[TenTec] Macintosh OS X control with Orion

[designer]

Randy,

I was once standing were you are rig/computer-wise. You didn't 
mention what Mac you have so I don't know if it has a serial port - 
they dropped those a while back in favor of USB.

You could get a USB to serial converter - it may or may not work.
You could run VirtualPC to simulate windows and run all the PC 
software - it may or may not work - timing issues and I just read 
that post about limited sound card functionality (sample rates).
You could check out MultiMode by Black Cat and make sure it is 
compatible with your rig/Mac/OSX.

Note that Black Cat also has a software package called CW Keyer. It 
wasn't clear how it actually keyed the rig.

I ended up buying a cheap 400Mhz Pentium II on eBay. For simplicity I 
run Windows 98SE. I use this ONLY for ham software, I only send OUT 
email via Eudora (no MS virus attracting apps). I use FirFox web 
browser to view ONLY ham established web sites. Periodically I run 
Ad-Aware and Spybot. The machine has stayed pretty clean. Hard Drive 
was a little small at 2GB. I have about 1.5GB full. Unlike the user 
friendly Mac, I can't just copy the contents of the old drive to a 
bigger new one then replace the old with the new. So someday I may 
have a major re-install project.

Though Windows 98SE has less system overhead than XP, it suffers in 
that the available Memory for applications is constrained so I can 
only run a few applications at once - For example, I can not run the 
full DXLabs suite of programs - only a few at once. XP would cure 
this but the higher system overhead means "more" of everything else - 
more RAM, faster CPU, more HardDrive space.

For CW  - while you are practicing with your key/paddle of course - 
you can use the free CWType by DXSoft. You specify a COM port on the 
PC, put a serial plug in it with a small switching circuit inside, 
and wire a compatible straight key plug to the other end.

By using the larger Radio Shack serial plug enclosure, I could put 
the switching circuit - a transistor, couple of diodes, and a 
resistor - all inside. There are many published simple switching 
circuits - I used one off of a review link from the DXSoft page for 
CWType.

One end in the computer COM port, the other plugged into (or wired 
for) the rig's straight key jack.
That's why I wonder about BlackCat's CW sending program - they don't 
mention keying the rig.

If you are interested in a stand alone CW keyboard, send me email. I 
have a Datong keyboard that can run on batteries or DC power, has two 
ranges of speed control, and some memory banks. No software required. 
I'd sell it because I like the feedback from seeing my typing on the 
computer monitor via DXSoft's CWType - but that requires a computer. 
With the Datong keyboard, you plug it into (or wire the plug for) the 
straight key input of the rig and type away.

73,
Paul