[Elecraft] DSP Upgrade and Serial Number
So where is the SN stored in the K3? The people who received new upgraded DSP boards in the mail; did you get the serial number of the guy who had that board before you? When I got the upgraded DSP board I sent my board in and had it reworked so all my info was the same but the swaparoo makes me wonder if you end up with a new serial too. I gotta admit as a CW op I hate my SN (1116) but I still love my K3 so it balances out. Not a big deal either way this goes. I'm just curious. Thank god I'm not a cat! ~Brett (KC7OTG) __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] DSP Upgrade and Serial Number
MENU- CONFIG EXTD, TECH MD=ONturn the B knob until SER NUM. or Download the K3_EZ SOFTWARE then go to K3 info, ur S/N will be showed 73's Philippe A65BI Brett Howard br...@livecomputers.com 13-03-2010 12:31 So where is the SN stored in the K3? The people who received new upgraded DSP boards in the mail; did you get the serial number of the guy who had that board before you? When I got the upgraded DSP board I sent my board in and had it reworked so all my info was the same but the swaparoo makes me wonder if you end up with a new serial too. I gotta admit as a CW op I hate my SN (1116) but I still love my K3 so it balances out. Not a big deal either way this goes. I'm just curious. Thank god I'm not a cat! ~Brett (KC7OTG) __ 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 __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] DSP Upgrade and Serial Number
I did the DSP board exchange and my serial number (without any input from me) is still 1516. So it is stored somewhere else besides on the DSP board. Probably right next to the FP temp sensor... 73 Jeff kb2m -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Brett Howard Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2010 3:31 AM To: elecraft Subject: [Elecraft] DSP Upgrade and Serial Number So where is the SN stored in the K3? The people who received new upgraded DSP boards in the mail; did you get the serial number of the guy who had that board before you? When I got the upgraded DSP board I sent my board in and had it reworked so all my info was the same but the swaparoo makes me wonder if you end up with a new serial too. I gotta admit as a CW op I hate my SN (1116) but I still love my K3 so it balances out. Not a big deal either way this goes. I'm just curious. Thank god I'm not a cat! ~Brett (KC7OTG) __ 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 __ 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
[Elecraft] setting filter engage frequency
Thanks all. I was over thinking the problem. __ 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
[Elecraft] The Myth of Lying to Your K3
Setting the crystal filter engagement bandwidth is sometimes described as lying to your K3 when the number is different than the number on the filter. While this phrasing is cute and descriptive, it can be very misleading. There is no lie, but in fact a very precise setting that determines the DSP frequency at which the crystal filter engages. If anything, the user is lying to themselves. Some facts: 1. The bandwidth in the filter's marketing name is not the actual bandwidth of the filter. Some filters are significantly different than their name. For example, the KFL3A-250 250 Hz, narrow 8-pole filter is nominally 370Hz wide at the -6dB points. The KFL3A-400 400 Hz, narrow 8-pole filter is 435Hz. 2. The actual IF bandwidth of the K3 is determined by the cascade effect of the DSP and crystal filter bandwidths. When those bandwidths are close to one another, the actual IF bandwidth is significantly narrower. So, if you configure your K3 to engage the 250Hz filter (actually 370Hz) at 350Hz or 400Hz, the resultant bandwidth will be closer to 300Hz. 3. If you engage a crystal filter at a DSP bandwidth much greater than its actual bandwidth, then the K3 IF bandwidth will decrease immediately to the crystal filter bandwidth and the passband shape will be governed by the rounder shape of the crystal filter. Some users do this because they like the sound of the crystal filter passband shape compared to the sharper DSP passband. Keep in mind, though, that the bandwidth step at the crystal filter engagement point is much larger than the normal DSP steps. For example, if you have the 1.8kHz filter engage at 2.2kHz, you give up any IF bandwidth between 2.3kHz and 1.8kHz. The K3 WIDTH control shows the DSP bandwidth at values between 2.3-1.8kHz, but the actual K3 IF bandwidth is governed by the narrower 1.8kHz crystal filter and fixed at that bandwidth for these intermediate DSP bandwidths. Failure to recognize this fact is lying to yourself. 4. The crystal filter engagement point can alternatively be set at a DSP bandwidth much less than the actual crystal filter. In this case, the DSP bandwidth steps are consistent and represent the true IF bandwidth of the K3 at any time. The crystal filter is always wider than the DSP bandwidth and therefore does not cause the IF bandwidth to be narrower due to cascading. In this case, the K3 IF passband shape is governed by the sharper DSP shape and the crystal filter is only providing roofing filter protection for the DSP, which happens to be the primary function of the crystal filter. Any value you choose for a crystal filter to engage is valid. There is no right or wrong. There is no lie. The engagement point you choose is a simple fact. The important thing is to fully understand the implication of your choice so that you accomplish what you intend to accomplish. Ed - W0YK --- Ed Muns Muns Vineyard - www.munsvineyard.com FaceBook - www.facebook.com/munsvineyard __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] K3: rear microphone plug problem
The wiggle is often that the jacks are designed for 3.5mm plugs as opposed to 1/8 (3.2mm). Almost all new manufacturing is done with 3.5mm jacks. 73, ... Joe, W4TV -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of S Sacco Sent: Friday, March 12, 2010 9:14 PM To: Jim McDonald Cc: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3: rear microphone plug problem I'll second Knut's comment. On Fri, Mar 12, 2010 at 5:27 PM, Jim McDonald j...@n7us.net wrote: To minimize wear on the jacks, I use a Radio Shack Stereo Audio Source Selector 3-way switch which is plugged into the K3 speaker jack. It selects either the powered Sony computer speakers or one of two headphones, one of which is a Heil Proset Plus. Jim N7US -Original Message- Hi, I have also recently moved my Heil proset to the rear and so far I have not had any problems. With that said, I don't have a very comfortable feeling about the quality of the 1/8 sockets on the K3. There is a lot of wiggle and the plugs don't seem to seat properly in the sockets. I am not sure if there is such a thing as a quality 1/8 phone socket, especially the stereo ones. I wish Elecraft (and Heil for that matter) had avoided them. AB2TC - KNut __ 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 __ 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 __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] K3 - Connecting a paddle using a jack plug adaptor
