[CQ-Contest] Computer clock losing time

[David A. Pruett]

At 08:41 PM 11/1/02 -0800, John Geiger wrote:
>Have a problem 1 day before sweepstakes.  All of a sudden the logging 
>computer in the shack has started losing time very quickly.  Like getting 
>5 minutes
>behind every hour.  This is not good for the NA logging.  Haven't opened 
>up the computer yet, but does this sound like a problem with the lithum 
>battery?
>the computer has been plugged in and running the entire time this has been 
>happening.  Any help would be appreciated.

John,

What operating system?

If its WinXP I may have the answer.  Under WinXP, if you're running a 
popular DOS-based logging program it appears that the clock runs slow if 
the CW keying is enabled.  Disable the keying, the clock runs keeps 
accurate time.

While this problem was reported running NA, I suspect that both CT and TR 
would be similarly affected.  While not wasting your time getting into the 
gory details of timer ticks and such, the problem appears to be related to 
how Microsoft emulated the DOS environment under WinXP.

If you're not running WinXP you can ignore this message.  If you are, you 
have two choices: turn off CW keying and run an external keyer, or simply 
reset the time every hour.

Dave/K8CC