[Elecraft] K3, sound cards and PSK31

[Kok Chen]

On Apr 4, 2010, at 11:22 PM, George A. Thornton wrote:

> It has been recommended to me that I get the SignaLink USB interface
> because it is easy to work with and reliable. 

The SignaLink USB contains two functions: 

(a) a 16-bit sound card (Burr-Brown 2909 chip) and 
(b) an audio activated ("VOX") circuit to key the PTT line of a transceiver when audio is present from the computer.

I can't think of any advantage of using an external VOX device when the K3 already has that function in DATA A mode.  I.e., the function (b) is already provided by the K3, and with very flexible VOX Gain adjustment using the K3 Menu.  

The SignaLink is a decent "interface" for rigs that don't support VOX for digital modes.

With the K3, you can save money by just buying a simple sound card (e.g., http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/imic) instead of the SignaLink USB.

The usual reason given for using a separate sound card instead of the built-in speaker/headphones of the computer is so that chimes, alert sounds and music from the computer don't accidentally go out on the air (especially when the transmitter is keyed through VOX).

Just connect the line-output from the sound card to the line-input of the K3 (note that the K3 line-input is a mono jack) and connect the line-output of the K3 to the line-input of the sound card, and you are done with connecting your computer to the K3.  Turn on VOX for DATA-A, and you are ready to go after setting up the audio levels.

73
Chen, W7AY