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There aren’t that many modifications that you can do to the Elecraft K3. This is very different from the K2 as in my list I now have 138 different modifications for it. But Elecraft does have a few K3 enhancements and mods on their home page and here are two additional modifications that I have done to my K3.

Plug-in roofing filters on main RX board

The first one is to add a wideband LC-filter (roofing filter). The filter was inspired by ideas from W5DHM with three tuned sections at the IF frequency of 8.215 kHz. It is to the right in the image. It is not the best of filters, and probably compromises performance somewhat, most likely because of its low image rejection 30 kHz away. It has however served me well as a receiver filter for the latest version of K1JT’s software WSJT-X. That software processes a 4 kHz band for both the JT65 and JT9 digital modes, and the LC-filter has demonstrated to me the utility of having a wide roofing filter for reception of those modes. The filter also works well for listening to broadcast AM which was what W5DHM designed it for in the first place.

Back panel of the K3

The second modification allows for a connection to the P3 Panadapter without using the recommended KXV3A Interface. All that is needed for the P3 is simply a minicoax with proper terminations. On the underside of the main PCB it should have a plug that connects to the J66 connector (see page 10 in the KXV3 manual). In the other end it is soldered to a BNC connector on the back of the K3. I put mine in the hole reserved for the REF input, as I don’t have the K3EXREF External Reference Input option. The BNC connector was marked with a label that says “IF out” as seen in the image.

Both of these modifications are temporary, and as a matter of fact the last one was just replaced by a KXV3A after several years of service. I needed the KXV3A for the PR6-10 preamplifier. I also plan some day to replace the wideband LC-filter with either the KFL3A-6K 6 kHz AM/ESSB filter or the KFL3B-FM 13 kHz FM filter.

Sverre Holm, LA3ZA, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Norway. Contact him at [email protected].

was quite packed today at lunchtime!  Which was absolutely, positively fantastic!  In fact, it was just a little difficult to find an empty frequency. So for a change, I listened for a CQ instead of calling, and I ended up having a nice QSO with F5LAW, Yann who lives near Lille, France. Yann was using his Kenwood TS-480SAT at the 5 Watt level.  He was pushing those 5 Watts into a 4 element Yagi antenna.  I gave Yann a 549 and he gave me a 559.  There was some QSB, but the entire QSO was solid copy!  And on his last exchange, Yann’s signal had peaked to a solid 589.

Yann had commented that he had survived Autumn storm Christian with no damage to his property, although some of the surrounding area was not as lucky.  That reminded me that it was just one year ago today that Hurricane Sandy did her number on New Jersey and the rest of the Mid-Atlantic coast:

Larry Makoski, W2LJ, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Jersey, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

I took a quick hike on Shute Hill today. I worked Florida, Greenland, and Madeira Island.

Most of the leaves have fallen… and it’s gotten pretty chilly. It was 46F today. But it was still a nice day to get out for a short hike. I went to Shute Hill and headed for Will Ellis’s back field.

I threw a 30 foot wire over an oak tree at the edge of the field and sat down. The thermometer read 60F in the sun. I ran the KX3 at 5 watts and used the 9:1 unun and the internal tuner. By this afternoon 10 meters had become quiet. So I started out on 12 meters and heard N4FNG calling CQ from near Tampa. Al was a solid 579 and he gave me the same. He was also running 5 watts… we chatted for 20 minutes. Then I went back to check out 10 meters.

I had a sip of tea from the thermos I brought and tuned around. There was OX3XR in Greenland booming in and working one station after another. Peter came back to me after several calls and we exchanged quick 599s. There a was long pileup waiting for him.

Here’s Peter’s QSL card which, I believe, shows his operating position:

In contrast… here’s the view from my operating position :

I switched to 17 meters and heard Cedric CT3FT calling CQ from Madeira Island. He was strong and there were no takers. He answered my first call. I was 559 and he was 599. “UR QRP is working very well,” he sent when I told him I was running 5 watts. As I was operating, a steady stream of leaves fell on the rig and I swished them away.

The forecast for tomorrow morning calls for a 20 percent chance of snow.

