[Elecraft] K3 & ADAT ADT-200A by HB9CBU

[Toby Deinhardt]

Hello Julian,

> Technology is wonderful, but I still have an extreme reluctance to adopt any
> kind of SDR that is based on general purpose computers... 

The one of the interesting things about using personal computers for SDR 
is imho that generally more people can take part in their development in 
  major or minor ways. This is why I just recently decided to purchase 
the QS1R - it is open source, which, if I so decide, will allow me to 
tinker with it. I've got a hankering to unite a panadapter with 
information from the WinTest band map, DX-cluster spots and maybe a few 
other goodies. No idea when and if I'll actually do this, but with this 
kind of an open system I (much more easily) can if I want.

I understand your concern about the rapid rate of obsolescent in the PC 
world. I would argue that with a clever choice of which interface to 
use, some concepts will actually survive many hard- and software cycles. 
This way at least the hardware of the radio wouldn't have to be changed. 
The software would likely be less stable, but otoh as the hardware 
becomes more powerful, newer software come become more complex and offer 
new features.

> Other than that there is the simple fact that general purpose computers are
> not as stable as dedicated hardware and you have all the hassle of keeping
> them free of viruses etc...

The easy answer is: Never fix a working system, don't install anything 
you don't really need and don't use the computer for anything else. But 
then we are getting close a dedicated solution.

> I don't really care what goes on inside the box but I want my radio in a box
> marked "radio" with its own independent controls...

I personally dislike black boxes. I want to know about what is going on 
inside.

The choice of user interface has a lot to do with what one wants to do 
with the radio, and is one one of the reasons I really love my K3. That 
being said, if you have ever worked in a well designed professional 
video editing suite or control room, then you soon realize that while 
much of equipment on the market do have reasonable user interfaces, they 
are not nearly as good as they could be. Especially when you look at the 
sum of all equipment in the average shack. It often has to do with 
little things, like what position does your wrist have to be in to push 
a button, move a slider, how far do I have to move my hands to perform 
an operation and how many steps are involved, etc. Adding knobs, buttons 
and putting the SDR in a box may or may not be the best way to go.

vy 73 de toby