Fwd: K3 and its future external panadapter

[wayne burdick]

Lyle,

Can you include FAQ TOC entries for our "mini-white-papers"?  Let's see
-- I think I've posted four or five already, starting with the K3
announcement and the modular kit philosophy. There's also the
panadapter posting and the "not just a PC peripheral" posting. These
will make fun reading, I predict, for people *NOT* yet on our reflector
  ;)

I'd like you to do a mini-white-paper on the DSP and PC audio I/O, etc
(including binarual audio, stereo speakers, you get the idea). The goal
is to tell people why we did certain things, get their buy-in, and have
educated disciples to spread the word.

Now, what will the title of you mini-white-paper be?

tnx
W


Begin forwarded message:

> From: wayne burdick <[hidden email]>
> Date: April 28, 2007 11:25:51 AM PDT
> To: Elecraft Reflector <[hidden email]>
> Subject: K3 and its future external panadapter
>
> Sometime in the future (give us at least six months!) we'll be
> offering a very high-performance panadapter for the K3. Let's call it
> a "P3" for now. The P3 will work with any radio that has an I.F. tap,
> but it will be styled to match the K3. We're thinking 2/3rds of the
> K3's width, but the same height and depth. It may have a speaker
> and/or 20 A power supply. Your input on this would be very welcome.
>
> Early on in the K3 design process, we decided not to include an
> *internal* panadapter. Here's our reasoning:
>
>  - A panadapter takes up a *lot* of front-panel real-estate. So, if
> you want to
>    keep the radio at compact desktop size, you have to displace a lot
> of controls.
>    The displaced controls end up buried in menus or "soft keys,"
> making basic
>    radio operation much more difficult. The K3 has a menu for things
> rarely used,
>    but since there's no huge display, we were able to put every
> often-used control
>    at your fingertips, optimally placed with respect to the LCD. A
> good example
>    is our filter passband graphic, which is centered directly above
> the DSP controls.
>
>  - An internal panadapter adds a lot of cost. Many customers, we felt,
> would
>    rather have such cost be optional. If you want a panadapter, you'll
> be able
>    get our P3 and set it beside the rig. Then, if you want to grab
> your K3 and head
>    for the hills, you can optionally leave the panadapter on the desk
> (along with
>    its speaker and power supply).
>
>  - Internal panadapters often have severe performance compromises.
> There's at least one
>    very new radio on the market with a panadapter that takes over the
> rig during sweeps.
>    Many of them are sluggish or have user-interface issues due to lack
> of panel space.
>    Our external panadapter will be an entirely independent unit, so it
> will not interfere
>    with radio use at all, either operationally or due to overloading
> of controls.
>    That said, it will be highly integrated with, and controlled by,
> the K3 (or
>    attached computer).
>
>  - We may use a display technology that offers faster rewrite speeds
> than you can get
>    in an inexpensive graphic LCD such as the type most often used for
> internal panadapters.
>    With the panadapter in a separate enclosure, we'll be able to use
> very fast logic,
>    and possibly an exotic display such as an OLED (organic LED),
> without incurring
>    any RFI problems.
>
> 73,
> Wayne
>
>
> ---
>
> http://www.elecraft.com
>
>
>

---

http://www.elecraft.com

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[Doug Faunt N6TQS [phone]]

Hi all,
I'm been mulling this over (mostly while riding my bicycle).

It looks to me as if the IF freguency for the XV144 or the XV432 can
be changed pretty easily.  If this is done, then full-duplex using the
K3 would become a bit easier.

If the firmware for the K3 would allow transverter operation on 28
through 32MHz and some other reasonable IF (22-24 MHz?(I have no idea
what would really be right)), then we could use the K3 for full-duplex
satellite operation.

And if a repackaging job could be done to combine these two units in a
single package, then a lot of external cabling might be disposed of,
and it might be made to match the K3.

73, doug
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[James C. Hall, MD-2]

Doug:

You're thinking what I've been thinking as well. A fascinating possibility !

73, Jamie
WB4YDL

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email]
[mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Doug Faunt N6TQS
[phone]
Sent: Sunday, May 06, 2007 12:59 PM
To: [hidden email]
Cc: [hidden email]
Subject: [Elecraft] K3, full duplex satellite operation, XV-144/432
packaging

Hi all,
I'm been mulling this over (mostly while riding my bicycle).

It looks to me as if the IF freguency for the XV144 or the XV432 can
be changed pretty easily.  If this is done, then full-duplex using the
K3 would become a bit easier.

If the firmware for the K3 would allow transverter operation on 28
through 32MHz and some other reasonable IF (22-24 MHz?(I have no idea
what would really be right)), then we could use the K3 for full-duplex
satellite operation.

And if a repackaging job could be done to combine these two units in a
single package, then a lot of external cabling might be disposed of,
and it might be made to match the K3.

73, doug
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[Doug Faunt N6TQS [phone]]

The firmware is the only mandatory thing from Elecraft, I think.

I suspect that a tranverter can be modified by the users (preferably
with test equipment to verify good performance).

And the matching case is gravy, and probably could also be done by the
users.

73, doug

   From: "James C. Hall, MD" <[hidden email]>
   Date: Sun, 6 May 2007 14:25:22 -0500
   Thread-Index: AceQCEG3RH16ecakQZ6InSkpl9biRAAC++Yg

   Doug:

   You're thinking what I've been thinking as well. A fascinating possibility !

   73, Jamie
   WB4YDL

   -----Original Message-----
   From: [hidden email]
   [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Doug Faunt N6TQS
   [phone]
   Sent: Sunday, May 06, 2007 12:59 PM
   To: [hidden email]
   Cc: [hidden email]
   Subject: [Elecraft] K3, full duplex satellite operation, XV-144/432
   packaging

   Hi all,
   I'm been mulling this over (mostly while riding my bicycle).

   It looks to me as if the IF freguency for the XV144 or the XV432 can
   be changed pretty easily.  If this is done, then full-duplex using the
   K3 would become a bit easier.

   If the firmware for the K3 would allow transverter operation on 28
   through 32MHz and some other reasonable IF (22-24 MHz?(I have no idea
   what would really be right)), then we could use the K3 for full-duplex
   satellite operation.

   And if a repackaging job could be done to combine these two units in a
   single package, then a lot of external cabling might be disposed of,
   and it might be made to match the K3.

   73, doug
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[Dave, G4AON]

How about a K4 using modules for each VHF/UHF band, each "plug in" with
their own antenna socket. If they plugged into a "mainframe" based on
the dual receive of the K3, you could have a self contained
satellite/contest rig. Up to 100 Watts would be useful on at least 2m,
perhaps conceding less power on the higher bands. I already have an Icom
IC-910HX, that is quite an old design and not a very exciting receive
specification... Something to base the K4 on though!

73 Dave, G4AON
K1, K2 and K3 on order
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[Michael B-6]

Maybe even 1.2 Ghz for the satillites that have Microwave on them.



--
W2CVZ,
Michael
K1#2343
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