[CQ-Contest] [YCCC] Key Clicks in ARRL DX CW

[Jim Brown]

On Wed,2/24/2016 6:27 AM, Jukka Klemola wrote:
> I am going to think a little and make a write up somewhere on the subject

Rather than "think," it would probably be far better if you were to 
STUDY the documentation for modern radios and the impartial testing done 
by ARRL Labs, and published on their website. I have done that quite 
extensively, and have written it up in k9yc.com/TXNoise.pdf  These are 
FACTS that I have taken the time to learn, not opinions.

Again, you speak of firmware upgrades for the K3 "solving" a problem 
with clicks. I've been using K3s with legal limit amps since 2008. I do 
not recall ever having an issue with clicks -- if I did, K6XX, who lives 
five miles from me, would have told me! Again, you have bad information.

Beginning with the K3 and all of its accessories, firmware upgrades are 
nearly automatic. The firmware update utility (one for Windoze and one 
for Mac) queries the radio via a serial or USB port, queries the website 
and downloads the latest firmware, asks if you want to update, and if 
you say yes, it does that.

I first published TXNoise about 18 months ago. It clearly showed that 
Yaesu radios were by far the dirtiest on CW, with very excessive clicks 
and phase noise. A few months later, they issued a firmware update that 
significantly improved the keying performance of the FTDX5000 and others 
in that family. Likewise, ARRL's review of the Flex 6500 and 6700 SDRs 
showed really awful CW bandwidth. A few months later, Flex issued a 
firmware update that significantly improved the keying performance.

In TXNoise, I noted the connection between rise/fall time and keying 
bandwidth, and stated the simple rule that if it is adjustable, slower 
produces the cleanest result.

I would like to update TXNoise with results for the 6500/6700 radios 
after their firmware upgrade, but have so far been unsuccessful in 
having an owner loan his rig for measurement. N6TA loaned his FTDX5000 
for before and after measurements, and they are on my website.

http://k9yc.com/P3_Spectrum_Measurements.pdf

73, Jim K9YC