gain will default to maximum unless you re controlling RF gain from a remote control computer application Normalize the DSP filtering hold NORM pg 11 Connect the signal generator to ANTI and set it for 50 microvolts RF output Tune to the frequency of the signal generator tune for peak audio response You can also use auto spot pg 28 to accurately match the pitch of the signal ensuring that it is centered in the passband Locate the CONFIG SMTR PK menu entry set it to OFF Locate the SMTR SC menu entry S meter scale Use the VFO A knob to set it to the default value 14 Adjust SMTR OF S meter offset for an S 9 reading Switch the signal generator
68. e control Three LEDs show whether the offset is 0 or Tap C LR to zero the RIT XIT offset Tapping it a second time restores the offset If you wish to copy the present RIT offset to VFO A hold C LR for 2 seconds or longer VFO A will be moved to the new frequency before the offset is zeroed e If RIT and XIT are both turned off the RIT offset can coarse tune VFO A CONFIG VFO CRS For example you can select 5 9 or 10 kHz steps in AM mode Receiver Setup This section explains how to use basic receiver controls Setup for specific operating modes is described in later sections see Voice Modes pg 26 CW Modes pg 28 and Data Modes pg 29 Also see Text Decode and Display pg 28 and Audio Effects pg 33 Receiver Gain Controls Use AF SUB pg 11 to set the desired main and sub receiver volume level There are two overall audio volume ranges LO and HI which can be selected using CONFIG AF GAIN Usually both RF SUB controls will be set fully clockwise main and sub receiver RF gain You may wish to reduce RF gain to optimize receiver response to high signal levels or noise If either RF gain knob has been reconfigured as squelch turn it fully counterclockwise to hold the squelch open See CONFIG SQ MAIN and CONFIG SQ SUB To improve weak signal reception turn on the preamp using PRE In the presence of extremely strong sign
69. e in a received signal that falls within the CWT display range Auto spot may not be usable if more than one signal is in the CWT range if the signal is extremely weak or if the code speed is very slow Auto spot coarse tunes PSK31 signals but you ll need to fine tune them in 1 Hz steps 2103 Audio Effects AFX If you have stereo headphones or stereo external speakers you can take advantage of the K3 s DSP audio effects These create an illusion of greater space similar to stereo For many operators AFX provides a less fatiguing receiver sound and it can even improve weak signal copy MAIN AFX MD is used to select the desired AFX setting Available selections include DELAY 1 5 quasi stereo and BIN which is similar to Binaural I Q see QST magazine March 1999 Tap to turn the selected effect on or off This can be done even within the AFX MD menu entry Stereo audio effects may not be available when the sub receiver is turned on Main sub dual receive is already a stereo mode with different material routed to each audio channel Dual Passband CW Filtering Dual passband filtering allows you remain aware of off frequency CW signals while listening to one signal centered in the passband This can be useful during contesting or DXing as well as when searching a band for weak signals Hold to turn on dual passband filtering This sets up a narrow filter focus set
70. e same as RX EQ TX EQ each above and can be adjusted while in transmit mode TX EQ indicates TX ESSB in band effect which has its own set of transmit equalization settings VOX GN 0 Adjusts the sensitivity of the VOX to match your mic and voice ANTIVOX 0 Adjusts immunity of the VOX circuit to false triggering as a result of audio from the speaker or leaked from headphones 49 CONFIG Menu Tech Mode Entries Menu entries that include T are tech mode entries These only visible if CONFIG TECH MD is set to ON They are are normally left at their defaults Entries further described as Advanced or Troubleshooting should be changed with caution The default values are strongly recommended for Advanced functions tap Sub Receiver Settings to see the default value which appears in parentheses at the start of the help text Menu entries that include have two different settings one for the main receiver and one for the sub SUB within a menu entry will turn the icon on if the KRX3 option is installed indicating that the sub receiver parameter is displayed When you first enter the menu will always be off receiver Tapping Entry Default Description 2 TONE T OFF Troubleshooting Turns on built in 2 tone generator for SSB transmit tests The internal 2 tone generator only wor
71. eden Rebels 26 CW Mode eem eese ies 28 Data Modes 5 etae diete entres 29 Advanced Operating Features 31 Text Decode And 31 CW to DATA ne eecceceeescesesceeeceseeeeaceeaeeeeeeaeeeeaces 32 Tuning Aids CWT and 32 Audio Effects 2 33 Dual Passband CW Filtering 33 Receive Audio Equalization EQ 33 Transmit Audio Equalization EQ 33 SPLIT Operation sese 34 Extended Single Sideband ESSB 34 General Coverage 34 VFO B Alternate 34 Alarm and Auto Power On sess 34 Using the Sub Receiver sss 35 Receive Antenna In Out seen 36 Buffered 36 Using Transverters 36 SCANNING 22220 20052 emet tt 37 Main and Sub Receiver Antenna Routing 38 Basic no KAT3 or 38 with KXV3 RF I O Module 38 with KAT3 ATU serre 39 with KAT3 and 40 Antenna Selection Controls 40 Remote Control of the 41 OPUONS stet a
72. ernate modes CW REV DATA REV 5 FM are selected by holding T indicates FM tone or CW data text decode 12 VOX QSK 12 RX ATU 548 AGC SF PRE NB xi fF NR FL1FL2FL3FL4FL5 ISPLT peu SU Other Icons CWT Cc CW data tuning aid on CWT pg 32 DVR in use 939 pe 16 VOX VOX enabled MM pg 26 QSK Full break in CW enabled SETA pg 28 NB Noise blanker pg 24 NR Noise reduction on pg 24 ANT Antenna 1 or 2 ANT pg 13 RX RX antenna in use pg 13 ATT Attenuator on ATTA pg 24 PRE Preamp on pg 24 ATU enabled pg 13 RIT RIT on RIT pg 16 XIT on XIT pg 16 SUB Subreceiver on SUB pg 35 SPLT Split mode in effect pg 34 LEDs TX Red Turns in transmit mode Q AF Yellow The Delta F LED turns on if transmit and receive frequencies or modes are different due to the use of SPLIT RIT or XIT c3 Green Eight LEDs show which functions are in effect for the Multifunction Controls pg 14 RIT XIT OFFSET If the offset control is centered you tap CLR the green LED turns on offset 0 Otherwise the yellow or LED will be on indicating the direction of the offset
73. ext decoder pg 31 Like FSK D PSK D lets you transmit via DIG 0 ASCII or the keyer paddle pg 32 You can also use auto spot with PSK D if the tuning aid is displayed pg 32 The display shows the data speed in bps on VFO A This is relevant only if the text decoder is on Depending on the mode other data speeds may be available select them by rotating VFO A Also shown is the current sideband LSB or USB If this sideband is considered data reverse for the present mode then REV also appears You can use to switch to the other sideband if required Mark Shift and Pitch Selection PITCH Hold to view and change the received mark tone and shift AFSK FSK or center pitch PSK In AFSK FSK modes you have a choice of several mark tone shift combinations These apply to both the text decoder and the RTTY dual tone filter Use VFO A to change the selection When using a computer select a tone shift combination that s compatible with your software If you re using the K3 s text decoder you may find that a lower mark pitch makes signal tuning easier RTTY Dual Tone Filter DTF Hold to turn on the RTTY dual tone filter DTF This creates two filters one centered on the mark tone the other on space which can often improve RTTY copy The filter graphic changes to reflect this see below AA When DTF is on the range of the WIDTH control is adjusted to better match the cha
74. gnals that are not affected by the AF Gain control This output is typically used by sound card digital mode software In transmit Line In rear or front Microphone signals are sent to a 24 bit ADC and then processed by the DSP In speech modes SSB AM and FM and soundcard based data modes VOX is derived from these signals as well as receive audio Microphone equalization bandpass limiting conversion to 15 kHz IF envelope clipping and filtering if applicable are all done in DSP then the signal is passed to another 24 bit DAC and presented to the RF board as a 15 kHz IF signal Direct FSK direct PSK and CW signals are generated within the DSP for those modes Thus the DSP is responsible for all signal processing between audio and the 15 kHz IF for both receive and transmit Like all other modules in the K3 the DSP is managed by the MCU The DSP board is piggybacked onto the Front Panel board as part of the Front Panel assembly The Auxiliary DSP used if the KRX3 Second Receiver Option is installed and the KDVR3 option plug into the DSP board KREF3 The KREF3 module s 49 380 MHz temperature compensated crystal oscillator TCXO is the common signal source for the K3 s synthesizers This signal is also divided by 6 to provide the 8 230 MHz signal used by the second receive and transmit mixers Firmware is used to compensate for any small drift in the TCXO and its derived signals resulting in excellent stability with the high stabili
75. hange the name to REF xxC e Locate the calibration data sheet which shows frequency vs temperature over a wide range e For each data point tap 2 or 3 to select the calibration temperature then use VFO A to set the specified oscillator frequency in Hz e Tap MENU to exit the menu Front Panel Temperature Sensor Turn the K3 OFF Allow about 15 minutes for the radio to cool to room temperature Turn the K3 ON Locate the CONFIG FP TEMP menu entry Adjust the parameter to match the reading of a room thermometer Note Deg C deg Fahrenheit 32 0 555 A Front panel compartment temperature can be monitored continuously Tap DISP then use VFO B to select the FP xxC alternate display PA Temperature Sensor Turn the K3 OFF Allow about 15 minutes for the PA heatsink to cool to room temperature Do not turn the K3 ON during this period Turn the K3 ON Locate the CONFIG PA TEMP menu entry Adjust the parameter to match the reading of a room thermometer Note Deg C deg Fahrenheit 32 0 555 A PA heat sink temperature can be monitored continuously Tap DISP then use VFO B to select the PA xxC alternate display S Meter S meter calibration is normally quite accurate using the default settings Calibrating the S meter requires a 50 ohm 50 microvolt signal an accurate signal generator such as an Elecraft XG1 or XG2 is recommen
