[WriteLog] strange problem with WriteLog on Windows 2000

[David W. Jeris]

Greetings,

I just purchased and installed WriteLog 10.34B.  I cannot get WriteLog to
update its frequency, band or mode when I change the frequency, band or mode
from the rig.

My setup:

Compaq Presario 305 notebook running Windows 2000 Professional (hereafter
called “the computer.).  The systems software on the computer has any and
all updates available from Compaq or Microsoft applied.  The serial port
COM1, used to connect to the rig, works fine on the one other application I
have for it, Hotsyncing with my PalmPilot PDA.  COM1 is set to 4800 baud
full duplex, 8 bit characters, 1 start, 2 stop bits, no parity, hardware
start stop, per the rig’s documentation on control from a personal computer.
I have tried other flow control (none, X-On) with no better results.

Kenwood TS850S with IF-232C interface box (hereafter called “the rig”).  I
know the rig and interface box are working correctly.  I installed WriteLog
on my wife’s Windows 98 laptop and everything works fine.

WriteLog  port setup is for COM1 for the rig, Kenwood, 4800 baud, polling
and PTT. I have also tried Auto speed, no polling, no PTT without any
improvement.

What works:

1.	Commands from the computer, to the rig to change band, frequency or mode
work fine.

2.	If the rig is running when I start WriteLog, WriteLog correctly displays
the rig’s band, frequency and mode.

3.	If rig and WriteLog are both running, and I then shut off the rig,
WriteLog quickly displays “No Rig!”  (If I shut off polling of the rig from
WriteLog, and then shut off the rig, it keeps displaying the last known
frequency.)

What behaves strangely:

4.	If I change the frequency, band or mode from the rig after #2 above,
WriteLog does NOT immediately display the new frequency, band or mode.
5.	If I leave the rig alone, with WriteLog displaying the correct frequency,
mode or band (#2) WriteLog will always eventually display “No Rig!”  This
seems to take somewhere between 2 and 15 minutes to happen.
6.	If I turn the rig back on after #3 above, WriteLog displays the
frequency, mode and band it knew about when the rig disappeared, not what
the rig is actually set to now.
7.	If the rig and WriteLog are both running (e.g., #2 above) and I access
the “Setup” “Ports” menu and hit “OK”, the frequency displayed by WriteLog
goes to zero.
8.	Now here’s the really strange one:  if I change the frequency, band or
mode as in #4 above, then do something else with the computer (e.g., run
another program, tell Outlook to send/receive mail, minimize/maximize a
window) WriteLog usually updates its display to match the rig.  The same
action won’t always force WriteLog to update, but I seem to always be able
to find some action that does.
9.	More strangeness:  if I have the Windows Task Manager displaying the
running processes, and then change the frequency, mode or band as in #4
above, WriteLog will eventually update its display.  This seems to take
anywhere from 15 to 60 seconds to occur.

My analysis:

My formal Computer Science education is almost 30 yrs old(!) and I am only a
user of Windows 2000 and know nothing about Windows NT on which 2000 is
based, but it appears to me that either WriteLog is not polling, or WriteLog
is not being awakened to poll until some other event causes it to run, or
WriteLog is writing its polling command to COM1, but this is not being sent
to the rig until some other event “flushes” the COM1 write buffer.  Or maybe
it’s something else entirely!

Help!

Dave Jeris W9HPJ



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