Elecraft KX3 ordered!!

Since 2004, I have been an avid builder of the excellent transceiver kits from Elecraft. Sofar, I have built one KX1, two K1 and two K2 transceivers – all of them showing stunning performance on the HF amateur bands. Therefore, I couldn’t resist ordering the newest radio in the Elecraft range of HF-transceivers: The KX3, which is an ultra portable QRP-transceiver (weight is only 1.5 pounds/0.7 kg) with advanced DSP-technology and SDR-architecture. The transceiver is featuring a general coverage receiver; 0,5-32 MHz + the 6 meter amateur band. I decided to opt for the modular kit version (all cirkuit boards are factory made, the builder assembles the kit and does the final adjustments), together with the KXAT3 automatic antenna tuner which provides preselection also in receive-only mode (and also in the MW-band!), and since I’m a true “CW-nerd” I also ordered the IAMBIC paddles.

The primary use for this little gem will of course be portable ham-radio operation, but I’m also very curious about how this radio performs as a MW-receiver. I have very good experience with the receiver sections of the earlier Elecraft radios on HF, and being the “little brother” of Elecraft’s flagship K3, I’m convinced that the KX3 is no exception! No, it doesn’t feature Syncronous AM, but good SSB-filtering with good slopes works just as good. The KX3 may be the ultimate MW/SW portable for serious DX:ing. Time will show! Elecraft is planning to start shipping the KX3 in late February, so I guess that I will have a few weeks left of the MW-season when it’s delivered.

More information about the KX3 and other products from Elecraft is found here.

73!

Hans

Help – I can’t decide…

I’ve decided to “step up” a little bit SDR-wise, and thinking of buying a new SDR-receiver. The problem is, I can’t decide which one to choose. Sofar, I’ve been lokking at the QS1R/SDRMAXIV, the Perseus and the G31DDC Excalibur. All three receivers seems to be excellent, and all three has of course their “pros” and “cons”. At first, the QS1R with the SDRMAXIV software appeared to be a great choise, considering that the radio doesn’t need to use the PC’s soundcard, and that the SDRMAX-software now is capable of recording larger chunks (up to 2 MHZ?) of IF-bandwith.  I’m using my Lenovo T410s notebook (with the intel i5 dual core processor) – but doesn’t really know much about the built in soundcard (which most likely is a low-performance one). Still, the Excalibur and Perseus are very tempting, and it is of course possible to buy an high-end external soundcard, if necessary…

Any recommendations and/or comments from you is very mych appreciated! 

73′s from Stavanger!

Hans

Playing with SDR

SDR – Software Defined Radio… Well, I’ve been quite reluctant regarding “going digital” versus “staying analog”, but for a couple of days I’ve been playing with a SDR-IQ from RF-Space, and my verdict is: Yes! My other receivers, a JRC NRD-515, Palstar R30A and Sony ICF-2010 are still very good, but when it comes to the ability to dig up really weak signals from the mud the SDR-IQ stays untouched.  Besides that, the SDR-IQ receiver itself isn’t much bigger than a pocket-size digital camera and I need to take the laptop computer with me to Vardø anyway – so this will save a lot of flight-weight for me when it’s time to move up north. Image the carrying weight if I needed to send up the JRC, the R30A and the ICF-2010… Guess that SAS and Wideroe would have one or two things to say about that. Another big pro with the SDR-IQ is the ability to record a bandwith of roughly 190 KHz and everything within this bandwith. Of course, this requires quite a lot of discspace in the computer, but I have that and therefore the decision making regarding this issue is a “no brainer”. Yes, there are SDR-receivers on the market, such as the Perseus and WinRadio Excalibur, allowing recording of even bigger bandwiths – but for now the SDR-IQ is more than enough for me. If I stay nice, maybe Santa Claus will bring me a Perseus or Excalibur for Christmas, hi! By the way, the antenna I’m using here in Biri is a Wellbrook ALA330S which I’m phasing against a 15 meter wire by the means of a MFJ-1026 phasing unit, and the Palstar MW550P MW-preselector when listening on the MW band. The software I use for the SDR-IQ is SDR-Radio.com.