[Elecraft] New K3 Firmware: Improved AGC (great for pile-ups as well as general operation)

[Thomas Horsten]

Wayne,

It's hard for me to do a before/after side by side comparison since I only
have one K3 and the band conditions change all the time, but after using
the 4.51 firmware for a couple of days, it seems to me that APF is maybe
slightly less effective than it was before. Maybe it's because the overall
clarity of the weak signals is generally improved, or else the AGC changes
somehow interact with the APF in a detrimental way?

I'm generally using the 400Hz filter for CW and adjust the passband down to
about 250Hz for best readability on weak signals, engaging APF at that
setting previously made most weak signals much louder, now it seems to make
that much difference only on a smaller subset of signals and only when the
band is relatively quiet.

It could well be down to random band condition changes before and after the
upgrade, but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

73, Thomas M0TRN


On 14 May 2012 05:14, Wayne Burdick <n6kr at elecraft.com> wrote:

> K3 beta-test firmware revision 4.51 (with DSP rev. 2.76) is now
> available. We'd like to thank the 100+ K3 owners who have put this
> code through its paces over the past week.
>
> The most important change is that the K3's AGC threshold (CONFIG:AGC
> THR) can now be set much higher. In addition, the AGC now has very
> precise response on attack/decay (monotonic, not "scalloped"). The
> combination of these changes can greatly improve signal clarity in
> pile-ups and other high-noise or dense-signal situations. Many
> operators have also reported improved effectiveness of noise blanking.
>
> With this release, NR and Auto-Notch can be used at all of the new
> threshold settings.
>
> The firmware can be found on our K3 software download page:
>
>    http://www.elecraft.com/K3/k3_software.htm
>
> 73,
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:Elecraft at mailman.qth.net
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>