From: wayne burdick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Elecraft] K3 FIRMWARE UPDATE: MCU 1.87, DSP 1.69 (Finally!)
To: "Elecraft Reflector" <elecraft@mailman.qth.net>
Date: Saturday, May 3, 2008, 5:29 PM
We've just completed the most extensive K3 firmware
update ever. The
full list of changes is provided below.
*** NOTE *** You must use the latest version of our
firmware loader
(K3 Utility rev 1.1.4.1) or else you won't be able to
load all
components of the upgrade. It's available on our K3
software page,
along with release notes:
http://www.elecraft.com/K3/k3_software.htm
As usual, if you have any difficulty with the firmware
upgrade, send
email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Both Lyle, KK7P (DSP
firmware) and
myself (MCU firmware) will be closely monitoring your
results in case
further tweaking is required.
I'd also like to thank all of our K3 customers for
their patience. This
firmware release was delayed several times due to testing,
engineering
staff vacations, etc. Our field testers have been pounding
on interim
releases for weeks (thanks, guys). I hope you'll find
it worth the
wait!
73,
Wayne, N6KR
* * *
MCU 1.87 / DSP 1.69, 5-3-08
This release includes improvements in all areas. Changes
are
categorized below.
NEW FEATURES:
* CW KEYING IN SSB MODES: While in SSB modes, you can
now send CW
without
changing modes or using an offset. The other station
will hear the
signal at your CW pitch.
This is especially useful on VHF bands when SSB
signals can’t be
copied.
To enable this feature, go into CONFIG:CW WGHT and tap
‘1’ until
you see SSB +CW.
* FM MODE ADDED: Requires FM filter installed in slot
FL1. Those not
needing
FM mode can set CONFIG:FM MODE to OFF. To set up a
repeater offset:
Use the
CONFIG:RPT OFS menu entry, then hold ALT to select
-/+/simplex (-/+
appear under
the FM mode icon). To set up tone encode: hold PITCH,
then rotate
VFO B to select
PL TONE or PL OFF, and rotate VFO A to select the
desired CTCSS
tone. (When
PL TONE is on, a letter ‘T’ will appear near the
FM mode icon.)
Repeater offsets and
PL tones are stored per-band/per-memory.
* VARIABLE AMP KEYING DELAY: Added CONFIG:TX DLY menu
entry, which
sets the time from KEY OUT jack (active low) to first
RF in 1-ms
steps, from 8 to 20 ms.
To minimize loss of QSK speed, use the shortest delay
that works
with your amp.
Most will work with the default (minimum) setting of 8
ms.
* LINE OUT ALLOWS RX/TX AUDIO RECORDING: Normally,
CONFIG:LIN OUT
sets a
fixed-level, receive-only output for main/sub (L/R),
compatible
with digital modes. Tapping
'1' switches LIN OUT to =PHONES, where the
line outputs match
headphone audio,
audio level controlled by AF/SUB gain controls, and
both RX and TX
audio available.
* SIMULTANEOUS USE OF MIC AND LINE IN: If the
MAIN:MIC+LIN menu
entry is set to
ON, and MIC SEL = FP or RP, the present mic OR line in
can be used
for transmit audio.
NOTE: Setting MIC SEL to LINE overrides the MIC+LIN
menu entry (its
parameter
becomes "N-A"). When MIC+LIN is in effect,
rotating the MIC
control shows MIC GAIN.
The op has to set MIC SEL to LINE temporarily to set
LINE IN gain.
* S-METER ABSOLUTE MODE: Use the CONFIG:SMTR MD menu
entry. Set to ABS
(absolute) to have S-meter stay constant with
preamp/atten
settings. Default is NOR (where
PRE/ATTN affect the S-meter). ABS mode requires
recalibration (SMTR
OF & SMTR SC).
RECEIVE:
* SSB RECEIVE PASSBAND EXTENDED AT LOW END (now 100 Hz;
was 200 Hz).
* AM RECEIVE WIDTH RANGE INCREASED: The WIDTH control
in AM mode now
has
a range of 2.8 to 10.0 kHz. Wider settings provide
outstanding
fidelity for hi-fi speech
and other wide-band signals. This is the *IF* filter
bandwidth --
the traditional way to show
bandwidth for AM, because the required IF bandwidth is
twice the
modulation bandwidth.
NORM selects an IF bandwidth of 6.0 kHz in this mode.
WIDTH
settings above 6.0 kHz
will not be useful unless you have an FM-bandwidth
crystal filter
installed (at FL1).
* IF A 2.8 KHZ FILTER IS INSTALLED, SSB "NORM"
BW is 2.8 kHz (was
fixed at 2.7 kHz).
* AUTO-SPOT (SPOT with CWT ON) now works with both very
weak and very
strong signals.
* PSK AUTOTUNE ACCURACY improved. You may still need to
use RIT (FINE
steps) to
tune in signals for best built-in text decode. (Also
see CW-to-DATA
in the Owner’s Manual.)
TRANSMIT:
* TRANSVERTER POWER CONTROL: The value set in CONFIG:XVn
PWR now
correctly
sets a fixed power level on the associated transverter
band (0-1.50
mW or 0-12W).
* POWER ROLLBACK BASED ON REFLECTED POWER: Power
rollback begins at
about
2.5:1 at 100 W (and of course much higher SWRs are
tolerated at
lower power settings).
Recovers to original target power level after mismatch
is corrected.
* CW QSK further refined, with smoother mute/unmute in
the presence
of QRN and QRM.
* SSB TRANSMIT BANDPASS EXTENDED AT LOW END. Improvement
is about 2 dB
at 300 Hz, 3 dB at 200 Hz, and 6 dB at 100 Hz.
Additional
improvement possible via TX EQ.
* SSB TX POWER CONTROL improved. Set ALC for about 5
bars (rarely 6+)
using MIC gain
control, then set CMP and POWER as desired. The RF
power bargraph
shows approx.
peak power when you whistle or shout, but will
typically show well
below peak power
during normal speech. If you’re using an external
peak-reading
wattmeter or power
amplifier, adjust POWER as required while observing
the effect of
speech peaks.
If you find that an SSB power setting higher or lower
than for CW
is often required,
you may wish to compensate for this using the
CONFIG:TXG VCE menu
entry.
Technical Note: Our latest MCU and DSP code uses
minimal amounts of
ALC, consistent
with analysis done by Leif Asbrink, SM5BSZ. (His
findings and
recommendations can be
found on his web site, www.nitehawk.com/sm5bsz.) The
general idea
is to keep
transmit drive just below where ALC can cause splatter
on speech
peaks, rather than
apply ALC heavily to achieve additional compression.
CONTROLS:
* A->B SWITCH: 1st tap copies frequency only; 2nd tap
within 2
seconds copies mode
and filter settings.
* VFO LOCK is no longer cancelled by VFO tuning controls
(RATE, FINE,
or COARSE).
* TUNING EITHER VFO ACROSS MULTIPLE BANDS now brings the
other VFO
along
with it, so that both VFOs will always be on the same
band. This
eliminates the problem
of bands getting out of sequence due to wide tuning
excursions.
(Later, we’ll allow the
subreceiver to be on a different band from main if
CONFIG:VFO IND
is enabled.)
---
http://www.elecraft.com
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