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P3 Questions

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Jim HaRRIS

P3 Questions

Hi,

Obviously, I'm not a P3 owner but maybe Santa might change that. Last evening I perused the manual. This morning I was rambling through how it might be used in conjunction with my K3. Two questions came to mind that field testers and perhaps others might like to comment on.

My favorite activity in amateur radio is RTTY contesting. Elecraft pictures of the P3 with the K3 shows it on the users right side of the radio. My thinking is it might be better on the left side as I use the mouse with my right hand and operate the radio with my left when RTTY contesting. It would seem the point and click and other functions on the P3 would be better accessed with my left hand than putting the radio on the right side and having to reach across with my left or move my right hand from the mouse to access the functions. I realize the side is an operators choice (I think) but I'm wondering if anyone has any meaningful experience or thoughts on the subject.

That leads me to my second thought. My prior experience with a "bandscope" was with a ProIII. (It departed the shack several months ago.) To the best of my ability with it there was no way I could discern separate RTTY signals in a contest. Does the P3 have enough resolution on the more narrow bandwidth sweeps to discern separate signals in a contest or is just a big blurs as the ProIII. If separate signals are discernible in a contest is it possible to point and click on one with the P3, and perhaps with the AFC in MMTTY enabled, be able to near instantly work that signal? I realize there are most likely a lot of variables involved but the thought occurred to me the P3 might be able to add a new dimension to RTTY contesting for me and perhaps others.

Perhaps I'm wishing for more than the P3 is capable of but constructive thoughts and ideas would be greatly appreciated.

CU in the Colorado QSO Party Sept 4th, 2010.

73, Jim, W0EM

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KK7P

Re: P3 Questions

> ... Elecraft pictures of the P3 with the K3 shows it on the users right side of the radio.

You can place the P3 on either side, your preference. The supplied
cables are long enough to accommodate either placement.

> ...Does the P3 have enough resolution on the more narrow bandwidth sweeps to discern separate signals

If the bandwidth is set narrow enough, you can easily see both peaks of
an RTTY signal.

73,

L:yle KK7P

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Andy Faber

Re: P3 Questions

In reply to this post by Jim HaRRIS

Jim,
I can't talk directly about the P3 and RTTY, but in WPX CW, I did use a
prototype P3 at P49Y. Right next to it as the second radio was a 756 Pro2.
The display on the P3 had a much finer resolution than the Pro2, which
looked "smoothed" in comparison. Individual CW sigs were much narrower on
the P3.
73, andy ae6y
www.arubaqth.com

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Jim Harris" <[hidden email]>
Sent: Saturday, July 31, 2010 1:57 PM
To: "Elecraft Email" <[hidden email]>
Subject: [Elecraft] P3 Questions

>
> Hi,
>
> Obviously, I'm not a P3 owner but maybe Santa might change that. Last
> evening I perused the manual. This morning I was rambling through how it
> might be used in conjunction with my K3. Two questions came to mind that
> field testers and perhaps others might like to comment on.
>
> My favorite activity in amateur radio is RTTY contesting. Elecraft
> pictures of the P3 with the K3 shows it on the users right side of the
> radio. My thinking is it might be better on the left side as I use the
> mouse with my right hand and operate the radio with my left when RTTY
> contesting. It would seem the point and click and other functions on the
> P3 would be better accessed with my left hand than putting the radio on
> the right side and having to reach across with my left or move my right
> hand from the mouse to access the functions. I realize the side is an
> operators choice (I think) but I'm wondering if anyone has any meaningful
> experience or thoughts on the subject.
>
> That leads me to my second thought. My prior experience with a
> "bandscope" was with a ProIII. (It departed the shack several months
> ago.) To the best of my ability with it there was no way I could discern
> separate RTTY signals in a contest. Does the P3 have enough resolution on
> the more narrow bandwidth sweeps to discern separate signals in a contest
> or is just a big blurs as the ProIII. If separate signals are discernible
> in a contest is it possible to point and click on one with the P3, and
> perhaps with the AFC in MMTTY enabled, be able to near instantly work that
> signal? I realize there are most likely a lot of variables involved but
> the thought occurred to me the P3 might be able to add a new dimension to
> RTTY contesting for me and perhaps others.
>
> Perhaps I'm wishing for more than the P3 is capable of but constructive
> thoughts and ideas would be greatly appreciated.
>
> CU in the Colorado QSO Party Sept 4th, 2010.
>
> 73, Jim, W0EM
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

