Folks, I thought I'd post this thinking that perhaps it'll help others with something that I was annoyed with ever since getting my KX3 and SignaLink USB (SLUSB) working together.
First, some background: In addition to my new KX3, I've got a K3 that I operate about 95% CW with. There are times when I do not use full break-in (QSK) and I don't necessarily always like to use the "DLY" feature when operating it with semi-QSK. There are times when I want to simply use a manual switch to control PTT. For my K3 I'd rigged up a small plastic Radio Shack project box with a SPST toggle switch and a momentary pushbutton switch and ran the output cable to the K3's PTT IN jack on the back. Very handy. Further, if you are using the Yamaha CM-500 headset as I do, this is the easiest way to operate SSB without using VOX - which is a big no-no when you have a six year old and a 10 month old in the house! I wanted something similar for my KX3. Not quite as simple with this radio. There are a couple ways to make PTT happen - one way is to connect ring 1 and ring 2 of the Mic connector. Well, first off, I have a SLUSB plugged into the Mic jack on the KX3. That in itself can be an issue for folks wanting to operate SSB at times, and data modes at other times. Got to disconnect the SLUSB and plug in your Mic and vice-versa. And for me, I wanted to have a way to connect ring 1 and ring 2 of that TRRS (Tip Ring Ring Shield) connector. There IS a pretty easy solution, and not super expensive. Some searching online revealed a "dongle" that plugs into the Mic jack on the KX3. The one I found was at Amazon.com and is a CablesOnline model AV-Y01F4, price is $15.98. It has THREE female TRRS jacks and one male TRRS plug. The male plug goes into the KX3's Mic jack (duhhhh...) and the three female jacks are free for you to fill as you please. I connected that SLUSB cable into one of 'em. If I had a Microphone to use on the KX3, it would go into a second jack. And the third one.....? Well, read on. When I ordered that dongle from Amazon, I also found a 2 meter long TRRS Headset Extension Cable from StarTech.com, part number MUHSMF2M, for $8.99 ($6.98 with Amazon Prime). This cable has a male TRRS plug on one end and a female TRRS jack on the other end. I cut off the female jack and stripped back some of the insulation. On this particular cable, the orange and red cables are ring 1 and ring 2, respectively. Black is the tip, and brown is the shell. I cut off the black and brown, making sure they would never be able to touch each other. I had a very small (2 x 1.25 x .5 inches) Radio Shack plastic project box in the parts bin, along with a tiny SPDT toggle switch and a tiny momentary push button switch. I connected them in parallel in the box. A couple minutes with the drill and a soldering pencil and I had what I wanted - the ability to do my own manual PTT, and at the same time not having to unplug the SLUSB and/or a microphone. I will caution you that the wires in that extension cable are very, very thin. They are solderable, but fragile and you'll want to be sure you've secured the cable firmly to avoid any stress on your solder connections. There are certainly other ways to implement a manual PTT on the KX3, but I'm happy with what I got out of my approach - flexibility! Oh yeah - I just tried it out using manual PTT and worked W1AW/KH6 on 20 meters with my KX3, running 5 watts into a wire antenna. :-) 73, Jim / W6JHB Folsom, CA ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