76. hannel hopping This is included in the K3 primarily for use on 60 meters and on transverter bands e The U S 60 meter channel assignments correspond to VFO settings of 5330 5 5346 5 5366 5 5371 5 and 5403 5 kHz USB is the only mode allowed on this band Memories to be used for channel hopping must be consecutive and must be assigned a text label that starts with an asterisk To set up channel hopping Set VFO A to the first frequency in the intended channel hopping range M Vj then select a memory 00 99 using VFO A e Rotate VFO B to select each label position in turn as indicated by the flashing cursor e Use VFO A to change characters The first character must be an asterisk other label characters are optional e After editing tap gt again Setup all other memories to be used for channel hopping Channel hop scanning is started stopped and restarted in the same way as normal scanning details at left Main and Sub Receiver Antenna Routing The simplified block diagrams in this section show how antennas are routed to the main and sub receivers The heavy line shows the default RF path All antennas are protected from electrostatic discharge by surge arrestors Receive only antenna inputs include carrier operated relay circuitry C O R indicated by asterisks Basic K3 no KAT3 or KXV3 As shown in Figure 1 the basic K3 is supplied with
77. he PTT IN jack or the PTT line on the Aux I O connector pg 18 20 LINE IN MONO transformer isolated 600 Q nominal This input should be connected to your computer s soundcard output The MIC gain control sets the line input level when the MAIN MIC SEL menu entry is set to LINE IN LINE OUT STEREO transformer isolated 600 2 nominal These outputs should be connected to your computer s soundcard inputs The left channel is main receiver audio the right channel is sub receiver audio if applicable The outputs are post AGC but pre AF gain use CONFIG LIN OUT to set the level A Some laptop computers have only very high gain high impedance mic inputs not line level inputs This can make it difficult to adjust the K3 s LINE OUT level and can also worsen noise pickup If your laptop has only a mic input you may want to add a resistive attenuator between the K3 and the laptop to keep the signal to noise level high Use very short leads on all components and place them at the laptop end of the cable Basic Operation This section covers the fundamentals of K3 receive and transmit operation It ll also get you started using each of the major operating modes Once you re familiar with the K3 please go on to Advanced Operating Features pg 31 Using Tap Hold Switches Most K3 switches have two functions Tapping pressing for less than 1 2 second activates the f
78. he K3 s top cover and sub receiver if installed to verify which options as well as crystals filters are installed as well as the frequency offsets noted on the crystal filters depends on filter type Turn the OFF using the K3 s POWER switch not your power supply e While holding in the SHIFT LO knob which is also labeled NORM below turn power ON by tapping the K3 s POWER switch Let go of the SHIFT LO knob after about 2 seconds You should now see EE INIT on the LCD e When EE INIT completes after a few seconds you may see ERR PL1 or other error messages due to reinitialization Tap DISP to clear each message e Ifyou have a computer restore all parameters using the Configuration function of the K3 Utility program e Ifyou don t have a computer manually re enter all menu parameters that you wrote down above then re do firmware configuration and calibration starting on pg 43 You can omit any steps pertaining to parameters you ve already restored manually See if the original problem has been resolved 55 General Troubleshooting The most common symptoms and their causes are listed below Most are related to firmware or control settings If the problem persists please contact Elecraft support see pg 10 Outside normal business hours you may be able to get advice by posting a message to our email reflector e TX LED is on all the time In any mode this symptom could i
79. he KDVR3 option installed you can record and play voice messages as well as capture received audio This option also provides voice annunciation for all K3 controls Message Record and Playback To start recording tap IREC then tap any 1 4 The remaining buffer time in seconds will be displayed as you speak Tap again to stop Tap 1 M4 to play To cancel tap You can also hit the keyer paddle key or any switch besides M 1j M4 to cancel play To auto repeat a message Hold rather than tap M1 4 MAIN MSG RPT sets the message repeat interval 1 to 255 seconds Receive Audio Recording Hold to start stop audio record The C icon will appear Recording starts at the beginning of available space each time it is started and will stop at the end if not terminated sooner Hold to start stop audio playback During playback C amp icon flashes This serves as a reminder that you re hearing recorded rather than live audio 27 AM Operation A 6 kHz crystal filter is required on the RF board for AM transmit and receive pg 44 When listening to AM signals you have a choice of synchronous or envelope detection AM or AM S You can alternate between the two using e You can also listen to AM using LSB or USB modes If you have a 6 kHz filter installed voi
80. higher tones The pitch for PSK D mode is fixed at 1000 Hz Tap to exit the pitch display Hold then select ON using VFO B Below the DATA icon you should now see a T showing that text decode is enabled Adjust the threshold THR using VFO A Start with THR 0 Higher settings prevent text decode on weak signals or noise Tap CWT to exit text decode setup You ll probably want to turn on CWT as tuning aid pg 28 This also enables auto spot DATA Mode Text Decode Tips 31 Use FINE tuning with PSK D SPOT or auto spot a signal first then tune slowly in 1 Hz steps until recognizable words appear In difficult conditions reduce WIDTH to the per mode minimum In AFSK A and FSK A modes the RTTY dual tone filter may help DTF pg 30 RTTY text may shift to figures due to noise If you assign CONFIG TTY LTR toa programmable function switch you can tap it to quickly shift back to letters CW to DATA You can use data modes completely stand alone 1 without a computer Just turn on text decode pg 31 and send CW using the internal keyer CW message buffers can also be used for CW to DATA This makes it easy to drop your callsign in after a CQ send a contest exchange or play a brag tape during QSO To set up for CW to DATA operation e Referring to page 11 use MODE uS
81. ially true in CW and DATA modes where the bandwidth can often be reduced to as low as 50 Hz Noise Blanking First tap NB to enable I F and or DSP noise blanking Next hold to set NB levels using VFO A DSP level and VFO B LF level You ll initially see DSP OFF and IF OFF on the VFO A and B displays Rotating VFO A clockwise will turn on the DSP NB showing DSP t1 1 through DSP t3 7 The first number shows the relative pulse integration time and the second shows the blanking level The higher the numbers the more aggressive the DSP blanking action Rotating VFO B clockwise will turn on the IF NB showing IF NARn IF MEDn or IF WIDn where n varies from 1 7 NAR MED WID refers to narrow medium wide blanking pulse widths and n is the blanking level The higher the value of n the more aggressive the blanking action Use NAR blanking pulse width when possible to minimize strong signal interaction effects Both the DSP and IF blanking settings are saved on a per band basis If CONFIG NB SAVE is set to YES the on off status of NB will be also be saved for each band 24 Always try the DSP blanker first It s in the 28 LF where it can t be activated by signals outside the crystal filter passband It can be used with high duty cycle and complex waveform noise generated by computers switching power supplies and other peripherals light dimmers florescent lamps etc The IF blanker in contrast
82. ilter Installation A Damage to your K3 due to electrostatic discharge ESD can occur if you don t take proper precautions Such damage is not covered by the Elecraft warranty and could result in costly repairs We recommend that you use an anti static mat and wear a conductive wrist strap with a series 1 megohm resistor An alternative is to touch an unpainted grounded metal surface frequently while you are working Do this only when you are not touching any live circuits with your other hand or any part of your body A To avoid marring the finish place a soft cloth under cabinet panels do not lay them directly on your work surface Also do not use a power screwdriver of any kind as it can slip and gouge the paint Installation Procedure O Disconnect the power cable and all other external cables from the K3 Remove only the top cover screws identified in the drawing below LJ Press gently at the indicated point near the back edge X then lift off the top cover at the front Unplug the speaker then set the top cover aside in a safe place A The screws that hold the top cover in place are an important part of the K3 s structural design Please be sure to re install all of them afterward 3 28 3 7 9 X Press Here LIED L 1 EL 1 1 fi 1 L 1 L 1 1 41 LLL mm
83. ilters for general coverage receive pg 42 DSP e 32 bit I F DSP for advanced signal processing including full stereo and other binaural effects pg 33 e Passband tuning and programmable DSP crystal filter presets pg 14 e 8 band transmit and receive EQ graphic equalization pg 33 e Dual passband effects for use in contest pileup conditions pg 28 e Versatile digital voice recorder DVR for incoming outgoing audio streams pg 27 CW and Digital Modes Built in digital mode demodulation with text displayed on the K3 s LCD CW RTTY PSK31 pg 7 e Internal CW to TTY or PSK31 conversion for casual digital mode QSOs without a computer pg 32 e CW text can be decoded and displayed as you send great for improving CW skills pg 31 e Automatic CW data signal spotting and manual fine tuning display pg 28 User Interface Dual VFOs with independent modes bands and filter settings pg 14 e 100 memories with alphanumeric labels plus 4 quick memories per band pg 16 e Dedicated message play controls for use in CW data and voice modes pg 28 e Real time clock calendar with programmable alarm times and automatic power on pg 34 e Utility displays show voltage current drain front panel temperature PA heatsink temperature and other data e Instructions for menu entries available with one switch tap Connectivity e Enhanced high speed remote control interface with many new co
84. ing VFO A CONFIG Menu e Hold hold function of the MENU switch to access the CONFIG menu e Use VFO B to scroll through the CONFIG menu entries referring to the list on page 50 Menu Help Tap DISP to show help information about the present menu entry For most entries the default parameter value is shown in parentheses at the start of the help text Programmable Functions Menu entries that you d like quick access to can be assigned to any of the 10 programmable function switches 221 and M1 M4 tap or hold Function menu entries can only be used via such a switch assignment Examples from the CONFIG menu VFO B gt A and TTY LTR To set up a programmable function switch first locate the target menu entry Next hold PF 1 or or tap or hold M 1j M4 For example if you tap 2 you ll see M2T SET T for tap while holding M2 would show M2H SET H for hold The assigned switch can then be used as a shortcut to access that entry M 1 M4 can each be assigned a tap and or hold programmable function Any M1 M4 switch that is used for programmable functions will not be available for message play However they will always be usable as per band quick memories pg 16 To cancel a programmable switch assignment and restore a previously stored message buffer t
