[Elecraft] K3 DSP bypass

[Don Wilhelm]

The K3 is an SDR transceiver.  That means that the filtering, 
modulation, and demodulation (as well as noise reduction and many other 
functions) is done in the digital domain.  One cannot disable the DSP 
processing of the K3 without disabling the entire transceiver for both 
transmit and receive.

If one wants to use the K3 as a superhetrodyne receiver, the 8 MHz IF 
output could be used (with the KXV3 option) and send it to an analog 
receiver capable of receiving that frequency.  I am just not certain of 
the utility in doing that - the K3 DSP enables a lot of function that is 
not available in an analog receiver of comparable price.

I cannot comment on the "awful hiss" that you refer to.  It is not a 
result of DSP processing, but may be a result of shortcomings in the 
software (firmware) used for the processing.  I would suggest that you 
listen to a K3 for a while before making a decision.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 3/3/2014 8:32 PM, GDR wrote:
> Can the DSP in the K3 be bypassed? In other words, can it be operated as a conventional superheterodyne receiver without any processing? Would be interesting to do A/B comparison testing. Years ago I had a Ten Tec Omni 6 Plus, a great radio except for the horrid DSP hiss. I always wished I could somehow bypass or defeat the DSP just to see how much better it would be to listen to through a long contest without that awful hiss.
>