Hi,
our small group uses RRC boxes successfully to remote control a K3S radio using the K3 twin method. There is one more user, me, who don't have a K3/0 (mini) but a nice RRC-1258MKII box (with an older hardware but updated firmware), but I couldn't manage it to use the remote radio from my site yet.
The SIP connection works fine but the CAT controlling is "not reliable".
1. If I try the K3 twin mode on the control side, there is no communication on the serial ports (as I mentioned, there is no K3/0 available here). This is under investigation, but without the K3/0 hardware, this solution does not seem to be viable.
2. If I try "normal" K3 mode on the control side (I can make it more specific later), there is a communication on COM2 as I've set it up, but if I try to use it for CAT communication e.g. by the Win4K3Suite, the frequency display and other statuses of the K3 as S-level constantly change, flicker, etc. Sometimes they do show the correct values, but mostly even the digits are missing from the freq. display partially.
3. Sending commands to the radio seems perfect, I can change its frequency step by step when the Win4K3Suite is not struggling for a second, etc.
I think, this problem above comes from the fact that K3/0 provides a different kind of communication than the K3 CAT, and using my settings, both of them comes out of the COM2 merged together (instead of being separated with the I/O port), and this mix sends even the Win4K3Suite haywire. (It's not a robust software by the way, blocked UI thread during connection, crashes without saying a word, etc., I'm disappointed on it.)
Although, I can't find a word about K3/0 protocol, I presume, it is a more flexible and faster way of bidirectional communication than the somewhat crippled, hundred years old CAT control, and that's why it is needed. But I might be totally wrong.
Concerning the solutions, it's not unmanageable to change the configuration of the remote side's RRC box for the different kind of controllers (clients) respectively, but not as the first option. :-)
So, my questions are:
- Is there any setting of the controlling RRC box that the remote K3 still works and can be accessed in the K3 twin setup but can be remoted controlled by me using at least a CAT software?
- K3/0's speed would be preferred if possible, so is there a software client for the K3/0 communication (an emulator) on occassion? I haven't found anything similar on the Elecraft's site, that's why I'm asking it here. Somebody wrote a similar software, but unfortunately, it does not seem available anymore.
Thank you for your patience. Really. :-)
