[Elecraft] K3 and Remoterig

[Wayne Burdick]

David Windisch wrote:

> Can you say in advance whether the Remoterig "twinning" (no computer
> required at client or host site) concept will be supported by the K3?

Yes.

The next release of K3 firmware will allow you to connect two K3s  
together, with one acting as a "terminal" only, the other as the  
"remote" radio. You can do this either with the RemoteRig control  
boxes, which do not use a computer, or just with a "null modem" cable  
going from one K3's RS232 jack to the other's. (A "null modem" cable  
can be made with as few as three wires.)

The "terminal" K3 does not put out RF or audio -- that is handled  
cleanly over the network by the RemoteRig hardware. The terminal K3  
just sends switch/knob/potentiometer events to the remote K3. This  
means it can be a completely stripped-down K3, like a K3/10 with no  
options. If remoting K3s turns out to be very popular, we may in the  
future offer a K3 that's front-panel-only to be used just as a  
controller. The KX3 could also, in theory, be used to control most K3  
functions, although it has far fewer controls, so it wouldn't be a  
complete emulation.

Virtually the entire K3 user interface is supported by the new remote- 
control protocol. It really feels like you're using the remote K3  
itself, including a 100% accurate emulation of the remote K3's LCD  
(flashing icons, etc.). Over a long-distance network there might be  
noticeable latency in the use of some controls. But with a direct  
connection or a LAN, there's barely any lag.

You can manually go in/out of terminal mode, or let the RemoteRig box  
do it for you.

Additional details will be provided when the RemoteRig boxes become  
available. They're doing extensive testing.

73,
Wayne
N6KR