85. ing a KBPF3 on the sub receiver tap SUB while in the menu entry e KXV3 RF I O module set KXV3 to NOR KRX3 sub receiver set KRX3 to NOR ANTx where x is your selected wiring for the sub receiver s auxiliary antenna 1 unused KAT3 ATU antenna 2 AUX RF jack 3 AUX RF in parallel with the RX ANT IN jack on the KXV3 For details on sub receiver antenna sources see pg 22 You may also need to set up crystal filters for the sub receiver KDVRS3 voice recorder set KDVR3 to NOR e KPA3 amplifier module set the MODE menu entry to PA NOR See menu entry listings for information on other settings Miscellaneous Setup We suggest setting up at least the menu entries below You may wish to review the other menu entries as well starting on pg 49 Mic Gain Bias MAIN MIC SEL is used to select either the front or rear panel mic or LINE IN If a mic is selected you can also tap 1 to select Lo or Hi mic gain range and tap 2 to toggle mic bias on off See pg 13 for Elecraft mic bias recommendations AF Gain Range CONFIG AF GAIN specifies LO or HI AF gain range The default is HI The LO setting should be adequate for many stations and is less likely to result in speaker distortion at max volume Time and Date CONFIG TIME sets the 24 hour real time clock RTC Tap 1 2 3 to adjust HH MM SS using VFO A This URL shows UTC as well as all U S time zones t
86. ion see pg 38 DC 12 VDC IN jack is an Anderson PowerPole connector rated at 30 amps See Specifications pg 8 for detailed power requirements 12 VDC OUT RCA Phono provides up to 0 5 A switched for use with accessory devices Ground Terminal A good station ground is important for safety and to minimize local RFI KPA3 This option panel is blank in the K3 10 In the K3 100 the blank panel is replaced with the fan panel shown which includes a 25 A circuit breaker 17 Rm eying pg 63 The KIO3 is an upgradeable digital and audio I O module providing computer and auxiliary control signals single or dual stereo speaker outputs line level in out and supplemental headphone and mic jacks KXV3 The KXV3 provides a variety of RF I O signals including receive antenna in out pg 38 transverter in out pg 36 and a buffered output pg 36 Keying PADDLE 1 4 phone jack is the keyer paddle input see CONFIG MENU CW PDL pg 49 KEY 1 4 phone jack can be used with a hand key external keyer computer or other keying device PTT IN RCA Phono is for use with a footswitch or other external transmit control device KEY OUT RCA Phono is the amplifier T R relay keying output capable of keying up to 200VDC SA REF IN SMA Input for external standard frequency reference KREF3 EXT option pg 64 KIO3 Module The KIO3 module provides serial communications digital cont
87. itch Modes L1 L8 C1 C8 and Ct are used to test KAT3 relays Mode LCSET allows manual adjustment of L C net settings When in this mode tapping ATU TUNE shows the L amp C value C is changed with VFO L is changed with VFO B and ANT toggles between Ca and Ct KBPF3 NotInst If KBPF3 option is installed set to ON exit menu and turn power off on KDVR3 NotInst If KDVR3 option is installed set to ON exit menu and turn power off on KIO3 NOR Determines function of BANDO 3 outputs on AUX I O connector See pg 19 KNB3 NotInst If KNB3 option is installed set to ON exit menu and turn power off on Note the K3 can t be used without a KNB3 Not Inst is for troubleshooting only KPA3 Not Inst Set to PA NOR if KPA3 100 W amp installed Set to PAIO NOR if KPA3 is not installed but the KPAIO3 transition PC board is Other settings include PA BYP disables KPA3 if installed PA fan test settings PA FN1 FN4 or PAIO FN1 FN4 and PAIO BYP if transition board is installed but not the KPA3 module this setting can be used to test the high power bypass relay KRC2 Controls the KRC2 band decoder s accessory output settings Shows OFF or ACC1 3 if a KRC2 is detected if not 51 KRX3 Not Inst If KRX3 option sub receiver is installed set parameter to NOR ANTx where x is your selected wiring for the
88. k of ham band BPFs These filters are just wide enough to cover each ham band so they provide good rejection of IMD products during both transmit and receive Hi Q components including large toroids ensure low loss and high signal handling capability General coverage receive capability can be added to the K3 with the KBPF3 option which includes another 8 band pass filters that cover all of the areas from 0 5 to 28 MHz that are not covered by the filters on the RF board The KPF3 module mounts directly above the 61 main BPF array and due to very short connections has no effect on the performance of the main BPFs during ham band operation First Stages The front left portion of the RF board is dedicated to the receive transmit first intermediate frequency circuitry most of which is on the bottom of the board The first is 8 215 MHz which is low enough to permit the construction of high quality narrow band crystal filters but high enough to offer good image rejection The stages are reversible 1 they re used in one direction in receive mode and the other during transmit In receive mode the filtered signal from the BPFs is first routed through a relay switched attenuator then to a low noise diode switched preamp high level switching mixer and post mixer amp The signal next encounters the noise blanker KNB3 then the crystal filters see below Crystal Filters and 2 In either receive or t
89. ks if LSB mode is selected AF GAIN LO Sets AF GAIN range Available selections are HI or LO AFV TIM T 1000 Advanced Integration time for AFV and dBV displays in ms See VFO B alternate displays and K3 Service Manual AGC HLD T 000 Advanced AGC hold time for voice modes Specifies the number of milliseconds that the SLOW AGC value is held after the signal drops below the level that set the AGC This is often helpful for SSB voice operation AGC PLS T NOR Advanced NOR enables AGC noise pulse rejection AGC SLP T 10 Advanced Higher values result in flatter AGC making signals at all amplitudes closer in AF output level AGC THR T 5 Advanced Sets AGC onset point a higher number moves the onset up AGC F T 120 Advanced Sets fast AGC decay rate a higher number means faster decay AGC S T 20 Advanced Sets slow AGC decay rate a higher number means faster decay BAT MIN 11 0 Low battery warning threshold 11 0 recommended The parameter flashes if it is set higher than the present supply voltage CW IAMB A Iambic keying mode A or B Both modes produce self completing dots and dashes Mode B is more efficient for operators who practice squeeze keying pressing both paddles at once because an extra dot or dash is inserted on squeeze release Mode A lacks this feature and may be more appropriate for those who only press one paddle at a time often called slap keying CW PADL Tip dot Specifie
90. layed Holding a message switch during playback chains a repeating message Data Modes You don t necessarily need a computer to get started with data modes on the K3 the text decode feature can decode and display received RTTY and PSK31 on the LCD pg 31 You can also transmit in data modes using your keyer paddle see CW to DATA pg 32 Using a computer for data modes is also very convenient on the K3 as described below Data Mode Connections You can transmit and receive data with a computer in three ways e Connect your soundcard I O to the K3 Use MAIN MIC SEL to use LINE IN OUT front panel mic jack or rear panel mic jack You can use VOX or PTT to control transmit e Use the soundcard in receive mode but use a PC I O line to do direct FSK or PSK modulation Connect the PC s I O line to the FSK IN line on the K3 s AUX I O connector If this signal originates from an RS232 port it will require RS232 to TTL level conversion Send and receive ASCII text via the RS232 interface To send insert text into a KY command e g KY CQ DE N6KR To receive send text to terminal 0 turns it off See the K3 Programmer s Reference available at www elecraft com Data Mode Selection Soundcard based data communications can be done using LSB or USB mode However DATA mode offers several benefits not available in SSB modes If you prefer to use LSB or USB y
91. le e Set the associated CONFIG menu entry to NOT INST See CONFIG KATS etc Note If the affected module is on the KRX3 sub receiver you must tap SUB to display its configuration setting Otherwise the setting shown applies to the main receiver This applies to the KBPF3 and KNB3 modules as well as crystal filters all of which are duplicated on the RF and sub receiver boards power off and wait at least 5 seconds e Turn power back on 57 Error Message List or KNB3 U2 Error Msg Problem Troubleshooting steps ERR 12V The circuit breaker on the KPA3 module may Check for short from PA module s 12V be open PA drops into bypass mode fans line to ground If there s no short try switch to level 2 and PA temp display mode is resetting the circuit breaker If there is a not available short remove the KPA3 module Set CONFIG KPA3 to PAIO NOR While waiting for a replacement you can use the K3 at reduced power ERR AT3 KAT3 not responding De install the KAT3 module see above If this eliminates the error message the KAT3 may be defective You can substitute a KANT3 antenna input module temporarily if available ERR No response from RF board BPF shift registers De install option modules at a time ERR BP2 No response from KBPF3 option shift registers De install KBPF3 on RF board ERR No response from sub R
92. ler and DSP firmware Review the release notes for changes that may be related to your symptoms 3 If the above suggestions don t help you can try reinitializing the firmware pg 55 Be sure to save important parameter settings first Module Troubleshooting Error Messages ERR xxx An error message may be displayed on VFO B at power up or during normal operation In most cases error messages are due to a problem with a single option module and may be due to incorrect firmware configuration If you see an error message on VFO B ERR XXX Write down the error message as well as any associated error data shown on the VFO A display e g E 00005 Then tap any switch to clear the error code Multiple errors may occur in this case write down each of the messages and VFO A data if any before you clear them See Error Msg table below for details on specific ERR messages and their associated data values Module Removal A TURN OFF THE POWER SUPPLY OR DISCONNECT THE POWER SUPPLY CABLE before removing or installing modules If you drop a metal tool inside the K3 with power still applied you can short a power supply or control line resulting in damage to the RF board or other modules Module de installation procedure To see if an option module is the cause of an error message you must de install it as described below or you may not be able to tell if removing the module had any effect Turn off power e Remove the modu
