After 9 months of on and off - looks like my knocking noise has finally been resolved.
Fair play to Saris who kept shipping me everything we thought was the issue - then I started asking for specifics when I was pretty sure I nailed it down.
So the pulley wheel with the bearings in ;
(that is the underside)… and rattles when I shook it. Lubricating it would stop it for a bit… but be back in half an hour.
Anyways - swapped that bit… and silence 
Just picked an H3 up last weekend and it is MILES better than the Kinetic R1 from a TR perspective. Of course now I need to get a rocker plate…
Well My H3 Kind of crapped the Bed. Saris support to the rescue. This is why I have had the h1, h2 and h3. Amazing company!
Personal update: the updated big pulley seems to be quiet for months now, a whole winter of training as well as rainy day use throughout the rest of the year and it’s all good now. Very happy with the feel and smoothness of the trainer, though I think the Kickr/CORE are still quieter. Powermatch works great, inclines on Zwift work great, would recommend
Glad to hear they finally got that sorted.
Last Monday during the warm down segment of a 4x4@120% I got the 4ghz red light and trainer immediately lost resistance. Leaving to ‘cool down’ didn’t reset it (and still hasn’t a week later). Ride was on a cool evening and unit (H3) is 18 months old. Aside from Zwift BTE drop out issues and occasional resistance lock at end of an interval in TR workouts, all has been good.
Emailed Saris support and got a reply four days later (phones not being answered). Have been asked to provide serial number and address. Will update with progress.
Just did my first ride on the so-called ERG-mode champion (DC Rainmaker). But II had quite an opposite experience. The ERG-mode on my old VORTEX Smart was way better.
It doesn’t become stable and keep oscillating quite badly (+/- 30-40 Watt).
Quite disappointed with my first direct drive purchase. Maybe it’s a bad ‘monday-morning’ unit?
Everything has a learning curve or a so-called “break -in period” ,… the H3 ( and wheel offs in general I have read ) tends to like the small front chainring and a good chainline somewhere in the middle of the cogset (mine seems to like the 6 smallest) and the power does fluctuate a bit as there is no power smoothing like the Wahoos and consistent RPMs ,… though it may appear smother when using a PM to control it (PowerMatch) , my 4iiii Precision settles it down some.
Of course you have updated to the latest firmware and calibrated “warm” after 10 or so mins of spinning…
Thanks for your reply and advise. I checked for updates and calibrated in both Apps (Saris and TR). It’s true, I rode on the big ring like I was used to do on the Tacx Vortex Smart. I also noted an unrealistic average speed (44 km/u) for a relative ‘easy’ workout (Carillon -2).
I will keep on testing other options (small ring etc.). It would a great relief if I manage to sort things out since I live in West-Africa and sending back under guarantee would be quite difficult.
we will help as best we can,… not sure if GPLama on YouTube has addressed it but his channel is a wealth of info on smart trainers as well
speed on indoor trainers is pretty much a guesstimate vs. real world cycling I tend to focus on %FTP/Watts and time. but you may find a wheel diameter setting or something that will bring it closer to what you are seeing real world, not to mention that most folks have different indoor and outdoor FTPs
looks normal to me - I am sure its just the smoothing that is different. If you used to see really nice flat lines, well those were a lie. You can change the smoothing in the app, but that pic you posted it what it really looks like.
That experience is totally expected. See the link below, but in short: Gearing in ERG is the direct reason for any reported “speed/distance”. It is easily manipulated depending on gearing.
https://support.trainerroad.com/hc/en-us/articles/203103294-Speed-Distance-on-an-Indoor-Trainer
The most important thing to recognize is that the your prior experience with the Tacx Vortex set you up with very bad and false expectations. That trainer is well known for artificially smoothing power data to an unnatural level. It makes power graphing look far smoother than what we are really delivering. It is nearly as bad a level of smoothing as the terrible ERG smoothing that Wahoo applies to their trainers (that can be turned off, thankfully, while the Vortex has it always).
So, the best thing to do is recognize you are moving from a poor quality device to one that is much better. Embrace the H3 because it is actually giving you more accurate and high quality info than the bad Vortex.
Greats stuff here. To reiterate:
The above is generally true with most trainers, wheel-on or off. As noted, some trainer makers apply a varying level of smoothing, which may or may not be adjustable by the end user (yes for Wahoo, no for most others).
Despite the appearance, as long as you are maintaining a relatively steady cadence, and hitting your power targets, you will be getting the desired training impact, regardless of the display.
One important qualifier, you should be doing your FTP test in the same basic gearing you do most of your training. If you test in one gearing (like high) and trainer in another gearing (like low), you will experience inconsistent results. So, test and train similarly whenever possible.
And to state the other possible assumption, make sure to redo your FTP test anytime you change power measurement or trainer. Each one can impact the end result of testing because of their power data differences, as well as general feel and performance from flywheel differences.
Thanks for your valuable and extensive response. Great insights! 
Meanwhile I had a very smooth ride today (indeed on the small ring and I increased the power smoothing to 6 instead of 3 seconds). I did the easy West Vidette and 30 minute spot on target power.
Second part I fiddled a bit in the non-ERG mode to get an idea of gear selection for the upcoming 20-minute FTP effort (yes I am a ‘20 minute man’ and no Ramp guy’… 
). I am prepared for a reality check… 
Good deal, glad to hear you are getting a handle on the new toy 
Also note, that in conjunction to the “simple” gearing selection in Resistance mode, you can adjust the percentage slider. The higher the percentage, will lead you to use lower gears.
Depending on your preference for that type of test, you may want to try anything between 20-40% on the Resistance, which will lead to a difference in gearing at your test effort.
Good and bad, but you get a lot of options with a capable trainer like theH3.
I’ll be interested to hear how they handle this. I would really like to see smart trainers be more like treadmills from a support perspective - my understanding is that parts are available for many of the reputable brands. Replacing a circuit board is generally quite simple, and makes more sense than shipping the entire thing in for repair.
Oh one more thing, I have a fan blowing on the drive side mesh grid to help keep electronics cooler, more a preventative measure and no expert on electronics but they seem happier when cooler
Kickr 18 just died @ 14 months old - 15986 miles.
How many of you guys have logged decent mileage with the H3 with no issues?
I’m a bit apprehensive to pull the trigger on the H3 as it may not be suitable for our needs.
I predominantly use ERG for workouts followed by SIM freeride in Zwift. Approx. 70/30 split.
My wife races TTT and SIM freeride in Zwift. Approx. 40 / 60 split.
Accurate tracking of T/R workout in ERG, especially high wattage to low wattage transitions are important to me.
Is the H3 the trainer i’m looking for?
Can’t speak to the H3 in particular, but I’ve had the original Cycleops Hammer for a bit over three years now and it’s barely had a hitch. The only real problem I’ve had is that the power supply sticks out a few inches and it’s easy bump into walking around to hop on the bike from the left side.
I was having issues for a while where I was getting power drops/random disconnects and thinking the trainer was on its way out, but it was just the plug starting to separate where it goes into the port on the trainer. I replaced the power supply, the port is rock solid, and everything’s running great again.
If I were buying a new one today, I’d probably pick up an H3, too. The KICKR and some others like the Tacx Neo look super nice, but seem to be quite finicky. The Hammer’s just been a really solid, no-frills workhorse.