Posted: 5/10/2012 3:19:08 PM EDT
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The brown truck arrived today and the K3 is finally here... I ordered the 100W kit version thinking it would be a good idea for me to better understand all the parts and functions of the radio. When they describe this as a kit... they are not kidding. Even though it is a no-solder kit, there are still five small boxes of parts, panels and pcs... its a kit... they say it's 10 hours or so for assembly... that may be true after I first study this thing for 20 hours...
Need to find a anti static desk pad and wrist strap... not even going to unwrap this stuff for pictures until I have these items in place. As soon as I do, I'll post a few pics of this project.. White box is the options.... the filters you select, the digital voice recorder and the internal auto tuner (all of which are suprisingly small) Two flat boxes on left are the frame, face plates, etc. Square box in back right is the100W amp Larger box contains about 1000 pcs of antistatic wrapped stuff 
Now that I have all this in front of me... I have been giving more thought to the check box adjacent to "Assembled" 
I cut the boxes open and stopped there... not going to risk a static related mishap, will post more pics once I have that taken care of. Going to be fun.....
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It took selling 3 rigs and two guns to get my K3. A large upgrade since my newest radio was 1989 vintage. DSP and the best filters I could afford was a night and day difference. Why did I wait so long?.
I worked with ESD mats before but did not have one. Since it is dry in AZ static is a definite possibility. I used aluminum foil as my discharge mat and a large metal desk as the ground with a bare toe in constant contact. It was a bubba method but it worked. My only problem was getting the multiple connectors aligned when assembling the front panel to the body. Watch the order and specification of the washers to avoid taking stuff apart when it does not fit together. ..
We can set up a sked when you get it together. WJoF |
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I worked with ESD mats before but did not have one. Since it is dry in AZ static is a definite possibility. I used aluminum foil as my discharge mat and a large metal desk as the ground with a bare toe in constant contact. It was a bubba method but it worked. This is an impressive anti static idea !! and yes, I had to sell a bunch of stuff to get this one as well, old toys for new toys... I've never had or worked with ESD products before... have always just been real careful... but, this project is worth waiting a couple more days for a mat... I did look around a good bit, there are some very expensive options out there... I found one set up that was pretty reasonably priced at Apogee Kits out of TX... I ordered it late in the afternoon and they shipped it out same day... love good service like that. that setup is a bit of over kill, but what the heck.. one more cool tool for the shack.. During the wait, I have taken a careful inventory of the parts... got one of these plastic multi hole trays and divided up all and fasteners... there is a bunch of them suckers... This is worse than being a kid at christmas... got a new toy and I can only look at it... the box is sitting on the bench talking to me, begging me to start putting it together....
really looking forward to getting started. |
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my k3 build thread
Here is my building thread.. It's an easy build, be careful as some of the black screws look a like... Don't forget to write down the numbers off the filter you install to program it in later. |
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Damn that looks like fun. Spendy though 
ETA: its HAM gear so no surprise just not in the market for anything right now Spendy is relative.. The k3 is a lot of tests is beating out the icom and yaesu 10,000$ rigs.. Nicest radio i've ever used.. I love mine. |
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my k3 build thread Here is my building thread.. It's an easy build, be careful as some of the black screws look a like... Don't forget to write down the numbers off the filter you install to program it in later. Nice job with those pics !! |
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Quoted: Quoted: So there is no soldering w/ these kits? Supposedly not... liken it to buying all the cards and boards to a more than average complicated computer and putting it all together... just a bunch of circuit boards and screws... I assumed you had to install components but still cool. Less hassle for them I guess. |
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Is there enough room inside the 100W version to build in a 25A switching AC power supply? Not sure... can you make one quiet enough to place it that close??? but, I am planning to add the secondary/sub receiver which probably eats up the room anyway... Lets you listen to two frequencies at the same time, one in each ear :) Not sure how much room would be left after that is installed.... we'll see in time.... |
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Is there enough room inside the 100W version to build in a 25A switching AC power supply? Have you been looking at the new TS-990S ads too? 