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The Smiths

Re: P3 Questions

In reply to this post by KK7P

If I'm not mistaken the p3 will only go down to a 2KHz display. That seems VERY wide an area to view for a cw guy who is trying to use the display to zero beat on a cw signal using the 50 hz filter width.
That and the ability to adjust the notch filter just above or below the zero beat freq.
Is there any talk about software to zoom in to a smaller region like 100 or 200 Hz for example?
The p3 can be used for more than just finding signals across an entire band. I see great uses for it as a convenient spectrum analyzer.

Also, is there a reason that you can't toggle into full screen waterfall display? I can see this being very helpful to the digital mode guys.

>

On Jul 31, 2010, at 2:33 PM, Lyle Johnson <[hidden email]> wrote:

>
>> ... Elecraft pictures of the P3 with the K3 shows it on the users right side of the radio.
>
> You can place the P3 on either side, your preference. The supplied
> cables are long enough to accommodate either placement.
>
>> ...Does the P3 have enough resolution on the more narrow bandwidth sweeps to discern separate signals
>
> If the bandwidth is set narrow enough, you can easily see both peaks of
> an RTTY signal.
>
> 73,
>
> L:yle KK7P
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>

Dunc Carter - W5DC

Re: P3 Questions

.How many lines does the spectrum that's displayed on screen have. The
manual gives the display pixels but I didn't see the actual spectrum
information.

Dunc, W5DC
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Alan Bloom-2

Re: P3 Questions

In reply to this post by The Smiths

Hi Doug,

You found a misprint in the manual. Full-screen waterfall is in the
works but it's not there yet. It turns out that for technical reasons
it is harder to implement than you might think. But it is definitely on
the list.

Alan N1AL

On Sat, 2010-07-31 at 20:35 -0400, Doug Joyce wrote:

> Full screen waterfall seems to be one of the settings - see the manual page
> 14 under "Configuring the Display".
>
> 73, Doug VE3MV
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "The Smiths" <[hidden email]>
> To: "Lyle Johnson" <[hidden email]>
> Cc: "Elecraft Email" <[hidden email]>; "Jim Harris" <[hidden email]>
> Sent: Saturday, July 31, 2010 8:06 PM
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] P3 Questions
>
>
> >
> > If I'm not mistaken the p3 will only go down to a 2KHz display. That seems
> > VERY wide an area to view for a cw guy who is trying to use the display to
> > zero beat on a cw signal using the 50 hz filter width.
> > That and the ability to adjust the notch filter just above or below the
> > zero beat freq.
> > Is there any talk about software to zoom in to a smaller region like 100
> > or 200 Hz for example?
> > The p3 can be used for more than just finding signals across an entire
> > band. I see great uses for it as a convenient spectrum analyzer.
> >
> > Also, is there a reason that you can't toggle into full screen waterfall
> > display? I can see this being very helpful to the digital mode guys.
> >
> >>
> >
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

Alan Bloom-2

Re: P3 Questions

In reply to this post by The Smiths

On Sat, 2010-07-31 at 17:06 -0700, The Smiths wrote:
> If I'm not mistaken the p3 will only go down to a 2KHz display. That seems VERY wide an area to view for a cw guy who is trying to use the display to zero beat on a cw signal using the 50 hz filter width.
> That and the ability to adjust the notch filter just above or below the zero beat freq.

At the 2 kHz span in CW mode the markers are adjusted in 5 Hz steps, so
you can easily center the passband, even with a 50 Hz bandwidth.

