[WriteLog] Satisfaction At Last (maybe)

[Bill Turner]

I think I might have found why WriteLog and MMTTY sometimes add a long
carrier to the beginning and/or end of a macro transmission.  I seem to
have cured the problem at my station anyway, and it might be worth
checking out if you are having it.  I know some people have reported
success by changing the "priority" setting in MMTTY, but that might even
be related to what I found.  All stations are different in various ways,
so this may not be the cure in every situation but it's worth a try.  

A little background.  For the last ten years, I've been doing hardware
PTT on all my programs via a serial port with the usual transistor
interface.  A few years ago I installed MMTTY as a stand alone program
and set it up for PTT via Com2 as always.  I had rig control disabled;
no VFO and no PTT, because it conflicted with LogWindows, my logging
program.  They both wanted to access the radio and one or the other had
to go.

MMTTY running alone worked fine that way.  The problem of the long
carrier started when I began using WriteLog for contesting in
conjunction with MMTTY.  I've been fighting the long carrier problem on
and off ever since.  And it has been a real fight, believe me!
Sometimes I'd think I had it cured and things would work for a while and
then back it would come.  In the XE contest just finished, I got about
50 QSOs into it before the problem reared its ugly head.  So take this
with a grain of salt because the final chapter is not yet written, but
it's looking good so far.  I hate crow, but I'll eat it if I have to.

I'm not a expert on these things, but I believe the problem comes from a
conflict when you accidentally have WriteLog/MMTTY set to use BOTH
software PTT and hardware PTT.  You should use only one and completely
disable the other.  Here's how the accident can happen:  When you first
install WriteLog using a software-capable radio, you will naturally want
to enable VFO reading just to keep your band changes synchronized
between radio and log, if for no other reason.  So you go to Setup>Ports
and check the box for "rig", select your rig type, and if you're like
me, you accept the remaining defaults.  WRONG!  The box on the far right
which says Comm PTT is "yes" by default, and that's incorrect if you
want to use some other com port for hardware PTT like I did.  The "yes"
means to use SOFTWARE PTT on the radio port.

Now that I know what's going on, it all comes clear.  (Life's like that,
isn't it?)  

To summarize:

1.  If you want to use hardware PTT on a com port other than the one
your radio is on, be sure the "Comm PTT" box next to your radio is OFF.

2.  If you want to use software PTT, be sure the "Comm PTT" box is ON,
and don't even think about connecting a cable for hardware PTT.

And be sure MMTTY (stand alone) is set to the same mode of operation
you're using with WriteLog.  Again, that's where I went wrong.  I had
stand alone MMTTY set for hardware PTT and WriteLog set for software
PTT.  Live and learn.

Anyway, after putting this fix in place I did several more hours of
contesting and all was well.  I'm going to give it the acid test during
next week's contest, so stay tuned.  If the problem comes back, I'll
probably just kill myself and in two years, you can have my call.  

Just kidding.... you CAN'T HAVE MY CALL!  :-) 

73, Bill W7TI