AmateurRadio.com

Want to see a KX3 build from start to finish?  TJ, W0EA treated us to live video on USTREAM while he built his:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/23127348

If you have a kit on order and have the time, I would really advise watching this (Hint: Start viewing at about the 8:00 minute mark).  Looking at stills (like I’ve posted) is one thing.  Watching the build being done before your very eyes (in real time) is just priceless.

Even though mine is built, I also learned a thing or two.  TJ mentioned that there was a Builder Advisory note that I hadn’t seen anywhere. It concerns the speaker grill and the distortion that can occur if it is installed.  I was experiencing that distortion; so as a result of listening to TJ, I took it out. The unit sounds much better now.

I still haven’t done the roofing filter alignment. maybe tomorrow night as I have been way busy.  But I have found some time to get in a QSO every day for the past few days.  I worked EM2012UA tonight, which is a special event station for the 2012 European Football Championships. Five watts to the Butternut vertical is still getting my signal heard worldwide.

By the way, conditions on 20 Meters were superb tonight.  The noise floor was about S1 and I heard so many European and Caribbean stations up and down the band – it was amazing (especially the fact that it was around 02:30 UTC – recently the band has been dead by then).  The fact that the sun spot number is 154 is a good thing.  Maybe Venus imparted some magic as she crossed the face of the sun yesterday?  Who knows?  If conditions like these keep up for a while, I think we’ll all be happy.

I am becoming more and more familiar with the radio and quite honestly, it isn’t as complicated as I initially thought it would be.  The controls are well labeled and are pretty intuitive and easy to get the hang of.

The bait’s been taken; but the hook hasn’t quite set yet, but this fishy really wants a K3 now.

I’ve been getting a lot of spam comments over the past week or so.  Been averaging about 20 a day since I took the Captcha code thingy off.  I apologize for keeping the comments on moderation; but if I didn’t I’d be overrun by spam.  So if you make a comment and don’t see it for a while, it’s nothing personal – just haven’t gotten to allowing them through.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!