Elecraft K3 MARS Mod Software. Discussion in 'Amateur Radio Modifications' started by VK4BOF, Oct 19. Too many MARS frequencies were being blocked in the 10/11 meter range so Elecraft updated the software in July. This one unlocks pretty much everything except around the 1st IF and the CB band. K3 Mars Software.

EMail SubscriptionRegistered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted. Review Summary For: Win4K3 Suite – Software for the Elecraft K-LineReviews: 18MSRP: 50.00Description:Win4K3Suite is a windows control program for the Elecraft K3 transceiver supporting all options such as the secondary receiver, antenna tuner, and others, as well as the KPA500 Amplifier, the KAT500 Antenna tuner and the P3 Panadapter. All functions are provided in an easy to use interface that easily allows control of many options hidden in the K3′s menus.Product is in productionMore Info:# last 180 daysAvg.

Rating last 180 daysTotal reviewsAvg. Overall rating00184.9. Rating:2018-10-19Features found nowhere else!Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.I have enjoyed using my K3 for nearly 10 years with CAT control of my radio by N1MM for contesting and DXLabs for general logging. I also like to use SKCC Logger for casual as well as special event straight key QSOs. Finally, since I mostly work CW, I have occasionally used CW Skimmer and Band Master as well.

Of course, I couldn't use these programs together to control my radio although DXLabs does have the option of adding one additional program through its Secondary CAT control interface. Recently I installed a new PC machine running Windows 10 and it was time to start looking at a new approach since I also wanted to add WSJT-X as an additional logger and CAT control for working the popular new mode JT8. That’s a total of five software programs to control one radio! It was time to test Win4K3 and explore its integration of third-party software. Of course, I was familiar with Virtual Comports having used it with DXLabs/CW Skimmer, but the program is so easy to understand and install a total newbie will have it running in no time. The Win4K3 user manual has excellent and well written instructions. I have installed all my software programs and each of them works perfectly with Win4K3 and my K3.

I can have one or more programs running simultaneously and my K3 works just like I was pushing the buttons on the front of the rig. One thing I have noticed is that you should not let your computer go to sleep if you step away while Win4K3 is running since that will freeze the program requiring a re-boot.But there is more! The programable macros feature offers a total of 20 macro buttons that will control the K3 and the P3 simultaneously. My Elecraft KPod is a great tool with 16 macros, but it cannot send instructions to the P3. For example, my Split/Clear macros will now tell my P3 to offset the center frequency and change the span setting to make it easy to see where the DX is hearing. Although you can set such macros using a Keyboard and the SVGA option, these are much harder and time consuming to program and edit since you are unable to use the simple copy and paste feature available in the Win4K3.For those of you who like to play with the receive and transmit equalizer settings, there could be nothing simpler than the main screen of Win4K3.

Similarly, band selection is a snap with individual buttons for each band. Frequency memories using the K3 Memory Editor is very user friendly. There are many more features which I have not had a chance to explore in depth yet, and I will leave it to others to comment on the Panadapter, Spectrum Scope and Video for the P3 since I am happy with my P3/SVGA as it for the time being and have not explored these features in Win4K3.Win4K3 is an excellent program at a most reasonable price and I do not believe you will regret the purchase.

Rating:2018-01-19I really like it!Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.I have had a K3S and an SDRPlay RSP1 that I have been using as a pan adapter for a couple years now. Previously I was using HDSDR.

It worked, kinda sort'ta.After having my fill of that I downloaded a trial version of Win4K3Suite onto my main hamshack computer, a Intel Core I7 based gaming desktop PC with a high end gaming video card (over kill for this application). I worked my way thru the setup instructions for the app and the SDRPlay RSP1 using the 64 bit com-0-com VSP manager.