Is that a Radio Shack Adapter # 274-363? Or your local equivalent. If so it connects 1/8 MONO to 1/4 Stereo and is shorting things internally. Try another adapter, or wire your own. 73, Bob K2TK On 3/13/2010 2:10 AM, Marinus Rosenbrand wrote: Hello everyone, K3/10 004049 is alive, but still needs to complete the entire calibration process (getting a USB to DB9 serial cable later today). Just a quick question regarding the Paddle connection. The paddle I use (looks like this: http://www.bctonline.com/~skelly/shack_pictures/k7em_shack_2003_053_large.jpg- Link is NOT my shack) works fine with on a K2, K1, KX1. The Jack plugs on either side of the cable are 3.5mm (small). On the K3, the paddle connector is 6mm (I believe). I use a 3.5mm to 6mm adaptor, which looks like this http://www.zingsmusic.com/images/large/AP12.jpg. When pressing the left 'wing' I get a series of dots and dashes. The right wing remains mute. K3 is transmitting fine. Should I just make a direct cable, omitting the use of an adaptor? And if so, should I use mono or stereo plugs? The owners manual is a bit terse on the subject. Thank you and best 73 __ __ 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
[Elecraft] FS:Elecraft Special Edition Hex Key
Like new condition. Serial number E057 $160 shipped in US Off list at k...@arrl.net 73 Bob K4LW __ 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
[Elecraft] SEMI QSK TIMING Delay
How do you set the timing delay when in the SEMI QSK mode? __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst
All in favour of a USB port on the K3? Then we could forget about un-necessary, expensive , flaky and crash-prone USB to serial adapters. THe serial port with its RS-232 interface is obsolete. It dates back to the 70's if not earlier and was superseded by USB. eric VA7DZ S/N 3640 -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst
Folks, I asked Elecraft about this before I bought my rig in January; they said it's on the list but not as easy to do as one might think. I figured they could just drop an FTDI chipset into the rig in place of the RS232 jack, but it seems that it's not all that simple. Patience is a virtue. Lew K6LMP On Mar 13, 2010, at 11:08 AM, eric manning wrote: All in favour of a USB port on the K3? Then we could forget about un-necessary, expensive , flaky and crash-prone USB to serial adapters. THe serial port with its RS-232 interface is obsolete. It dates back to the 70's if not earlier and was superseded by USB. eric VA7DZ S/N 3640 -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. __ 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 __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst
No no no Just add Ethernet. On Mar 13, 2010, at 2:08 PM, eric manning eric.mann...@engr.uvic.ca wrote: All in favour of a USB port on the K3? Then we could forget about un-necessary, expensive , flaky and crash-prone USB to serial adapters. THe serial port with its RS-232 interface is obsolete. It dates back to the 70's if not earlier and was superseded by USB. eric VA7DZ S/N 3640 -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. __ 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 __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst
Great idea as long as Elecraft provide and maintain drivers that work with Win2K WinXP, Vista/32 bit Vista/64 bit Win7/32 bit Win7/64 bit Mac OS X 10.5 PPC, Mac OS X 10.5 Intel, Mac OS X 10.6, and the various versions of Linux (32 and 64 bit). I'm all for it. 73 -- Joe KB8AP On Mar 13, 2010, at 11:08 AM, eric manning wrote: All in favour of a USB port on the K3? ... eric VA7DZ __ 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
[Elecraft] K2 errata
Rcvd my kit today. The center page to the errata was missing. Glad I could download it from the Elecraft site. Now to heat up the solder station! 72 Geo/W2BPI __ 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
[Elecraft] OT: FS Microwave Associates Dummy Loads
I have for sale 2 Microwave Associates dummy loads (originally used as terminators in microwave circulator/intermod filters). Item 1 is a MA Model 44004, 100 watt, 50 ohm terminator/dummy load with very low SWR up through the UHF band has a type N female connection -- $55 shipped anywhere in the US via USPS Priority Mail. Item 2 is a MA Model 44001 20 watt intermittent, 5 watt continuous dummy load that is machined as a type N male connector. $10 shipped anywhere in the US by priority mail. Any interest, please email me off list - I accept USPS money orders or Pay Pal (add 3.9%). Jim, W0EB w...@cox.net __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst
At 11:08 AM 3/13/2010 -0800, you wrote: All in favour of a USB port on the K3? For what purpose? If a USB port is provided for the sole purpose of sending control data then there is little if any advantage over the RS232 port aside from the fact your computer may not include one. If the radio is provided with a USB port then it should use the full potential and include the provision of in/out AF streaming as well. It is possible to use the USB port to both send and receive control data for CAT operation and stream in/out AF. After all if we're talking about 'flaky' devices ... the sound card provided by most computers is at the top of the list. If they (radio manufacturer) were to implement such a USB port then plugging it in would show up as a sound card in the computer. However, the majority of radios don't do this ... and implementing a USB port on this half basis in no improvement. Then we could forget about un-necessary, expensive , flaky and crash-prone USB to serial adapters. THe serial port with its RS-232 interface is obsolete. It dates back to the 70's if not earlier and was superseded by USB. eric By the way I have never paid more than about $20.00 for any RS232 card or external adapter ... and never had a problem installing or using any of them let alone crashing. The whole PC basically dates to the 70's. and it seems a miracle they can do what they do. 73 Jim, VE3CI __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst
All one needs is a TI PCM2902 and a FTDI USB to RS232 chip and a little support analogy bits and poof you can have all that. Heck I'd even bet it could be put onto a board small enough you could fit it inside your K3 and you'd also have full support for all of the OSes you wish! ~Brett On Sat, 2010-03-13 at 11:39 -0800, Joe Planisky wrote: Great idea as long as Elecraft provide and maintain drivers that work with Win2K WinXP, Vista/32 bit Vista/64 bit Win7/32 bit Win7/64 bit Mac OS X 10.5 PPC, Mac OS X 10.5 Intel, Mac OS X 10.6, and the various versions of Linux (32 and 64 bit). I'm all for it. 73 -- Joe KB8AP On Mar 13, 2010, at 11:08 AM, eric manning wrote: All in favour of a USB port on the K3? ... eric VA7DZ __ 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 __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst
