[Elecraft] external soundcards for digimodes

[Chris Gibson]

My own interest in the K3 is principally (but not exclusively) the
digimodes. For that reason I was interested in the suggestion of Simon,
HB9DRV that there might be an operational gain in using a "better" sound
card than that on the PC motherboard. I don't know enough about computing to
make judgements, and it would help me (and others in my position) if more
knowledgeable and experienced folk on the list could offer advice on the
following questions.

Q1.    Does experience suggest that there can be an observable operational
gain in using a sound card different from that built into the PC?

Q2.    Which published technical specifications of a sound card are relevant
to digimode operation?

Q3.    On the basis of the answer to Q2, how does one judge whether one
sound card is "better" than another for digimode operation?

Q4.    Do list members have specific recommendations for cost-effective
external sound cards? (The sound card suggested by Simon costs around as
much in the UK as the 100W upgrade for the basic K3.)

73 Chris, MØPSK