Receive Antenna In/Out
The RX ANT IN/OUT jacks have various uses:
• Low-noise receiving antenna: Connect a
Beverage or tuned loop to the RX ANT IN jack,
then tap RX ANT to select it. The RX icon will
turn on. On 12-6 m, you can optionally turn on
preamp 2 for weak-signal work (see pg. 25).
• Band-pass filters: You can connect an external
filter between RX ANT IN/OUT. Tap RX ANT
to select it (per-band). RX ANT is active only
in receive, so small filter parts can be used.
• Test signal injection: The RX ANT IN jack is
ideal to inject a test signal, because the
generator won't be damaged if you transmit.
Buffered I.F. Output for Panadapters
The K3S provides a buffered receive I.F. signal at
the IF OUT jack (~8.215 MHz). This signal is
compatible with panadapters such as the Elecraft P3
(pg. 47). Refer to panadapter manual for interfacing
and operating instructions.
Use a short, high-quality coax cable between
the K3S and the panadapter.
Using the 100-550 kHz Range
The 100-550 kHz range includes experimental
amateur allocations at 137 kHz (2200 meters) and
472 kHz (630 meters). There are also commercial
and military test signals, beacons, highway service
announcements, etc. A link to an article about this
frequency range appears on the Elecraft home page.
To hear signals in this range on the K3S, you’ll
need the KBPF3A band-pass filter option. To avoid
signal attenuation due to the high-pass filter in the
T/R switch, you’ll need to attach your 100-550 kHz
antenna to either RX ANT IN or XVTR IN. You
can also transmit on the 472 kHz band at low power
(about 0.5 mW) via the XVTR OUT jack. An
external amplifier with suitable low-pass filtering
will be required.
To enable XVTR IN/OUT for 100-550 kHz use,
set CONFIG:KXV3B to TEST, temporarily.
Using Transverters
Nine user-definable bands are provided for use with
transverters. These can be used with the Elecraft
K144XV internal 2-m module, Elecraft XV-Series,
or other transverters. See pg. 20 for connections.
Transverter Band Setup
Transverter bands are set up using the XV menu
entries. Tap 1 – 9 within menu entries to select a
transverter band to configure.
• Set XVn ON to YES to enable band n .
• XVn RF sets the operating frequency (MHz).
• XVn IF specifies the I.F. band (7, 14, 21, 28, or
50 MHz). Use 28 MHz for the K144XV option.
• XVn PWR sets maximum K3S power output
for the current transverter band, in two ranges:
L .01-L1.27 specifies a power level in
milliwatts; the RF bar graph reads in tenths of a
milliwatt in this case (use the XVTR IN/OUT
jacks). H 0.0-H12.0 specifies power in
watts, via the main ant. jack.
• XVn OFS can compensate for frequency offset
in the transverter’s oscillator. Two offsets are
provided for the K144XV (see XVn OFS).
• XVn ADR specifies a transverter select address.
Use INT. TRN0- 9 with the K144XV (see
XVn ADR description for details).
For weak-signal transverter work, you may
wish to eliminate any possible noise contribution
from the HF antennas (ANT1/2 and RX ANT IN).
You can improve isolation between the XVTR
IN/OUT and RX ANT IN jack by removing any
antenna connected to RX ANT IN. Also, if you
have a KAT3, tap ANT to select whichever antenna
(1 or 2) contributes less noise on the I.F. band in
use. (Note: The ANT 1/2 icons are not displayed if
XVn PWR is set for L power range. You can use
the H range temporarily to see the icons, if desired.)
CAUTION: When possible, use mW-level
drive and the XVTR IN/OUT jacks with
transverters (see XVn PWR). If you use high
power, via ANT1 or 2, you could accidentally
damage a low-level transverter.
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