ELECRAFT K3 User manual

ELECRAFT K3 QUICK-START GUIDE
To get started using your K3 right away, please read this short tutorial section and try each of the controls. The text
uses braces to refer to numbered elements in Figures 1 and 2. For example, {1} refers to
1
, the mic jack .
Later sections provide greater detail on all aspects of K3 operation. For a description of LCD elements, see pg. ??.
PHONES
SUB
AF
SHIFT
LO
HI
WIDTH
CUT
CMP
SPEED
PWR
MIC
B
MIC
RF / SQL
SUB
E LECRAFT
K 3
CONFIG
METER
DISP
MENU
XMIT
TUNE
ATU
ALT
QSK
VOX
TEST
ANT
TX
f
∆
1
4
7
.
2
5
8
0
9
XIT
RIT
CLR
COARSE
FINE
RATE
LOCK
PRE
NB
SPOT
AGC
NR
CWT
AFX
NTCH
XFIL
3
6
AGC-S
II
FL2
XFIL
USB
TX
A
B
PRE
ANT 2
SUB
ATU
60
50
100
2
3
SWR
RF
S1
3
5
7
9
+20
40
A
BAND
MODE
REC
M1
M3
M2
M4
-
+
NORM
DELAY
MON
-
+
I/II
M V
V M
PF2
PF1
AF REC
AF PLAY
SCAN
DUAL PB
ATT
LEVEL
PITCH
OFF
ADJ
TEXT DEC
MAN
DATA MD
B SET
SPLIT
A / B
A B
MESSAGE
VFO
REV
SUB
+
-
ATU
RX
FREQ
ENT
TUNE
ANT
POWER
TRANSCEIVER
-
+
-
+
1
2
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
13
17
24
25
19
18
20
14
15
22
16
23
12
21
4
3
Figure 1. Front Panel
IN
OUT
OUT
IF OUT
SERIAL NO.
05000
ANT 2
ANT 1
0.5 A MAX.
12VDC OUT
GROUND
KEY OUT
PTT IN
KEY
PADDLE
SWITCHED
IN
12VDC IN
RX ANT
XVTR
REF. IN
+
+
!
OUT
MIC
SPKRS
PHONES
IN
LINE
STEREO
STEREO
MONO
MONO
ACC
RS232
!
AUX RF
26
29
31
36
35
34
32
28
30
37
33
27
38
Figure 2. Rear Panel

Connections
•Connect a power supply to the DC input jack {26} (see Specifications, pg. ??).
•On the K3/100, a circuit breaker is provided on the fan panel for the 100-W stage {30}.
Low-power circuitry is protected by an internal self-resetting fuse.
•You can power an accessory device from the switched DC output jack {38} (0.5 A max).
•Connect an antenna to ANT1 {29}. If you have an ATU installed (pg. ??), you can connect
a second antenna to ANT2 {28}. AUX RF {27} is for use with the subreceiver (pg. ??).
•See page ?? for a full description of the K3’s rear-panel connectors.
The Basics
POWER
•Press P O W E R {5} to turn on the K3. If there are any error indications, refer to page ??.
•T A P and H O L D 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 BAND {7} to select a band, and M O D E {6} to select the mode. Set the
AF gain using AF {2}. Set RF to max. Set S U B A F to min (pg. ??).
•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. ??).
•C M P / P W R is one of four multifunction controls {24}. Each has two primary
functions, indicated by the green LEDs above them. Tap the knob to select the desired
function, in this case C M P (speech compression level) or P W R (power output in watts).
Hold the knob to activate its secondary function, in this case M O N itor level.
Filter
Controls
•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 briefly to alternate between shift/width and hicut/locut.
•Hold SHIFT / LOCUT to N O R M alize the bandwidth (e.g., 400 Hz CW, 2.8 kHz SSB).
•Hold HICUT / WIDTH to alternate between two filter setups, Iand II (per-mode).
•Tap X F I L {13} to select crystal filters manually; this also removes any passband shift.
Voice Modes
{1}
•Hold M E T E R {8} to select C M P / A L C metering. Set MIC {25} for 4-7 bars of ALC,
and CMP for the desired compression. Then return to S W R / P W R . (Pg. ??.)
•Optional: Hold T E S T {6} for TX TEST; allows off-air adjustment (TX icon flashes).
•Hold CMP / PWR {24} to set speech M O N itor level; tap to return to C M P / P W R .
•Hold V O X {7} to select PTT or V O X . Hold SPEED / MIC to set VOX D E L A Y .
•Additional details: VOX (pg. ??), TX EQ (pg. ??), MIC (pg. ??), AM & FM (pg. ??).
CW Mode
{36}
•SPEED {25} sets the CW keyer speed. Hold this knob to set semi-break-in D E L A Y .
Hold Q S K {7} to select full break-in (Q S K icon on) or semi-break-in. (Pg. ??.)
•Hold P I T C H {18} to set sidetone pitch. Hold CMP / PWR to set sidetone M O N level.
•Tap C W T {18} to enable tuning aid {9}. With C W T on, S P O T auto-tunes CW signals.
•To select CW text decode/display mode, hold T E X T D E C {18}, then rotate VFO B.
•CW keying is converted to DATA in FSK D and PSK D modes (below and pg. ??).
•Hold D U A L P B {13} to turn CW dual-passband receive mode on or off (pg. ??).
Data Modes
CQ
{31}
•Hold D A T A M D {18}. Use VFO B to select from: D A T A A (PSK31 & miscellaneous
soundcard-based modes), A FS K A (soundcard-based RTTY), FSK D (RTTY via
data input or keyer), or PSK D (PSK via data input or keyer). VFO A selects baud rate
for internal text decoder, if applicable. Additional details on DATA modes: pg. ??.
•Hold P I T C H {18} to select mark tone and shift (for decoder and dual-tone filter).
•Hold T EX T DE C {18} to turn on RTTY or PSK31 text decode. Tap C W T for tuning aid.

