Thank you very much. More updates like this will make your bankers (those that pre-ordered) feel a lot better. Please keep it up and Stay Safe!
Richard *W7ZR* ex:5C5Z, CN2ZR, K2JSP, W6SBZ, W7KXR, K9ZIJ, W9KNF, W0KDF, W0MQU, J68ZR, KC6ZR, PJ4/W7ZR, KH2,W7ZR, KH6/W7ZR, V31ZR, VK4AAZ, XE2DV *Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer* On Sun, Apr 19, 2020 at 12:47 PM Wayne Burdick <[email protected]> wrote: > Greetings from locked-down California.... I hope everyone, near and far, > is staying safe! > > I thought I'd take a break from playing with the K4 and tweaking firmware > to give everyone a status report from the engineering side. (Eric has been > keeping everyone informed about how Elecraft has been affected by the > pandemic more generally.) > > These musings are in no particular order. I hope they help satisfy those > who recently posted with questions, info-cravings, etc. > > * * * > > Reference Oscillator > > The K4 includes a stable internal TXCO, standard, as well as the ability > to lock to an external 10 MHz reference. We just completed a round of > testing on this feature. > > The internal TCXO is accurate to within +/- .28 ppm with no calibration > and no external reference connected. There's a menu entry for dialing this > in as tight as +/- .02 PPM (+/- 1 Hz at 50 MHz). Connecting an external > reference will hold it even closer, and of course keep it there over an > even wider temperature range. > > Panadapter Controls > > Thanks to the efforts of our [working-at-home] software team, the > panadapter controls just keep getting better. When you tap DISPLAY, you're > presented with 14 easy to use display functions. But we took things a step > further by allowing you to specify whether to adjust the current parameter > on LCD, EXT, or both (when an external monitor is attached), and on main, > sub, or both (when in dual-display mode). You can independently specify > single or dual-pan for LCD and external monitor. For example, you could > have dual-Pan on a large HDMI monitor, while setting the LCD to monitor > just main or sub RX. > > Stereo Audio > > Receive audio provides independent left and right channels for both > headphones and external speakers. When used in single-receive mode, this > allows you to use simulated stereo or "pitch mapping"-- both very effective > at relieving listening fatigue. I've been using this a lot in DXing and QRP > work. Full stereo also comes into play in diversity mode, when listening to > pileups, or just monitoring two separate bands. Even with a basic K4, the > two receivers can be set to any two bands, and you can operate cross-band > split. The K4D adds a second set of band-pass filters and a second A-to-D > converter to greatly improve out-of-band rejection when monitoring > different bands. > > Receive Antenna Controls > > We recently made some improvements in this area. In addition to main RX > ant and sub RX ant selection switches, there are now separate icons showing > which antennas are in use: one for main RX, one for sub RX, and one for TX > antenna. Main and sub receivers default to the TX antenna, but you can > select any of the antenna jacks for assignment to each receiver > independently. This updates the icons accordingly. You can also assign > names to antenna ports using a pop-up alphanumeric keyboard. On my K4, I > have names for the three antennas connected to my KAT4 ATU, as well as "SIG > GEN" for the RX ANT IN 1 jack and "LOOP" for RX ANT IN 2. > > RF Gain Controls > > The ATTN switch brings up a selection tool that allows you to turn the > attenuator on/off and select attenuation from 0 to 21 dB in 3-dB steps. (As > with all receive and transmit controls, these settings are stored per-band > and per-receiver.) You can also dial in per-receiver RF GAIN (0 to -60 dB, > with digital readout) and preamp setting (off/pre1/pre2). All gain settings > are now taken into account when calculating S-meter and panadapter > reference levels. > > Miscellaneous Controls > > Compared the the K3S, the K4 has numerous additional controls, resulting > in a lot less use of the menu. Each receiver has a collection of per-mode > settings (tap MAIN RX or SUB RX, respectively), as does the transmitter > (tap the TX button). There are dedicated switches for TUNE LP > (user-specified low-power TUNE setting), REM ANT (for future control of > remote antenna switches, rotators, etc.), VFO B>A (in addition to the usual > A>B), AUTO spot (in addition to SPOT), PF1-PF4 (plus another 14 user > functions, Fn 1-14, via a touch function), and a separate audio BALance > knob function, the behavior of which could be adapted to various operator > needs in the future. > > Touch Controls > > We're sure you'll find, as we have, that the K4's touch screen interface > is fast and convenient to use. To capitalize on this, we've been adding new > touch features. To highlight a few: Tapping the RIT/XIT offset window turns > RIT on/off (per receiver). Tapping the antenna icons brings up their > selection widgets, with planned custom behavior for quick A/B testing. The > Status Area of the LCD normally shows time and date, but you can tap it to > select from various alternatives, including system parameters (like supply > voltage/current) or per-receiver absolute signal levels in dBm. Tapping the > per-RX filter graphics switches between per-mode FL1/2/3 settings. > > * * * > > I have to admit that it's frustrating to be sequestered at home, making > only the occasional quick trip to the office or to visit coworkers. Work, > like life, has become more challenging for all of us. But the good news for > everyone waiting for a K4 is that a handful of testers are using them every > day, so that when you do get your hands on one, it'll be rock-solid. > > Believe me, we're just as anxious for that day to arrive as you are. Maybe > more :) > > 73, > Wayne > N6KR > > > > > > > > > ______________________________________________________________ > 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 > Message delivered to [email protected] > ______________________________________________________________ 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 Message delivered to [email protected]