The coaching videos and instructions were great! I was able to get Win4K3Suite running with both N1MM+ and N3FJP ACL with minimal effort - actually it was pretty easy.My favorite feature of Win4K3Suite is the ability to configure the radio's DSP for 3 specific modes of operation (I chose CW, SSB, & RTTY). Win4K3Suite allows you to take advantage of the radios very nice DSP filtering for the RX audio graphic equalizer adjustments.Within 5 days of downloading the trial version I purchased a licensed copy from Tom. I have both a K3S and a K3 here so I decided to load the software onto my Intel based Core I5 laptop PC to see if I have enough computing horsepower. At Tom's suggestion I did upgrade it's RAM to 16GB. The Laptop handles Win4K3Suite and my logging programs very nicely.My point being, you do not have to have a gaming super computer to run this SW app. Core I5 laptops have come down in price to a very reasonable level.

I purchased a second RSP1A from HRO so I have full up configurations on both radios and both computers.I do not see a need for a P3 when you can purchase a $125 SDR to act as a pan adapter driven by a $400 Laptop PC that is running your logging program too.Overall I am delighted with Win4K3Suite and give it 2 thumbs up. Well done Tom! Rating:2017-10-06Esstential KX3 SoftwareTime Owned: 3 to 6 months.To me, this is essential software for my KX3/KPA100.It makes changing any parameter child's play. I typically operate remote from one part of the houseto the shack where the radio stuff is located. I can easily change antennas, tune antennas, monitor swr as well a temperature on the KX3/KPA100.

The virtual com port emulation feature allows me to use several programs simultaneously on the KX3/KPA100 combo.All in all, va2fsq's software is rock solid, has excellent support and is easy to use.I highly recommend it and its purchase. Rating:2017-07-10Best software for the moneyTime Owned: more than 12 months.I can't overstate the excellent quality of this product.

Well worth the $50. I have the complete K3s line and while it is a great system, the Win4K3 software makes it even more enjoyable. I am a big fan of Elecraft's P3 panadapter, but the Win4K3 panadapter (via the LP-Pan 2) is much more versatile and enables QSY with a double mouse click. Product support is excellent as well.

Once you work through some of the nuances of the program it becomes hard to operate without it. Best $50 I've ever spent on a software program. Rating:2017-04-09Very PleasedTime Owned: 0 to 3 months.Like several other reviewers, I had been a long time user of LP-Bridge, NaP3 and HDR for my K3/ LP-Pan based station and struggled with instability issues and incompatibility of LP-Bridge with newer versions of HDR.

While WIN4K3 has a bit of a 'learning curve' it has solved both of these problems and offers easy access to K3 menus that is encouraging me to refine my operating skills with the K3. I am also delighted with the flexibility of adjusting the WIN4K3 spectrum scope to my preferences.

Like other reviewers, my experience with the author Tom VA2FSQ's customer support has been stellar. LP-Bridge and NaP3 were certainly fantastic tools a few years ago, but now that WIN4K3 is available, it's certainly is time to move on.

Rating:2017-02-12Terrific!Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.After buying the SDRplay RSP2, I decided I wanted to use it to create a panadapter capability for my KX2 when using it at home. I downloaded Win4K3 and installed without a hitch. It performed perfectly.Using Win4K3 and the RSP2 in a panadapter setup described in one of Tom's (VA2FSQ) YouTube videos worked great.

I exchanged emails with Tom about the setup and he responded quickly to all my questions and comments - even on weekends.Tom states that future updates of Win4K3 will be free to those who purchase it - this sweetens the deal even more. (Note: some future add-ons of interest to a limited audience will require a nominal charge from what Tom tells me).Bottomline: Great product, great support and continuing to get even better.

Rating:2016-11-03Very reliable with excellent support and K3 CAT app sharingTime Owned: 3 to 6 months.As a long time user of NaP3 / LP-Bridge along with an LP-PAN, I was a very tough sell at first when I downloaded the trial. Don't make the same mistake I did and knee jerk a reaction based on your first impression.

