K4 SOFTWARE RELEASE NOTES ==================== ==== RELEASE 22 ==== ==================== 8-10-2021 NOTE: This is primarily an internal maintenance release, with few UI changes. VFO CURSORS TUNE SMOOTHLY ON PANADAPTER: Some users had observed jitter in the panadapter cursors while tuning the VFO. TRANSVERTER BANDS > 2.1 GHz BEHAVE CORRECTLY AT PANADAPTER: Previously, use of transverter band frequencies above 2.147 GHz would cause the panadapter to freeze. BUILT-IN OPERATING MANUAL UPDATED: Now at rev. C9. Among other changes, includes important note about Bose QC35 and similar headphones that are capacitively coupled. These will work with the rear-panel phones jack as-is, but for use with the front panel jack, a resistor to ground from the tip signal is needed to provide headphone insert detection. VFO ICON ALIGNMENT IMPROVED: Previous releases had noticeable misalignment between the VFO ID, mode, and filter icons. SOFTWARE UPDATER SHOWS RELEASE PACKAGE NUMBERS: When the user selects an installation type, the associated "Rnn" release numbers appear beside each type (production, beta, etc.). SCREEN CAPTURE IMPROVEMENT: There is no longer any need to remove and reinsert the USB flash drive after every screen shot. FOR SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS: Switch emulation codes (SW command) now have permanent fixed values, per rev. B12 or later of the K4 Programmer's Reference. Previously, these codes were inadvertently changed as new switch functions were added. TX EQ NOT APPLIED IN DATA MODES. FSK/PSK MONITOR LEVEL ADJUSTABLE: FSK/PSK monitor level is now equal to the DATA monitor level, not by the CW sidetone level. It can be set separately by holding {XMTR}.MON. FSK/PSK MONITOR LEVEL VIA PADDLE VS. FSK IN: When FSK/PSK characters are sent using the keyer paddle, the FSK/PSK monitor tones will be 12 dB below the CW sidetone volume, as before. But when FSK/PSK transmit is initiated via XMIT, PTT, or a KY command, the monitor volume will be set based on the DATA monitor level (cf.dataMonLevel). ADC OVERFLOW FALSE TRIGGERING ELIMINATED: Previously, changing preamp or attenuator settings could cause a spurious ADC overflow indication ("OVF" icon at the right end of the S-meter). PRE3 SETTING PRESERVED ACROSS POWER CYCLES. BUILT-IN OPERATING MANUAL IMAGES CORRECTED: All figures are now correctly formatted, including the illustration of the RX Dynamic Range icon (see Advanced Receive Features section). USB FLASH DRIVES WITHOUT OPERATING SYSTEM PARTITIONS: These are now handled correctly. DURING SOFTWARE UPDATE, EXT. MONITOR MIRRORS LCD. ==================== ==== RELEASE 19 ==== ==================== 6-23-2021 MAX AF GAIN INCREASED. MAX VOICE MONITOR LEVEL INCREASED. DATA MONITOR LEVEL BUG FIX: Previously, the lowest active level (1) was too loud. Also increased max value. K-POD SWITCH MACRO PROGRAMMING: In the K4's built-in macro editor, K-Pod switches now listed as 1 tap, 1 hold, 2 tap, 2 hold, etc. DYNAMIC RANGE ICON: When MENU:RX Dyn. Range Optimization is set to ON, a new icon appears to the right of the RIT/XIT box. The icon is a hybrid of the capital letters 'D' and 'R'. MORE PROMINENT ADC OVERFLOW INDICATION: In an extreme strong-signal situation, it is possible to reach the highest voltage allowed by the A-to-D converter. In this case the S-meter's "+60" label will change to "OVF" until the condition is resolved. (Previously, the "+" sign in the label simply changed color.) In most cases you won't hear any change in the receive audio when this occurs, especially if it occurs rarely. But if it happens frequently, you may wish to reduce the front-end gain of the affected receiver(s). The K4 can automatically reduce gain incrementally in this situation; set MENU:RX Auto Attenuation to ON. EXTERNAL REFERENCE LOCKING NOW MORE ACCURATE: When locked to an external reference, the K4's VFOs should now be within +/- 1 Hz across the full tuning range. Previously the reading was slightly high, as much as +5 Hz at 50 MHz (0.1 ppm). AGC PULSE REJECT IMPROVEMENTS: Previously, with MENU:AGC Noise Pulse Reject set to ON, AGC was being modulated by noise and signals under some band conditions. Now, the pulse reject threshold moves upward in response to strong signals to prevent this from occurring. Note: In the presence of very strong continuous noise, turn on the noise blanker. It is highly effective in this case even at very low settings. AGC DECAY RANGE EXPANDED: For example, MENU:AGC Decay, Slow can now be set as low as 5 (very slow). TRANSVERTER BANDS: Frequency memories and direct frequency entry now support transverter bands (up to 99 GHz). SOFTWARE UPDATE: Software update function now handles missing internet connection correctly. Save/Restore function handles K-Pod macros. Button debounce improved. ==================== ==== RELEASE 18 ==== ==================== 6-8-2021 NEW STATUS DISPLAY -- TIME/TX: There's a new option for the status area display: time (Z) and TX parameters (power and SWR). To select this option, tap the status area (above the "?" Button), then tap TIME/TX. TRANSVERTER BANDS: The K4 now has 12 user-programmable bands for use with external transverters. Transverter bands must be set up prior to use using the XVTR menu entries. The first XVTR menu entry specifies which of the 12 bands is being set up. Once setup is complete, you can tap BAND > XVTR > XVTRn to switch VFO A to a desired transverter band. Tap BAND > HF to go back to the last HF-6 m band. VFO B can be directly set to a transverter band by tapping BSET, then the BAND button. DUAL TRANSVERTER BAND RECEIVE: