[Elecraft] K3 - KDVR

[Barry Pfeil]

Hi Fred.  The answers to your questions are mostly "yes".  Read the following from Iain in response to my query on the NCCC reflector.  I'm sure Iain would answer more specifics if you need them.
73, Barry, K6RM

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Iain MacDonnell - N6ML <ar at dseven.org>
To: Barry Pfeil <barrypfeil at sbcglobal.net>
Cc: NCCC Reflector <nccc at contesting.com>
Sent: Sunday, August 16, 2009 2:05:35 PM
Subject: Re: KDVR

Hi Barry,

Yes, I was using the KDVR3 for "voice keying" - really I only used it
for my CQ(s). N1MM doesn't explicitly support use of the KDVR3, but it
does allow you to send arbitrary commands to the K3, so I use the
commands that emulate pressing the M1-M4 buttons. I was pleasantly
surprised yesterday when I instinctively hit the Escape key to
interrupt my CQ when I thought I heard someone calling, and it
actually worked! I'm really not sure why it works - there may be some
hidden magic that sends a stop command to the K3 on hitting Escape. I
have yet to inquire about that.

Anyway, here are the messages I use for this... theoretically this
should work for SO2R, but I haven't really tested that thoroughly (I
only have one K3 at home)...

F1 CQ,{CATA1ASC K31;SWT21;}{CATA2ASC K31;SWT21;}
F2 Exch,{CATA1ASC K31;SWT31;}{CATA2ASC K31;SWT31;}
F3 Thanks!,{CATA1ASC K31;SWT35;}{CATA2ASC K31;SWT35;}
F4 {MYCALL},{CATA1ASC K31;SWT39;}{CATA2ASC K31;SWT39;}


The main benefit of this is that it avoids all of the hassles of
getting the audio routed through the computer working right and
sounding decent - instead you just plug your headset (or fav mic)
straight into the radio and go. Message recording is done with the
buttons on the radio. Listeners should be unable to distinguish
recorded vs live audio, other than by the repetition.

A possible down-side is that N1MM doesn't know when the playback of a
message ends - in fact it doesn't even know that a message is being
played. Things like repeating (or, worse, dueling) CQs could be a bit
tricky.

For something quick and easy, it works quite well...

    ~Iain / N6ML




On Sun, Aug 16, 2009 at 1:48 PM, Barry Pfeil<barrypfeil at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> Hi Iain.  I believe it was in your NAQP "soapbox" comments where I saw
> something about having N1MM interfaced to the K3/KDVR.  If not, trash this
> and let me know.
>
> If so, I was wondering how you were using the DVR.  Since I don't have the
> KDVR option and N1MM allows one to record messages on the same computer it's
> running on, I have always used that method.  But I can see where recording
> the messages inside the K3 might have some advantages.  Is that what you
> were using the KDVR for and, if so, what are the pros and cons of this
> method?
>   TNX es 73,
> Barry K6RM