Actually its exactly that simple... I'm not sure that people would consider that an improvement as the only thing it does is move the USB to RS232 adapter into the radio rather than an external adapter but I think if everyone was using FTDI adapters there would be a lot fewer complaints about the adapters. ~Brett On Sat, 2010-03-13 at 11:26 -0800, Lew Phelps K6LMP wrote: Folks, I asked Elecraft about this before I bought my rig in January; they said it's on the list but not as easy to do as one might think. I figured they could just drop an FTDI chipset into the rig in place of the RS232 jack, but it seems that it's not all that simple. Patience is a virtue. Lew K6LMP On Mar 13, 2010, at 11:08 AM, eric manning wrote: All in favour of a USB port on the K3? Then we could forget about un-necessary, expensive , flaky and crash-prone USB to serial adapters. THe serial port with its RS-232 interface is obsolete. It dates back to the 70's if not earlier and was superseded by USB. eric VA7DZ S/N 3640 -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. __ 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 __ 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 __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst
The need to avoid the Prolific chip set may be fleeting and the problem may even be sorted out by now. The Prolific adapter worked just fine unless you were trying to use one of the loggers compiled in Visual Basic for Rig Control. I have seen some reports that a new Prolific driver released in December has solved the problem. Willis 'Cookie' Cooke K5EWJ From: Brett Howard br...@livecomputers.com To: Lew Phelps K6LMP k6...@me.com Cc: Elecraft elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Sat, March 13, 2010 3:42:51 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst Actually its exactly that simple... I'm not sure that people would consider that an improvement as the only thing it does is move the USB to RS232 adapter into the radio rather than an external adapter but I think if everyone was using FTDI adapters there would be a lot fewer complaints about the adapters. ~Brett On Sat, 2010-03-13 at 11:26 -0800, Lew Phelps K6LMP wrote: Folks, I asked Elecraft about this before I bought my rig in January; they said it's on the list but not as easy to do as one might think. I figured they could just drop an FTDI chipset into the rig in place of the RS232 jack, but it seems that it's not all that simple. Patience is a virtue. Lew K6LMP On Mar 13, 2010, at 11:08 AM, eric manning wrote: All in favour of a USB port on the K3? Then we could forget about un-necessary, expensive , flaky and crash-prone USB to serial adapters. THe serial port with its RS-232 interface is obsolete. It dates back to the 70's if not earlier and was superseded by USB. eric VA7DZ S/N 3640 -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. __ 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 __ 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 __ 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 __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst - linux?
On a related topic, can anyone recommend a multiport (4 or more) usb-serial that works without issue on linux? The kernel documentation for usb-serial is in the kernel tree at Documentation/usb/usb-serial.txt with recommendations, but it's always nice to hear first hand success stories. Thanks! Mike ab3ap On 03/13/10 16:57, WILLIS COOKE wrote: The need to avoid the Prolific chip set may be fleeting and the problem may even be sorted out by now. The Prolific adapter worked just fine unless you were trying to use one of the loggers compiled in Visual Basic for Rig Control. I have seen some reports that a new Prolific driver released in December has solved the problem. Willis 'Cookie' Cooke K5EWJ __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] K3 - Connecting a paddle using a jack plug adaptor
Hello Dave, Bob, Thanks for the instructions. Connecting a 6mm plug did indeed work like a charm. Much better now! Take care, Marinus PA3FZS On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 8:10 AM, Marinus Rosenbrand pa3...@gmail.comwrote: Hello everyone, K3/10 004049 is alive, but still needs to complete the entire calibration process (getting a USB to DB9 serial cable later today). Just a quick question regarding the Paddle connection. The paddle I use (looks like this: http://www.bctonline.com/~skelly/shack_pictures/k7em_shack_2003_053_large.jpghttp://www.bctonline.com/%7Eskelly/shack_pictures/k7em_shack_2003_053_large.jpg- Link is NOT my shack) works fine with on a K2, K1, KX1. The Jack plugs on either side of the cable are 3.5mm (small). On the K3, the paddle connector is 6mm (I believe). I use a 3.5mm to 6mm adaptor, which looks like this http://www.zingsmusic.com/images/large/AP12.jpg. When pressing the left 'wing' I get a series of dots and dashes. The right wing remains mute. K3 is transmitting fine. Should I just make a direct cable, omitting the use of an adaptor? And if so, should I use mono or stereo plugs? The owners manual is a bit terse on the subject. Thank you and best 73 __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst
One can have the simple solution right now. Just get a USB to serial adapter that has jackscrews on its serail end and permanently mount it on the back of the K3 - cable over to a USB port on the computer and one has that simple solution. Support for the proper device drivers is the responsibility of the adapter manufacturer. The better and more complex solution is to build a complete USB interface inside the K3. When you connect it to a computer, it is recognized as an Elecraft K3 (not as a com port as the adapter would do) - then you load the driver(s) for your K3. Here are a few problems starting with the applications that many hams use. Those applications would have to be re-written to support the USB K3, so it will be a while before your favorite logger, etc. adds that product specific support as a USB device. Elecraft would have to spend a lot of time and resources creating the drivers for every conceivable OS that is in use (or limit the number of OS versions that will work with the K3). And then when a particular OS makes changes, spend a lot of time and effort doing regression testing to be certain it still works. When a new OS comes out, Elecraft would have to have new K3 drivers which support that new OS version (on the day that the OS is