I wish I would have spent more time with the trial because I walked away from Win4K3Suite at first and web back to my comfort zone with NaP3 and LP-Bridge. Let me be clear, LP-PAN is still an amazing winner and keeper, however with Win4K3Suite you have a super reliable alternative to LP-Bridge and NaP3.This review is going to focus on the Spectrum display in Win4K3Suite and it's use of com0com for the K3 CAT interface sharing across simultaneous applications that share the K3 CAT interface data.So first off, install the trial and spend some time with Win4K3Suite and don't jump to conclusions about anything, especially how reliable it is and the fact that there are 32 bit and 64 bit versions. Once you get your head around the basic control features of the K3 line, then you need to understand how Win4K3Suite's CAT interface sharing works so well. In my opinion, the CAT interface sharing is worth the $50 price tag all on its own.For the CAT interface sharing, you will need to spend some time understanding how com0com works using virtual serial com port pairs. This functionality is where you will replace LP-Bridge, even if you continue to use NaP3. As described in the Win4K3Suite docs, download and install the signed version of com0com if you are running 64 bit windows.

Don't get sidetracked with the commercial implementations that are a take off from com0com.Once you have com0com installed, you will need to create virtual com port pairs for the com ports used by other applications that need K3 CAT control data. I can't get into too many details here, but I created pairs like this: com20com10, com21com11, com22com12 and then in the other hardware tab of the settings in Win4K3Suite, you connect to com20, com21 and com22 in this example.

Once you have done that, you can then use com10,11,12 as though they were actual K3 CAT com ports. In N1MM you would setup the Elecraft K3 connection to com10 and some other software like NaP3 (if you want to continue using Nap3) to com11. It's pretty simple once you get the hang of it, but it can be confusing at first.My experience with com0com and Win4K3Suite has been that it's very reliable. And once you get the Spectrum scope setup and play around with it, you will find that it replaces NaP3 functionality.

It may be missing a few NaP3 features, but from my perspective the reliability factor more than makes up for those missing features.The really thing that got me to try Win4K3Suite again was the new support for SDRPlay SDR / direct spectrum display support. This worked great right out of the box and keeps you from needing a sound card like you would need with LP-PAN. However, if you are super particular about performance, I'm pretty sure LP-PAN with a high quality sound card is going to out perform SDRPlay, however SDRPlay is a very turn-key setup with Win4K3Suite.On the support side VA2SQ has been super responsive. Fixed a bug I found with SDRPlay in a couple of weeks and also focused in on an SDRPlay DC artifact that is showing on the screen. He has a fix for the DC artifact too and I'm waiting for the next release to include this particular update. So at the end of the day, with Win4K3Suite, you are getting a very reliable application that supports very reliable com port CAT sharing with the K3 and you have an active developer that supports the product for $50.

Its a small price to pay as all the updates are free.I highly recommend it. And I highly recommend taking the time to understand how things work and let you integrate the K3 cat control across up to 4 other applications side by side with Win4K3Suite.73 de Max NG7M. Rating:2016-07-23Win4K3Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.This is about the best radio control software I've tried for my KX3/KXPA-100 combination. It is so simple to setup and use. No external boxes or computer sound card interface needed (except for using the Rx I/Q for the built-in spectrum display). Lot's of other really nice features including getting to most of the important menu functions in the KX3.

Same problem and this only happened recently after the Windows 10 update. The desktop Scanner app has disappeared too. Any attempts to resolve the scanner issue presents me with the Windows cannot find c: WINDOWS twain32 escndv escndv.exe Really frustrating. Windows twain_32 escndv escndv.exe.

If you own a KX3, download the 30-day free trial and you will be very impressed with Tom's work on this interface. He interfaces with popular contest logging programs and still working on others.

However, you can save to an ADIF file and simply suck it into whatever logging software you are using. Macros are EASY to program and work well. Sooooo much easier and simple to use than HRD, DM780, and others I've tried. Dennis - WU6X.