93. low For example 1 refers to 4 the mic jack Later sections provide greater detail on all aspects of K3 operation A The first thing you need to know about the K3 is that most switches have two functions Tap press briefly to activate the function labeled on a switch Hold to activate the function labeled below the switch In the text tap functions are shown like this MAIN An example of a hold function is Additional typographical conventions are shown on the previous page Try tapping MENU 8 This brings up the MAIN menu Rotating VFO B 19 selects menu entries while rotating VFO A 22 changes their parameters Tap MENU again to exit the menu 41 42 VOX QSK LLLRLLLELLI PLA AJ pom e B TU SWR 23 RF 50 ALT TEST TUNE A RX POWER af AF 9 SUB CONFIG METER x PHONES 4 ELECRAFT K3 TRANSCEIVER 81 3 5 7 9 20 4 usB 111 125 ANT 2 TX AGC S r XxFiL A FL2 SPLIT PRE OFF 205541 LEVEL ADJ SCAN PITCH TEXTDEC DATAMD FINE COARSE RATE 58 5 9 e BSET VFO PRE AGC XFIL 4 5 6 ATT NB NTCH 7 9 MAN FREQ SPOT CWT AFX PF1 PF2 AF PLAY MESSAGE RS232 SPKRS PHONES MIC STEREO MONO 7 IN LINE OUT Oa MONO S
94. low noise linear voltage regulators one for 5 volts and the other 8 volts Both are heat sinked to the right side panel Noise Blanker There are two noise blanker subsystems in the K3 the KNB3 module and a DSP based blanker see DSP on page 64 The KNB3 is a narrow pulse blanker that plugs into the RF board Its broad input bandwidth ensures minimum stretching of fast noise pulses so it s ideal for suppressing noise from power lines thunderstorms and auto ignitions The DSP blanker can be used on many other types of noise including radar and other noise with complex waveforms that might cause heavy intermodulation if an I F blanker were engaged Using the two blankers in combination is often extremely effective The KNB3 includes a triple tuned bandpass time delay filter wide range AGC and a noise gate You can think of the noise gate as a switch that is normally closed allowing received signals to pass unimpeded When a noise pulse appears it is amplified to a high level and used to trigger a one shot circuit This opens the noise gate very briefly from 5 to about 100 microseconds to blank the noise pulse Both the threshold at which blanking action occurs and the length of time the gate is opened are under control of the operator I Mixer The 1 mixer combines signals from the input band pass filters with the output of the synthesizer to obtain the 1 LF at 8 215 MHz The mixer is based on a video switching IC with very low
95. mmands and direct DSP access e Firmware upgradeable via the internet pg 41 e Isolated PC audio input and stereo outputs pg 16 e Front and rear mic and headphone jacks Full stereo audio drives two speakers e Optional RX antenna in out transverter in out and buffered IF outputs KX V3 Specifications A Some specifications apply only if the corresponding option modules are installed see Options pg 42 GENERAL Frequency Range Tuning Step Sizes Memories Frequency Stability Antenna Jacks Modes VFOs Remote Control Port Audio I O Low Level Transverter Interface Buffered IF output Other I O Real Time Clock Calendar Supply Voltage Current Weight Size Main and Sub Receivers 500 kHz 30 MHz and 48 54 MHz Reduced sensitivity in region of 8 215 MHz IF KBPF3 required for full general coverage receive Transmitter Amateur bands between 1 8 and 54 MHz transmit limits vary by country 1 10 20 and 50 Hz user configurable coarse tuning steps per mode Direct keypad frequency entry in either MHz or kHz 100 general purpose 4 scratchpad memories per band 5 ppm 0 50 C TCXO standard 0 5 ppm TCXO optional 50 ohms nominal One SO 239 supplied 2nd SO 239 jack supplied with KAT3 ATU BNC jacks for RX antenna in out and transverter in out KX V3 Option USB LSB AM FM CW and DATA In DATA mode FSK D Direct AFSK A Audio PSK D Direct and DATA A Audio PSK etc
96. n and Sub Receiver Antenna Routing page 38 and CONFIG KRX3 Sub receiver antenna sources vary depending on installed options 22 Using the VFOs VFOA is both the main receive and transmit frequency unless you re in SPLIT mode in which case VFO B controls the transmit frequency pg 34 VFO B also controls the sub receiver pg 35 Tap select 10 or 50 Hz per step The fast rate can be changed using CONFIG VFO FST The number of counts or steps per VFO knob turn can be changed using CONFIG VFO CTS Tapping will briefly flash either the 10 Hz or 100 Hz digit to indicate slow or fast tuning respectively For 1 Hz steps tap FINE for wider steps use see CONFIG VFO CRS When FINE is in effect a 1 Hz digit will appear in the VFO A display When is in effect the 10 Hz digit is not shown Bjonce to copy VFO A s frequency to VFO B B to exchange VFO A and B Pressing REV exchanges the VFOs for as long as you hold REV Also see CONFIG VFO B gt A VFO B and the sub receiver if turned on can be set up directly by holding As long as BSET is displayed display icons and VFO related controls all apply to VFO B pg 35 RIT and XIT The RIT XIT offset control at the far right sets the offset for RIT and KIT The offset is shown on the VFO B display as you adjust th
97. nates both directly occurring spurs and the Nyquist sampling spurs that normally accompany a DDS driven PLL system The combination of all of these noise minimization techniques results in very low phase noise and negligible discrete spur content 65 K3 Block Diagram TANVd 1 4 S1081N02 2g a HIN 0 1 835 18510 7THL2 3SN3S CiaNvd 8938 100 AJA NI HSva Loa 20 g euonound O 20 9 9 7 joipang WA 10 pueog 24 L1 0 39008 weno 2 xipueddy 2 088 6b 09 8 ANZ Td ZHW 9 6 X OXOL 801 434 HLINAS 2 e 29v 5 31 ans LYX 20 1 11 05 63397 ELVA 20 291111 3 NI 4 808 ZHA SL M ur 2 CN 800 335 MINAS NIVMW AV XNY 9 B 06228 B ZHN Bb U 009 2 2 div1SOd X 100 dv 290 51 10 3v 01 5 1 ZHA SL y as 5 ES T H5ldS 99V NIV sw 3 450 ads J 5 Q N 583114 SSVd MO1 NO f LNOAZL gt 35 35 VN NALLY BXA 6X4 8X4 5398 2 82 40 Vd MOOL s 05 SSVdAB Vd uno MOT MS A 110741 100 XH NI LNY XH 66 Appendix A Crystal F
98. ncludes a relay to disconnect the right speaker channel in case a mono speaker is plugged into the external speaker jack isolation transformers for Line In and Line Out signals a connection point for the internal speaker a low noise oscillator to provide voltages for the RS232 serial interface and various control line inputs and outputs for external transverters band decoders and the like This board also contains a differential output microphone amplifier to equalize the gain between the front and rear microphone jacks as well as to provide noise immunity for the microphone signal from the rear panel area Circuitry to allow use of the serial port RTS or DTR signal lines as PTT and or KEY inputs is also located on this board This feature is to support logging and control programs which may use these lines for controlling transmit receive switching or CW keying The Digital IO board plugs into the KIO3 Main board It includes a DE 9 serial port connector for use with an external PC and a DE 15 accessory connector for external band decoders such as the KRC 2 transverters such as the Elecraft XV series and similar devices It is also the connector to which direct FSK or PSK signaling is applied The Audio IO board includes three stereo outputs headphone jack speaker jack and a transformer isolated Line Out jack It also provides two monophonic inputs microphone and an isolated Line In The Microphone jack can provide bias for an electret
99. ndicate that PTT is being held on by external equipment Disconnect anything connected to the AUX I O and RS232 connectors In voice modes this could be caused by having the VOX gain set too high Disconnect the microphone then set the VOX menu parameter lower e NEW K3UTIL SOFTWARE REQUIRED message appears on the LCD This indicates that you must install a new version of the K3 s firmware upgrade program K3 Utility in order to load the latest K3 firmware After installing the new version of K3 Utility reload all new firmware MCU DSP etc Error message appears on the LCD ERR PL 1 etc refer to Module Troubleshooting below for troubleshooting steps Some error messages result from turning on option modules that are not actually installed see CONFIG KAT3 etc e N A shown on the LCD Not Applicable The switch or knob function you re trying to use does not apply in the present mode or context HI CUR or HI SWR warning K3 100 Check load impedance and power supply voltage If supply voltage is low and or load impedance is lower than 50 ohms current can go up for a given requested power level Reduce power if necessary HI TEMP warning K3 100 PA heatsink temperature has exceeded 84C PA drops into bypass mode Check fans power supply voltage and current and load impedance Allow heatsink to cool Reduce power if necessary Make sure the CONFIG PA TEMP menu entry is calibrated allow heatsink to cool t
100. o room temperature then compare menu reading to actual e ALC OFF is displayed on VFO A Set CONFIG TX ALC to ON ALC should only be turned off during band pass filter alignment see Service Manual e VFO Bis blank You may have CW or DATA text decode display turned on 9 pg 28 with the THR threshold control set too high for text decode to proceed e VFO A or B display doesn t change when the corresponding knob is rotated You probably have the affected VFO locked pg 11 e transmit in CW mode 1 Make sure the key or keyer paddle is plugged into the correct jack 2 You must have VOX selected VOX icon on in order to use full or semi break in CW 3 You may be in mode with VFO B set for a voice or data mode rather than CW Tap or use to check VFO B s mode e Key clicks CW mode You may have a narrow crystal filter selected CW transmit Use 2 7 2 8 kHz See the CONFIG FLTX CW menu entry e use the mic in voice modes You may be in Sj mode with VFO B set for CW or data mode rather than a voice mode Tap or use 1 to check VFO B s mode No power output You may have routed RF through the KXV3 s XVTR IN OUT jacks either by switching to a transverter band or by setting CONFIG KXV3 to TEST Another possibility is that power has not been calibrated on the present band pg 46 e No received signal Possibilities include receiver being squelched if RF SQ
101. on off pg 33 use CONFIG AFX MD to set mode DATA mode selection pg 29 use VFO B knob Memory Controls Frequency Memories The K3 has 100 general purpose memories 00 99 plus up to 80 per band memories M1 M4 on each of 11 regular bands and 9 transverter bands Each memory holds VFO A and B frequencies modes filter presets antenna selection and other settings Memories can have a text label of up to 5 characters A Z 0 9 and various symbols For example you might want to label memories associated with nets callsigns of broadcast stations or your favorite scanning ranges To store a general purpose memory 00 99 First tap V M VFO to Memory then locate the desired memory using the VFO A knob The VFO A frequencies stored in each memory will be shown as you scroll through them When you reach the desired memory number tap V again to store or tap M gt V to cancel the operation To recall a general purpose memory Tap M V then select memory 00 99 using VFO A Tap M gt V jagain to confirm or V gt Mjto cancel Memories 00 09 are quick memories accessible with just two switch taps These could be used to get to a starting point in each of 10 ham bands Memories 1 4 are per band quick memories For example you might set up 1 for each band s CW segment M2 for the SSB segment etc
