[Elecraft] K3 Beta Firmware, Revision 2.31

[wayne burdick]

K3 beta-test firmware revision 2.31 is now available. This is an 
extensive update; details appear below. Please send any problem reports 
to k3support at elecraft.com.

For instructions on how to load beta firmware, please see:

   http://www.elecraft.com/K3/k3_software.htm

73,
Wayne
N6KR

* * *

MCU 2.31 / DSP 1.89, 8-28-08

New Features and Enhancements:

* CW SIDETONE INCREMENTS NOW 10 HZ (originally 50 Hz).

* RIT CLR switch now works during transmit in all modes and at any time.

* RIT CLR MENU ENTRY: You can use this menu entry to select “UNDO ON” or
“UNDO OFF”. OFF is the default. When “ON”, tapping CLR will alternate 
between
0.00 and the present RIT/XIT offset, if any.

* DIVERSITY RECEIVE MODE: If you have the sub receiver (KRX3 option) 
installed,
you can take advantage of “diversity receive” by using two separate 
receiving antennas.
This can improve signal copy during fading, and adds a spatial (L/R) 
effect to signals.
DIVERSITY MODE further enhances this capability by slaving the sub 
receiver’s
mode, filter settings, and VFO to the main receiver. To enter diversity 
mode, hold
SUB until you see “DIVRSTY” on VFO B (about 2 seconds). The kHz decimal 
point
of the VFO A display will flash slowly as a reminder that diversity 
mode is in effect.

Notes on Diversity Mode:

1. Entering diversity mode switches the sub receiver  to its AUX antenna
source. If you don’t hear any right-channel audio, you probably don’t 
have
an antenna connected to the sub’s AUX input. Refer to the owner’s manual
or KRX3 manual for information on sub receiver AUX antenna 
configuration.

2. If your main and sub receiver have 5-pole crystal filters with 
differing frequency
offsets, you may hear a slow phase modulation in the received audio at 
some
VFO frequencies. The only way to eliminate this effect is to use 5-pole 
filters with
matched offsets (available on request; contact Elecraft) or use 8-pole 
filters,
which have no offset.

Miscellaneous changes:

* DUAL PB CW MIN CONTEXT BANDWIDTH NOW 400 Hz. In high-QRM situations,
a 400 Hz or 500 Hz crystal filter may be very useful as a limit to the 
context bandwidth.
Note that the “pedestal” effect (-24 dB context filter) becomes more of 
a sloped
response as the context bandwidth is reduced.

* DATA TX ALC IMPROVEMENTS. PWR control is now more responsive during
transmit in all DATA modes.

* FM SQUELCH THRESHOLD: Closely matched between main and sub receivers.

* NOISE BLANKER ON/OFF ON BAND CHANGE: The DSP noise blanker
wasn’t set up properly during band changes. It may have been left ON on 
the new
band in some cases.

* PA TEMP and FP TEMP are now "normal" VFO B alternate display modes,
meaning that you don’t have to set TECH MD to ON in the config menu.

* DDS frequency shifting during T/R changed to eliminate a variation in 
CW
keying duty cycle that was occurring only over specific, narrow 
frequency ranges
on each band. This also eliminated a related CW keying artifact.

For software developers:

* RG$ command implemented (sub receiver RF gain).

* "FA", "UP" ,"DN", “RC”, “RU”, and “RD” COMMANDS UPDATE VFO B IF
VFOS ARE LINKED (except in SPLIT). These commands can also be used
in transmit mode.



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