[Elecraft] P3 point and click with mouse

[Ian White]

>
>Your question is interesting. If you're in a contest you must be using
a
>contest program. Do you want another program running on the PC that
>would require you to leave the confines of your contest program? I
think
>not.
>
No, not another program. What's being requested is a standalone function
of the P3 that does not add to the complications of running existing PC
software.

>You would probably want the contest program to have a direct tie-in to
the
>P3 over the existing K3/P3 serial link. Something like holding the
shift key
>causes the mouse to talk to the P3. Releasing the shift key returns
control to
>the contest program. That could be interesting but would involve the
contest
>program developer(s).
>
No, definitely not that - for exactly the reasons you state.

>I suppose the alternative is a corded or wireless USB mouse connected
>directly to the back of the P3. 

Ah, now you're getting there!

>Then you would have two mice on your desk
>which is probably even less desirable during the heat of a contest
(unless
>you're ambidextrous).
>
The people requesting the function have thought the issues through. We
are quietly confident that the human race can handle the Two Mouse
Problem, because many of us have been doing it in the work environment
for years. 

Also, the reasons for requesting this feature are by no means
exclusively related to contesting. Any time that the mouse can <jump>
you to the right frequency before you (or the other guy) could get there
by spinning the knob, that's a feature worth having. It would certainly
have many uses in DXing, particularly in pileups or where the band is
barely open and sparsely occupied. 

Another example: in the big 6m Es opening this morning, I had the P3SVGA
displaying the whole of the bottom 200kHz of the band, trying to
identify each new amateur signal as it emerged out of the video QRM. It
would have been very handy - and very much quicker - to be able to hop
around the display using the mouse, instead of having to spin the dial.

For the record, I believe that the feature being requested is to QSY
VFOA with a left-click, and VFOB separately with a right-click, using a
mouse plugged into the USB port of the P3SVGA (as an alternative to a
keyboard or the USB drive).


73 from Ian GM3SEK