102. ou ll need to manually set CMP to 0 to prevent data signal distortion Refer to your data communications software manual to determine how to set up the VFO and computer for accurate frequency display To use DATA mode tap MODE until the DATA icon appears Next hold The present data mode is shown on VFO B and can be changed by rotating the VFO B knob tuning is strongly recommended when tuning in PSK31 signals 29 The following data modes are available DATA A can be used for all Audio shift transmit modes including PSK31 MFSK AFSK etc The VFO displays the suppressed carrier frequency just as when SSB modes are used for data However compression is automatically set to 0 and the K3 s dual tone RTTY filter DTF can be selected pg 30 USB is normal for DATA A e AFSK A also uses Audio shift transmit but is optimized for RTTY The VFO displays the RTTY mark frequency and LSB is normal The built in text decoder can be used in this mode pg 31 as well as the dual tone RTTY filter DTF pg 30 e FSK D is identical to AFSK A except that Direct modulation is used via DIG 0 ASCII or the keyer paddle pg 32 The text decoder can be used in this mode pg 31 as well as the dual tone RTTY filter DTF pg 30 e PSK D is a Direct transmit mode for PSK31 It s the only mode that decodes and displays PSK31 signals with the t
103. preamp on user adjustable Adjustable multi threshold multi width hardware blanker plus DSP blanker 16 dB octave IF Shift Width amp Lo High Cut with automatic crystal filter selection Dynamic range measurements based on 400 Hz 8 pole filter Other available filters have very similar performance see www elecraft com for full list Receive specifications are guaranteed only within ham bands TRANSMITTER Output Power Duty Cycle True RF Speech Processor 8 Band TX audio graphic EQ SSB TX Bandwidth SSB TX Monitor vox Full and Semi CW Break In SSB Carrier Suppression Harmonic and Spurious Outputs CW Offset Sidetone Mic 200 mW 100 W 12 W K3 10 typ ALC controlled reduced power in AM mode CW and SSB modes 100 10 min 100W key down at 25 C ambient Adjustable compression 16 dB octave 4 kHz max gt 2 8 kHz requires 6 kHz AM filter Post DSP filtering processing DSP controlled adjustable threshold delay and anti VOX Adjustable delay diode T R Switching gt 50 dB gt 50 dB below carrier 100W 300 1000 Hz adjustable Filter center frequency follows sidetone offset Front 8 pin microphone connector rear 3 5 mm microphone connector wide mic gain adjustment range PTT IN RCA jack usable in all modes Switchable DC bias voltage available for electret mics Customer Service and Support Technical Assistance You can send e mail to k3support elecraft com and we will respond quickl
104. r other device asserts RTS or DTR while you re in the PTT KEY menu entry the K3 will enter TEST mode as a precaution 18 AUX I O Aux I O connector pinouts are listed below A Aux I O is not a VGA video connector The K3 does not provide video output Pin Description 1 FSK IN see FSK Input AUXBUS IN OUT see KRC2 or XV Series transverter instruction manual BAND OUT see Band Outputs PTT IN in parallel with MIC PTT Ground RF isolated DIGOUTO see Transverter Control 1 AJU XVTR ON out TX INH in see Transverter Control TX INH POWER ON see Remote Power On oo BAND2 OUT see Band Outputs 10 KEYOUT LP 10 mA keying output 11 DIGOUT1 see DIGOUT1 12 Ground RF isolated 13 BANDO OUT see Band Outputs 14 BAND3 OUT see Band Outputs 15 EXT input 0 to 5 MAX see CONFIG TX ALC FSK Input This is a TTL input with a pull up resistor to 5V so it s compatible with TTL level PC control outputs When used with an RS232 control line from the PC a level translator is required refer to your software manual For use with FSK D and PSK D modes Remote Power On A remote control system can pull this line to ground to turn the K3 ON To turn it OFF the controller must send the K3 a PS0 command via the RS232 interface then deactivate the Power On signal DIGOUT 1 DIGOUT1 i
105. racteristics of the filter SHIFT LOCUT and HICUT are disabled The dual tone filter can be used in any mode that works with AFSK or FSK including DATA A AFSK A and FSK D The on off state of DTF is saved independently for each of these modes FSK Transmit Polarity You can invert the logic level of the FSK IN line pg 50 in FSK D mode using CONFIG FSK POL 30 Mic Gain ALC and Monitor Level If you re using an audio shift transmit mode LSB USB DATA A or AFSK A you ll need to set the MIC level while watching the ALC meter You can use the same procedure outlined for voice modes pg 26 except that speech compression should not be used In all cases SSB modes as well as DATA you can optionally use to monitor your data signals The procedure given for voice modes can be used pg 26 The mic setting does not apply to direct modulation data modes FSK D and PSK D since no audio is used for transmission Advanced Operating Features Text Decode And Display The K3 can decode transmitted and received CW as well as received PSK31 and RTTY Decoded text is displayed on VFO B In data modes you can use the K3 s internal keyer to transmit PSK31 and RTTY signals pg 32 e When text decode is enabled turning the RIT XIT offset control does not flash the offset value This would disrupt the text display CW Text Decode Setup To set up CW text deco
106. ransmit mode the I F signal is routed to one of up to five plug in 8 215 MHz crystal filters FL1 FL5 These can be fixed bandwidth or in the case of FL3 FL5 optionally variable bandwidth Following the crystal filters is the receive I F and second mixer which mixes the 8 215 MHz down to an LF of 15 kHz for use by the digital signal processor module DSP Excellent 2 I F image rejection is obtained by cascading an additional crystal filter just ahead of the second mixer There s also a 15 kHz transmit LF which is mixed up to 8 215 MHz on the KREF 3 module which plugs in near the front middle of the RF board Support Circuitry Several other modules plug into the RF board The KPAIO3 located at the back edge of the RF board is a vertically mounted board used as an interface between the RF board and the KPA3 100 W amp module It provides current sensing bypass relay and other functions for the KPA3 and eliminates the need for any interconnecting cables The KIO3 and KXV3 in the back left corner provide RF audio and digital I O The main synthesizer used for the main receiver as well as the transmitter plugs in at front left and is attached to the front shield To the right of this is the reference oscillator module KREF3 as well as the second synthesizer used for the sub receiver These also attach to the front shield The Front Panel DSP module plugs in at the very front of the RF board Finally at the far right you ll find two
107. rate the K3 s reference oscillator VFO A is used to set the REF xxC Hz reference oscillator frequency in Hz Tap 1 to alternate between REF CAL and T REF xxC xx is a data entry point from 20 to 70 REF CAL can be used with either TCXO see Method 1 or 2 pg 47 REF xxC is used with the 1 ppm TCXO Method 3 Tap 2 or 3 to move the data entry point up or down See calibration procedure pg 47 RS232 4800 b RS232 communications rate in bits per second bps During firmware download via the K3FW PC program the baud rate is set automatically to 38400 baud but it is then restored to the value selected in this menu entry SER NUM N A K3 serial number e g 02000 Cannot be edited from the menu SMTR OF 024 S Meter offset see calibration procedure pg 48 SMTR SC 014 S Meter scale S 9 50 uV S 3 1 uV with Preamp ON and AGC ON See calibration procedure pg 48 SMTR PK OFF Set to ON for peak reading S meter SPLT SV NO If set to YES state is saved per band SPKRS 1 Set to 2 if using two external speakers This enables binaural effects in conjunction with the AF switch as well as stereo dual receive if the sub receiver is installed For further details see pg 33 SPKR PH NO YES Speaker is ON even when headphones are plugged into PHONES jack See detailed discussion on pg 19 SQ MAIN 0 Main receiver squelch value or RF gain potentiometer assignment If set to RF INNER the inner smaller RF SQL knob cont
108. re e XVn ON must be set to YES to enable transverter band n XVn RF selects the transverter operating frequency in MHz XVn IF specifies a band to use as the transverter I F 7 14 21 28 or 50 MHz XVn PWR sets the power output range to be used with this transverter band L0 01 11 27 specifies a power level in milliwatts which requires the KXV3 option use the XVTR IN and OUT jacks H00 0 H12 0 specifies power in watts and selects the K3 s main antenna jack s for output e XVn OFS is used to compensate for any frequency offset in the transverter s oscillator multiplier chain The value shown is in kHz XVn ADR specifies an Elecraft XV Series transverter selection address see transverter manual Further details on these menu entries can be found in the CONFIG menu listings For information on transverter control connections and band data see pg 19 A CAUTION We recommend the use of milliwatt level drive with transverters via the XVTR IN and OUT jacks If you use the K3 s main antenna jack s you could accidentally transmit into a transverter at high power Scanning The K3 s scanning features let the K3 tune any band segment continuously with or without the receiver muted Some bands may be excluded from scanning for regulatory reasons Scanning can be used to monitor any portion of a band from a 1 2 kHz range where a station or net is expected to appear
109. reak in Pg 28 Hold 18 to set sidetone pitch Hold PWR to set sidetone MON level CWT 18 to enable tuning aid 9 With CWT on SPOT auto tunes pg 28 To select CW text decode display mode hold 18 rotate VFO B pg 28 CW keying is converted to DATA in FSK D and PSK D modes below and pg 32 Hold 13 to turn CW dual passband filter pg 28 6 until you see the DATA icon turn on see Data Modes pg 29 Hold 18 Use VFO B to select from DATA A PSK31 amp other soundcard based modes AFSK A soundcard based RTTY FSK D RTTY via data input or keyer or PSK D PSK via data input or keyer VFO A selects data baud rate for internal encoder decoder if applicable turns on RTTY filter DTF pg 30 Hold 18 to select mark tone and shift for encoder decoder and RTTY filter Hold 18 to set up text decode shows tuning aid pg 32 VFOs and RIT XIT Transmit ATU and Antenna Controls NB NR and Notch SPLIT BSET and SUB Memories Messages and DVR Menus Other Features RATE 21 selects 10 or 50 Hz VFO RIT tuning pg 22 See VFO menu entries pg 22 FINE 21 selects 1 Hz steps selects large tuning steps per mode pg 22 Tap FREQ 21 to enter frequency in MHz using numeric keypad amp decimal point Tap return to complete the entry or tap FREQ E
