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Elecraft KX3 Extended VFO Temperature Compensation - easy!

Moleculo

Ham Radio Nerd
Apr 14, 2002
9,194
1,674
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Last night I decided to perform the extended VFO temperature compensation procedure on my KX3. This procedure is necessary if you wish to run certain digital modes with tight frequency tolerances like JT65, or if you want to cut down on frequency drift while using the 2 meter module. For the signal source, I used my K3 transmitting 1 watt into a dummy load and just used a cut coax cable with a bnc connector I had laying around with the center conductor stripped back a few inches. The goal is to get a signal of about S9 into the KX3.

I must say that the whole procedure is pretty simple. After an initial calibration reading, you put the rig into the refrigerator to cool it down to 20 degrees celsius or lower. Then you run the calibration process while heating up the heatsink with a heat gun or hair dryer. As the unit heats up, you can actually hear the CW tone move into and through the receiver's passband and when it's done calibrating, you can actually hear the radio correct itself.

It's pretty cool and if you own one of these radios, you shouldn't be afraid to try this yourself to add some extra stability to the rig.
 
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