Excellent news Wayne. I will forward this to our 600 meter email reflector.
Is there any way possible that you can do a similar mod for the K2 to make it transmit on 600 meters? Our new band that we should be granted will be 495kc-510kc. Of course that is a Part 5 Experimental band thus far. The ARRL will be working with the FCC down the road to see if they can turn this into a Amateur Radio Band. Many thanks, -- Mike WE0H WD2XSH/16 on 600m WD2XGI on 1750m & 2200m K2 #6698 wayne burdick wrote: > A few countries allow experimental amateur radio operation in the 500 > kHz band (600 meters). This is a fascinating and historic band that is > used for beacons and ground-wave communications. For hams, there are > very specific mode and power restrictions, and an experimental license > may be required. In the U.S., see http://www.500kc.com/ and > http://www.arrl.org for the latest news. > > The K3 can be used for both receive and transmit on this band as > explained below. > > > 500 kHz Receive-Only Operation > ------------------------------ > > The K3 can receive signals in the 500-kHz band if both the KXV3 and > KBPF3 modules are installed. > > The KXV3 (RF I/O module) is needed because it provides an RX ANT IN > jack. This jack bypasses the high-pass filter in the normal receive > antenna path. At 500 kHz, the high-pass filter--which protects the T/R > PIN diodes--will attenuate signals by about 20 dB. There is no such > attenuation at 500 kHz when using the RX ANT IN jack, and sensitivity > is excellent. We measured an MDS of -133 dBm with preamp OFF and a DSP > filter bandwidth of 50 Hz. > > The KBPF3 (general-coverage module) is needed because the normal > 160-meter band-pass filter covers only about 1.7 to 2.1 MHz. The KBPF3 > includes a low-pass filter that passes signals down to 500 kHz with > very little attenuation. > > A low-noise receiving antenna is recommended for use at 500 kHz. > > Diversity receive should be very useful at 500 kHz. To do this, you'll > need a sub receiver (KRX3) that is equipped with its own KBPF3 module. > You'll also need a separate receive antenna for the sub, oriented > differently from the receive antenna used with the main receiver. > > > 500-kHz Transmit/Receive Operation > ---------------------------------- > > The K3 cannot be used to directly transmit on 500 kHz at high power. > The low-pass filter cutoff frequency is well above that needed for > attenuation of harmonics on this band, and other components in the > transmit path are optimized for 1.8 MHz and higher. > > However, the K3 can put out a clean 500 kHz signal of about 0.5 > milliwatts at the XVTR OUT jack (on the KXV3). This can be fed to an > external amplifier (this is left as an exercise for the reader). > Transmit power is restricted on this band, and is usually expressed as > ERP (Effective Radiated Power). This means you can use high power to > make up for the use of an electrically short antenna. Since 1/4 > wavelength at 500 kHz is about 468 feet, not many hams will be using a > full-length vertical or dipole. > > As with receive, transmit at 500 kHz requires the KXV3 and KBPF3 > modules. In this case, though, you'll need to use the XVTR IN and XVTR > OUT jacks, with XVTR IN going to the receive antenna, and XVTR OUT > going to your 500 kHz amplifier and a transmit antenna. If the same > antenna is used for both transmit and receive, an external T/R switch > will also be needed, controlled by the K3's KEY OUT signal. If separate > transmit/receive antennas are used, it may be necessary to provide a > PIN-diode switch to open or short the receive antenna during transmit. > The XVTR IN jack is normally used with a transverter, so it doesn't > have such protection built in. > > IMPORTANT: In order to transmit at 500 kHz via the XVTR OUT jack, you > must set CONFIG:KXV3 to TEST. This routes all signals through XVTR IN > and XVTR OUT, which is why the receive antenna must be connected to > XVTR IN in this case. (You can't use XVTR OUT for transmit and RX ANT > IN for receive due to switching limitations.) Be sure to set KXV3 back > to NOR when using normal ham bands. > > If interest in the 500-kHz band is sufficient, we'll change add 160 > meters as an IF band for use with transverters. This would allow you to > set up a 500 kHz transverter band, so it would not be necessary to set > KXV3 to TEST. > > > Synthesizer Considerations > -------------------------- > > Before using 500 kHz, you'll need to make sure your synthesizer is > adjusted to cover this band. Tap DISP and use VFO B to locate the > "PLL1" display. If the voltage is less than 0.9 V when VFO A is set, > contact customer support for suggestions on how to adjust it. If you > plan to transmit on this band, connect an short (3') antenna to the > XVTR OUT jack and listen to your signal with another 500 kHz receiver. > Make sure the signal sounds clean. > > > 73, > Wayne > N6KR > > > ---- > > http://www.elecraft.com ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