110. rol I O audio I O for use with sound cards dual speaker output and auxiliary headphone and mic jacks RS232 The K3 can send and receive data simultaneously at up to 38 400 baud You can use a standard straight through 9 conductor cable or a cable wired for an Elecraft K2 or K2 100 transceiver If you re building your own cable you can use as few as three wires RXD TXD and ground see table below DTR and RTS are optional A The table uses EIA standard descriptions which are from the perspective of the computer These differ from some K2 documentation even though the connections are functionally identical Pin 1 8 9 Not used 2 RXD IN data to PC from K3 3 TXD OUT data to K3 from PC 4 DTR see PTT and Keying below 5 6 Description Ground RF isolated RTS see PTT and Keying below Serial Port Setup Set CONFIG RS232 for the desired baud rate Software should be set up at the same rate 8 data bits no parity 1 stop bit PTT and Keying The DTR and RTS signals are not used as RS232 hardware handshaking lines Instead the K3 can be configured to use either of these signals as PTT IN or KEY IN via the CONFIG PTT KEY menu entry No external level translation is required since these are RS232 compatible inputs The default for both signals is inactive unused Refer to your software documentation to see if PTT or keying via RS232 lines is available A If a PC o
111. rols main squelch rather than RF gain If set to RF OUTER the outer ring larger RF SQL knob controls main squelch rather than sub receiver RF gain SQ SUB 0 Sub receiver squelch value or RF gain pot assignment If set to RF OUTER the outer ring larger RF SQL knob controls sub squelch rather than sub RF gain 52 SW TEST T OFF Changing the parameter displays SCN ADC Hold any switch to see scan row and switch ADC reading Used for troubleshooting only SW TONE OFF Sets up switch tones or audio Morse feedback on any control activation TECH MD OFF Set to ON to enable Tech Mode menu entries those marked with T in this list TIME N A Real time clock view set Tap 11 2 3 to set HH MM SS To see the time and other displays during normal operation tap DISP see pg 34 TTY LTR Function Performs an RTTY FIGS to LTRS shift when the text decoder is enabled in RTTY modes Cannot be changed within the menu itself must be assigned to a programmable function switch TX ALC T ON Troubleshooting Set to OFF to disable transmit ALC in CW mode This is required when adjusting band pass filters and can also be used for troubleshooting but should not be used during normal operation Be sure to set parameter to ON afterward TX ESSB T OFF Extended SSB transmit bandwidth 3 0 3 5 4 0 kHz etc or OFF See pg 44
112. rvice manual ERR XV3 not responding De install KXV3 module 60 Theory Of Operation Please refer to the block diagram of the K3 shown at the end of this section Schematics and additional details can be found in the K3 Service Manual RF BOARD The RF PCB Printed Circuit Board is the heart of the K3 transceiver both physically and electrically During assembly it serves as an attachment point for other PCBs as well as chassis panels acting as the glue that holds things together During operation the RF board provides signal routing to and from all modules Over two thirds of the RF board s components are surface mount devices SMDs located on the bottom side of the board These are pre installed and tested at the factory The use of SMDs minimizes stray coupling in RF circuits reduces system cost and allows the K3 to fit in a modest size enclosure compatible with home or field operation The RF board is divided into several functional areas which are described below Low Pass Filters LPFs The relay switched low pass filters used during both transmit and receive are located in the back right corner of the RF board These filters can easily handle 100 watts and are common to both the K3 10 and K3 100 Some LPFs cover one band while others cover two bands that are close in frequency The input to the LPF section comes from the KPA3 100 W amplifier module if installed if there s no KPA
113. s a general purpose open drain output controlled by the CONFIG DIGOUT1 menu entry It can be controlled from a computer refer to the K3 Programmer s Reference A 220 ohm series resistor is included to protect the output driver Band Outputs BANDO BAND3 The BANDO 3 pins can output HF 6 meter band data as well as transverter selection data The exact behavior is determined by the CONFIG KIO3 menu entry See tables below BANDO 3 open drain outputs The attached device must use pull up resistors typ 2 2 10K to its own supply voltage 24 VDC max In the tables below 0 0 VDC and 1 device supply voltage With CONFIG KIO3 set to NOR the BANDO 3 outputs are mapped based on the selected HF 6 m band as shown below This mapping matches that of some third party band decoders On Transverter bands BANDO 3 will all be set to zero Band BAND3 BAND2 BANDI BANDO 160m 0 0 0 1 80 m 0 0 1 0 60m 0 0 0 0 40m 0 0 1 1 30m 0 1 0 0 20m 0 1 0 1 17m 0 1 1 0 15m 0 1 1 1 12m 1 0 0 0 10m 1 0 0 1 6m 1 0 1 0 If is set to TRNS BANDO 3 reflect the parameters of CONFIG XVn ADR as shown below On HF 6 m they re set to 0 ADR BAND3 BAND2 BANDI BANDO TRNI 0 0 0 1 TRN2 0 0 1 0 TRN3 0 0 1 1 TRN4 0 1 0 0 TRNS 0 1 0 1 TRN6 0 1 1 0 TRN7 0 1 1 1 TRN8 1 0 0 0 TRN9 1 0 0 1 With
114. s whether left keyer paddle tip contact on the plug is DOT or DASH CW WGHT 1 00 CW keying weight Adjusts element space timing ratio for the internal keyer DATE N A Real time clock date shown as in the format selected by CONFIG DATE MD MM DD YY or DD MM Y Y Tap 1 2 3 to select month day year DATE MD US Select US MM DD YY or EU DD MM Y Y date formats DDS FRQ T DDS Troubleshooting Controls DDS tuning directly to check DDS XFIL range for freq synthesizer troubleshooting purposes Rotate VFO A CCW and CW to find limits where L lock changes to U unlock Correct DDS frequency is restored after exiting the menu and rotating either VFO 50 DIGOUT n LO Directly controls two general purpose digital output lines on the AUX I O connector 0 or 1 Tap 1 to alternate between the two These are TTL level signals with a nominal output voltage of 0 V LO or 5 V HI Recommended max load is 15 mA enough to power one LED for example FLx BW 2 70 FL1 Crystal filter FL1 5 bandwidth in kHz where x 1 to 5 FLI FL5 1 5 or XFILj to select filters FLx FRQ 0 00 FL1 Crystal filter FLx center freq as offset from nominal 8215 0 kHz Use the offset value specified on the crystal filter s label or PC board if any For example if an Elecraft 5 pole 200 H
115. selected mic gain compression and transmit audio EQ settings TX EQ pg 33 Headphones are recommended To set up voice monitoring Hold to put the K3 in TX TEST mode so you won t be transmitting pg 13 Set MIC to 10 20 to ensure that you ll hear your voice You can fine tune this level later e Press your mic s PTT switch or tap XMIT e While speaking into the mic adjust for a comfortable listening level e Exit transmit release PTT or tap XMIT again e You can either leave the in TX TEST mode or go back to normal transmit hold TEST as you follow the instructions in the next section 26 Mic Gain Compression and ALC Use the following procedure to properly set up MIC gain and compression level Set the monitor level as described above e Optionally select TEST mode pg 13 or set power to zero This will not affect your CMP ALC bargraph readings Set CMP to 0 e Hold to select CMP ALC metering e While speaking into the microphone in a normal voice adjust MIC for a peak ALC meter indication of about 4 7 bars see below S1 3 5 7 9 20 40 60 10 20 e Adjust for the desired speech compression level while speaking The CMP scale shows compression level e Hold
116. set Display Multi character displays The 7 segment display upper shows the VFO A frequency The 13 segment display lower shows VFO B Bargraph receive mode The bargraph normally acts as an S meter If CWT is turned on the right half of the S meter becomes a tuning aid pg 32 Bargraph transmit mode The bargraph normally shows SWR and RF power output The RF scale will be either 5 and 10 low power or 50 and 100 high power In voice and data modes transmit scales can be changed to compression CMP and ALC using 1 3 5 7 9 LLLLELLLI VFO Icons The TX icon and two arrows indicate which VFO is selected for transmit as shown below In TX TEST mode TX flashes see Shows that VFO A or B is locked see A VFO A is the transmit VFO TX TX VFO B is the transmit VFO see LSB USB a ee SWR 2 3 RF 100 CMP 10 20 wate Em Filter Graphic This shows the approx bandwidth and position of the receiver s I F passband See Using DSP and Crystal Filtering pg 23 Filter Icons NTCH Notch filtering on NTCH pg 24 lt gt Manual notch pg 24 I II Shows selected preset am pg 14 XFIL Crystal filter selection FL 1 FL5 Mode Icons Basic operating modes LSB USB CW DATA AM or FM are selected by tapping either end Up Down of MODE Alt
117. side down placing a soft cloth beneath it Remove the seven black pan head screws retaining the front bottom cover then lift the cover off LJ Remove the screws holding any existing filters that you ll need to move to obtain the order listed above on both the RF board and sub receiver ESD SENSITIVE WEAR A GROUNDED FILTER MOUNTING SCREW LOCATIONS WRIST STRAP OR TOUCH TWO FILTERS INSTALLED AN UNPAINTED METAL GROUND BEFORE TOUCHING THE RF BOARD B ikso 9 69 LJ Turn the K3 right side up Unplug all filters to be repositioned those whose mounting screws have been removed Lift the filters at each end carefully first one end then the other until the connectors separate LJ Reposition the filters as required They will only fit one way If you put one in backwards it will not fit within its outline and the standoff will not line up with the screw hole in the RF board or subreceiver board LJ Turn the K3 or sub receiver module upside down again Install the mounting hardware shown below A Filters may be supplied with either a black 3 16 or bright plated 1 4 pan head screw A screw longer than 1 4 may extend into the 8 pole filter unit and damage it A Do not over tighten the screws Excess torque may pull out the threaded standoff A TYPICAL FILTER MODULE ESD SENSITIVE WEAR A GROUNDED WRIST STRAP OR TOUCH AN UNPAINTED METAL GROUND BEFORE HANDLING THE RF BOARD
118. smitter Setup Transmit Crystal Filter Considerations For each operating mode you must specify which crystal filter to use for transmit using the CONFIG FLTX menu entry See page 44 for recommended per mode transmit filter bandwidths A Transmit signals are generated on the RF board so the set of filters installed on the RF board must meet the transmit bandwidth requirements of all modes you plan to use Filters installed on the sub receiver board are used only in receive mode Transmit Status LEDs and Icons Before putting the K3 on the air you should be familiar with the LEDs and LCD icons that pertain to transmit operation identified on pages 11 and 12 The most important of these are reviewed here The TX LED turns on during transmit The AF Delta F LED turns on if the transmit and receive frequencies differ SPLIT RIT XIT The TX LCD icon and associated arrows show which VFO is being used for transmit If you plan to use SPLIT mode see page 34 Multifunction Transmit Controls There are two multifunction transmit controls Their primary functions mode dependent are SPEED CW keyer speed WPM MIC Mic gain CMP Speech compression level in dB PWR RF output power in watts The secondary hold functions of these controls are VOX or CW semi break in delay Voice Data monitor or CW sidetone level 25 V
