The Digirig has been working well for over a month. I have one of those $60 laptops from Microcenter (runs on 12V!) and have been running FT8 using a KX3 quite successfully since I got it.
ETA: I’ve been using WSJT-X and FLRig for FT8, using CAT for PTT
Now I appear to have screwed things up, and I can’t remember how I managed, though I might have plugged an unpowered DR into a powered KX3. I content that this shouldn’t have killed anything, but I’m a software engineer, so I kind of know better (or should…)
The problem I experience is an ERR PTT message on powering up the KX3 if the red mic plug is inserted. The KX3 just kind of locks up then. Some test scenarios:
- if the red mic plug is inserted, ERR PTT displays
- if the red mic plug is not inserted, normal KX3 startup
- after normal startup, inserting the red plug keys the transmitter.
- SSB operation is normal, using a home-build footswitch/mic/PTT box
After 35 years doing embedded software for all manner of stuff, this sounds an awful lot like a hardware failure on the DR, perhaps a blown port - a cable failure matching this description is hard to imagine.
Right now I’m in the “I killed it, but whatever I did shouldn’t have killed it” camp. I’m wondering whether you’ve heard of any issues like this. I already reset the KX3 to defaults, but this is something else.
Is there a diagnostic utility that I can run to check? Can I flash a new image without buying a new emulator?
In the interim, I’m just going to buy another. It’ll be handy in other circumstances.
Thanks,
John