Alan N1AL

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Jim HaRRIS

Re: P3 Questions

In reply to this post by KK7P

Thanks Lyle,

Hot Diggidie,......the P3 is going to be some real fun. Amazing.......amazing........ Elecraft products are totally outstanding. Way to go guys at Aptos and where ever else the rest of the crew might be.

CU in the Colorado QSO Party Sept 4th, 2010.

73, Jim, W0EM

> Date: Sat, 31 Jul 2010 14:33:51 -0700
> From: [hidden email]
> To: [hidden email]
> CC: [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] P3 Questions
>
>
> > ... Elecraft pictures of the P3 with the K3 shows it on the users right side of the radio.
>
> You can place the P3 on either side, your preference. The supplied
> cables are long enough to accommodate either placement.
>
> > ...Does the P3 have enough resolution on the more narrow bandwidth sweeps to discern separate signals
>
> If the bandwidth is set narrow enough, you can easily see both peaks of
> an RTTY signal.
>
> 73,
>
> L:yle KK7P
>

Jim HaRRIS

Re: P3 Questions

In reply to this post by Andy Faber

Andy,

That is good info to know. That enforces my original thoughts. Thank you for sharing.

CU in the Colorado QSO Party Sept 4th, 2010.

73, Jim, W0EM

> From: [hidden email]
> To: [hidden email]; [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] P3 Questions
> Date: Sat, 31 Jul 2010 15:10:41 -0700
>
> Jim,
> I can't talk directly about the P3 and RTTY, but in WPX CW, I did use a
> prototype P3 at P49Y. Right next to it as the second radio was a 756 Pro2.
> The display on the P3 had a much finer resolution than the Pro2, which
> looked "smoothed" in comparison. Individual CW sigs were much narrower on
> the P3.
> 73, andy ae6y
> www.arubaqth.com
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "Jim Harris" <[hidden email]>
> Sent: Saturday, July 31, 2010 1:57 PM
> To: "Elecraft Email" <[hidden email]>
> Subject: [Elecraft] P3 Questions
>
> >
> > Hi,
> >
> > Obviously, I'm not a P3 owner but maybe Santa might change that. Last
> > evening I perused the manual. This morning I was rambling through how it
> > might be used in conjunction with my K3. Two questions came to mind that
> > field testers and perhaps others might like to comment on.
> >
> > My favorite activity in amateur radio is RTTY contesting. Elecraft
> > pictures of the P3 with the K3 shows it on the users right side of the
> > radio. My thinking is it might be better on the left side as I use the
> > mouse with my right hand and operate the radio with my left when RTTY
> > contesting. It would seem the point and click and other functions on the
> > P3 would be better accessed with my left hand than putting the radio on
> > the right side and having to reach across with my left or move my right
> > hand from the mouse to access the functions. I realize the side is an
> > operators choice (I think) but I'm wondering if anyone has any meaningful
> > experience or thoughts on the subject.
> >
> > That leads me to my second thought. My prior experience with a
> > "bandscope" was with a ProIII. (It departed the shack several months
> > ago.) To the best of my ability with it there was no way I could discern
> > separate RTTY signals in a contest. Does the P3 have enough resolution on
> > the more narrow bandwidth sweeps to discern separate signals in a contest
> > or is just a big blurs as the ProIII. If separate signals are discernible
> > in a contest is it possible to point and click on one with the P3, and
> > perhaps with the AFC in MMTTY enabled, be able to near instantly work that
> > signal? I realize there are most likely a lot of variables involved but
> > the thought occurred to me the P3 might be able to add a new dimension to
> > RTTY contesting for me and perhaps others.
> >
> > Perhaps I'm wishing for more than the P3 is capable of but constructive
> > thoughts and ideas would be greatly appreciated.
> >
> > CU in the Colorado QSO Party Sept 4th, 2010.
> >
> > 73, Jim, W0EM
> >
> >
> >
> > ______________________________________________________________
> > Elecraft mailing list
> > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> > Post: mailto:[hidden email]
> >
> > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>