I notice it has a built in SMPS. Not at all. I'm an "Icom guy". My holy grail is an IC7000 inside an IC7200 chassis with AC supply, *serious* (i.e. will tune from say 20-5000 ohms impedance) tuner and USB interface. If I could fit a PS in a K3 the USB interface is easily added as well (I'd just gut a Microham or Rigexpert box) so it would be two out of three (the KAT3 tuner isn't going to cut it). |
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Cool. Way cool. Now that I've seen it done I just may have to save the pennies and make a K3 happen.
I'm in the process of bringing a Heathkit SB-220 back to life. Bought it from a SK estate for $200. When I took the top off for my first look I noticed written in pencil on top of the filter capacitor bank "Completed 8/1/71" and his call. It will stay and have a place of honor for the guy who originally built it. You may want to do the same thing. Just a thought. |
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I'm in the process of bringing a Heathkit SB-220 back to life. Bought it from a SK estate for $200. When I took the top off for my first look I noticed written in pencil on top of the filter capacitor bank "Completed 8/1/71" and his call. It will stay and have a place of honor for the guy who originally built it. You may want to do the same thing. Just a thought. That is a most excellent idea... under the 'lid' on a K3 is a label for jotting down notes on the installed filters and their offsets... could very easily add something to that label... |
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I do the same thing, all of my homebrew items have my call on them, and any of the old radio's I restore get a label on the inside noting any modifications, my call, and the date of completion. Hopefully in 50 years someone will be able to enjoy another restoration.
Have fun with the kit, and I am sure you will enjoy that radio! |
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Woo Hoo... ESD mat has arrived... guess the assembly count down ticker starts now...
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What test equipment is needed to complete the project? Must have? Nice to have? Simple tools, mostly... ,stuff we all have Digital Multimeter, RF 5-Ohm dummy load... Listed as optional is an RF power meter and a signal generator with calibrated 50uV output at 20 and 40 mtrs... don't have either, so I'm happy to see that as optional... I assume that will be for more accurate calibration when I get there... so... nothing special really... |
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If this radio plays as well as the kit is put together, this is going to be sweet. Very impressed with the fit, finish and assembly process that went into this.. really a nice kit and a real pleasure to work on...
First... the ESD mat from ApogeeKits... nice heavy vinyl mat provides a good workspace... happy with it... Made some progress on the radio... probably moving a little slower than is necessary.... The main RF board with the filters installed. There are five crystal filters shown, the standard 2.7 Khz on the far right working down, right to left, to 250 Hz on the far left 
This is the internal antenna tuner... really expected this to be larger... specs say it will tune up to 10:1, we'll see... 
Where I left it for this evening, maybe 2 hours into it so far... 
So far so good... I hope....
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No way this is going to take 10 hours... I spend most of my time finding and organizing screws... if someone chose to do this a second time, I'm guessing 3 to 5 hours max... other than the 500 little screws and split ring washers that have to the managed... like putting a computer together...
Tonight we plugged in the rear-panel audio and digital/computer I/O... that is done with 3 boards, the main or mother I/O board and then two plug ins for Audio I/O and Digital I/O... couple of cover plates... 
And put the front panel together... 
Another 1.5 hours... and most of that is reading instructions and managing this pile of little screws....
I would definately do this again... if you like tinkering, you'll enjoy this kit.... |
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The last 10% of any project always takes the longest... no exception here...
Picture showing the aluminum frame / shield around where the 100W amp will reside, later... 
All buttoned up and ready for calibration and testing... following these steps, we open her back up and install the 100W amp... but, this is basically the 10W version ready to go... 
Another 2.5 hours up to here... so that puts me at 7.5 hours give or take... So, I'm thinking that by the time we get through the initial tests and get the amp installed, that 10 hour estimate might be pretty accurate... but, this has been a real pleasure to work on... real nice kit and very well designed and produced... I'd do it again without hesitation... |
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Just looked at some really nice, well made weighted tuning knobs for the K3 (and a few other radios) at Dayton today. I have to say it make the feel of the tuning knob a whole lot better than the stock knob. They were expensive though, like $150... machined metal and some kind of rubber outer coating.
