[Elecraft] K3: anticipated date for next "normal" FW update?

[Don Wilhelm]

Doug and all,

And I also agree with Ed and Bill.  I have been downloading the latest 
test versions of the firmware that is available to the field testers 
since January.  No problems have been encountered.

Even the 'beta' versions have been tested by the field testers, and we 
all have agree that we have not found any problems before it is released 
to 'beta'.  There may be subtle remaining issues that can arise with a 
greater number of 'testers', but that is an exposure even with full 
release firmware or software.  I encourage you to use the latest, even 
if it is a beta version.  If you identify any problems, please report 
them with as much detail of the conditions as possible - your problem 
must be reproducible in order to be fixed.

I too have more fear about upgrading software than I do about the K3 
firmware, but I am running WinXP SP3 here!

73,
Don W3FPR

Ed Muns wrote:
>> DOUGLAS ZWIEBEL wrote:
>>> I think having lots of Beta versions avaible to all is very
>> cool and
>>> exciting, but then there are us non-early adopters to remember too.
>>>
> 
> W4ZV wrote: 
>> Speaking as a field tester, I feel there is little risk in using beta 
>> versions.  Anything publicly posted by Elecraft has already been 
>> through some level of testing by the field test team.  It's not like 
>> there hasn't been any testing at all, and you can always back up a 
>> version or two if there's a problem.  You're not going to permanently 
>> "break" anything in the rig by loading beta firmware.  I'm much more 
>> leery about loading SP3
>> (still!) for Windows XP than I am beta firmware for the K3.
>>
>> That said, even I would probably not use a very recently released 
>> version in a contest.
> 
> I agree with Bill, although I have to admit that I load the latest firmware
> every time I'm in the radio room.  For over a year now, I've always used the
> most recent firmware provided to Field Test for evaluation, even in
> contests.  I've never had a major problem and I've actively used nearly
> every version the engineers have churned out, including multiple versions of
> the same version number!  If I were to have a problem, I'd simply load a
> prior version which is trivial to do with the K3 Utility.  In one Thursday
> night NCCC practice Sprint, I got several reports of an odd-sounding CW
> signal and that immediately led to a firmware fix of a very subtle issue
> that only happened on a few discreet frequencies.  So, given Elecraft's
> responsiveness, I am very bullish about using the latest firmware and
> helping move the K3 forward.
>