[Elecraft] Is there a K4 on the horizon?

[Wes (N7WS)]

Maybe.  I think there will still be some front end analog processing.  That 
said, QRP is in the DNA of this company.  Consequently, their designs have 
always had low receiver current drain in mind.  IMHO, this has compromised 
performance.  I know that the "faithful" are gnashing their teeth at this but I 
said, IMHO.

One need look no further than the use of an SA612 for the second mixer.  In a 
backpacking radio this is a good choice.  But it has no place in a 
high-performance desktop receiver.  By my reading of the spec sheets (I'll 
confess limited knowledge of DSP device specs) the mixer is weaker than the 
DSP.  Hence the conventional wisdom that the need for hardware AGC is to 
"protect" the DSP, when in fact, it's protecting the mixer.

We now have SDRs that can digitize wide swaths of the HF spectrum with good 
overload performance yet the mixer/DSP in the K3 requires banks of pricy crystal 
filters to limit the exposure to hundreds of Hz.  This also leads to endless 
questions on this reflector about what crystal filters are "best."  The best one 
would be a low IMD design that just eliminated the image with a robust DSP doing 
the rest.

Just thinkin' out loud.  We'll see what Visalia brings.

Wes  N7WS


On 4/1/2015 11:41 AM, Doug Person via Elecraft wrote:
> I think any new Elecraft radio is going to be cutting-edge DSP. Consider how 
> good the KX3 is.  Its DSP hardware is chosen for its low power requirements - 
> not for maximum performance.  So imagine a radio designed with the very best 
> DSP technology with power requirements being a much lower priority.  The K3 is 
> unquestionably outstanding.  But if Wayne were to start with a fresh, leading 
> edge design, there is no doubt that it would be DSP-based.
>
> 73, Doug -- K0DXV
>