You can receive on two external transverters simultaneously with a K4D. Set up one to use RX ANT 1 and the other to use XVTR IN/RX ANT 2. RX DYNAMIC RANGE OPTIMIZATION: By default, new menu entry "RX Dyn. Range Optimization" is turned on. This configures the A-to-D converter for best dynamic range. Turning this off may slightly improve sensitivity. At present the setting applies to all bands; in a future release it may be settable per-band. VFO CURSORS CAN BE MOVED DURING TRANSMIT: If you move the VFOs during transmit, the associated panadapter cursors will update, even though the spectrum and waterfall remain frozen. BUILT-IN KEYBOARD UPDATED: All extended punctuation keys are now grouped to the right side of the keyboard. A new key has been added for tilde (~) and single quote ('). FOR SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS: (1) SPLIT is now exited on receipt of and FR0 or FR1 command. (2) Added support for #ARM; #ARA; #AR/;. (3) Added transverter selection and setup commands: XV, XVM, XVR, XVI, XVO, XVP commands. ==================== ==== RELEASE 17 ==== ==================== 5-27-2021 DATA-MODE BANDWIDTH RESTORED: Data mode bandwidth is now correctly saved/restored across power cycles. RELEASE NOTES LISTING: When viewing release notes in the software update screen, they now start at the beginning of the listing rather than at the end. RECEIVE IMPROVEMENT: DSP code has been updated to suppress a 12 kHz offset spur that could be observed above the noise floor with an extremely strong signal (S9+40 or so). FOR SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS: Add support for TD/; VT/; (fine toggle) and VT\; (coarse toggle). Added K3 legacy switch translation for SWH49;SWT49; ==================== ==== RELEASE 16 ==== ==================== 5-25-2021 TX DELAY SETTINGS: There is now only one TX DLY menu entry: TX DLY, Key Out to RF Out. The delay range is 5 to 25 ms; default is 8 ms. NOTE: Use the smallest value needed for external amp switching. 5 ms recommended for fast CW QSK speed (this compatible with Elecraft amplifiers). RECEIVE BANDWIDTH: Accuracy of FILTER BW control settings improved. SSB AND ESSB TX BANDWIDTH: Completed TX SSB/ESSB bandwidth controls. Tap TX > ESSB ON|OFF to turn ESSB on or off. The button to the left sets the SSB or TX bandwidth independently. When ESSB is in effect, a "+" sign is added to the LSB or USB mode indicator. Also, speech compression is turned off. NOTE: In regular SSB modes, when speech compression (XMTR > CMP) is set to any value other than 0, the transmit bandwidth is reduced slightly to emphasize mid-range speech components. In a future release this behavior will be adjustable. ==================== ==== RELEASE 15 ==== ==================== 5-24-2021 10-KHZ LCD "WHINE" ELIMINATED. MACRO EDITOR: Added initial support for macro command string creation and editing. Tap Fn, then hold MACRO. Macros can be assigned to PF1-PF4, F1-F8, REM ANT switch, and all 16 K-Pod switches. Refer to K4 Programmer's Reference for command details. Full details on the macro editor will be available in the operating manual on next update. FOR SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS: Added support for "ping" over Ethernet. Added commands NA/; SP/; BS/; TX/; FX/; DV/; DV\;. Added translations for legacy K3 switch emulation commands: SWH11; SWH14; SWT14; SWT16; SWH29; SWT29; SWH32; SWT32; SWT33; SWT34; SWT42; SWT43; SWH50; SWT53; SWH58;. Fixed K-Pod RIT control and screen capture issues. SSB AND ESSB BANDWIDTH: The TX bandwidth can now be set for both SSB and ESSB (Extended SSB). Tap TX > SSB BW to set bandwidth. Tap ESSB to turn ESSB mode on/off. PANADAPTER CURSORS: The cursors in the panadapter spectrum display now extend into the waterfall during VFO movement. SOFTWARE UPDATER UI IMPROVEMENTS: Improved feedback on switches and during software update operations. ==================== ==== RELEASE 14 ==== ==================== 5-14-2021 USB FLASH DRIVE UN-MOUNTS AUTOMATICALLY: When a USB flash drive is used for screen captures, etc., it will be mounted/unmounted only when needed by the associated function. This allows the drive to be removed without an explicit unmount or eject action on the part of the user. It also prevents errors when the USB drive is subsequently plugged into a Windows computer. PANADAPTER CURSORS IN WATERFALL: Panadapter cursors in the waterfall area have been restored. These appear only when the VFO is moved. TX PARAMETER FLASH CORRECTED: Previously, TX parameters were being flashed in the status area even when TX PARAM was not selected. SUPPLY VOLTAGE READING FIXED: The voltage shown in the status area (when TX PARAM is selected for status) now more accurately reflects the supply voltage at the APP connector. PA CURRENT READING ADJUSTED: Measured KPA4 current now accounts for copper trace length at the ends of KPAIO4-R3, the .005 ohm PA current-sense resistor. This improves accuracy of the total radio current shown in the status area (when TX PARAM is selected), as well as separate PA current reading in the "All Param" window. FSK DTR SOURCE SELECTION: The DPU PCB hardware revision is now taken into account when setting up the enable lines for FSK keying via DTR lines. This will affect how external software is set up; see operating manual. ADC OVERFLOW INDICATION: The "+" symbol in "+60" on the S-meter turns magenta if the associated receiver's ADC hits overflow level. In previous releases this was happening on some transitions from RX to TX. With this corrected, uers can now set MENU:RX Auto Attenuation to ON if desired.