I very recently purchased a KX3, which has been great. I’m used to having a rather automated shack however, and logging in the field isn’t as convenient as I’d like it to be. I’m used to using N1MM for logging and using F keys to send contest macros. While that might not be some peoples style, it’s how I operate best.
My logging app of choice for SOTA is the HamLog app by the Pignology people. My biggest problem was not remembering when I change band/mode to do so in the app. I found a handy solution that fixes my problem.
Most modern cell phones are USB OTG capable. This means you can use an adapter for you phone’s micro usb port to regular female USB, and plug things into it (flash drives, keyboards, etc). Well, in my case I wanted to see if the phone could interface with the KX3 for the app.
In the HamLog app:
Go to the Tools Menu
Scroll to "Pigtail"
Scroll to the Check box for Use USB Serial (Beta) and check the box
Change the Baud Rate to match the KX3 menu setting (I use 38400)
Go back to the Contacts menu and hit "New"
The frequency and mode should now automatically read in!
Buttons for the CQ memories are also added to the interface.
There is also another app with a built logger called KX3mate that I also got working via the same method.
I have no idea if anyone knew of this capability but I wanted to share.
I have the Android phone but don’t understand which port you are plugging into on the KX3 to link it to the Android phone. Can you be a bit more clear on the phone to KX3 cabling? The KX3 does not have a USB port.
Hi Garry,
You can use KXUSB cable - connect 3.5 mm stereo plug into ACC1 jack on KX3, and the other side of the cable into OTG adapter connected to your android device.
If the iPhone / iPad doesn’t support OTG (on the go - a way to change the device from being the “dumb client” to being the “host” computer) and from my searches on the web, that seems to be the case - the answer is, no you won’t be able to remote control the KX3 via a USB connection from your iPhone.
If anyone has come up with a Bluetooth dongle for the KX3, that could be a possibility though - I haven’t looked into this however as Apple definitely don’t support OTG on USB, it may be an option if they allow a host mode over BT.
Here’s someone trying this (but he is still using an Android phone) - it might be worth emailing him and asking if he thinks this should work with an iPhone as well as android:
take a read of this as well:
Andrea says that Apple don’t support serial over bluetooth - if that’s the case, then you are probably stuck - unless you go and buy a cheap Android phone or tablet just for this job.
Slightly off topic to what is being discussed, but relevant to the title, another rig remote control Android App which has ADIF logging built in and is supposed to work with the KX3 and K3 is called PocketRxTx. As I don’t have a KX3, I can’t say if it indeed works with the rig or how well it does, if it does.
There is a free version (with Ads) that you can get from Google Play before upgrading to the “pay for” PRO version if it works and you like it.
KX3 Mate is a free interesting program that I have just started playing with. I use an OTG connector to an Android Tablet and it works great. I can even send CW from the macros.
This is correct; iOS devices do not support serial Bluetooth profile nor OTG USB. The easiest way to do this now is using one of the Pignology wireless devices such as Piglet, which are directly integrated with their HamLog software on the iPhone/iPad.
Addendum: dl2rum has worked out Bluetooth LE serial control of the KX3 from RUMlog2go running on the iPad. More details from the product page here. However its quite restrictive. KX2 is not supported, and iPhones can’t do it, only iPads. And you need to wire up the BLE module and level shifter yourself. I’ve also seen some folks do serial port hacks over USB on iOS devices by acting like a MIDI device, but nobody has productized that.
Missed all these as nov was around my move to the west coast.
For people with Apple devices (why…) I recommend buying a cheap android tablet that supports OTG USB. You can find them on amazon refurbished for rather cheap.
Thanks Evan, for the information.
I have a KX3 and Phone with USB OTG and Pignology software.
I just followed his steps and everything works perfectly.