119. ted to DATA 32 Tuning Aids CWT and SPOT Tapping turns the upper half of the S meter into a CW DATA tuning aid If no bar appears in the tuning area the threshold may be set too high hold and select a lower THR value When a received CW or PSK31 signal is centered in the passband the CWT display will appear as shown below CWT 13 57 9 Y LLLLRLLLES LILLIE SWR 23 RF 50 100 RTTY modes AFSK and FSK D mark and space tones are represented by three bars each with mark to the left of the CWT pointer and space to the right When only weak signals are present in the mark space filters 1 3 bars will flicker on either side leading to a ghosting effect as shown here CWT 13 5 7 9 Y LLLLRLLLE LLLRLLLRLLI 1 1 SWR 23 50 100 As you tune the VFO close to an RTTY signal the number of bars will initially increase on one side or the other Keep tuning until you see a rough balance between left and right bars Also see DTF pg 30 and CONFIG TTY LTR Manual SPOT If CWT is off you can tap SPOT then manually tune the VFO until the received signal s pitch matches the sidetone If you find pitch matching difficult to do try auto SPOT below Auto SPOT To use auto spot first turn on CWT Use a narrow bandwidth 200 to 500 Hz Tapping SPOT will then automatically tun
120. ternet It also enables the K3 to remember your favorite settings particular configuration preferences and the last setting of controls when power is removed from the radio DSP Board The K3 s Digital Signal Processing DSP capabilities provide a rich set of features to help combat QRM and QRN while generating some of the cleanest signals to be found in Amateur radio today A 32 bit floating point DSP is used for highest performance In receive a 15 kHz IF signal from the RF board is buffered and then digitized by a 24 bit Analog to Digital Converter ADC This provides over 100 dB of dynamic range within the passband of the selected crystal roofing filter After the ADC the DSP converts the signal into a floating point value so dynamic range is not compromised during further processing Noise blanking and limiting AGC amplification IF and AF filtering are all done within the DSP Several noise blanking algorithms methods are available in the DSP and a sophisticated AGC system is employed AM FM SSB and CW detectors are also implemented by the DSP Various audio effects such as Quasi Stereo and Binaural are provided here as well as combining the audio signals from the KRX3 if installed After processing the resulting audio signals are generated in a stereo 24 bit Digital to Analog Converter DAC and applied to separate amplifiers for headphones front and rear and speaker A separate 24 bit DAC and amplifier provide Line Out si
121. the passband Also see pg 23 Presets I and II each hold a complete DSP crystal filter setup pg 23 Normalize passband Select preset I or per mode 14 Transmit Controls The primary functions of the transmit controls are SPEED Keyer speed WPM 8 50 MIC Mic gain CMP Speech compression level dB PWR RF output power in watts pg 25 The present transmit mode determines which primary functions normally apply for example in CW mode the SPEED MIC control defaults to SPEED You can always tap a knob to override the present selection The secondary functions of these controls are 5 VOX delay voice data CW semi break in delay in seconds om Voice or data monitor level or CW data sidetone level VFO Tuning Controls The VFO A knob controls the upper frequency display This is normally the RX and TX frequency In SPLIT mode VFO B controls the transmit frequency pg 34 VFO B also controls the sub receiver when it is installed and turned on pg 35 The controls to the right of VFO A include FREQ ENT Direct frequency entry pg 15 Start or stop scanning pg 37 FINE Select 1 Hz tuning for both VFOs and RIT XIT offset Select coarse tuning rate pg 22 RATE Select one of two normal tuning rates 10 50 or 10 20 Hz pg 22 Lock VFO A
122. this unless you have experience in troubleshooting surface mount assemblies otherwise you could damage your K3 A DO NOT ADJUST ANY TRIMMER CAPACITORS OR POTENTIOMETERS unless you have access to the test gear specified in the Service Manual These settings have been aligned at the factory and if mis adjusted could degrade performance Elecraft support can suggest alternative procedures in some cases Parameter Initialization Menu parameters are stored in non volatile memory EEPROM and or FLASH It is possible though rare for parameters to become altered in such a way as to prevent the firmware from running correctly If you suspect this you can reinitialize parameters to defaults then restore a previously saved configuration or re do all configuration steps manually no test equipment is required e Ifyou have a computer available to do configuration save and restore run the K3 Utility program then use the Configuration function to save your present firmware configuration e Ifyou don t have access to a computer you should write down your menu parameter settings The most important are CONFIG FLx BW and CONFIG FLx FRQ for each installed filter x also tap SUB to obtain sub receiver crystal filter settings if applicable You should also note the settings of option module enables all CONFIG menu entries starting with K e g CONFIG KAT3 If you don t record your crystal filter and option settings you may have to remove t
123. tion pg 33 Tap 18 to enable the selected audio effect see AFX MD menu entry pg 49 Tap DISP 8 and use VFO B to show time supply voltage etc on VFO B pg 34 The ALARM function MAIN menu can be used to remind you about a contest net or QSO schedule and can even turn the K3 on at alarm time pg 34 The KIO3 module provides a rich set of AF 33 and digital 32 I O pg 16 Introduction This comprehensive manual covers all the features and capabilities of the Elecraft K3 transceiver We recommend that you begin with the Quick Start Guide pg 4 The Front Panel pg 11 and Rear Panel pg 17 sections are for general reference while Basic Operation pg 21 and Advanced Operation pg 31 fill in the details A Your K3 including any installed crystal filters and option modules should already be configured Anytime you add new filters or options refer to Configuration pg 43 K3 Features The K3 offers a number of advanced features that simplify operation and enhance versatility These are listed below Refer to the indicated pages for further details Receiver e Up to five crystal roofing filters bandwidths as narrow as 200 Hz pg 23 e High performance fully independent sub receiver also with up to five crystal filters pg 35 e Variable bandwidth crystal filters that track DSP filter settings e Narrow ham band front end filters plus wider band pass f
124. to an entire band Sometimes a band that appears dead may actually have several stations present You can use scanning to find these stations for you while accomplishing other tasks Scanning while muted allows the K3 to ignore stable carriers key down signals with no modulation unmuting only when interesting signals are found Scanning with the receiver live not muted is especially useful when listening for weak signals on very quiet bands Scanning Setup To use scanning you first need to store the desired tuning range in a memory After that you ll be able to simply recall the memory then start scanning You can set up scanning ranges for various bands modes etc To set up a scanning memory e Set VFO A to the starting frequency and VFO B to the ending frequency e Select the operating mode preamp attenuator settings and filter bandwidth Also select the tuning rate which affects speed of scanning e Store this setting in any memory pg 16 e start scanning e Recall the memory using M e Hold 91 to start scanning To scan with the receiver live unmuted continue to hold 194 until you see ON about 2 seconds You can stop scanning by manually rotating VFO A tapping any switch hitting the key or keyer or pressing PTT To restart hold 37 Channel Hopping Scanning over a numbered memory range rather than a frequency range is referred to as c
125. to return to SWR PWR metering Ifyou were in TX TEST mode return to normal operation by holding TESTI e Ifyou had PWR set to 0 set it for the desired level in watts Key the rig again and verify that you have about the right power output level Once you ve set up the MIC and CMP levels as described you should only need to adjust them if you switch mics or if band conditions change Voice mode power output may be slightly higher or lower than the CW power output you see in TUNE mode If so you can compensate using the CONFIG TXG VCE menu entry voice transmit gain balance Voice Mode VOX Setup selects PTT push to talk or voice operated VOX transmit VOX icon on The VOX delay can be set from 0 05 seconds 50 mS to 2 00 seconds The lower the setting the faster the K3 will return to receive mode after a pause in speech See pg 14 The MAIN VOX GN menu entry VOX gain should be set so that the K3 enters transmit mode when you speak at a normal level Setting VOX GN too high will result in the K3 switching into transmit mode in response to incidental noise MAIN ANTIVOX adjusts VOX immunity to signals received through the K3 s speaker or headphones While listening to a loud received signal and with the mic closer to the speaker than it would be in normal operation adjust ANTIVOX upward until the K3 doesn t switch to transmit mode Digital Voice Recorder DVR If you have t
126. ts are needed Hold to select full break in QSK icon on semi break in operation A must be turned on in CW mode to enable both full and semi break in operation If PTT is selected VOX icon off transmit must be activated using PTT or by tapping KMIT QSK or full break in allows you to better keep track of on frequency activity even while you re sending It allows others to break your CW transmission by sending one or two characters With semi break in selected QSK icon off the K3 returns to receive mode after a time delay you set using DAEN This is a compromise between full break in and fully manual operation using PTT or XMIT Hold to place the K3 into TEST mode This allows you to send CW without transmitting a signal on the air This is helpful for practicing your sending or for off the air checking of pre recorded CW messages CW Mode Menu Entries Configuration menu entries are provided to set up CW iambic keying mode CW IAMB paddle normal reverse selection CW PADL and keying weight CW WGHT 28 SPOT and Auto Spot When calling another station you should try to match your frequency to theirs To facilitate this the K3 provides both manual and automatic spotting for use with CW and DATA signals See Tuning Aids CWT and SPOT pg 32 CW Text Decode Display The K3 can decode transmitted and received CW signals displaying the text on VFO B pg 31