I really would like to get a K3 but the cost is just too high. |
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Looks good! Have you connected it to an antenna yet? Thanks... no, only applied power long enough to run the smoke test. Have a little reading to do before I plug it back up and run through the tests and calibration. Still waiting on the new power supply, so, not in huge hurry to get it on the air.... trying not to rush things... when I'd really love to! :) Quoted:
Just looked at some really nice, well made weighted tuning knobs for the K3 (and a few other radios) at Dayton today. I have to say it make the feel of the tuning knob a whole lot better than the stock knob. They were expensive though, like $150... machined metal and some kind of rubber outer coating. I really would like to get a K3 but the cost is just too high. Ouch.. $150 for a front knob... would love to have seen that.... I know what you mean about he cost... while this certainly is not on the high end, did you see the price tag on the new flex? , it is still a lot of money. I had to sell off a bunch a stuff to raise the cash for this one... but, I've been playing with entry level tools too long. It was time to step out and make an improvement to the shack... one step at a time... P3 panadapter next... then the amp... well, not really... antenna tower/mast comes first... too many projects and they all cost money..... going to take a while... |
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Had the opportunity to really put the K3 through some good use this weekend.... ran the CQ WPX over the weekend...
The filtering on this radio really is impressive... very busy and congested cw bands and I could isolate and read a single signal without issue... very nice... Did that mainly through the installed roofing filters, there is a second two layer digital signal processing, after the roofing filters, that I played with, but really don't fully understand how to best use that yet... The internal antenna tuner can tune a brick and quickly, a second in most cases and, as I understand it tunes at 5W... that fast and low power, may not even leave a mark if you tune on freq.. Have run both CW, RTTY and JT65, no outside interface is required. There is a Serial connection to the back of the K3, Using the Elecraft cable, the other end of the cable is USB for the computer. Two double male ended sterio cables to the computer sound card... that's it... Was running CW via N1MM... N1MM ran the internal keyer and comunicated band and freq data flawlessly with the rig Still way too many features that I dont yet have a grasp on, but ... already making a mental note of other features/boards that are going to be added... Very pleased with this so far.... have some studying to do, but this thing may just be a keeper... |
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Had the opportunity to really put the K3 through some good use this weekend.... ran the CQ WPX over the weekend... The filtering on this radio really is impressive... very busy and congested cw bands and I could isolate and read a single signal without issue... very nice... Did that mainly through the installed roofing filters, there is a second two layer digital signal processing, after the roofing filters, that I played with, but really don't fully understand how to best use that yet... The internal antenna tuner can tune a brick and quickly, a second in most cases and, as I understand it tunes at 5W... that fast and low power, may not even leave a mark if you tune on freq.. Have run both CW, RTTY and JT65, no outside interface is required. There is a Serial connection to the back of the K3, Using the Elecraft cable, the other end of the cable is USB for the computer. Two double male ended sterio cables to the computer sound card... that's it... Was running CW via N1MM... N1MM ran the internal keyer and comunicated band and freq data flawlessly with the rig Still way too many features that I dont yet have a grasp on, but ... already making a mental note of other features/boards that are going to be added... Very pleased with this so far.... have some studying to do, but this thing may just be a keeper... Now this is a useful review....at least for me anyway. Did you add the 100 watt module or did you run the contest at 10 watts? I am looking at things to sell to get a K3 as we speak.
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Yes, it does have the KAT3 KPA3 option installed and I did run at 100W... had a real fubar in the first hour... everything appeared to be working properly, but nobody was hearing me. Finally figured out I had VOX turned off, using the internal keyer needs VOX on... ... but had that revelation only after doing a factory reset and setting up all the menu setting again..
