| N4OI |
Rating:      |
2021-02-16 | |
| SVGA Brings P3/K3 to Life! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I have loved my K3/P3 combo, but after adding the SVGA option with a big monitor and wireless keyboard, it really comes to life! The panadapter and waterfall display are not just expanded, but are actually higher resolution than the small screen... And having the CW decode history shown at the bottom really helps with fills... But the bonus is: being able to operate RTTY from the keyboard when those contests take over the band (if you can't beat 'em...) The P3/SVGA should be considered required equipment for full enjoyment of the K3... Thank you, Elecraft! Just sayin... 73 |
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| W8TWA |
Rating:     |
2020-01-12 | |
| SVGA Improves Experience But Not Totally |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Having owned the P3 for over a year I decided to add the SVGA adapter to allow a better viewing experience. I already have the TX Monitor in the P3 and liked the easy to implement interface to my K3S. Especially useful is the ability to have the VFO jump to selected marker points on the display. The installation of the SVGA adapter in the factory built P3 was straightforward thanks to the detailed instructions provided with the adapter. After spending several days getting used to the new set up, here are a few impressions: I tried using a keyboard connected to the P3 to evaluate its usefulness. If you use a keyboard to send CW or RTTY I found the K3S Utility with the PC keyboard much easier to use than a keyboard connected to the P3, especially when generating macros. Furthermore, the PC has a mouse to select the macros and the P3 connected keyboard does not. I also found the screen capture capability to a thumb drive with the P3 clumsy since the keyboard must be disconnected to insert the thumb drive on the back of the P3. You then paw through the menus on the P3 to save the screen. Once again a screen capture is much easier on a PC using the K3 Utility. The other disappointment of the SVGA adapter addition was finding that the data display from the TXMonitor is only viewable on the P3 screen and not available on the monitor. I also found that some of the annotation on the P3 screen such as "MKR A: 14.060" does not appear on the monitor. Bottom line is that the P3 keyboard is useful only if you don't have the K3 connected to a PC in your station. The improved screen size and resolution of the monitor is a distinct advantage, especially for a visually challenged operator. |
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| W8MSP |
Rating:      |
2016-10-04 | |
| Works like a charm |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Helpful working split.
Helpful finding a station in a contest pileup
Helpful seeing an interfering signal and shifting the right direction the first time.
Beautiful display
I have the SVGA card and it's output to a 20 inch widescreen.
Working together with my K3S it's awesome. |
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| K4VUD |
Rating:     |
2015-10-05 | |
| Works as advert; very small |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
This is a review of only the panadapter (bandscope) function of the P3.
Like the K3, the P3 is just too small. If you have used the built-in bandscopes on the IC-7800 or FT-9000d, the P3 size and span limits will disappoint you. It is possible to adjust the P3 for a whole band, but the resolution falls off and the instructions advise narrowing the portion of the band you wish to see best. Thus, one overall use of a bandscope to check fast for band openings is quite limited. However, when narrowed down to, say, 50kc, the P3 does give details about the received signal that is missing in the other radios.
Almost everything is adjustable via a, what else on an Elecraft, a menu. All the buttons are double function and the adjusting knob is tiny and cheap feeling. That knob is important beyond setting menu choices because it can also select a signal on the band by turning the knob to that signal and then selecting that frequency to bring the K3 to that spot. (This is done with a mouse click on the IC-7800, for example, which is easier.)
The P3 works better with a K3s due to more sockets on the "s" but works ok on the plain K3 very well, but some older K3 need two mods, beefing up the amperage on the "12VDC out" socket and increasing IF output power--both adaption parts are included with the new P3 with good instructions.
I can not recommend building the P3 from a kit unless you like that kind of thing, but the kit assembly instructions are just super and in good English. Price of new factory assembled is worth it to me because it is right and ok just out of the box.
I added the SVGA adapter built in by the factory. My very new monitors have no VGA socket, so to go to HDMI, an adapter is needed (not supplied). I can not recommend strongly enough sending the P3 video to a large screen added monitor due to the small size of the P3.
Elecraft instructions are helpful if you want to use the P3 on a non-Elecraft radio. Read the P3 manual if you have these plans.
Fearing the small size, nevertheless I got the P3 for its providing RTTY and CW keyboard sending; the K3 does decode. The P3 plus the SVGA board has a USB socket for a normal keyboard. I got this package specifically to add KEYBOARD sending, hoping thus to not need my 7800*. I need more testing to fully report these functions.
Overall, the P3 is a cute addition to the K3 but oldsters will need their best glasses to read the busy and small display. Unit works as advertised !
*I will not give up my fav, the FT-9000d. |
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| KC9EE |
Rating:      |
2015-03-19 | |
| Best set up for my station |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| My fiirst rig after getting back into the hobby was a kx3. Setting up a pan adapter off that rig is pretty painless and I enjoyed HDSDR and NaP3 software. Once I upgraded to the K3 using a second receiver off the K3's IF output for the pan adapter was way too cumbersome for my station. The P3 freed up a lot of my computing horse power. Nothing wrong with LP Pan and the NaP3 set up, it's just personal preference for me to use the P3. |
|
| AE7G |
Rating:      |
2015-02-15 | |
| long term review |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
After having used a panadapter for a long time, I can't imagine ever being without one. Instead of wandering blindly up and down the band, I know pretty much exactly what is happening around me. I can quickly snap to the new location with a quick knob turn and button press.