127. ty option better than 0 5 PPM over the 0 to 50 C temperature range In addition to the TCXO and dividers the KREF3 provides the 2 transmit LF mixer which converts the DSP s 15 kHz transmit I F output to 8 215 MHz This signal passes through a wide crystal filter to ensure good rejection of the carrier and other mixer products before being routed to the RF 64 board The KREF3 obtains its DC and low frequency I O signals via an 8 pin connector on the RF board but its RF outputs are fed to the RF board and sub receiver if applicable via coax cable assemblies KSYN3 Low phase noise is key to both receiver and transmitter performance In the K3 s synthesizer module KSYN3 we start with a clean wide range voltage controlled oscillator VCO The VCO frequency is placed near the desired band of operation using 128 carefully selected L C combinations which keep the ratio of fixed capacitance to tunable capacitance varactor diodes as high as possible The VCO is held exactly on frequency by a phase locked loop IC PLL which samples the VCO output continuously and compares it to its high stability reference input The PLL s reference input is obtained from a direct digital synthesis DDS IC which is tunable in about 0 2 Hz steps The reference for the DDS itself is the 49 380 MHz signal from the KREF3 module To keep the synthesizer s output signal virtually spur free the DDS is followed by a 4 pole crystal filter This elimi
128. unction labeled on the switch Holding pressing for more than 1 2 sec activates the function labeled beneath the switch Initial Power Up e Connect a power supply pg 8 antenna dummy load key if used pg 16 mic if used and station ground pg 16 Tap POWER to turn on The LCD should illuminate and show VFO A B frequencies Tapping POWER again turns power off e VFO B display can show a variety of useful parameters in addition to the normal frequency display To see these tap DISP left of the display then rotate the VFO B knob The VFO B display will cycle through time date supply voltage current drain etc pg 12 You can use these displays to make sure the supply voltage is in range 11 15 V and that current drain is about 1 amp 1 3 amps with sub receiver installed and turned on Tap DIS P to return to the normal VFO B frequency display Using the Menus There are two menus MAIN and CONFIG Most entries in the CONFIG menu are used for test configuration and alignment and are used infrequently In both menus entries appear in alphanumeric order 21 MAIN Menu e MENU to access the main menu Tapping MENU again exits the menu e Use VFO B to scroll through the menu entries referring to the list on page 49 for details e Change the value or parameter of any menu entry us
129. verts to its default function XVTR ON for which it is configured as an output The K3 has a 220 ohm resistor in series with this signal to minimize current in the event of a conflict with external equipment SPKRS STEREO or MONO 4 to 8 Q Plugging in external speaker s cuts off the internal speaker A stereo plug is recommended tip is left speaker ring is right If you only have a mono plug set CONFIG SPKRS to 1 to disable right channel audio Also see note below PHONES STEREO or MONO 16 min recommended The front and rear panel headphone jacks are both isolated with series resistors This allows you to use mono phones on one jack and stereo on the other if required You ll need stereo phones for AFX audio effects and stereo dual receive with sub receiver e You can plug in headphones and speaker s at the same time and hear audio in both if you set CONFIG SPKR PH to YES However if you set CONFIG SPKRS to 1 setting SPKR PH to YES will force mono headphone as well as speaker output You can set SPKRS to 2 if you use a stereo plug at the external speaker jack or if no external speaker is plugged in MIC MONO hi or low Z This jack accommodates an electret or dynamic mic Use MAIN MIC SEL to select the rear panel mic RP Tap 1 to turn on Low or High mic gain range Tap 2 to turn bias on off see pg 26 for recommendations based on mic type The mic s PTT signal if used must be routed to either t
130. within a wider passband context that is attenuated by about 20 dB The filter graphic reflects this The width of the context filter can be varied over a wide range using WIDTH while the focus filter bandwidth is fixed The current preset will keep track of both the state of and the context width Hold 45 again to return to normal filtering 33 Receive Audio Equalization EQ The K3 provides 8 bands of receive audio equalization via the MAIN RX EQ menu entry You can use receive equalization to compensate for the physical acoustics of your station the room headphones speakers etc or just to tailor the audio to your personal preference In the RX EQ menu entry the VFO A display shows 8 individual vertical bargraphs The example below shows various amounts of EQ applied to the 8 bands 3 HER vox ANT 2 ATU TX AGC S I The center frequencies of the 8 audio EQ bands are 50 100 200 400 800 1200 2400 and 3200 Hz To select a band to change tap 18 on the keypad For example tapping 1 selects the 50 Hz band NB XFIL FL2 Next rotate VFO A to specify an amount of boost or cut 16 dB The illustration above shows the 800 Hz EQ band 0 80 kHz being set to 1 dB of boost You can tap to reset all of the RX EQ bands to 0 dB no cut or boost Transmit Audio Equalization EQ Tr
131. y typically the same day Monday through Friday Telephone assistance is available from 9 A M to 5 P M Pacific time weekdays only at 831 662 8345 Please use e mail rather than calling when possible since this gives us a written record of the details of your problem and allows us to handle a larger number of requests each day Repair Alignment Service If necessary you may return your Elecraft product to us for repair or alignment Note We offer unlimited email and phone support so please try that route first as we can usually help you find the problem quickly IMPORTANT You must contact Elecraft before mailing your product to obtain authorization for the return what address to ship it to and current information on repair fees and turn around times Frequently we can determine the cause of your problem and save you the trouble of shipping it back to us Our repair location is different from our factory location in Aptos We will give you the address to ship your kit to at the time of repair authorization Packages shipped to Aptos without authorization will incur an additional shipping charge for reshipment from Aptos to our repair depot Elecraft 1 Year Limited Warranty This warranty is effective as of the date of first consumer purchase It covers both our kits and fully assembled products For kits before requesting warranty service you should fully complete the assembly carefully following all instructions in the manual
132. y new commands are provided in addition to the core set of commands supported by the K2 A few examples DB returns the contents of the VFO B display while DBxx xx 00 13 selects a VFO B alternate display mode time supply voltage etc TT1 text to terminal routes decoded CW DATA text to the PC terminal program in addition to the K3 s VFO B display RVM and RVD retrieve MCU and DSP firmware revisions SW and MN commands provide access to all switch and menu functions This is a small sample of the commands available to both professional software developers and those who might wish to experiment with simple remote control applications Please refer to the K3 Programmer s Reference for further details Options K3 option modules and crystal filters add significant new capabilities to the transceiver They can be installed at any time see pg 43 All modules are plug in requiring no soldering or cable assembly The presently available options are described briefly below please refer to our web site for further details on these as well as our full range of 5 and 8 pole crystal filters KAT3 Wide range internal 100 W automatic antenna tuner with dual antenna jacks KPA3 Internal 100 W upgrade for the K3 10 with two large fans and separate circuit breaker KDVR3 Digital voice recorder usable both for message record playback and general audio recording KRX3
133. ycho usno navy mil cgi bin timer pl CONFIG DATE MD selects US MM DD YY or EU DD MM Y Y date format using VFO A CONFIG DATE is used to set the date Tap A 2 3 to adjust MM DD YY or DD MM YY VFO Setup Several CONFIG menu entries are provide to control VFO behavior e VFO CRS sets up the per mode tuning rate e VFO CTS is used to specify the number of counts per knob turn VFO A and B 100 200 0r400 e VFO FST selects the normal VFO fast tuning rate 20 or 50 Hz e VFO IND if set to YES allows VFO B to be set to a different band than VFO A only applies if the sub receiver is installed VFO A Knob Friction Adjustment The VFO A knob s spin rate can be adjusted by moving the knob in or out slightly The rubber finger grip on the VFO A knob covers the knob s set screw so it must be removed first A In the following procedure use only your fingernails a tool may scratch the knob Using your fingernails at the point identified below pull the finger grip forward slightly Rotate the knob and repeat until the grip can be pulled off Use the supplied 5 64 2 mm Allen wrench to loosen the set screw Between the knob and front panel are two felt washers which when compressed reduce the spin rate Move the knob in or out in small increments until the desired rate is obtained Then re tighten the set screw and replace the finger grip
134. z filter were labeled 0 91 adjust VFO A for 0 91 FLx GN 0 dB Crystal filter FLx loss compensation in dB 0 dB recommended for wide filters FL1 2 dB for 400 or 500 Hz filters and 4 dB for 200 or 250 Hz filters FLx ON ON FL1 Used to specify which filters are available during receive Each filter must be set per mode to ON or OFF in each mode You can tap within the menu entry FLTX md FL1 Used to specify which crystal filter to use during TX md CW SB AM FM modes Choose filers with bandwidths as follows SSB 2 7 or 2 8 kHz also applies to data CW 2 7 or 2 8 kHz AM 6 kHz FM 12 kHz or higher Note If you re using a 2 7 kHz 5 pole filter for SSB transmit you can optionally fine tune its FLx FRQ parameter to equalize LSB USB transmit characteristics Monitor your signal on a separate receiver using headphones FP TEMP N A Used to calibrate the front panel temperature sensor It must be calibrated if you wish to use the REF xxC menu entry to calibrate the optional 1 PPM TCXO You must convert F to C in order to enter the value Deg C deg F 32 0 555 FSK POL 1 0 Invert FSK transmit data polarity 1 Normal data polarity FW REVS N A Rotate VFO A to see firmware revisions of the MCU uC main DSP d1 aux DSP d2 flash parameters FL and KDVR3 controller dr KAT3 NotInst KAT3 ATU mode normally set to BYP or AUTO you can alternate between these settings using the sw

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