> The one of the interesting things about using personal computers for SDR > is > imho that generally more people can take part in their development in > major > or minor ways. This is why I just recently decided to purchase the QS1R
I can understand the attraction of that for hams, just as I understand the attraction of Linux for people interested in what makes computers work. But from what I have seen of open source type development the old adage about too many hands can spoil the broth come to mind. Like anything designed by a committee, it can take ages to get anything done. There is a lot to be said for having things developed exclusively by a dedicated and focussed team, as in the case of Microsoft. > I understand your concern about the rapid rate of obsolescent in the PC > world. I would argue that with a clever choice of which interface to use, > some concepts will actually survive many hard- and software cycles. This > way > at least the hardware of the radio wouldn't have to be changed. The > software > would likely be less stable, but otoh as the hardware becomes more > powerful, > newer software come become more complex and offer new features. I was really more concerned with what support there will be for the current generation of SDR radios in, say 10 years time. If the PC that runs the current software dies, and you can't get a new PC that runs XP (or whatever you need to run that SDR software) what guarantee do you have that any software that runs on Windows 2020 or whatever will support the 10 year old box. The manufacturer (if they are still around) will probably have no interest in supporting obsolete products. > I personally dislike black boxes. I want to know about what is going on > inside. What I really meant by that was that I don't care if it is SDR or analog, as long as it does what I want. But having said that, and having read this discussion and seen some of the terminology used, I realize that for me, DSP technology is way over my head. I understand how analog radios like the K2 work. I understand how most of the K3 works, but there are some black boxes marked "DSP". Once you start digitising the entire HF spectrum, how you get from that to your voice coming out of my speaker is beyond me, and probably beyond most people without a math PhD. > The choice of user interface has a lot to do with what one wants to do > with > the radio, and is one one of the reasons I really love my K3. I agree, but if you keep the radio separate from the computer and provide some sort of CAT interface programmers can create any UI that you want, without having to get involved in the SDR side of things. ----- Julian, G4ILO. K2 #392 K3 #222. http://www.g4ilo.com/ G4ILO's Shack http://www.ham-directory.com/ Ham Directory http://www.g4ilo.com/kcomm.html KComm for Elecraft K2 and K3 -- View this message in context: http://n2.nabble.com/K3---ADAT-ADT-200A-by-HB9CBU-tp1597981p1614817.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