I have tried using panadapters that operate through a computer such as the LP-Pan. The problem is that computers have all sorts of configuration and hardware issues that make this sort of work cumbersome and unreliable. The software programs allow adjustment to the display, but you almost have to be a programming engineer to figure out how to do it.
The P3 is not only a reliable plug and play device, it is also well designed for the serious operator. The key adjustments you would want to make to the display are right at your fingertips and only require the turn of a knob or the tap of a button. I can broaden out to view a large portion of the band, or I can move in quickly to closely examine what is going on in a pileup.
The SVGA option is useful but not essential. It is nice to have a bigger screen for viewing, especially with spectators. Very useful for Field Day. It also provides the ability to use a keyboard and I understand you can run some digital modes direct from the P3 without having to add a computer.
The SVGA screen can bog down at times, but lowering the screen resolution solves the problem with no dropoff in visual appearance.
All in all one sweet tool and highly recommended.
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|
| K2WU |
Rating:      |
2015-02-14 | |
| Perfection |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I don't know how I lived without one of these. Great for 1) finding the DX listening frequency in a split pileup, 2) tuning in RTTY signals, 3) casual band surveys, etc. I have mine hooked up to a Yaesu FTDX-3000. Absolutely no comparison to the anemic band scope in the 3000. |
|
| W6BP |
Rating:      |
2014-12-11 | |
| An outstanding panadapter |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
After using NaP3 and an LP-PAN for a couple of years, I found my hardware/software setup to be somewhat unreliable. (That's no criticism of either N8LP or F5VNB; I have the highest regard for both. The real problem, I suspect, is my laptop.) So I decided to buy a P3 without the SVGA adapter, since I'd heard that the SVGA's frame rate was rather low. Through a happy accident, I purchased an assembled P3 at Pacificon, but when I got it home I found that the unit had an SVGA adapter. It was Saturday, so I figured I'd contact Elecraft on Monday and arrange a swap for a non-SVGA unit.
In the meantime I tried the SVGA feature, and I'm very glad I did. While it is true that certain settings can slow down the frame rate below a point I consider acceptable, I found that if I (a) kept the sweep range to 10 kHz or greater and (b) kept the resolution set at 1280x1024, the frame rate was just fine. I usually object to running monitors in anything but their native format, but if I run my 1920x1080 monitor with the P3 set at 1280x1024, the resulting display is excellent, with no noticable aliasing. So when Monday rolled around, instead of returning the unit, I told Elecraft that I wanted to buy the SVGA option.
I love the tight and smooth integration of the K3 and P3. At first I missed NaP3's ability to use the mouse to move the panadapter cursor, and while I'd still like to see that as a feature, I'm now used to turning the P3 knob or K3 tuning knob to move it. Just about everything you need to do to operate the panadapter is intuitive, and anything that isn't can be figured out by reading the manual. And as others have noted, using a good panadapter completely changes one's approach to monitoring the band. |
|
| AA4BQ |
Rating:      |
2014-08-01 | |
| A new way to find DX |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| In 50 years of CW operating (and operating in general), I have not had a tool more useful than the Elecraft Pan Adapter. I have a K3 and that is a marvel in and of itself, but the P3 adds a dimension I couldn't quite anticipate as to its usefulness and effectiveness. Instead of the slow back-forth searching of the band, the visual display of, say 50 Khz at a glance, lets you quickly spot the presence of signals. I have found that you can quickly pass up a station only to be able to look back at the spectrum display and see him "pop" up AFTER you have tuned past. So, without the P3, I would have missed the station completely. But by far, the most useful feature has to do with pileups. By being able to see the station that is currently being worked by the DX, I can simply match his freq (during split ops) so that when the contact has finished, PRESTO, my signal is there and centered in the DX's bandpass. It works beautifully. While I still enjoy searching the bands without such aid, my P3 is getting addictive. Without it, I know that I am missing stuff. It's a beautiful thing and I recommend adding the SVGA adapter to get the big video display going. See my QRZ.com page photo. You can see it clearly there. All the gear I have from Elecraft is just top notch stuff. I sure hope it all keeps working a very long time. |
|
| VE4AMN |
Rating:      |
2014-07-16 | |
| New experience |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I have never owned a radio with panadapter capability, so I have no standard of comparison. It has opened a new dimension of operating. With a little experience, it is easy to identify signals and use the markers to change frequency, then pounce on the signal. The integration with the K3 is seamless and it is fascinating to narrow the bandwidth, watching the display marker narrow as one slices away the interference. This is very powerful in cw. Great piece of gear and worked immediately. Minor quibble - would have appreciated a Y RCA splitter so that I can use both the 6m pre-amp and the panadapter from the K3 power outlet. Oh well... time to be a real ham and make one up! |
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