[Elecraft] Possible P3 UI Improvements

[Bill Frantz]

I've been wondering whether to send this email to the main list 
or to the developer list. I decided on the main list to get a 
broader reaction to the suggestions.

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I fell in love with my P3 as soon as I finished putting it 
together. However, I did find the UI to be a bit klunky. Then I 
used a Flex radio during CQP and realized how easy it was to use 
its panadapter using the touch screen to set the center and 
span. I started thinking about how the P3 could be made easier, 
without replacing the screen with a touch screen. I'll divide my 
suggestions into ones that may require hardware changes, and 
ones that should be a "Simple matter of programming" (SMOP).

It should be noted that I always operate in FixTrack mode, so 
the display doesn't move when I tune.

Things that might require hardware changes:

When changing the display parameters (e.g. center, span, etc.) 
redisplay the old data in the new format to the bottom of the 
screen as the change is being made. This continuous redisplay is 
part of the Flex's ease of use. It probably requires significant 
memory and processing power to save the RF samples used to 
create the display, which may require a hardware upgrade.


SMOP changes:

The main controls for adjusting the view are Center and Span. 
With FixTrack mode on, I don't really care about the center 
location, I care about the edges. When trying to work a pileup, 
I usually put VFO A on the DX and VFO B on the other side of the 
pileup and then start adjusting the view. Sometimes getting this 
right takes several trips through Center and Span. Being able to 
assign a button the function of setting the span just a bit 
larger than the distance between the two VFOs and the center to 
the middle frequency between them would make it a lot easier. I 
need some extra space to allow fine tuning on the DX without 
changing the P3 settings.

I think this boils down to Center := (VFO_A + VFO_B)/2 and Span 
= abs(VFO_A - VFO_B)*1.1, where the 1.1 may need to be adjusted 
with real life experience.


Since in most pileup situations, we want to keep the DX near the 
left (for working up) or right (for working down) edge of the 
screen, it should be possible to keep VFO A in a constant screen 
position while changing the span.


I like to run with a span of 100 KHz for a quick look at the 
band before I zero in on a signal of interest. Note that 100 KHz 
span will cover all of 17M and 12M and 50 KHz works nicely on 
30M. However, when I finish with a zoomed in display and press 
my 100 KHz or 50 KHz buttons, the display frequently shows 
frequencies outside the band.

It should be possible to limit the displayed area to the band of 
interest. For ham use, limiting the display to the ham bands 
would be quite useful. When operating with the K3/K3S, the band 
extents could be read from the limits programmed into the 
transceiver. In any case, programming the bands would not be too 
hard with the aid of the utility, and relatively permanent given 
the speed of getting changes through the FCC.

I think this boils down to: IF (VFO_A is in a band && VFO_A - 
(span/2) is not in the same band) Center := bottom of band + (span/2)


The P3 should remember the view by band and always come back to 
the last view on that band when changing bands. I frequently 
lose my 18.068 to 18.168 view when changing to 17M, particularly 
when using CAT commands via wsjt-x. When the P3 must change the 
view, it should try to keep both VFO A and VFO B on the screen 
if the span will allow. It is much more likely to be useful than 
an arbitrary choice of frequency based on an integral multiple 
of the span.

73 Bill AE6JV

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Bill Frantz        | "I wish there was a knob on the TV to turn 
up the
408-356-8506       | intelligence.  There's a knob called 
"brightness", but
www.pwpconsult.com | it doesn't work. -- Gallagher