[Elecraft] The K3 is not just a PC peripheral: why we included built-in data modes

[wayne burdick]

I wanted to briefly explain our rational for including PSK31/RTTY/CW 
decoding inside the K3.

Many operators -- myself included -- want to actually *use* the radio, 
rather than simply control it from a computer. Radios without front 
panels that are basically black boxes connected to PCs have already 
been demonstrated, and have their place. But a radio with a front panel 
is a fundamentally different experience. It's like driving a real car 
vs. trying to play an auto-race video game using a mouse!

Of course the K3 will have a rich command set for computer control, 
including access to virtually every feature. That combined with our 
software-extensible DSP architecture give the operator the best of both 
worlds.

But there will be times when you want to use the radio with the 
computer turned off. It may be for reasons of computer fatigue, or 
because the computer and its peripherals create a lot of RFI, or 
because your wrists are sore from using the mouse too much. Or because 
you want to experience that middle-of-the-night warm radio glow -- 
without the intrusion of that modern, Impersonal Computer's massive 
screen  ;)

At such times, you'll be able to turn the K3 on, set the mode to PSK31 
(or CW, or RTTY), tune in signals, then sit back and watch them roll by 
on the easy-to-read alphanumeric display. The characters shift left in 
times-square fashion, and in practice it's very easy to eavesdrop on 
data QSOs in this fashion. (There will be a scroll-back buffer so you 
can go back and look at any text you missed.) We even support the 
backspace/delete PSK31 character codes. I had to laugh the first time I 
saw an operator misspell a word; the display shifted backward, he fixed 
it, and it then continued on. This is a great feature of PSK31!

But what's even more fun is to actually make 2-way data-mode QSOs 
without a computer. The K3 lets you do this either with the CW keyer 
paddle, or with a small external keyboard (not supplied yet, but we're 
working on it). In the case of the keyer paddle, you'll just send CW 
and it will be automatically converted to PSK31 (or PSK63, or RTTY at 
various shifts or baud rates). What we hope you'll find is that data 
modes become as natural and easy to use without a computer as CW and 
voice modes.

A word about PSK31 tuning:

Obviously there's no "waterfall display" on the K3. But it isn't 
necessary. When you select PSK31 mode, we use an "early-late" algorithm 
to give you a tuning window of +/- 10 Hz or more, making it very easy 
to tune the signals in. There's even a visual tuning aid that works for 
auto-spotting PSK31, CW, and RTTY signals.

73,
Wayne
N6KR


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