KX talk is a program to control the Elecraft KX3 and
will also work with the KX2 and K3 as well. It may also partially work on Kenwood transceivers but there is already a seperate package for Kenwood radio's called TS TALK. I have written this program to run under windows and it is designed to be easily accessible for the blind. It isn't a program written for the sighted and made accessible for the blind. It has some information in a window on the screen but the whole operation is designed to be controlled by single key presses for easy accessibility and everything is spoken.
The program needs no
libraries such as hamlib etc. but is a stand alone program you put the KX talk folder anywhere you want on your computer and just start the exe file. When you start the program it will announce the program name and version and you will know it is successfully communicating with your KX2 or KX3 or K3 because it will then say connected, if it doesn't then something is incorrectly set in the radio or the configuration file.
In the configuration file you set a number of different things like the com port your radio is using and
the speed, probably the default 38400Baud, how the ATU works and whether you want the S-Meter corrected if the pre-amp is turned off (I think the K3 corrects automatically). The package also contains a program called find my radio which will automatically find the com port and speed of your radio and write this information into the configuration file for you.
As an example of how the
program works if you press the F key then you are in frequency mode and the program will voice the mode and exact frequency. If you tune the radio with the cursor keys or the tuning knob on the radio and stop on a station then hitting F will again announce the mode and frequency. If you hit the B key the program is in band change mode and you can go up or down the bands using the cursor keys or jump to a band of choice with the number keys. All of these single key controls are explained in the PDF file which is part of the download and you can also download an MP3 file and hear an explanation of how the program works and a demo. Plus a walk around of the front panel and connectors of the KX3.
There are four downloads, the first is that MP3 file as an example of how the program works, the second is an MP3 Walkaround of the front panel and connectors of the KX3 and the third is the
getting started document and the fourth is a zip file which contains the program, a PDF instruction manual and all the audio files used by the program.
|