[Elecraft] K3 Beta firmware rev. 2.57 -- SSB PWR control, SPLIT
in diversity mode, etc.
W0JFR
reillyjf at comcast.net
Sat Oct 25 13:42:29 EDT 2008
I can't find 2.57 on the beta site (just 2.46). Was it removed, or am I
having a browser refresh problem?
- 73, John, W0JFR
wayne burdick wrote:
>
> K3 beta-test firmware revision 2.57 (with DSP rev 1.94) is now
> available.
>
> This is a major release. Some recent changes have had only limited
> testing, but we wanted to get it out in time for this weekend's
> contest. If you have any difficulty, you can easily revert back to the
> last production version (2.46). Be sure to use the latest revision of
> K3 Utility to do the downloads.
>
> 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
>
> Highlights:
>
> * SSB power control improved (no jumps in power while rotating the PWR
> control during transmit; no upward spike when crossing the 12-W
> boundary; SSB drive level not affected by tapping A/B, changing modes,
> or doing an ATU TUNE. (NOTE: This doesn't address all issues with voice
> peaks; we have further work to do on ALC. Also, a band change or memory
> recall still reinitializes the SSB drive level. We're working on that.)
>
> * SPLIT operation is now possible in diversity mode (requires sub
> receiver). There are several user-interface changes related to this;
> please review the release notes below carefully. Most noticeably, in
> diversity mode VFO A still controls both receivers but the VFO B
> frequency remains fully independent.
>
> * First tap of A>B copies mode, if required (avoids accidental
> cross-mode SPLIT)
>
> * All known issues with CW/DATA message buffers fixed, including lost
> characters during chaining
>
> * Major improvements to CW-to-PSK31 operation -- faster transmit, and
> no erroneous characters sent when using the keyer paddle
>
> * Many new or improved remote-control commands for developers
>
> Other details appear below.
>
> 73,
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
> * * *
>
> MCU 2.57, 10-24-2008
>
> Major changes and new features:
>
> * SSB POWER CONTROL IMPROVEMENTS: (1) No jumps in power while
> rotating PWR control during transmit. (2) No upward spike when crossing
> QRP/QRO boundary. (3) No loss of SSB TX drive level when tapping A/B,
> changing modes, or doing an ATU TUNE. (4) These improvements may also
> lessen the effect of “spiking” external amplifiers, but further work on
> the
> ALC routine is planned.
>
> Note: The SSB drive does still get reinitialized to match the CW level
> if you do
> a TUNE (this is desirable). This also happens if you change bands or
> recall a
> memory (that will be fixed in the next release).
>
> * FIRST A>B TAP COPIES MODE (if VFO A and B modes are different). This
> should greatly reduce the chance of having VFO B in the wrong mode when
> the operator later goes into SPLIT. (Those who want to do cross-mode
> split
> can still set up VFO B differently using BSET mode, and should avoid
> A>B.)
> Once the VFO modes are the same, operation of A>B is the same as before:
> A single tap copies only the frequency, while a second tap copies
> everything.
>
> * PSK31 (PSK D MODE) TRANSMIT IMPROVEMENTS: Eliminated
> erroneous characters during CW-to-PSK31 transmit when using the keyer
> paddle. Also greatly improved PSK31 transmit speed by removing all
> extraneous “zeros” from the data stream.
>
> * MARS operation now possible on 40 m up to 7550 kHz.
>
> VFO Linking, Sub RX, Diversity Mode, and SPLIT:
>
> * SPLIT CAN BE USED IN DIVERSITY MODE: During SPLIT, VFO B is only the
> transmit frequency. VFO A controls both receivers. So you now have a
> choice when using SPLIT with the sub receiver: diversity receive, or
> listening to both your
> RX (main) and TX (sub) frequencies simultaneously. Also see BSET note
> below.
>
> * VFO A-B LINKING: This is now indicated by slowly flashing the VFO B
> kHz
> decimal point.
>
> * A/B and REV CAN NOW BE USED IN DIVERSITY MODE. In both cases, the
> VFOs are swapped, allowing you to listen in diversity mode on VFO B’s
> frequency.
>
> * BSET IN DIVERSITY MODE: If you use BSET in diversity mode, you’ll now
> hear the main RX in the left ear and sub RX in the right. This is
> useful when using SPLIT with diversity, as it allows you to override
> diversity mode temporarily and listen to both your RX and TX
> frequencies.
>
> * VFO B NOT LOCKED WHEN LINKED TO VFO A: This means the VFOs can
>
> be linked but at different frequencies. A fixed offset can be
> established using
> VFO B, and will be maintained as you tune VFO A.
>
> * VFOs NOT LINKED IN DIVERSITY MODE: VFO A is used to update both
> synthesizers (main and sub), but VFO B is now free to be used as a
> SPLIT TX
> frequency (see below). In DIVERSITY mode, the VFO A kHz decimal point
> slowly flashes, as before.
>
> Miscellaneous:
>
> * MESSAGE PLAY FIXES: There were a few issues with CW and DATA message
> buffer playback, including occasional truncated characters when
> chaining in CW
> mode, and inconsistent behavior when chaining.
>
> * MORE ACCURATE AM-MODE POWER LEVEL. Also slightly higher modulation
> percentage.
>
> * INTERNAL 2-TONE TEST GENERATOR now works with 2.7 as well as 2.8
> kHz crystal filters, and the tones are now correct when used with both
> LSB and USB.
>
> * KEY OUT disabled sooner on power-up: Previously, KEY OUT was active
> for
> about 3 to 4 seconds on power-up. This has been reduced to under one
> second.
> In any case, no RF is present during this period.
>
> For Software Developers (see K3 Programmer’s Reference, rev B14):
>
> * “DS” (VFO A DISPLAY READ): This command now correctly handles all of
> the
> RX EQ / TX EQ “mini-bar graph” levels as displayed in the main menu.
> The bar
> graph level 1 character, if it appears in the “DS” response string, is
> now converted to an underscore rather than a semicolon. This preserves
> the semicolon as strictly a command terminator.
>
> * "DT" COMMAND ADDED (VFO A DATA sub-mode read/set). "MD" is
> still used to set norm/rev.
>
> * "IF" COMMAND INCLUDES DATA SUB-MODE ("K31" must be in effect).
>
> * "IC" COMMAND ADDED (ICON and MISC STATUS): Provides state information
> on many functions, including BSET, TX TEST, VFO linking, diversity
> mode, sub RX antenna, full/semi QSK, dual-passband CW, dual-tone FSK
> filtering, ESSB, nose gate, FM PL tone on/off, etc.
>
> * “LK$” COMMAND ADDED (VFO B LOCK).
>
> * “TQ” (TRANSMIT STATUS QUERY) now returns 1 consistently when the K3
> is in
> transmit mode.
>
> * MORE MENU ENTRIES ACCESSIBLE WITH “MP” COMMAND: KAT3, VCO MD, and AGC
> THR are now available. See "MN" command table for details.
>
> * "KY" (keying) remote control command now handles CR, LF, TAB and other
> ASCII characters including: [ \ ] ^ _ ` All of these characters
> are useful in PSK D mode. They’re ignored in other modes, except that
> '_' becomes an
> "AA" prosign in CW mode.
>
> * Prosign mapping (e.g., “=” conversion to “BT”) is now disabled in PSK
> D
> and FSK D modes. This allows all ASCII characters to be transmitted
> normally.
> (Prosigns can always be sent using the alphabetic characters themselves
> in these modes.)
>
>
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