available) - for now and forevermore - the alternative is to declare the K3 as obsolete with respect to a computer connection. Keeping the drivers current is the responsibility of the device manufacturer unless the OS developer chooses to take over that device control and integrate support for it in the OS. I just can't see that happening for the K3 at Microsoft, Apple, Sun Microsystems, etc. The RS-232 standard provides a lot of protection from that kind of chaos for those devices that use a serial port. There are a lot of devices that use the serial port, and will continue to do so for a good long time, serial port communications is *not* obsolete. All a device has to do is decide if it is a DTE or a DCE in its design - usually the computer end is DCE. So I say sorry to those who want to use a laptop computer with only USB ports as the main hamshack computer. Why not dedicate a good desktop computer to the ham station. Modern off-lease desktop computers are available for as little as $150 loaded with WinXP Pro, many with 2 serial ports installed, and monitors are available for $99. So for a $250 investment, you can have all your ham applications on a dedicated computer. Add a router if you do not have a home network already and you can run that hamstation computer (and the K3 connected to it) from your laptop used anywhere in the world that you can obtain an internet connection. Computers have become commodity items. For my part, keep the serial interface, it will live long after USB is gone - there are too many commercial devices that use it for support to go away anytime soon. 73, Don W3FPR Brett Howard wrote: Actually its exactly that simple... I'm not sure that people would consider that an improvement as the only thing it does is move the USB to RS232 adapter into the radio rather than an external adapter but I think if everyone was using FTDI adapters there would be a lot fewer complaints about the adapters. ~Brett On Sat, 2010-03-13 at 11:26 -0800, Lew Phelps K6LMP wrote: Folks, I asked Elecraft about this before I bought my rig in January; they said it's on the list but not as easy to do as one might think. I figured they could just drop an FTDI chipset into the rig in place of the RS232 jack, but it seems that it's not all that simple. Patience is a virtue. __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst
I was thinking it might fit onto the next mod of the I/O board... Brett Howard wrote: All one needs is a TI PCM2902 and a FTDI USB to RS232 chip and a little support analogy bits and poof you can have all that. Heck I'd even bet it could be put onto a board small enough you could fit it inside your K3 and you'd also have full support for all of the OSes you wish! ~Brett On Sat, 2010-03-13 at 11:39 -0800, Joe Planisky wrote: Great idea as long as Elecraft provide and maintain drivers that work with Win2K WinXP, Vista/32 bit Vista/64 bit Win7/32 bit Win7/64 bit Mac OS X 10.5 PPC, Mac OS X 10.5 Intel, Mac OS X 10.6, and the various versions of Linux (32 and 64 bit). I'm all for it. 73 -- Joe KB8AP On Mar 13, 2010, at 11:08 AM, eric manning wrote: All in favour of a USB port on the K3? ... eric VA7DZ __ 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 -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst
On 3/13/2010 1:57 PM, WILLIS COOKE wrote: I have seen some reports that a new Prolific driver released in December has solved the problem. If that is true, where does one find said driver? I have not yet hooked up my K2 to MixW under Windows XP for frequency logging and would appreciate any tips on how to do that. My interface is a RigBlaster Plus fed from an existing Prolific USB-to-serial multiport adapter. -- 73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane Elecraft K2/100 s/n 5402 __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst
The most recent Prolific driver is available from the Prolific web site. There's a link to that site in K3 Utility Help, on the TroubleShooting USB to Serial Adapters page. This page is also indexed with device drivers I'm using that December driver during normal K3 Utility development. You want the PL-2303 driver for the Elecraft KUSB. http://www.prolific.com.tw/eng/downloads.asp?ID=31 73 de Dick, K6KR -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Phil Kane Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2010 3:09 PM To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst On 3/13/2010 1:57 PM, WILLIS COOKE wrote: I have seen some reports that a new Prolific driver released in December has solved the problem. If that is true, where does one find said driver? I have not yet hooked up my K2 to MixW under Windows XP for frequency logging and would appreciate any tips on how to do that. My interface is a RigBlaster Plus fed from an existing Prolific USB-to-serial multiport adapter. -- 73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane Elecraft K2/100 s/n 5402 __ 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 __ 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
[Elecraft] K2 New Builder
Arrange a nice, comfortable and WELL-LIT workplace. Get one of those illuminated magnifiers on a boom and all of the recommended tools. Don't do too much at one sitting. Do NOT keep track of your time. Efficiency is the enemy of craftsmanship. Think of building as an experience to be savoured, not a race. eric VA7DZ -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. __ 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
[Elecraft] Thanks for serial port comp info
Thank you Don and Bob. My poor old Toshiba notebook crapped out so I ordered an IBM small desktop with 2 serial ports and 8 usb ports dual core and all the goodies for under $300 from Tiger. Appreciate the info. 73, Dave In a message dated 3/12/2010 8:36:07 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, k...@att.net writes: You can skip the middleman and go right to the source: http://www.ibm.com/products/specialoffers/us/en/icue.html I've bought a couple and the ones I received were like new. Keep watching the site as inventory changes rapidly. Sometimes there are even % off sales. 73, Bob K2TK On 3/12/2010 10:52 PM, Don Wilhelm wrote: Those looking for a computer with a real serial port may want to consider the IBM (Leveno) off-lease computers that are often offered by TigerDirect www.tigerdirect.com. Many (even most) come with 2 serial ports and are usually loaded with WinXP Pro. There are likely other vendors of these off-lease machines, but I know TigerDirect frequently has them available. Search the website for IBM off lease. Most are in the 2 to 3 GHz range and usually with a Pentium 4 CPU. They are inexpensive enough that you may want to consider one for a dedicated computer for the hamshack. 73, Don W3FPR Alan Bloom wrote: __ 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 __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] The Myth of Lying to Your K3
