[Elecraft] K3 BETA FIRMWARE RELEASE -- MCU rev 1.94

Tue May 13 10:56:27 EDT 2008

Bob, 

Try setting the threshold to 2 or 3 (CWT Hold).  With a fixed 
threshold, it seems very close to the previous performance on 
all but the strongest signals (and even the old FW was a bit 
touchy with S9+20 signals). 

73, 

   ... Joe, W4TV 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net 
> [mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Bob Cunnings
> Sent: Monday, May 12, 2008 10:53 PM
> To: wayne burdick
> Cc: Elecraft Reflector
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 BETA FIRMWARE RELEASE -- MCU rev 1.94
> 
> 
> Unfortunately I see little improvement in the CW auto-spot feature,
> broken in the last release. It is still much less accurate than the
> original algorithm, and less consistent in it's behavior.
> 
> Try this - tune in a good steady (S6 or S7) cw signal. Set tuning to
> FINE, enable CWT and then press SPOT repeatedly, observing the
> frequency display. The beta version (like 1.88) settles on a
> considerably different frequency almost every time - moving 5 Hz or
> more commonly, and sometimes as much as 20 Hz or more. There is a
> tendency to tune low. The original version, on the other hand, rarely
> moves more than 1 or 2 Hz with each auto-spot invocation, bearing out
> the fact that it is more accurate in general, or less likely to get
> confused (by noise, varying morse code speed etc.).
> 
> Since I have two K3 units here, I set one up with 1.78/1.58 and the
> other with the beta firmware, and then compared their auto-spot
> behavior side by side on the same received signal using an antenna
> switch. The difference is quite pronounced. Here are some series of
> freqs (last three digits) resulting from 10 successive invocations of
> auto-spot on the same steady S7 signal on 40 meters (at 13 wpm or so,
> fortunately a long winded transmission):
> 
> v178/158 (TEXT DEC threshold = AUTO)
> 125, 125, 125, 129, 130, 130, 127, 128, 129, 129
> 
> beta (TEXT DEC threshold = AUTO)
> 115, 118, 124, 079 (!), 106, 106, 124, 107, 112, 100
> 
> beta (TEXT DEC threshold = 5)
> 124, 123, 109, 116, 118, 122, 117, 116, 120, 123
> 
> The newer firmware version tends to "bounce around" more with a
> tendency to tune low, often requiring multiple invocations of
> auto-spot to hit the right pitch, whereas the original algorithm
> generally tunes right the first time. With threshold set to 5 in the
> beta version auto-spot is a bit better, but all too often it takes
> multiple tries to hit the right pitch, as it still tends low. If I set
> the threshold much higher, it doesn't want to tune at all for signals
> that the original algorithm handled easily.
> 
> I'm not sure what the "improvements" to auto-spot introduced in 1.88
> were supposed to do, but IMO the feature is still negatively affected
> by the attempt. A side by side comparison of the two versions, on the
> same signal, is very revealing in this case  -  can someone else try
> this?
> 
> Too bad, since I use the feature a lot it's back to 1.78/1.58 for now.
> It "just works".
> 
> Bob NW8L
> 
> 
> 
> On Mon, May 12, 2008 at 7:08 PM, wayne burdick 
> <n6kr at elecraft.com> wrote:
> > Thanks to your input on the last firmware release (1.88), 
> we've made a
> > number of important improvements.
> >
> > For the first time, we're posting new firmware as "beta." 
> Upgrading is
> > optional: if you want to minimize your risk, you might want 
> to wait until
> > we've blessed it as a normal production firmware release. 
> (Or until all your
> > friends have it and you're a little jealous.)
> >
> > We'd love to have as many thrill-seekers as possible take 
> the plunge and
> > load the new firmware now. We think it's greatly improved, 
> and it will
> > certainly clear up many of the issues noted over the past 
> week. Even though
> > we're headed to Dayton in a couple of days, we'll be 
> monitoring closely for
> > any additional issues.
> >
> > For release notes and instructions on how to load beta 
> firmware, please see:
> >
> >  http://www.elecraft.com/K3/k3_software.htm
> >
> > The instructions (linked from within the release notes) 
> explain how to
> > create a separate folder for the beta revision. This will 
> allow you to
> > easily revert to an older revision if you find it 
> necessary. Hopefully not!
> >
> > For your convenience I've also provide the release notes below.
> >
> > 73,
> > Wayne
> > N6KR
> >
> > * * *
> >
> > MCU 1.94 / DSP 1.73, 5-12-08
> >
> >  * VOX: Increased sensitivity. Typical VOX GN settings now ~30-50.
> >
> >  * VOICE MONITOR: Eliminated "scratchy" artifacts with 
> compression set to
> > high levels.
> >
> >  * FM DEVIATION ADJUSTABLE:  Use CONFIG:FM DEV menu entry 
> (default: 5.0
> > kHz).
> >
> >  * Flash memory driver improved to prevent occasional 
> receive dropouts, "ERR
> > PL1", and
> >    "FPF LOAD PENDING" messages.
> >
> >  * XMIT SWITCH IN MENU: Tapping XMIT while in menu 
> correctly starts/ends
> > transmit.
> >
> >  * PASSBAND SHIFT BELOW "0.00" CORRECTED: The SHIFT control 
> no longer allows
> >    continued rotation below 0.00. (This was occurring only 
> with sidetone
> > pitch < 500 Hz.)
> >
> >  * SQUELCH/RF GAIN CONTROL CHANGES: By default, the RF/SQL 
> concentric pots
> >    control main and subreceiver RF gain, and squelch is 
> controlled by two
> > CONFIG menu
> >    entries (SQ MAIN and SQ SUB). But setting SQ MAIN to 
> "=SUB POT" assigns
> >    SUB RF/SQL pot to both main and sub squelch, and in this 
> case, the main
> > RF/SQL
> >    pot controls both main and sub RF gain. Setting SQ MAIN 
> back to a numeric
> > value
> >    restores the default assignments. Note: Squelch applies 
> only to FM mode
> > at present.
> >
> > ---
> >
> > http://www.elecraft.com
> >
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> Date: 5/12/2008 7:44 AM
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