[Elecraft] Elecraft Digest, Vol 152, Issue 11

[Dave B]

On 14/12/16 22:26, elecraft-request at mailman.qth.net wrote:
> Message: 9
> Date: Tue, 13 Dec 2016 16:53:00 -0800
> From: James Bennett <w6jhb at me.com>
> To: Elecraft Reflector Reflector <elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
> Subject: [Elecraft] KX3 utility on RPi
> Message-ID: <75441C33-5268-42A5-A44B-D07F7FDBD395 at me.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
>
> I?ve been using my KX3 connected to a Raspberry Pi 3 for quite some time, using CQRlog for logging, FLDIGI for PSK31, and recently, WXJT-X rc3 for JT9 and JT65. I?d like to load the most current firmware into the KX3 so I can get the full 15 watts out. I downloaded and un-tar?d the KX3 Utility from the Elecraft web site. So - now what? If I click on the ?kx3util? executable, nothing happens. What is the secret procedure to get this going? I am using the Raspian Jessie (Debian Linux) OS on this RPi.
>
> Thanks, Jim / W6JHB
> Folsom, CA
>
> ?What?s the difference between a carpenter and a woodworker? About 1/8 inch!"

As Tim KG1GEM says...

You'd need to build the KX3 utility from source to run on the Pi.   The
reason?   The Pi uses an ARM CPU, not an x86 architecture device, that
the pre-compiled KX3 utility is built for.

Perhaps the util' author could cross compile it, or perhaps someone
donate a Pi to him, so he can build a version on it or somehow persuade
him/Elecraft to make the sources available to the community.   I think
the latter will not happen sadly, as I suspect there is some "secret
sauce" in there regarding firmware transfer methods and protocols etc.

The other way would be for it to be rebuilt as a "Java" application,
then it'd run on just about any platform that supports the Java Runtime
Engine (JRE.)   That is not a trivial undertaking, especially as it
needs to use serial, (aka COM) ports to tallk to external hardware.  

(Note:  Java is *not* the same as Javascript, that browsers use.  Plus,
it is possible indeed desirable to disable any/all browsers ability to
launch a "Java" app.)

I believe there is a usable JRE for the Pi, but not tried it myself.

73.

Dave G0WBX.