The K3 manual states that the PSK31 and RTTY functionality is "adequate for CASUAL use without a computer" or something like that.
If youre somewhat SERIOUS, you would be much better off to use external decoders to do any "REAL" work on those modes. I dont think it the built in PSK and RTTY modes were really designed for "serious" work. Like the Icom rigs with built in decoders and encoders, there are some compromises. They are just very convenient to use. The RTTY demod is pretty good, tho, and I wish we could output decoded text from the serial port... The RTTY capability is especially nice for the times when your spotting program emails your phone to tell you that Mt Athos is on 20m RTTY and you have to jump out of the pool, run and get a towel, partially dry off while running through the house to turn on the rig, swing the beam, flip on the solid state amp and try to work the elusive monk without waiting for Windows to boot and MMTTY to run. -lu-w4lt- Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 12:31:38 -0400 From: John Ragle <[email protected]> Subject: [Elecraft] PSK tuning [k3]...alternatives for the immediate future To: [email protected] Message-ID: <[email protected]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Please don't take this comment to be frivolous or intentionally snippy...but my take on the decoding functions built into the K3 firmware is that at this stage they are gimmicks or toys. As Ron observes, even an old warhorse like Digipan works much better (...more easily, less fussily...) than the K3 routines (and I love my K3!). When one considers the range of other digital methods available in, e.g. fldigi, it is apparent that Elecraft is thinking in the right direction but is not all the way there, YET. I use Digipan or fldigi (3.12.5) routinely with my K3 without problems. For digital mode operation, SpectraVue is also a very nice adjunct program. I have every faith that Elecraft will eventually enhance the digital decoding functions in the K3. One will still want something like SpectraVue to provide a window into the digital ops part of the spectrum (or an LP-PAN or a P3, if funds permit). Eventually it will be nice to be computer-free if one desires it...portability would be enhanced somewhat, though a small laptop (e.g. a netbook) is not much different in volume from an LP-PAN or a P3. My small ASUS Eee901 runs software like Digipan and SpectraVue without flinching. I am not at all a Luddite WRT new solutions...just very oriented toward functionality. This is also the reason that I rid myself of my Flex 3000. John Ragle -- W1ZI ===== On 8/12/2010 11:46 AM, Ron Herman wrote: > How does one tune PSK31 on the K3 such that the built in decoder can > read it. Tuning seems to be very selective and without a waterfall > nearly impossible to tune. The capture range of the AFC doesn't seem > to be very wide. The CWT spotting function sometimes helps but only > on stronger signals. Sensitivity to weak signals doesn't seem to be > very good either. With digipan on the PC I can decode stuff that I > can hardly hear. > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
