Hello Dave:
A few weeks ago we corresponded on part of my problems trying to control
my Omni-VI with NA; and with your assistance and that of John (N0IJ) and
others, I thought the problems were solved. I had been relying on
Ten-Tec's statement "The OMNI VI factory settings allow it to emulate an
ICOM 735 transceiver and your software should be configured to operate with
the 735 . . .." John pointed out that he had been setting his as for a
IC781. I quickly tried that and thought the problems were over, but I
found out during the NAQP CW test that there were other problems. (RX
frequency jumps while tuning, keyers wouldn't respond, etc.) In the NAQP
SSB I found that the VOX kept tripping momentarily and the RX tuning jump
was still there. Then it quit and put up the error message I mentioned
earlier this week. N4BP reminded me of what I needed to retrieve my log
after the crash, but the program still crashes each time I try to restart
it with that .qdf (but not with others).
You said: "However, this might not help our Omni-6
problem, which seems to involve a command coming from NA to the radio."
You are quite correct: The Omni-VI may emulate the ICOMs, but there are
differences that matter when operating NA. Not only that, but it seems
certain from what John, Jeff and others have found that not ALL Omni-VIs
work like the same "ICOM". Knowing this, I don't think there is anything
that can be done to make NA reliably operate these radios as long as they
are dealt with as if they are ICOMs as Ten-Tec has suggested. (The "Radio
out of contest band" which flashes sporadically may relate to info "from"
the radio? It seems to happen mostly while writing to disk!) I feel
certain that you have a copy of Ten-Tec's command/control codes--and I'm
not willing to loan my rig at this time of year; but, if there's anything
else I can do to help with this, please call on me!
I have used NA since 1988 and have really enjoyed it, but I miss being
able to completely control my Omni as I can with CT. (Especially
bandswitching.) I was hoping some day to try a test using NA controlling
two Omni's. Regarding your feelers about future versions: Since I'm only
concerned with single-op and since packet is not available to me, my needs
are much less than some people's. Mouse support itself does not interest
me, but having more windows open at once is very handy--so 50 line VGA and
the opportunity to move things around *when initially setting up* would be
very desirable. I have no use for EDIT COMMENTS--and many other features
which may be very valuable to other operators.
Regarding the Band Map function-- Earlier in December you said:
"Its funny, but people tend to utilize the band-map
differently - some to find QSOs to work, while some use it to avoid
sitting in pileups where the DX does not give his call (K8CC is in the
latter category)."
In your Jan. 21 posting, you said;
"If you're trying to avoid pileups on stations you've already
worked, the CT method is probably superior."
I tend to agree with you on both. Of course, since band maps have been a
part of these programs, I either have to work 'em OR manually enter 'em to
get them on it since we have no cluster within range. But in some tests
(such as the second night of ARRL 160), they can still save lots of time
while searching!
Once more, thank you very much for your interest in providing and
supporting a great product. In 1988 I was ready to quit contesting because
the logging hassle had blockaded my ability and desire to continue. When I
tried NA in CW SS that year and found how great it was, it rekindled my
interest. I'm not much better as a contester now, but contesting is a lot
more fun for us old, slow guys now!
73, Charles
Charles W. Shaw, N5UL
Hobbs, NM
<n5ul@wtaccess.com>
--
Submissions: na-user@ve7tcp.ampr.org
Administrative requests: na-user-REQUEST@ve7tcp.ampr.org
WWW: http://www.ve7tcp.ampr.org/Lists/na-user.html
Questions: owner-na-user@ve7tcp.ampr.org
|