[Elecraft] Need clarity on digital outputs

[k7nhb]

The manual is a little light on these features so please tell me if I
understand correctly or need a "fill-in".

Case 1) Rig control. I see software rig control accomplished by connecting
the USB cable to the ACC1 jack. The cable "looks like" a COM port to the rig
(driver installation not necessary) and rig control software is configure to
use that psuedo COM port. Looking at Device Manager will give the number of
the COM port added (other devices that use a KeySpan Dongle my have their
own COM Port number).

What should be Baud rate be set ?

Some places I see 3840: some places I see 4800. I don't see a menu choice
for that in the KX3 so what shoud the computer configuration be?

Also, there is some question about the KX3 working with any device that uses
OmniRig. Can I just select K3 in OmniRig and the KX3 will work as well
(BandMaster, CW Skimmer, etc.)?

So rig control uses 1 USB port (which looks like a COM port to the PC).

Case 2) PSK and other digital modes. Though you can go from the Phones jack
to the computer mic (or line in?) input and computer phones (or line out?)
to rig mic in, it seems cleaner to go though another USB device - like a
Griffin "hocky puck" that takes phones and mic and gives USB output or a
Signalink.

The Signalink shows up as a USB Audio CODEC and I'm guessing the Griffin
would have a similar selection in the Sounds control panel. In that control
panel for the device via Properties and Advanced tab, there's a setting for
the data format. Do you know what should be chosen for the SignaLink and/or
Griffin. Choces are like 2 channel, 16 bit, 48000 Hz, or 2 channel 8 bit,
11025 Hz.

I see that sample rate of 11025 Hz come up often in the digital software.
Should I set the audio device to that - for example, 2 channel, 16 bit,
11025 Hz - or should I change the field in the digital software to match
what I put in the device prefence (2 channel 16 bit, 96000 Hz)?

Because there are three devices - the KX3, maybe a USB interface (Griffin or
SignaLink), and the computer/software - how should I set that format they
all dance to the same music?

So this uses a second USB port and I can't keep the Mic plugged in if I'm
going to use Digital modes.

CASE 3) SDR Applications, like HDSDR
This looks like a different situation from Digital modes for RX/TX. This
gives input so you can use PanAdapter type software to "see" a section of
the band.

It looks like this is a third cable going to the KX3 - to the RX I/Q jack.
Now this has to come into the PC via a stereo in Port - which is probably
NOT the computer "mic in". In the case of a little netbook, there is no
Stereo in jack and no way to add a "card" to the laptop. So I"m guessing you
would have to pass this through a Griffin "hocky puck" to get stereo into
the PC via a third USB Port?

I have some older SoundBlaster 16 bit and 24 bit external boxes. Maybe they
would work as well? But if I used the Griffin (smallest choice), it looks
like I would plug the Rx IQ cable into the Mic In on the Griffin and set the
slide from "Mic" to "Line".

Hopefully the Griffin will show up as a third sound source in the control
panel. It looks like I have a choice of how to configure it's format 48KHz,
96KHz, 192KHz.  So that would match up with some configuration in HDSDR? It
looks like the some settings would be configured with CW Skimmer because it
has an "I/Q" input option too?

So - if a Laptop/Netbook that doesn't have line-in/out, doesn't have Stereo
Mic-in, and in my case with the small netbook, doesn't even have separate
phones and Mic jacks (the netbook documentation seems to say the one jack
can be used either for phones out or for mic in but not both. No no plug
with a tip, two rings and a shaft for example; I'm waiting to hear from Asus
on that), then sound must come in via a USB device. And if HDSDR or I/Q
features of CW Skimmer are desired, that USB device must provide Stereo In.

Please fill in the blanks or correct my errant misunderstanding. I know this
is a long post but hopefully it will result in all the information being in
one place and very specific to the KX3 instead of posts that say it's sort
of like the K3, but not really, and leave you there.

Thank you and 73,
Paul
K7NHB



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