Band conditions Sunday morning were pretty good... 15 was wide open into Europe most of the day and 10 was open a good bit, so not sure how much to attribute to the rig signal clarity and how much to a good 15m band... but for the first time, early afternoon on the east coast I had clear copy on two JA stations.... couldn't complete a q with 1 but did with the other... this was out of the hex beam at only 12 ft.. was kind of windy here with Tropical Storm Beryl, so the hex wasn't pushed up... So given my low antenna, even though I'd like to say it was the rig... I think the band was helping a good bit... but, i was easily able to isolate and clean up weak signals, and the pre amp makes them pop on the higher quieter bands... the attenuator is also very effective with over powering signals... really a pleasure to use and looking forward to getting proficient with this thing.. have only just begun to figure out what it is capable of...
Not that I have a biased opinion... 
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Resistance checks and power applied smoke test... lights up and, thankfully, no smoke...
http://i585.photobucket.com/albums/ss300/mndless/K3/20.jpg http://i585.photobucket.com/albums/ss300/mndless/K3/21.jpg 30 min I have that same RS power supply on my bench. And I also have an Apmex box full of screwdrivers. Did you steal my workbench? 
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Resistance checks and power applied smoke test... lights up and, thankfully, no smoke...
http://i585.photobucket.com/albums/ss300/mndless/K3/20.jpg http://i585.photobucket.com/albums/ss300/mndless/K3/21.jpg 30 min I have that same RS power supply on my bench. And I also have an Apmex box full of screwdrivers. Did you steal my workbench? What's that old saying about great minds that think alike??? ... 
But, really... I enjoyed building this kit... given the thorough understanding of the radio, the resulting level of comfort in future upgrades... more than worth the dollar savings and time it takes.. and, really a fun project... saving up for another :D |
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The internal antenna tuner can tune a brick... Would you expand on this statement a bit, please? The spec. for the internal tuner specifies 10:1 VSWR max. at 100W, which is not a huge range of impedance. Interestingly, it can achieve the same number of combinations of L & C as an SG239, but unlike the SG239 all of the C must be input or output, whereas the SG topology puts 6 cap's on the input side and 4 cap's on the output side. So will it really tune the proverbial lawn chair or rain gutter a la an SGC tuner? |
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Well, you have to start with a couple of assumptions and clarifying definitions. The first, is that the term brick is a bit enigmatic and not explicitly defined, certainly not by any conventional standard. One could easily argue that your view and definition of a brick is altogether different than mine and both different from that of the free space brick...
Secondly, as far as 10:1 not being a huge range of impedance.... again, one must view this from a range of varying perspective which inevitably leads one back to the basic question, why are we trying to tune the proverbial brick in the first place? rather than focusing on making a better brick?
For the record, I did note several posts above that the tuner would tune up to 10:1... I have not tested that and frankly can't fathom needing such range with my arsenal of antenna... But, your question has presented something of a quandary.... As of now, I cannot provide an informed response to your question. I have looked through my documentation, through the Elecraft website... even went so far as to email Elecraft inquiring about a data sheet on the tuner... resulting in this reply from what I hope is a new hire... There is not a specific separate data sheet for the KAT3 as it is an option of the K3.
I can tell you from the FAQ page that The K3's KAT3 ATU will match a range approaching 10:1 through 100W on most bands. If you have other specific questions regarding the tuner or want to talk to one our techs, just let me know. Not exactly chalked with details... so, I'm on the detail hunt... and will report back when I actually have some good information.... so, for now... the proverbial brick remains undefined.... |
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10:1 seems pretty dammed good for an automatic INTERNAL antenna tuner. I don't know. They've managed to fit almost exactly the same number of large components (primarily inductors) onto the KAT3 as an SG239. And cap's are small. It's mostly a topological decision. If they had split it 4 input/4 output they could achieve the same impedance range as an SG239 with half the number of steps between them, and the KAT3 board has plenty of room for 2 more cap's, allowing them to completely duplicate performance. |