[Elecraft] K3 port sharing and FT-8

[M. George]

Wes, I wanted to jump in where Tom mentioned my YouTube video of sharing
Virtual K3 CAT feeds with Win4K3Suite
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbf7BPfcj4U>.

I'm just like you, I like to turn the knobs primarily.  Don't be confused
by the graphical interface that Win4K3Suite provides as it relates to
sharing your K3/S CAT feed.  Early on I purchased the software primarily
for the ability to share full on Virtual CAT Feeds and not the graphical
interface.  The CAT sharing is just one aspect of Win4K3Suite.  The PAN
Adapter support and graphic interface are simply additional features you
can use if you like.  And for remote operation the graphical interface is
excellent as you will learn if you operate remote.  Or just minimize
Win4K3Suite and don't use it... twist the knobs on your radio and just use
the CAT sharing via the Virtual K3 CAT feeds it provides.

I would highly recommend that you watch my video.  It's very detailed... to
a fault some will say, but you can jump ahead by 10 seconds and back using
the L and J keys and pause with the K key.  Or jump ahead 5 seconds and
back with the arrow keys and pause with the space bar.

I too used LP-Bridge many years ago and it did work, but it isn't even in
the same ball park for reliability as Win4K3Suite for sharing CAT Feeds.
Not even close.

The beauty of :Win4K3Suite is that it creates true Virtual K3/S CAT feeds.
The software or hardware you are using has no idea it's not connected
directly to the K3/S CAT port / USB CAT port direct.  No funky API's like
Hamlib or Omni-rig that requires software support to use the abstraction
layer required.

If there is hardware or software that expects to be connected directly to a
K3/S CAT port / feed, it will work with Win4K3Suite Virtual K3/S CAT
interfaces.

Watch the video and give Win4K3Suite a try.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbf7BPfcj4U> The com0com port setup trips
most guys up, but you have the same problem with LP-Bridge too.  I go into
great detail on com0com in the video.  It's not bad once you understand the
concept. You won't go back to LP-Bridge... my two cents.  And again, you
are not required to use the graphical interface to the K3 for anything, but
you might just start using it after awhile, for remote control like I did.
Not to mention all the other features... like using it with LP-PAN2 or
SDRPlay.  I switched from NaP3 long ago and never looked back.  By the way,
i'm a big N8LP fan too... I love the LP-PAN2 setup and LP-700, but NaP3
plays second fiddle to Win4K3Suite's spectrum display and you can now pump
a UDP feed of the spectrum to N1MM too... Have fun.

Max NG7M


Tom,

I've downloaded and tried your program several times (perhaps that why your
site
won't let me do it again).? Nothing personal, but I just don't like running
the
radio from the computer that much.? I know that flies in the face of my
desire
to tune (sometimes) the frequency with the mouse on the panadapter.?
Otherwise,
I like the knobs.? That said, your mention of Omni-rig got me thinking and
I
installed it and at first blush it appears that I can now connect
everything to
everything else using LP-Bridge.

I'll call this the beta test stage, but did want to put this out there for
the
folks who said it would work.

Wes


On 6/11/2019 4:00 PM, Tom wrote:
> Hi
> 7 years ago, I tried to write some small software projects that used
LPBridge to share ports. I quickly found out that it does not pass all
commands through the radio. In addition, there were many cases of
collisions between software products if they tried to write to the comport
at the same time.
> So, a long story short, I developed Win4K3Suite.
> It is completely different than passive comport sharing utilities.  It
has 6 "Virtual radios" that act pretty well identical to the K3, KX3 or
KX2.  It listens to commands from software products and then delivers
results either from memory or if a write is necessary, then all threads are
synchronized and prioritised so that one application cannot clobber the
other.
> You can run 6 applications simultaneously as well as HRD Logbook.  It
also works with hardware devices like SteppIr antennas and tuners.  Here is
a video from Max, NG7M who uses it extensively to connect all kinds of
software and hardware together. https://youtu.be/zbf7BPfcj4U
> It does use com0com, but not as a sharing tool but rather com0com
actually behaves just like a null modem cable.  You create a Pair of
comports which form a null modem cable and you connect one side to Win4K3
and the other to the other software.  It is 100% reliable and tested with
thousands of users.
> There's a free trial and updates are free.  There are numerous videos
under Documentation, Video Tutorials.
> In any case, I would not use HamLib for connections.  Always use
Omni-rig.  Much more stable.
> 73 Tom
> Va2fsq.com
>

-- 
M. George