VFOs
and
RIT/XIT
•R A T E {21} selects 10 or 50 Hz VFO/RIT tuning (pg. ??). Also see V F O menu entries.
•F I N E {21} selects 1-Hz steps. C O A R S E selects large tuning steps (per-mode; pg. ??).
•Tap F R E Q E N T {21} to enter frequency in MHz using numeric keypad. Tap return ( )
to complete the entry, or tap F R E Q E N T again to cancel. (Pg. ??.)
•Hold S C A N to start/stop scanning. SCAN must be preceded by a memory recall (pg. ??).
•The R I T and X I T offset knob {17} has LEDs that show -/0/+offset (pg. ??). Tap C L R
{16} to zero the offset. Hold C L R for > 2 sec. to add the offset to VFO A, then zero it.
XMIT
and ANT
Controls
•The TX LED {4} indicates that the K3 is in transmit mode. The ∆fLED turns on if the
RX and TX frequencies are unequal (SPLIT, RIT/XIT, cross-mode, etc.). (Pg. ??.)
•X M I T {8} is equivalent to PTT {35}. Hold T U N E to put out full CW power.
•Tap A T U T U N E {8} to auto-tune (KAT3). Hold A T U to select normal/bypass ATU mode.
•ANT to selects A N T 1 or A N T 2 (KAT3). R X A N T selects main or R X antenna (KXV3).
NB, NR,
and Notch
(?)
•Tap N B {12} to turn on DSP and/or I.F. noise blanking. Hold L E V E L to set NB levels
using VFO A (DSP) and VFO B (I.F.). Fully CCW is O F F in both cases. (Pg. ??.)
•Tap N R {12} to turn on noise reduction. Hold ADJ to tailor noise reduction for the
present band conditions (pg. ??).
•Tap N T C H {12} once to select auto-notch (N T C H icon), and a second time to select
manual notch (adds < > icon). Hold M A N to adjust manual notch frequency. (Pg. ??.)
SPLIT,
BSET,
and SUB
•Hold S P L I T {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 (??) will turn on (pg. ??).
•Tap B S E T {13} to adjust VFO B settings independent of VFO A (pg. ??).
•Tap S U B {20} to turn on the subreceiver (pg. ??). VFO B controls its frequency.
•The subreceiver can use its auxiliary input or share antennas with the main receiver. Which
antennas are available to main and subreceivers depends on installed options (pg. ??).
Memories,
Messages,
and DVR (?)
•To store a frequency memory, tap V > M {14}, then: tap M 1 -M 4 {15} to save a per-band
quick memory; or tap 0-9to save a general-purpose quick memory; or rotate VFO A to
select from memories 0-99, then tap V > M again to save. Tap M > V to recall. (Pg. ??.)
•M 1 -M 4 and R E C {15} are also used to record and play CW or voice messages. The
KDVR3 option is required for voice messages and audio record/playback (pg. ??).
Menus (?)
•M E N U & C O N F I G {8} access the M A I N and C O N F I G menus. VFO B selects entries;
VFO A changes parameters. C O N F I G menu entries are used less often.
•Tapping D I S P {8} within menus shows information about each entry on VFO B (pg ??).
•Up to 10 menu entries can be assigned to programmable function switches. P F 1 and P F 2
{16} are dedicated to programmable functions. Any of M 1 -M 4 {15} can be used as Tap
and/or Hold programmable functions if they’re not being used for message play (pg ??).
Other
Features
•R X and T X EQ (M A I N menu) provide 8 bands of receive/transmit equalization (pg. ??).
•Tap A F X {18} to enable binaural audio effects (A F X M D menu entry. pg. ??).
•Tap D I S P {8} and use VFO B to show time, supply voltage, etc. on VFO B (pg. ??).
•The A L A R M function (M A I N menu) can be used to remind you about a contest, net, or
QSO schedule. The K3 will be turned on automatically if it is off at the time of alarm.