3846.9 mi PSK31 on .1 Watt !

[RadioRay]

Yup - this JUST happened.  I was listening on 20 meters during exceptional conditions, hearing F2YT near Paris in PSK31.  I NOW have a little KX3 transceiver (3 days old!) and it can send PSK31 by using the CW paddles to tap letters in Morse, which it converts into PSK31.  My received text scrolls across the small radio screen.  This fellow was SO loud, that for a little experiment, I set the power to .1 Watt ( 100 MilliWatts) and gave him a call: he came right back.  We exchanged locations names and signal reports - all repeated with no trouble. I simply answered his "CQ" while using .1 Watt so that he did not know my power level.  The antenna here is a just wire Delta loop for 40 meters, facing the wrong way...  Go Figger?!  ???

Checking the on-line tools, out two stations are 3846.8 miles apart. Doing the math that is:

38,468 miles per Watt!   

Radio - my friends - is magic!  This is not to count the CW conversations with Britain, France, Belgium, Sweden and tons of the USA using 10 Watts or less in CW. This PSK experiment was done without a computer - only the rig and paddles for interface.

>de RadioRay ..._ ._

Ps.  Gil & I have  also been doing some experiments on 60 meters...

[Quietguy]

Dang Ray, that's super!  That sounds like a great little radio, congratulations.

Wally

[KC9TNH]

Ps.  Gil & I have  also been doing some experiments on 60 meters...

I like the idea (yours) of a previously input SITREP, and then just blast it to the distant station once hooked up. Neat rig, sure we're gonna hear more. I need more spendy toys like a third eye but this has turned out to be quite the capable rig & still has my interest.

Q:  Is 60m fully enabled on the rig, or just the US channels and, if latter, did they incorporate the last "channel" change that was done?  I would imagine they did because its capability is updatable with software releases.

60m is another frequency area that continues to be preferred by .mil 'cause it has alot of utility, the reason MARS is there.

[RadioRay]

The 60 meters is a continuous band on my KX3.  I have not checked the usable frequency range for transmit, but it's configured to TX across the 60 m allocations so that when changes like the last channel change occur, they don't have to hustle through firmware upgrades.

Yes - You Want One!  If I had known how excellent the KX3 is, I would not have hesitated. I was thinking 'I don't NEED another QRP rig."  Well this is the best receiver I have ever used, including Watkins-Johnson 'survey receivers' back in the day. 12 Watts max is not a limiting factor and is only 1.5 S-units below 100 Watts, but a LOT easier to keep operating when there is no commercial power. I run it at 10 Watts most of the time. The built-in RTTY & PSK31 is a perk and also a nice intel device, for seeing what people are talking about, without requiring a computer or smart phone.


>Ray
W7ASA ..._ ._


When I was 26, it was all 'hardware'.
By 46 it was 'firmware'.
Now that I'm 56, it's all turning to "SOFTware"!

[KC9TNH]

Thanks.  I like the fact that they make available a STANDARD key-line out capability into an RCA. From the home, if needed, it could key my AL-80B.
Some things to do first.
BLX* - 30d
  8)


* Bucket List Execution Start Date

[KK0G]

Damn you Ray!! Quit making me spend more money on cool rigs!! ;D

[KC9TNH]

I've been reviewing (for some time) the performance of this radio, but never perused any of the so-called assembly videos, nor the OEM assembly manual. Ray, uh, am I gleaning this correctly that this is a solder-less kit...?!?

[WA4STO]

When I was 26, it was all 'hardware'.
By 46 it was 'firmware'.
Now that I'm 56, it's all turning to "SOFTware"!

And by the time you hit 66, trust me, you'll be cooking entirely with FLATware

[RadioRay]

Save $100 by buying the 'kit'.  It is entirely mechanical assembly, because the boards are already populated with surface mount goodies and any connectors are either board mounted or have their pigtails ending in a board connector. Go slowly and take your time.  I took my time, double checked everything and still had it fully operational in 4-5 hours.

The KX1 is a very good receiver - not question there.  The KX3 is world class. and for me, I'm getting older, managed to sell a ton of things, and frankly it was worth it.

However, you MUST consider whether you WANT to bring on kilo-buck to the woods. . . and it consumes 150-200 mA on receive as opposed to the KX1 at about 33 mA'ish.  However, solar recharging is cheap these days and some mountaineers love these things.

]>>> BTW Paul - W0RW/pm is pedestrian mobile on the top of Pike's Peak in Colorado with a British special forces  PRC-319 on his back on 14061.5 CW right now.  We just talked (in Morse) and I saw him on the webcam up there.  10F and high winds . . .


>Ray

[KC9TNH]

Save $100 by buying the 'kit'.  It is entirely mechanical assembly, because the boards are already populated with surface mount goodies and any connectors are either board mounted or have their pigtails ending in a board connector. Go slowly and take your time.  I took my time, double checked everything and still had it fully operational in 4-5 hours.

COOL.

The KX1 is a very good receiver - not question there.  The KX3 is world class. and for me, I'm getting older, managed to sell a ton of things, and frankly it was worth it.

However, you MUST consider whether you WANT to bring on kilo-buck to the woods. . . and it consumes 150-200 mA on receive as opposed to the KX1 at about 33 mA'ish.  However, solar recharging is cheap these days and some mountaineers love these things.

I have my 817 down close to that & have a solar re-charge solution; the KX3 beats it by a pound. No question about the receiver - it beat the FTDx5000 or something recently in those tests, Elecraft has always excelled in that area.  Still to consider; I appreciate you pandering to the written radio porn tho'. ;)
]>>> BTW Paul - W0RW/pm is pedestrian mobile on the top of Pike's Peak in Colorado with a British special forces  PRC-319 on his back on 14061.5 CW right now.  We just talked (in Morse) and I saw him on the webcam up there.  10F and high winds . . .

Every time nowadays I see something with tubular protection handles & steel-framed over-engineered whatever it just makes my back hurt.
8)
>Ray

[gil]

The quality of the KX3 is also apparent in KX3-to-KX3 QSOs.. Our tests on 10m might not have worked at all with lesser receivers..

60m is a bit of a pain, with the channels ans length of antennas required. Great band for NVIS though...

Gil.