With you all the way until you said this: The crystal filter is always wider than the DSP bandwidth and therefore does not cause the IF bandwidth to be narrower due to cascading. To construe the sentence correctly requires the assumption that ONLY the shape INSIDE the rated 3 dB or 6 dB passband matters. It is true that this flat part of the curve is governed most by the characteristics of the narrower curve. HOWEVER, everything cascades. PARTICULARLY so on the skirts. When one is trying to listen to a signal at S1 just up a ways from a signal that is S9+30, it is the skirts that count the most. The losses on the two filtering curves in dB at a given frequency are ADDING together to create the 98+ dB needed to make the S1 signal comfortably louder than the unwanted signal. Note that merely down 78 db on the skirts makes them EQUAL. Another 20 dB is needed for the comfortable part. Neither the DSP nor the roofer will accomplish this on their own. It is the sum of the skirt losses. There is a point where the skirts on a roofing filter are the steepest. If the steepest part of the DSP curve is set to coincide, this will result in the most sudden and abrupt filtering out of the unwanted signal as one tunes across and will result in the least interfered open bandwidth around a run frequency. That is why I lie about the 8 pole 400 and 250 and call them 450 and 350. I WANT those super-sharp COMPOSITE skirts you get whenever the steep parts coincide. 73, Guy. On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 10:15 AM, Ed Muns w...@msn.com wrote: Setting the crystal filter engagement bandwidth is sometimes described as lying to your K3 when the number is different than the number on the filter. While this phrasing is cute and descriptive, it can be very misleading. There is no lie, but in fact a very precise setting that determines the DSP frequency at which the crystal filter engages. If anything, the user is lying to themselves. Some facts: 1. The bandwidth in the filter's marketing name is not the actual bandwidth of the filter. Some filters are significantly different than their name. For example, the KFL3A-250 250 Hz, narrow 8-pole filter is nominally 370Hz wide at the -6dB points. The KFL3A-400 400 Hz, narrow 8-pole filter is 435Hz. 2. The actual IF bandwidth of the K3 is determined by the cascade effect of the DSP and crystal filter bandwidths. When those bandwidths are close to one another, the actual IF bandwidth is significantly narrower. So, if you configure your K3 to engage the 250Hz filter (actually 370Hz) at 350Hz or 400Hz, the resultant bandwidth will be closer to 300Hz. 3. If you engage a crystal filter at a DSP bandwidth much greater than its actual bandwidth, then the K3 IF bandwidth will decrease immediately to the crystal filter bandwidth and the passband shape will be governed by the rounder shape of the crystal filter. Some users do this because they like the sound of the crystal filter passband shape compared to the sharper DSP passband. Keep in mind, though, that the bandwidth step at the crystal filter engagement point is much larger than the normal DSP steps. For example, if you have the 1.8kHz filter engage at 2.2kHz, you give up any IF bandwidth between 2.3kHz and 1.8kHz. The K3 WIDTH control shows the DSP bandwidth at values between 2.3-1.8kHz, but the actual K3 IF bandwidth is governed by the narrower 1.8kHz crystal filter and fixed at that bandwidth for these intermediate DSP bandwidths. Failure to recognize this fact is lying to yourself. 4. The crystal filter engagement point can alternatively be set at a DSP bandwidth much less than the actual crystal filter. In this case, the DSP bandwidth steps are consistent and represent the true IF bandwidth of the K3 at any time. The crystal filter is always wider than the DSP bandwidth and therefore does not cause the IF bandwidth to be narrower due to cascading. In this case, the K3 IF passband shape is governed by the sharper DSP shape and the crystal filter is only providing roofing filter protection for the DSP, which happens to be the primary function of the crystal filter. Any value you choose for a crystal filter to engage is valid. There is no right or wrong. There is no lie. The engagement point you choose is a simple fact. The important thing is to fully understand the implication of your choice so that you accomplish what you intend to accomplish. Ed - W0YK --- Ed Muns Muns Vineyard - www.munsvineyard.com FaceBook - www.facebook.com/munsvineyard __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst
The Prolific chip had real problems on Win 7 64 bit, but the BSOD and other weirdness not seemingly related to the BSOD, have gone away with the new drivers. 73, Guy. On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 4:57 PM, WILLIS COOKE wrco...@yahoo.com wrote: The need to avoid the Prolific chip set may be fleeting and the problem may even be sorted out by now. The Prolific adapter worked just fine unless you were trying to use one of the loggers compiled in Visual Basic for Rig Control. I have seen some reports that a new Prolific driver released in December has solved the problem. Willis 'Cookie' Cooke K5EWJ From: Brett Howard br...@livecomputers.com To: Lew Phelps K6LMP k6...@me.com Cc: Elecraft elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Sat, March 13, 2010 3:42:51 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst Actually its exactly that simple... I'm not sure that people would consider that an improvement as the only thing it does is move the USB to RS232 adapter into the radio rather than an external adapter but I think if everyone was using FTDI adapters there would be a lot fewer complaints about the adapters. ~Brett On Sat, 2010-03-13 at 11:26 -0800, Lew Phelps K6LMP wrote: Folks, I asked Elecraft about this before I bought my rig in January; they said it's on the list but not as easy to do as one might think. I figured they could just drop an FTDI chipset into the rig in place of the RS232 jack, but it seems that it's not all that simple. Patience is a virtue. Lew K6LMP On Mar 13, 2010, at 11:08 AM, eric manning wrote: All in favour of a USB port on the K3? Then we could forget about un-necessary, expensive , flaky and crash-prone USB to serial adapters. THe serial port with its RS-232 interface is obsolete. It dates back to the 70's if not earlier and was superseded by USB. eric VA7DZ S/N 3640 -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. __ 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 __ 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 __ 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 __ 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 __ 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
[Elecraft] K3: ACC Pin10?
