[Elecraft] P3 review et al

[Fred Atchley]

I've just about recovered from the trip from Oceanside, CA to SBARC and back
so now can post the results. 1st: Kudos to Alan, Eric, and Wayne for
successfully demonstrating a P3 prototype and Kudos also to SBARC for
picking up the pieces of the SW ARRL convention (that was going to be held
at Riverside, CA.) To be sure, Elecraft stole the show (99%.) 

 

What I saw was: a) bright, well defined, color display of both spectrum and
waterfall. They were selectable singly or split-screen with waterfall on
top.  

b) Tracking that changes the K3's frequency based on the red vertical marker
on the P3. There was a yellow vertical marker (not yet programmed) for the
sub receiver . 

c) Plug and play with the K3. NOTE: either a KXV3 or KXV3A is required. 

d) Minimal wiring required: Power (12VDC), Signal, and RS-232, all of which
are at the back of the P3.

e) FW which will be fully upgradable via the K3 utility.

 

The P3 FW designer, Alan N1AL, had been up till 2:30AM tweaking things! Poor
guy will probably crash when he gets home. In spite of being tired, he was
like a proud papa answering questions about the P3. Not all of the buttons
were implemented yet but those that were: spectrum, waterfall and K3
tracking, seemed very stable. The system uses a PIC-type chip which has a
built-in signal processing capability (what will they think up next)? One
nice design feature is the ease of inserting the P3 into my present setup
(K3 to WriteLog via microHAM Interface ll). All I have to do is move the
RS-232 plug from the K3 to the P3's RS-232 jack! That's it. Everything is
linked between the two.

 

What could go wrong? Well, they seemed to be concerned about its light
weight (If you were blind-folded and picked up the P3 you might think it was
an empty box.)  The upshot: a means of interlocking it with the K3 will be
required, otherwise, every time you push a button on the front panel, the P3
will move. That's an issue that will have to be addressed. I'd buy it now if
they'd let me.

 

No one would address price yet. When will we see it advertised for sale?
Hope was expressed for the end of this year. No promises were made, just
"stay tuned". 

 

Merry Christmas, I hope. Fred AE6IC