Elecraft KX3 Owner's Manual - Manual (Page 30)

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Band Map
If there are some bands you don’t plan to use, you
can remove them from the band-switch rotation
using BND MAP. This can save time when
switching bands. Within the BND MAP menu
entry, you can switch bands using
B A N D + and
B A N D - . Set each band to IN or O U T as desired.
CW Iambic Mode
CW users can specify Iambic mode A or B using
the CW IAMB menu entry. The default is mode
A ,
which is a little more forgiving for first-time
operators. Mode
B may be preferred by operators
who learned to do “squeeze-keying” with another
keyer having this or a similar mode. Both modes
provide dot- and dash-memories—enabling fast
code speeds—but with slightly different timing.
Microphone Settings
If you plan to use voice modes, set up MIC BIAS
and MIC BTN to match your microphone (pg. 35).
Preamp Gain (Per-Band)
The default (and recommended) preamp gain is 20
dB . However, you can select 10 d B if 20 dB is too
much gain on a given band. (Operating with the
preamp turned off may be a better choice in such
cases.) The 10-dB preamp adds about 15 mA to
receive-mode current drain, while the 20-dB
preamp adds only about 5 mA.
A 30 d B selection is also available that turns
on both preamps. However, this setting increases
susceptibility to strong signals. It is the default
setting on 6 meters, where the combination of the
two can improve sensitivity by 1 to 2 dB.
Switch press Tones
Switch press tones are enabled by default. Using the
SW TONE menu entry, you can turn tones
O FF ,
O N , or select Morse code control tones at various
speeds ( C O D E nn ). The full list of Morse code
control characters, as well as a text-only panel
description for blind operators, can be found on our
KX3 web page.
Switch tones use the CW sidetone volume level,
which can be adjusted in CW mode (pg. 12).
Setting the Time
MENU:TIME sets the 24-hour real-time-clock
(RTC) if a KXBC3 module is installed. If no
KXBC3 is installed, the displayed time will start at
00:00:00 when the KX3 is turned on.
While in the menu entry, tap 1 / 2 / 3 to select
HH/MM/SS (hours/minutes/seconds), respectively.
Then use VFO A to adjust the value. KX3 Utility
can also be used to accurately set the time.
Tap D I S P and rotate VFO B to display the present
time.
VFO Setup
Several menu entries are provided to control VFO
behavior:
§ VFO CRS sets up the K H Z tuning increment
for each mode (coarse tuning) on a per-mode
basis.
§ VFO CTS specifies the number of counts per
knob turn (VFO A and B): 128 or 256. The
lower setting makes fine-tuning easier,
especially for mobile use. The higher setting
allows quicker tuning.
§ VFO OFS, if set to Y E S , allows the OFS/VFO
B knob to do coarse tuning of VFO A. (This
only applies if the knob is not being used for
RIT, XIT, or to select VFO B display modes.
See pg. 35.)
TUNE Power Level
If you’re using an external antenna tuner or
amplifier with the KX3, you may need to limit the
power level used during
T U N E . The TUN PWR
menu entry can be used to set the desired power
level. For example, with an Elecraft T1 ATU, the
best tuner power level is about 3.0 watts.
If you have the KXAT3 internal ATU installed,
power is automatically set to 3.0 watts during
antenna tuning. There’s no need to configure
TUN PWR for this purpose.
VOX (Voice Operated Transmit) Setup
If you plan to use VOX in voice modes, you’ll need
to set up the VOX GN and VOX INH (anti-VOX)
menu entries.