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PX3 High Performance Portable Panadapter Firmware and Utility

PX3 Current Production Firmware

MCU 1.48, 2-8-2017

All PX3’s ordered today will have Production Firmware loaded as they come out of the box. Monitor the Elecraft Email Reflector where announcements are made when new releases become available. 

Elecraft delivers new features in firmware. As a result, you should consider the Release Notes as an extension of the Owner's Manual. Documentation for the new features will be found there and will not appear in the Owner’s Manual until the next major manual revision is released. 

Current Production PX3 Firmware Release Notes

Please use the latest version of the PX3 Utility.
Rev. 1.16 or later of the PX3 requires KX3 firmware version 2.27 or later 

  • Note: refer to the latest PX3 manual for more information regarding these new features.
  • Adds: USB MSD (mass storage device, memory stick, thumb drive) support. Most types of flash drives are supported. Added a new sub-menu called “MSD menu” which includes the following features.
  • Adds: Serial commands #MAA, #MBA to adjust A or B markers by an incrementing or decrementing. The adjustment value is the same as used by the K3/KX3 UP and DN commands.
  • Adds: Frequency displays now show all digits including the Hz digit. This includes the center frequency adjustment and marker values. Note that markers adjust by values determined by the current span setting.
  • Adds: To enter the text decode scratchpad, you can now use either Insert or Alt-P. To send the scratchpad, you can now use either Ctrl-Insert or Ctrl-P .
  • Adds: #MSS msd screen shot serial command
  • See PX3 Firmware Release Notes for complete revision history
  • Download the latest PX3 Firmware
These are the most Release Notes since the last Production firmware release.  Please see your PX3 Utility → Help → Release Notes for all Release Notes listed in order of release.

 

Important - Please read before installing the latest Production Firmware

Production Firmware Installation Instructions are found in the Utility Help Facility

  • All Production Firmware is loaded with the PX3 Utility. It will take care of the download and installing Production Firmware
  • Before loading Production Firmware, please ensure you have installed the latest version of the PX3 Utility.
  • See the Help → Getting Started pull-down menu in the PX3 Utility for the steps to install firmware in your radio.

 Download and Install the PX3 Utility for your Operating System

Follow the links below to download and install the latest version of the Utility for your Operating System.

To connect the PX3 to a computer, a KXUSB cable is typically used.  A KXUSB was shipped ;with the PX3 from the factory. 

Minimum Operating System Requirements for Elecraft Utilities

Microsoft Windows: XP Service Pack 3 or later, including Vista, 7, 8, and 8.1 and 10.
Apple Mac: OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) or later

Windows

PX3 Utility (Windows Version 1.15.8.1)  August 1, 2015

Note: This PX3 Utility version can be used to load PX3 Firmware versions 0.27 and above to your PX3.
Macintosh PX3 Utility  (MAC OSX 64bit Version 1.19.9.6) September 13, 2019
Note: This PX3 Utility version can be used to load PX3 Firmware versions 0.27 and above to your PX3.
X86 Linux

PX3 Utility (Linux 64bit Version 1.19.9.6) September 13, 2019
Note: This PX3 Utility version can be used to load PX3 Firmware versions 0.27 and above to your PX3.

Files are in TAR archive (gzip-compressed) format.

Dependencies

The following libraries and dependencies should be installed on your Linux distro:

GTK+ 2.8 or later, glibc-2.4, libstdc++.so.6 and cURL. 64-bit Linux requires 32-bit compatibility libraries.
Installing the FTDI driver

Follow this link to the FTDI Site for drivers: http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm

Depending on the Operating System you have, the driver needed for the Utility to communicate with the PX3 will need to be loaded.

All Elecraft products in production use the FTDI chipset for this function. The FTDI driver allows your computer to create a virtual COM port so that the Utility can communicate with the Elecraft product.

 

PX3 Beta Firmware Installation and Release Notes

PX3 Beta Firmware Release Notes

None Right Now!

Beta Test Firmware Installation Procedures

NOTE: Beta test firmware may have new issues that we haven't caught during field testing. Please report them to support@elecraft.com.

A little more detail

We make it a little harder to load Beta firmware mainly because we want you to be sure you want to do this.  Beta firmware means that, while the PX3 engineering team has fully tested the firmware, it has not yet been deemed ready for Production status.   You can always return to the last firmware you have downloaded by following the steps in the PX3 Utility’s Help section.

To load Beta Firmware, follow the steps below:

1. Create a new folder for the beta firmware on your Desktop or some other easily found location. Use the a different folder than the default folder found in the Firmware tab of the Utility. In this way, you can revert to the last Production firmware easily.

2. Now, we will download the firmware in Zip file format. In a web browser, type in this URL:

https://ftp.elecraft.com/PX3/firmware/beta/

If you do not see the correct version of the zip file, press the RELOAD/REFRESH button on our browser to update your browser cache.

3. Right-click on the .zip file containing the beta firmware (e.g. k3fwXrYZ.zip for revision MCU X.YZ and all associated files). Save the file to your beta folder you just created.

4. Unzip the files into the beta folder.

5. Enter the path to the beta folder in PX3 Utility → Firmware tab → "Local folder for firmware files".

6. After you have made the change in Step 5, make sure you *DO NOT* check the PX3 Utility box titled "Copy new files from Elecraft server". This will overwrite the Beta firmware if clicked.

7. Connect the PX3 to your computer and be sure it is turned on. Select the Firmware tab and Click on "Check versions now" button. 

8. Review the release notes. To find them, select the "Help" pull-down menu.

9. Click "Send all firmware to PX3." This will cause the firmware to be sent to the PX3. You will see that the PX3 appears to restart itself. Monitor the Activity Log until it is complete.

10. After completing a new software download to your product, please power cycle the PX3 OFF and then back ON before using it.

11. Please report any new firmware issues to support@elecraft.com