[Elecraft] K3 and N1MM Logger Configuration Rosetta Stone

[Jim Brown]

On Mon, 16 Mar 2009 21:13:03 -0400, n0tk at aol.com wrote:

>I need some help from anyone who has successfully used their K3 
and
>N1mm Logger connected through the computer serial Com1 port. 

I do that a lot. It works great. 

>I select Config Ports and have the settings under the Hardware Tab
>as Always CW 

What that check means is "use this port to send CW"

>and Don't Change Radio Mode. 

I have both of the top boxes checked. There are special reasons for 
certain contests where you might want to change that. 

>Under the Hardware Tab I select K3 for Com1 

Good. Although, if you're not sure that the port you're using is 
really com1, check it out. I've had laptops that put com1 only on a 
port extender and com2 on the computer itself. 

>with DTR(Pin4) and RTS(Pin7) both set to Always On as suggested by 
>the N1MM information displayed. 

TILT! There's your problem. I'm assuming you want N1MM to send CW. 
To do that, left click on the "Set" button for COM1, then choose CW 
for DTR (pin4). To run only CW, choose Always Off for RTS (pin 7). 
If you want the computer to send PTT to the radio, choose PTT for 
RTS(pin7). With DTR Always On, the serial port won't send CW. With 
RTS(pin7) Always On, you'll be stuck in Transmit if you set the 
radio for PTT on RTS. 

Now, go to the Config Menu of the K3 (with a LONG button press for 
the second menu) and go to the PTT-KEY setting. To only run CW, set 
this for OFF-DTR. To run both SSB with PTT from the computer and CW 
from the computer, select RTS-DTR. [This is a WONDERFUL feature 
built into the K3 -- you don't need the transistor between the DTR 
and the key jack, or between the RTS and PTT. The K3 takes CW 
directly from pin 4 and PTT directly from pin 7 -- IF your CONFIG 
setting tells it to do so.  

Now, I'll tell you what I do. On CW, I run QSK with the K3. Follow 
the K3 manual to get there. If you plug a paddle into the radio you 
can interchangeably use the paddle and computer keying. For SSB, 
RTTY, and PSK, I use VOX, NOT PTT. For RTTY and PSK, I feed audio 
from the computer sound card to the radio, and from the radio to 
the computer sound card. So I don't use PTT (RTS) at all. Some guys 
like to use PTT, that's your choice. I'm a serious contester, and 
VOX works for me. 

BTW -- if you set N1MM to do both CW and PTT, you can still turn 
off CW or PTT or both with the CONFIG setting for PTT-KEY.  

73,

Jim Brown K9YC