What does this Pin exactly do? Pull to Ground or deliver a voltage? I need to key a Transverter (non-Elecraft). Martin -- 73, DM4iM __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst
Plus Windows 3.1, 85, 98, SE and ME ... as well as MSDOS for those still using CT for DOS. 73, ... Joe, W4TV -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Joe Planisky Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2010 2:40 PM To: eric manning Cc: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst Great idea as long as Elecraft provide and maintain drivers that work with Win2K WinXP, Vista/32 bit Vista/64 bit Win7/32 bit Win7/64 bit Mac OS X 10.5 PPC, Mac OS X 10.5 Intel, Mac OS X 10.6, and the various versions of Linux (32 and 64 bit). I'm all for it. 73 -- Joe KB8AP On Mar 13, 2010, at 11:08 AM, eric manning wrote: All in favour of a USB port on the K3? ... eric VA7DZ __ 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 __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst
That is completely uninformed and demonstrates a dangerous lack of knowledge about the way USB operates. Placing a USB port in the K3 would simply move the USB UART currently found in the USB to serial converter onto the KIO3 board. If Elecraft were to use the prolific chipset currently in the KUSB, they would also be stuck with the Prolific drivers that are notoriously problematic with VB 6 software and would render the K3 unusable with several popular software packages. USB *** HAS NO ADVANTAGE *** over standard RS-232 ports and it *** NEVER WILL ***. Going to USB requires a substantial added investment by the manufacturer and a major ongoing support cost. In addition to the software support cost, USB is a multiplexed (shared) system level bus. Because of the system architecture data rates on the bus are much higher than the serial equivalent through put. That makes USB much more susceptible to both radiated and conducted noise problems. Computer motherboards (and laptop/netbooks) that fail to properly ground the USB shield to the board's ground plane are almost guaranteed to become wideband noise generators (something that is very rare with the 8250 compatible UART). 73, ... Joe, W4TV -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of eric manning Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2010 2:08 PM To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst All in favour of a USB port on the K3? Then we could forget about un-necessary, expensive , flaky and crash-prone USB to serial adapters. THe serial port with its RS-232 interface is obsolete. It dates back to the 70's if not earlier and was superseded by USB. eric VA7DZ S/N 3640 -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. __ 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 __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst
All one needs is a TI PCM2902 and a FTDI USB to RS232 chip and a little support analogy bits and poof you can have all that. Plus a USB hub ... it's not as easy as one would imagine and would add significantly ( $250 given normal parts to retail ratios) to the cost of the transceiver. 73, ... Joe, W4TV -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Brett Howard Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2010 4:41 PM To: Joe Planisky Cc: elecraft@mailman.qth.net; eric manning Subject: Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst All one needs is a TI PCM2902 and a FTDI USB to RS232 chip and a little support analogy bits and poof you can have all that. Heck I'd even bet it could be put onto a board small enough you could fit it inside your K3 and you'd also have full support for all of the OSes you wish! ~Brett On Sat, 2010-03-13 at 11:39 -0800, Joe Planisky wrote: Great idea as long as Elecraft provide and maintain drivers that work with Win2K WinXP, Vista/32 bit Vista/64 bit Win7/32 bit Win7/64 bit Mac OS X 10.5 PPC, Mac OS X 10.5 Intel, Mac OS X 10.6, and the various versions of Linux (32 and 64 bit). I'm all for it. 73 -- Joe KB8AP On Mar 13, 2010, at 11:08 AM, eric manning wrote: All in favour of a USB port on the K3? ... eric VA7DZ __ 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 __ 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 __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] K2 New Builder
You might also want to consider a vent fan to exhaust solder fumes from the area. I built a home-brew solution with an old muffin fan. You can see the photos at http://wilcoxengineering.com/projects/amateur-projects/29-vent-fumes The commercial versions are nicer, but this does do the job, at least for me. Enjoy the kit building! Alan Alan D. Wilcox, W3DVX 570-321-1516 http://WilcoxEngineering.com Williamsport, PA 17701 eric manning wrote: Arrange a nice, comfortable and WELL-LIT workplace. Get one of those illuminated magnifiers on a boom and all of the recommended tools. Don't do too much at one sitting. Do NOT keep track of your time. Efficiency is the enemy of craftsmanship. Think of building as an experience to be savoured, not a race. eric VA7DZ __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst
Well said. There's no good reason for desktop Ham Radio computers to NOT have serial ports. The four port PCI serial card I bought for my new home brew machine cost $20. It works with all my operating systems, three at last count, and I don't have to do any sort of configuration. Shut the computer off, install the board, reboot. USB has NO advantage over RS-232 at the data speeds we're talking about and it brings a laundry list of potential problems that RS-232 just doesn't have. The reported obsolescence of RS-232 is highly exaggerated and premature. For the most part caused by folks who use compromise computers designed for portable use. On 3/13/2010 7:10 PM, Joe Subich, W4TV wrote: That is completely uninformed and demonstrates a dangerous lack of knowledge about the way USB operates. Placing a USB port in the K3 would simply move the USB UART currently found in the USB to serial converter onto the KIO3 board. If Elecraft were to use the prolific chipset currently in the KUSB, they would also be stuck with the Prolific drivers that are notoriously problematic with VB 6 software and would render the K3 unusable with several popular software packages. USB *** HAS NO ADVANTAGE *** over standard RS-232 ports and it *** NEVER WILL ***. Going to USB requires a substantial added investment by the manufacturer and a major ongoing support cost. In addition to the software support cost, USB is a multiplexed (shared) system level bus. Because of the system architecture data rates on the bus are much higher than the serial equivalent through put. That makes USB much more susceptible to both radiated and conducted noise problems. Computer motherboards (and laptop/netbooks) that fail to properly ground the USB shield to the board's ground plane are almost guaranteed to become wideband noise generators (something that is very rare with the 8250 compatible UART). 