[Elecraft] dual-input monitors...

[David Gilbert]

You ever consider buying what you need/want?  From all accounts the P3 
does a fine job for what it was intended to do, but there are other 
solutions that would do pretty much exactly what you describe.  I don't 
always agree with Elecraft's design choices either, but in this case it 
has been clear from day one that the P3 was intended to be independent 
of the requirement to have a companion PC and that the SVGA port would 
be simply that .. an SVGA port.  If that wasn't what you wanted, why did 
you buy it?  Or did you simply not pay attention?  If you have 
positioned the P3 so that it isn't easily accessible you've already 
negated the buttons and cursor control that set it apart from 
alternative products like the LP-Pan, SDR-IQ, or QSR1 ... products that 
would window the display right on your computer monitor like you want.

Dave   AB7E



On 1/15/2012 4:30 AM, John Ragle wrote:
> Barry...
>
>       (I am trying not to prolong this thread on the Elecraft
> reflector...this will be my last thrust) Your idea to use dual-input
> monitors has come up repeatedly in the form of an "A-B Switch" for
> monitors. It is an extension of the primitive idea that one would
> un-plug one video source from a monitor and plug the second source into it.
>
>       On my work desk, which I feel is reasonably typical, I am using one
> large monitor for everyday business on my PC, and a second one to
> run/monitor my ham radio stuff. I simply don't have space to use a 3rd
> monitor, though I have several that could be scavenged...
>
>       Moreover, I don't want to give up the "live" monitoring of the
> windows that are in use...email, QRZ.com, vhf_info, fldigi, etc.
> So...along with a number of others who write to the E'craft server...I
> feel it would have been much more convenient if the P3/SVGA output were
> "windowed" on one of one's present monitors.
>
>       Technically, this would have been fairly easy...a small helper
> program (perhaps similar to flrig) would run on the PC and present the
> P3/SVGA output in a window. Instead, the person who made the design
> decision at Elecraft, chose to/*require */a dedicated monitor to present
> the P3/SVGA output.
>
>       Recently, someone suggested use of frame-grabber or similar
> technology (e.g. http://rgb.com/) for this function. Unfortunately
> commercial units to do this are 10X more expensive than the price of the
> SVGA adapter + a small monitor to hook it to...
>
>       So...there is no alternative to the "A-B" switch idea, or hanging a
> 3rd monitor from the ceiling. Actually, the screen on the P3 is not a
> bad solution. In my case however, the P3 lives a fair stretch of the arm
> from the operating position, and I had hoped to add the SVGA to put the
> output more directly in front of me.
>
> John Ragle -- W1ZI