Jim Cluett, W1PID, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Hampshire, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

The temp antenna and op position

Well the weekend is done and I had Monday off so what a better time to turn on the KX3 and see what is happening out in radio land. I have been reading on Twitter how well 10m is doing so this was my first stop. The antenna is the Alexloop now positioned in my second floor radio room and not on the main floor. With my 5 watts of power I was able to make contact with CO8LY and CO2OQ both in Cuba! CO8LY was at 28019 calling CQ and had a mini pileup going I I waited and was able to make contact with a 599 report. He then moved onto the next station. I then came across CO2OQ at 28032 he was just ending a QSO and I gave him a call. Osmany came back to me but needed several repeats to get my call correct. His report to me was 229 but he was still able to pick me out to have a short QSO with  me. He was in and out but steady around 559. It would seem that 10m is still open and ready for biz. This was all the time I had as it was time to head out and see my Chiropractor and then off to the grocery store. If time permits I will be back on the air this evening after dinner but there are other things that have to be done now.


Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

Received this e-mail today from Daniel DO7FOX of QRZCQ:

We’ve been online for two years now! The first day was 2011 Oct 10. We are about 60500 users now and still growing fast!

Some sizes and numbers:

– Calls in database: 2.536.181
– Call views: 14.333.826
– Logbook QSOs: 22.726.374
– All time QSOs processed: 172.480.731
– Monthly visits: 950.000
– DX-Cluster spots with or from our users: 58%
– Video views: 137.995
– Users with picture: 18.237
– DX-Cluster spots via web interface: 69.845
– Max users on DX-Cluster via web interface: 119
– Forum posts: 401 (not much)
– Stream posts: 1.274
– XML lookups: 309.067 (closed test)
– Database queries per second: 2.462
– DX-Cluster spots in database: 8.289.618

Some future dates:

– Date when the site becomes unreadable due to ads: never 😉
– Date when the online log should start (still coding): aprox. Jan 2014
– Date of next 3rd birthday: 10 Oct 2014

And, unfortunately, 6 users went SK (known) since the site started. May the Ether be with them.

To celebrate this birthday, 100 new registered and activated users will get premium for free. The period for 100 premium will start in few hours.

Please help us grow, use the “Invite” function in your account and please invite your Ham and Swl friends. All you need is their call and email.

Thank you very much for the faith given us everyday by using our site!

Please visit us again and take a look! If you forgot your password simply try to login with your call and last password you remember, then use the simple ‘password forgotten’ function to recover your password.

You can visit QRZCQ to sign up at http://www.qrzcq.com

Have you given QRZCQ a try? What’s your opinion of it?

Matt Thomas, W1MST, is the managing editor of AmateurRadio.com. Contact him at [email protected].

I am ready for the first autumn storm 'Christian' - my vertical is down, precaution. At midnight the storm will arrive in the UK, tomorrow morning The Netherlands. So I will see and wait for things to come.
Update: The storm is over. Wind gusts up to 119km/h at our location. We had no real problems here. One roof was destroyed and a tree was down, that's all.

I will no longer publish about WSPR on this blog but on a separate one: www.pc4twspr.blogspot.nl



Paul Stam, PC4T, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from the Netherlands. Contact him at [email protected].

Another Zombie Shuffle in the books and unfortunately, I missed most of it.  Operating hours were from 6:00 PM local to Midnight, local. First, I ended up working until 6:00 PM last night, instead of my normal 5:00 PM.  Then, on top of that, I had my local radio club meeting, which is always at 8:00 PM on the last Friday evening of the month.  That gave me an hour (roughly) to get home, get changed out of my work clothes, wolf down some dinner and then get to the meeting. Not good – Shuffle-wise.

I ended up getting on the air for the Shuffle at approximately 10:00 PM local.  By then you could tell that the cork had popped and the air let out of the balloon.  Activity was way down by then. 20 Meters was a lost cause on the East coast and 40 Meters was full of SSB QRM in the background.  80 Meters was a bit better than 40 Meters.

I ended up making 13 QSOs – I know, somehow that’s an appropriate number for the Zombie Shuffle, right? My score was a paltry 66,451 points.

Some visitors came by the while I was operating:

I didn’t mind the witch, the ghost or the Jack-O-Lantern so much, but that skeleton that insisted on “hanging around” my monitor made logging just a wee bit difficult!  At least I was able to lure the gremlins off my feedline by throwing some Snickers bars at them!

PS:  As of Monday morning, according to the results at:  http://www.zianet.com/qrp/ZOMBIE/zombie_006.htm, I have come in 17th in a field of 38 entries.  That’s a lot better than I thought!

72 es Boo de Larry W2LJ
BooRP – When you care to send the very least!

Larry Makoski, W2LJ, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Jersey, USA. Contact him at [email protected].