73, ... Joe, W4TV -Original Message- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of eric manning Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2010 2:08 PM To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst All in favour of a USB port on the K3? Then we could forget about un-necessary, expensive , flaky and crash-prone USB to serial adapters. THe serial port with its RS-232 interface is obsolete. It dates back to the 70's if not earlier and was superseded by USB. eric VA7DZ S/N 3640 -- R. Kevin Stover ACØH __ 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
[Elecraft] SSB Net for Sunday March 14th
Given that the EQP event will be finishing just as the usually scheduled Elecraft SSB is to begin, there may be little interest. However, I'll kick the power up from 5w to about 500w and give it a try as fill-in NCS while Phil is away. Frequency: 14.314MHz (+/- a few kHz if necessary) Start time: 1800Z (don't forget to account for the Daylight Time adjust if it applies to your area) I'm in Denver, CO and have an LPDA and a low slung delta loop. There's a significant ring of silence around me so some help from either or both coasts for relays will be appreciated. Gus Hansen KB0YH __ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 4942 (20100313) __ The message was checked by ESET Smart Security. http://www.eset.com __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst
RS-232 port wins for simplicity and for easy troubleshooting. Elecraft made the right decision. When things don't seem to work right, being able to see the controls and data with a simple LED tester makes for quick problem solving. Alan Alan D. Wilcox, W3DVX 570-321-1516 http://WilcoxEngineering.com Williamsport, PA 17701 WILLIS COOKE wrote: The need to avoid the Prolific chip set may be fleeting and the problem may even be sorted out by now. The Prolific adapter worked just fine unless you were trying to use one of the loggers compiled in Visual Basic for Rig Control. I have seen some reports that a new Prolific driver released in December has solved the problem. Willis 'Cookie' Cooke K5EWJ From: Brett Howard br...@livecomputers.com To: Lew Phelps K6LMP k6...@me.com Cc: Elecraft elecraft@mailman.qth.net Sent: Sat, March 13, 2010 3:42:51 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] USB to serial angst Actually its exactly that simple... I'm not sure that people would consider that an improvement as the only thing it does is move the USB to RS232 adapter into the radio rather than an external adapter but I think if everyone was using FTDI adapters there would be a lot fewer complaints about the adapters. ~Brett On Sat, 2010-03-13 at 11:26 -0800, Lew Phelps K6LMP wrote: Folks, I asked Elecraft about this before I bought my rig in January; they said it's on the list but not as easy to do as one might think. I figured they could just drop an FTDI chipset into the rig in place of the RS232 jack, but it seems that it's not all that simple. Patience is a virtue. Lew K6LMP On Mar 13, 2010, at 11:08 AM, eric manning wrote: All in favour of a USB port on the K3? Then we could forget about un-necessary, expensive , flaky and crash-prone USB to serial adapters. THe serial port with its RS-232 interface is obsolete. It dates back to the 70's if not earlier and was superseded by USB. eric VA7DZ S/N 3640 -- __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] The Myth of Lying to Your K3
Umm, do you guys ever just have fun operating? Just wondering -- View this message in context: http://n2.nabble.com/The-Myth-of-Lying-to-Your-K3-tp4727680p4730015.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] K2 New Builder
Thanks to all who responded. Rcvd it today. Solder hot and having fun. Must be addicted to solder fumes!! 72 Geo/W2BPI In a message dated 3/13/2010 18:23:14 Eastern Standard Time, eric.mann...@engr.uvic.ca writes: Arrange a nice, comfortable and WELL-LIT workplace. Get one of those illuminated magnifiers on a boom and all of the recommended tools. Don't do too much at one sitting. Do NOT keep track of your time. Efficiency is the enemy of craftsmanship. Think of building as an experience to be savoured, not a race. eric VA7DZ -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. __ 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 __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] K2 New Builder
You might also want to consider a vent fan to exhaust solder fumes from the area. I built a home-brew solution with an old muffin fan. You can see the photos at http://wilcoxengineering.com/projects/amateur-projects/29-vent-fumes The commercial versions are nicer, but this does do the job, at least for me. Enjoy the kit building! Alan Alan D. Wilcox, W3DVX 570-321-1516 http://WilcoxEngineering.com Williamsport, PA 17701 eric manning wrote: Arrange a nice, comfortable and WELL-LIT workplace. Get one of those illuminated magnifiers on a boom and all of the recommended tools. Don't do too much at one sitting. Do NOT keep track of your time. Efficiency is the enemy of craftsmanship. Think of building as an experience to be savoured, not a race. eric VA7DZ __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] K3: ACC Pin10?
