[Elecraft] Dedicated FTx Rig

[David Gilbert]

I'm certain this is not an original idea, but I wonder if somebody will 
ever come out with a dedicated all-in-one notebook-sized portable rig 
for the FT-type digital modes.  I'm pretty new to FT8/4 but I find it 
interesting that when I'm operating it all I ever do with my K3 is turn 
it on and make band changes since everything else is done on my 
computer.  I wouldn't even need to do that much on the K3 if WSJT-X had 
a button to make band changes.

Possibly such a unit might look like:

1.  12 volt operation (10 watts output) for portable use

2.  large enough screen to be practical

3.  running modified (mouseless) version of WSJT-X  to allow up/down 
arrow keys for:

     a.  band selection
     b.  frequency change in 2 KHz increments
     c.  mode selection
     d.  contact selection from activity window
     e.  TX1-TX6 sequence override
     f.   transmit enable/disable

4.  a button to momentarily press for log, press/hold to autolog

5.  USB port to run modified WSJT-X from flash drive for easy upgrade 
and log transfer

6.  internal antenna tuner (could be manual)

7.  etc.

Rigs dedicated to specific modes have never been very popular, but I 
suspect that FTx might change that and I suspect an integrated low power 
SDR version could end up being fairly inexpensive.  A side advantage is 
that audio levels would be preset in hardware and we'd see less 
overdrive situations.  ;)

Anybody know if there is already something like this out there?  I can 
find small inexpensive transceivers designed for FT8, but they still 
require a separate computer.

Just some ramblings on a rainy day ...

73,
Dave   AB7E