[NA-User] Direct I/O and Win XP

[David A. Pruett]

At 10:15 AM 11/15/03 -0500, Rich Dailey, N8UX wrote:

>http://www.direct-io.com/
>
>Will this software allow NA to communicate to the I/O
>ports under XP? Anyone tried it?

Rich,

I went to the DirectIO web site and looked over their information.  What I 
saw looked promising, at least from the I/O addressing point of view.  This 
would seem to assure control of COM and LPT ports for the usual things we 
hook up to our logging computers.

However, one problem which I'm not sure DirectIO addresses (sorry the pun) 
and that has to do with the "time-of-day" counter.  This is the internal 
hardware counter which keeps the clock-calendar running, and which NA 
reprograms to generate CW at the selected sending speed.  The DirectIO web 
page says "Interrupt emulation is supported for all 16bit and 32bit 
programs".  However, I also found a reference on a FAQ page saying that 
"interrupt emulation is slow", so I'm not real optimistic.

Surprisingly, WinXP will generate CW from NA, but then the real time clock 
runs slightly off speed.  It's disappointing that Microsoft put enough DOS 
mode support that the keying will work, but it's not compatible enough with 
real DOS so that the clock will run while NA w/keying is running.

I do not have any WinXP computers or I would try DirectIO, which is 
freeware, so you can "try it before you buy it".  I'm sure WinXP users 
would like to hear the results, particularly with regards to the CW keying.


Dave Pruett, K8CC
DATOM Engineering

datom at contesting.com
http://www.datomonline.com