Martin, ACC Pin 10 is a low power (10 ma. max) copy of the KEYOUT connector on the rear panel. It is open circuit until the K3 is keyed (or PTT or VOX), and then it goes to a closed circuit condition. So yes, the K3 pulls this pin to ground during transmit, and it should work well for keying a transverter. 73, Don W3FPR DM4iM wrote: What does this Pin exactly do? Pull to Ground or deliver a voltage? I need to key a Transverter (non-Elecraft). Martin __ 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
[Elecraft] K2 C44
Ref control board caps. I have one cap left over 103. I see on board a place marked C44. But instructions say nothing about this part? What's the story? Geo/W2BPI __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] The Myth of Lying to Your K3
NZ0T wrote: Umm, do you guys ever just have fun operating? Just wondering YES! __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] K2 C44
Geo, You must have missed the note about C44 on page 22 of the manual - this capacitor is not used. As far as your extra capacitor, did you do a full inventory before you started including checking the number of capacitors of each value against the parts list? If you did that, you would have known for certain whether there was an extra (that sometimes happens - rare, but it happens). If you did not do a full inventory, I suggest you go to the parts list and check each location that has a .01 uF capacitor on the board. If all those locations have a .01 uF capacitor installed, then you can rest assured that you have an extra one. I know of no easier method. 73, Don W3FPR w2b...@aol.com wrote: Ref control board caps. I have one cap left over 103. I see on board a place marked C44. But instructions say nothing about this part? What's the story? Geo/W2BPI __ 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
[Elecraft] Elecraft CW Net Announcement
Good Evening, I almost forgot about this. Oh for shame! I got caught up in Thistle Shamrock and then Live Wire. This radio thing is almost too exciting for words. I do miss the radio shows I used to hear on KAAY out of Little Rock and Beaker Street Theatre from the same venue. KAAY was a strong signal AM station. When the rest of the stations turned down their power at nightfall they covered the Midwest with a booming signal. The Green Hornet, The Shadow, The Lone Ranger, etc. used to keep me at the radio listening. These days I listen to dits and dahs far more often but in those days I had my brother's Lafayette receiver. I have had headphones stuck on my head since I was about five. I think it has effected my hearing :) Now on to more radio talk :) Propagation has been good this week. Even though the sun was blank for a day or two the effects of the recent sunspots have been lasting. Today I worked a number of folks on EQP and plan to go back and work a few more when I get this out to the world. It was fun to chat with those of you I knew and get to know a few others as I banged away. My fingers had cracked so I had bandaids on my right thumb and forefinger which was causing them to stick to the paddles. After flubbing more than my usual number of letters I got off the air and soaked my fingers in hydrogen peroxide. This helped enough to allow me to send without finger coverings. Much better code ensued. I am sure the op on the other end was thankful! I have changed the UTC time for future nets but as usual have maintained the local times. I checked this so I think I have it correct. I know I will be corrected if I am not. If these times do not fit the propagation for eithe r band they are subject to change. Don't touch that dial, we control the vertical ... Please join us tomorrow evening. 1) Hail signs (first letter or two of the suffix of your call) 2) NCS help (as well as QSP/QNP relay help) Sunday 2200z (Sunday 3 PM PST) 14050 kHz Sunday 2300z (Sunday 4 PM PST) 7045 kHz Stay warm, Kevin. KD5ONS - __ 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
[Elecraft] [OT] CW app
This is a CW-centric bunch of people, so maybe this is semi-topical. A fairly large fraction of hams have either an iPhone or an iPod Touch. I have the latter. I've found a really good app for CW training. Maybe some of you pros can pass it along to your less gifted friends. It is Ham Morse by AA9PW. It has a fairly hostile user interface until you figure out how to use it. But, what it does is very useful. Basically, there are little things that look like dials. Once you stop trying to make them rotate, you realize that you just touch them to make them go to the next notch. + Speed adjustable from 5 to 50 wpm + Will send random five-letter groups, with the character-set user selectable. + Will send a fake QSO + Will send the top 100 or top 500 most used words, in random order + Will send pseudo-call signs (3 to 6 character groups of numbers and letters) + Will send you the RSS feed from various newspapers, in Morse. It is this last capability that is the kicker for me. I can sit down to breakfast, and listen to the BBC RSS feed in Morse. Below 15 WPM it uses 15 WPM Farnsworth. Tone is not adjustable. Can be heard even without ear buds. Not great, but audible enough to learn Morse from. Use earbuds to keep peace at the breakfast table. You pros could actually use it as your primary news source. Disclaimer: I have no stake in this. I don't know AA9PW, but do admire the cleverness of his app. The app costs $4.99, which is high for apps, but worth it IMHO. 73, Oliver W6ODJ __ 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
Re: [Elecraft] The Myth of Lying to Your K3
K2AV noted: The crystal filter is always wider than the DSP bandwidth and therefore does not cause the IF bandwidth to be narrower due to cascading. To construe the sentence correctly requires the assumption that ONLY the shape INSIDE the rated 3 dB or 6 dB passband matters. It is true that this flat part of the curve is governed most by the characteristics of the narrower curve. HOWEVER, everything cascades. PARTICULARLY so on the skirts. That's right. I chose to simplify the point by not getting into the skirt issues. It's clear from the posts on this reflector that the basics of this topic are not well understood, let alone the subtleties of the cascaded skirts. Ed - W0YK --- Ed Muns Muns Vineyard - www.munsvineyard.com FaceBook - www.facebook.com/munsvineyard __ 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
