[Elecraft] DSP

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

And I'd not be at all surprised to see such upgrades available at some
future time if the improvement is significant in the K3 application and
there is sufficient demand. But that may not be the case. 

The K3's receiver is a superhet (i.e. converts the input signal to a fixed
intermediate frequency where it is amplified, filtered then demodulated). A
successful superhet receiver is a carefully balanced system from the antenna
input to the audio or data output. One component that might make a huge
improvement in one superhet design may have little or no benefit in another
superhet design. In the 90 years since Col. Armstrong developed the superhet
receiver platform all of the improvements have been in the various
components, not in the underlying design. And that continues.

However, a full SDR receiver may not use the superhet architecture at all.
An SDR receiver typically converts the RF signal at the antenna input
directly into digital data and from that point on it's all crunching bits
and bytes until, if an analog output such as audio to speaker or phones is
needed, the digital data is used to produce an analog audio signal. I got
the impression from the video with Wayne that the KX3 *may* use a full SDR
receiver. 

Whether or not the KX3 uses a full SDR or retains a superhet architecture,
it will have quite different demands on the components than the K3,
including the DSP system.  

I'm sure there will be a LOT of test data comparing the KX3 and K3 receiver
as well as endless anecdotal comparisons shared here on the reflector by
those with both units. I'm looking forward to them.  

Ron AC7AC

 
-----Original Message-----
I note that Wayne makes a point of the fact that the DSP in the KX3 is
32-bit, floating point. This buzzphrase is also used by other manufacturers
to tout their DSPs, but I can't find any similar description of the  DSP
hardware in the K3. To raise again a point that was mentioned yesterday: if
there's a potential for getting more DSP horsepower in the K3, I'm sure that
many K3 owners would happily pay for a retrofit.

Tony KT0NY