[Elecraft] K3 port sharing and FT-8

Wed Jun 12 09:07:58 EDT 2019

I would echo what Max said. I use Win4K3 whenever the K3 is on in the
shack, but seldom use its graphical interface. The virtual radio concept
works extremely well.
As he said, software that expects to connect directly to the K3 has no idea
that Win4K3 is there. I did find one caveat to this while testing it during
my trial period... I used to send CW from the computer by toggling DTR on
the K3 serial port. With Win4K3 in the mix, this did not work. Tom told me
that direct control of those hardware handshake lines was not supported.
I was so happy with everything else it does that I bought it anyway and
switched to using a winkeyer.
I don't know whether that limitation still exists or not...just throwing it
out there in case it matters to your use case.

On Tue, Jun 11, 2019 at 11:05 PM M. George <m.matthew.george at gmail.com>
wrote:

> 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
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