[Elecraft] P3 beta software with noise blanker

[Alan Bloom]

New P3 beta software, version 01.28, is now uploaded to the Elecraft web 
site:

http://www.elecraft.com/software/P3/elecraft_p3_software.htm

This requires K3 firmware version 4.25 or later and if you have the SVGA 
option, SVGA firmware version 1.16 or later.  As always, beta test 
firmware may have new issues that we haven't caught during field 
testing. Please report them to k3support at elecraft.com.

This version has a number of enhancements and bug fixes as described in 
the p3fwnotes.rtf file.  The major new feature is noise blanking.  Below 
is some explanatory text that I will be submitting to add to the P3 
Owner's Manual.

Enjoy!

Alan N1AL

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Noise Blanker

The noise blanker in the P3 reduces the effect of impulse-type noise on 
the display.  It has little or no effect on other types of noise such as 
thermal noise and static crashes but can dramatically reduce impulse 
noise from sources such as the AC power line and the ignition systems of 
motor vehicles.

The noise blanker is turned on or off using the menu entry "NB En", 
which can be assigned to a function key for easy access.  You can adjust 
the aggressiveness of the noise blanker algorithm with the menu entry 
"NB Level".  The higher the setting the more completely it blanks the 
noise but also the more likely it will cause distortion of desired 
signals. Use the lowest setting that effectively blanks the noise.  A 
value of about 10 or 11  is a good starting point for experimentation.  
Note that the REF LVL and SCALE settings have no effect on the noise 
blanker.

If there are one or more very strong signals within the P3 displayed 
frequency range, the noise blanker has a hard time detecting the 
difference between the unwanted pulses and the wanted signals.  The 
solution is to narrow the span and/or offset the center frequency 
(perhaps using fixed-tune mode) to place the strong signals well outside 
the P3's display range.

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