While exploring the Elecraft site, I discovered K3-EZ Software by Bill Coleman. See it at:I have no vested interest in the program, but I found it to be quite useful and highly recommend it.

I spend some time adjusting the RX equalizer and found that it is quite effective to my hearing loss. It is quite amazing how you can bring up the highs and cut out the lows. I have yet to deal with the TX equalizer. The program seems to give me all the information about the K3 I need and allows me to make changes without digging through the menus. Also, it will allow you to load the memories. Other programs are good too, but it seems that Bill's program goes into the depth of the rig more than others.One thing I would recommend to the user is to use a highbaud rate than 4800.

The program goes out and changes settings and at 4800 baud it can be quite slow.Let me also say, I have about three or four programs on my computer which talks with the K3 and they are all good.Bill's seems to go (as I said) into the 'soul' of the K3Lee - K0WAIn our day and age it seems that Common Sense is in short supply. If you don't have any Common Sense - get some Common Sense and use it. If you can't find any Common Sense, ask for help from somebody who has some Common Sense. Is Common Sense divine?Elecraft mailing listHome: Help: Post: mailto:This list hosted by: Please help support this email list. Does it for me as well.A very useful program.Stewart G3RXQOn Fri, 6 Feb 2009 06:18:36 -0800 (PST), Lee Buller wrote: While exploring the Elecraft site, I discovered K3-EZ Softwareby Bill Coleman. See it at: Now, I have no vested interest in the program, but I found it tobe quite useful and highly recommend it.

I spend some timeadjusting the RX equalizer and found that it is quite effective tomy hearing loss. It is quite amazing how you can bring up thehighs and cut out the lows. I have yet to deal with the TXequalizer.

The program seems to give me all the information aboutthe K3 I need and allows me to make changes without diggingthrough the menus. Also, it will allow you to load the memories.Other programs are good too, but it seems that Bill's program goesinto the depth of the rig more than others. One thing I would recommend to the user is to use a high baudrate than 4800. The program goes out and changes settings and at4800 baud it can be quite slow. Let me also say, I have about three or four programs on mycomputer which talks with the K3 and they are all good.Bill'sseems to go (as I said) into the 'soul' of the K3 Lee - K0WA In our day and age it seems that Common Sense is in shortsupply. If you don't have any Common Sense - get some Common Senseand use it.

If you can't find any Common Sense, ask for help fromsomebody who has some Common Sense. Is Common Sense divine?Elecraft mailing listHome: Help: Post: mailto:This list hosted by: Please help support this email list. Does it for me as well. A very useful program. Stewart G3RXQ On Fri, 6 Feb 2009 06:18:36 -0800 (PST), Lee Buller wrote: While exploring the Elecraft site, I discovered K3-EZ Software by Bill Coleman. See it at: Now, I have no vested interest in the program, but I found it to be quite useful and highly recommend it. I spend some time adjusting the RX equalizer and found that it is quite effective to my hearing loss.

It is quite amazing how you can bring up the highs and cut out the lows. I have yet to deal with the TX equalizer.

The program seems to give me all the information about the K3 I need and allows me to make changes without digging through the menus. Also, it will allow you to load the memories. Other programs are good too, but it seems that Bill's program goes into the depth of the rig more than others. One thing I would recommend to the user is to use a high baud rate than 4800. The program goes out and changes settings and at 4800 baud it can be quite slow. Let me also say, I have about three or four programs on my computer which talks with the K3 and they are all good.Bill's seems to go (as I said) into the 'soul' of the K3 Lee - K0WA In our day and age it seems that Common Sense is in short supply.

If you don't have any Common Sense - get some Common Sense and use it. If you can't find any Common Sense, ask for help from somebody who has some Common Sense. Is Common Sense divine?

Elecraft mailing list Home: Help: Post: mailto: This list hosted by: Please help support this email list:Elecraft mailing listHome: Help: Post: mailto:This list hosted by: Please help support this email list.