Thank you so much for the very best piece of adaptive equipment that I think anyone has ever manufactured!
Sent from my iPhone this time
> On Feb 19, 2014, at 5:11 PM, Rob <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Hi Guys,
>
> Since there have been some questions regarding the K3/KX3 and
> HamPod implementation of CW decoding, let me clarify a couple points.
> The display on the K3/KX3 has two areas referred to as the V F O A
> display area and the V F O B display area. Usually, these display the
> related V F O frequencies respectively. When the radio is set to decode
> CW, it is displayed in the V F O B display area and that display can
> only show 8 characters at a time so when it is decoding CW, the text is
> scrolled across that small display. Once the text scrolls across the
> display, it is gone from sight. That is why most operators connect the
> radio to a computer running an application to display that decoded text
> where it remains on the screen for review. Internally the radio
> maintains a 40 byte buffer of the decoded text and the contents of that
> buffer is available through the serial port. The K3 and KX3 currently
> also decode PSK31 and RTTY signals and there is talk of adding PSK63 in
> the future. So with the HamPod, I can access that 40 character buffer
> and speak its contents. While that sounds good at first glance, there
> are issues here. I continuously read the buffer but in order to
> correctly pronounce the text, I need to wait until a complete word or
> block of text appears so I can sensibly speak it as a word or read it a
> letter at a time in case it is a call sign or other non word. This means
> there is some latency when receiving before the text will be spoken.
> Normally that is good and is not a problem unless you are trying to tune
> in the signal. If the signal is marginal or not properly tuned in, you
> are likely to get jibberish and there can be a length of time before a
> break or space comes along so I can try to format and speak that text.
> Also, undecodable text is replaced by an Asterisk character within the
> radio so you hear a lot of those. All these factors make tuning in the
> signal a bit challenging. With experience, you begin to know what a
> correctly tuned signal sounds like which helps make this easier. A
> sighted user can instantly see the display as they tune in the signal
> which is a tremendous help. The other frustration is that once the text
> goes by, it is gone. There is no way to review it as there is when
> running an application on a connected computer. I have some thoughts on
> how to try to implement a better tuning mode and will add that in the
> future. But despite those short comings, with a good, properly tuned
> signal, it is pretty neat to hear the HamPod read the data mode text to
> you.
>
> Hope that helps,
> Rob
> K6DQ
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