[Elecraft] PSK tuning [k3]...alternatives for the immediate future

[John Ragle]

     Please don't take this comment to be frivolous or intentionally 
snippy...but my take on the decoding functions built into the K3 
firmware is that at this stage they are gimmicks or toys.

     As Ron observes, even an old warhorse like Digipan works much 
better (...more easily, less fussily...) than the K3 routines (and I 
love my K3!). When one considers the range of other digital methods 
available in, e.g. fldigi, it is apparent that Elecraft is thinking in 
the right direction but is not all the way there, YET.

     I use Digipan or fldigi (3.12.5) routinely with my K3 without 
problems. For digital mode operation, SpectraVue is also a very nice 
adjunct program.

     I have every faith that Elecraft will eventually enhance the 
digital decoding functions in the K3. One will still want something like 
SpectraVue to provide a window into the digital ops part of the spectrum 
(or an LP-PAN or a P3, if funds permit). Eventually it will be nice to 
be computer-free if one desires it...portability would be enhanced 
somewhat, though a small laptop (e.g. a netbook) is not much different 
in volume from an LP-PAN or a P3. My small ASUS Eee901 runs software 
like Digipan and SpectraVue without flinching.

     I am not at all a Luddite WRT new solutions...just very oriented 
toward functionality. This is also the reason that I rid myself of my 
Flex 3000.

John Ragle -- W1ZI

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On 8/12/2010 11:46 AM, Ron Herman wrote:
> How does one tune PSK31 on the K3 such that the built in decoder can
> read it. Tuning seems to be very selective and without a waterfall
> nearly impossible to tune. The capture range of the AFC doesn't seem
> to be very wide. The CWT spotting function sometimes helps but only
> on stronger signals. Sensitivity to weak signals doesn't seem to be
> very good either. With digipan on the PC I can decode stuff that I
> can hardly hear.
>