[Elecraft] K3<-->KPA500 Request

[Jim Bennett]

Jack,

The power level MLDX sees appears to be updated / polled every few seconds. And, it stays the same, regardless of the K3's Power level setting.

A few minutes ago I sent Don an email asking if he had been following the thread. He replied no, but asked for a link to it. I just sent it to him.

I do like MLDX - a fine program, indeed. Not only do I use it for my limited contesting, but - I am making an assault on 5BWAS. Being able to quickly key in a station's call and finding out if it is a state I need on that band makes things lots easier. Certainly I could use native QRZ.COM, but with MLDX, if I need the state, everything is already loaded into the proper fields for me. I got into IT back in the late 60's and have "enjoyed" knowing quite a few programming languages - mostly dinosaur-speak by today's standards. But I know what you mean about support hassles! I did write a small Apple Script program that I have been using to key in my past 47 years' worth of paper logs and enter them into MLDX. Now THAT has been quite a chore!

Jim / W6JHB

On   Thursday, Mar 1, 2012, at  Thursday, 9:09 AM, Jack Brindle wrote:

> Jim;
> 
> Let me ask another question. For logging the power level, what gets logged? During transmit, the KPA is constantly measuring its output power, making it available to a computer in response to a serial command query. The measurement can vary widely, depending on when the measurement is taken with respect to the transmission. Especially in SSB, this can be anywhere between zero and the peak output. Just watch the KPA power display to see this action.
> 
> A logging program would periodically poll for the power, and will receive many readings during a QSO. So the question is, which of these readings would it log? Perhaps the highest one it received? Or should it keep a running average? We don't want the complexity of this calculation to get out of hand, especially when asking a logging program author/vendor to add the feature to his product. But it is necessary to be able to add the feature.
> 
> I believe the value set in the K3 when you twist the power knob is the peak power that will be allowed during transmit, but it, too, is not what is actually transmitted. With the KPA, we only have a measured value, which is approximately 13db higher than whatever the transmitter feeds it. Note that we cannot control the output power in the KPA other than shutting off amplification.
> 
> I sent Don an email asking if he is interested in adding KPA support to MLDX. I've know him for quite some time, and am quite willing to work with him if he decides to support the feature. Interestingly, I'm not an MLDX user (something Don would like to change). The reason is that I am also a Mac developer, and have my own logging program that I use. It is constantly changing, and not a commercial product (Been there with MacPacket years ago, I don't want the support hassles). Besides, the reason it keeps changing is that I'm not really happy with it yet. And no, it doesn't have KPA support at present, nor many of the features that MLDX has. It is oriented towards contesting, something I really enjoy when I can break away from product development.
> 
> Jack B, W6FB
> 
> 
> On Feb 29, 2012, at 10:17 PM, Jim Bennett wrote:
> 
>> I use MacLoggerDX (MLDX) for QSO logging, among other tasks. It interfaces very nicely between my K3 and the MacBook Air laptop. The K3 passes a lot of data (including power output level) to MLDX and it winds up in my log. However, when I'm using the KPA500, the K3 only sends the driving power that it outputs to the amp. What I wind up with in my log is incorrect. For example, if the KPA500 is in OPERATE mode and I log a QSO, it'll get reported as a QSO made using 25 watts or power, instead of the 450 - 500 that the amp is putting out. Since the K3 and the KPA500 "speak the same language" and talk to each other, can the firmware be changed so that the K3 sends corrected Power Out level to the output data port when the KPA500 is engaged? As it is now, I have to go back into MLDX after every QRO contact and change the power field to reflect the actual power and not the K3's driving power.
>> 
>> Regards, Jim / W6JHB
>> Folsom, CA
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