[Elecraft] KX3 "Full" SDR

[Don Wilhelm]

Craig,

The KX3 is a "full SDR" radio (the K3 is as well).  By virtue of the 
modulation and demodulation all being done the firmware rather than in 
hardware.  Yes, the KX3 does have knobs which are used to pass 
parameters to the firmware - the "computer" is inside the KX3 and no 
external computer is required.

There are some (maybe many) who believe an external computer is required 
for the radio to be a "full SDR" but I am not in that group.

There are others who believe that one must have a panadapter display to 
be a "full SDR", and again, I am not a member of that 'camp'. The KX3 
with an external computer can have a panadapter display.  It has RX I 
and Q outputs which can be fed to a soundcard and applications such as 
HDSDR, NaP3, or several other applications can provide that type 
display, and even provide some level of rig control through the mouse 
and keyboard.

If you choose the Flex, an external computer is required - with the KX3, 
it is optional.
If you are one who would like to experiment with the SDR software rather 
than using the 'stock' version, then you might be more interested in the 
Flex or one of the other SDR radios that do use the external computer 
for modulation and demodulation.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 12/31/2013 9:35 AM, Craig Schroeder wrote:
> Happy New Year,
>
> I want to move into the hobby aspects of SDR and have narrowed my list to the KX3 with 100 watt Amp or a Flex 3000.  I have been told that though the KX3 will connect to a PC it is not a "full" SDR radio (my understanding of "full" is in regard to signal processing but there may be other factors implied that I am not aware of being new to the SDR world).
>
> If this perspective is on target, what are the important SDR limitations with the KX3 that I should consider?  If there are no important limitations, I do like the form factor and knobs on the KX3 over the Flex software-only interface.
>
>