If it is desired to stay with these DOS-based programs running under XP
while continuing to produce great CW then it seems like a good solution
would be for the developers of those programs to add the capability to
communicate with a serial keyer like the WinKey from K1EL. This completely
off-loads the CW timing to the WinKey and would not be a difficult thing to
add.
The problem here of course is that it is a solution that requires the
developers to implement rather than the user. But it would seem to me to be
a cleaner, and longer-lived, solution.
73/Chuck/NO5W
-----Original Message-----
From: cq-contest-bounces@contesting.com
[mailto:cq-contest-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Leigh S. Jones
Sent: Friday, December 01, 2006 5:14 PM
To: CQ Contest
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Adding MS-DOS to a WindowsXP Computer
Virtualizing software allows you to run an MSDOS program all right. So does
an XP command window. And you're pretty well assured that you can make the
basic logging functions work during a phone contest even running in a DOS
command window even under Windows95 with an old 80386 machine. Put 4
blazingly fast processors on the bus at the same time and you'll probably
get fairly good code out of the machine under modern multi-processor version
of WindowsXP -- if one processor can't service the timer interrupt quickly
another one will.
What some of you guys are missing here you'll continue to miss until you try
to run a CW contest using CT, NA, or similar under MSDOS with Virtualizing
or under an XP command window. CW operators like to use CT and NA to send
the code. Well, if you could work out the problem of accessing serial and
parallel ports so you could key a transceiver and read back the operating
frequency, etc., then it might just work with a new Intel quad-core
processor, perhaps even a dual core. Anything else -- pentium 4, etc.,
and the CW rhythm gets chopped up so badly you wouldn't want your callsign
associated with it. Now, a program that is actually built to run under
Windows could be just fine, deriving rhythm from the Windows Hi-Res timer
interrupts, but old MSDOS programs running under Windows DOS Prompts or even
under virtualizing software will share microprocessor resources with the
rest of the system using a time-sharing algorithm, so they can't react to
timer interrupts fast enough to provide for smooth code generation. A 3
GHz pentium box produces code that is almost passable at 10 wpm and fairly
readable at 20 wpm. But every so often you get these uncontrolled key-up or
key-down pauses that can make a dit into a dah or break one letter into two.
----- Original Message -----
From: <kb8nnu@yahoo.com>
To: "Mark Bailey" <kd4d@comcast.net>; "CQ Contest"
<cq-contest@contesting.com>
Sent: Friday, December 01, 2006 11:57 AM
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Adding MS-DOS to a WindowsXP Computer
> If I may add a quicker solution to the dos problem here...
>
> MS now offers their helpful Virtual PC (2004 SP1 and 2007 beta) software
> for free . This software allows the user to to run virtual computing
> environments under an XP environments. For example, you can run a MS DOS,
> Linux, Win 95/98, under a seperate window in Windows XP. It also allows
> you to create virtual HDD and ports. Its a great utility for XP users who
> want to run DOS - based software under XP. It doesn't require any extra
> work to your hard drive and the virtual HDD may be copied to another
> computer via a simple file transfer. Something worth checking out...I
> like it!
>
> Here's the link to the software site:
> http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtualpc/default.mspx
>
> Good Luck!
>
> Dave
> KB8NNU
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Mark Bailey <kd4d@comcast.net>
> To: ct-user@contesting.com; TR Log Reflector <trlog@contesting.com>; CQ
> Contest <cq-contest@contesting.com>; freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net
> Sent: Friday, December 1, 2006 12:42:10 PM
> Subject: [CQ-Contest] Adding MS-DOS to a WindowsXP Computer
>
>
> Good day, everyone:
>
> I have updated my procedure and bootable CD for installing
> FreeDOS (or MSDOS) on almost any WindowsXP computer. You can
> install FreeDOS (or MSDOS) beside WindowsXP without damaging
> the WindowsXP installation - using completely free open-source
> tools.
>
> I use this capability to run Amateur Radio contest logging
> programs which are DOS-based.
>
> I did the updated procedure and cd because the free tools to
> shrink the WindowsXP installation have new versions with
> more error checking. There are several changes to the procedure
> to hopefully make it easier to read and follow.
>
> There is a FREE CD which contains everything you need to install
> FreeDOS available for download at
>
> http://johnson.tmfc.net/dos/
> Add DOS to preinstalled Windows (see left side)
>
> The PDF file of the updated procedure is also available there or
> directly from
>
> http://johnson.tmfc.net/dos/file/fdinst095.pdf
>
> (Thanks to Johnson Lam for providing the server space for this).
> The CDROM image is about 30 MiBytes. The procedure is less
> than 1 MiByte.
>
> I would appreciate feedback from anyone who uses the procedure
> so that I can improve it. All of my computers boot both WindowsXP
> and DOS! I can do this in under ten minutes - it will take
> you a bit longer the first time.
>
> Mark Bailey, KD4D
>
> _______________________________________________
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> CQ-Contest@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
>
>
>
>
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