[WriteLog] poor PC Generated cw

[Bill Gillenwater]

An update on the "poor CW" with the MicroHam and other USB type interfaces.
I "started over" with hooking up the computer via the USB ports to the
serial ports of a Yaesu FT1000 and an FT1000MP. Using the recommended
settings in the "ports" section of Writelog, I could not eliminate the CW
jibberish that would come out at times. I had switch to a parallel port
(LPT) keying setup for an earlier contest using the "Userport" software
recommended at the Writelog website, which worked fine.

After a few Email exchanges with Jozef, one more time around, I tried the
"MicroHam USB Device Router" as suggested in the "user notes" at the
MicroHam website. After setting up four (4) virtual com ports, (2 for each
FT1000) I then selected one of the radios (at com port 10, a virtual port)
and set the CW port to com port 11, another virtual port. Things worked
fine. I did 700 or so qso's in CQWW and no problem, good solid CW. Last week
I switched radios and used the other virtual ports (com 6 and com 7) with
the same logic, only a different radio and did over 400 qso's in the ARRL
160 contest. No problem.

As a side note, I used version 1.9 for one test and I used version 1.12 for
the other test. Both solid CW. (If you're using 1.9 and it works, don't
worry about 1.12, and vice/versa, the code in the software for the MicroHam
USB interfaces is the same).

73 Bill K3SV
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill Gillenwater" <k3sv at direcway.com>
To: <WB3LGC at aol.com>; <writelog at contesting.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 11:46 PM
Subject: Re: [WriteLog] poor PC Generated cw


> Apparently, several people are having this problem with the MicroHam USB
> interface. I've been trying to figure it out for weeks. I have tried a
> multitude of settings and terminated everything I can think of while
running
> Writelog. The best I've been able to do is minimize the occurence. It
seems
> like there is activity in the USB ballpark that will occasionally
correspond
> with you sending CW. It would appear that if we can stop the
> "paging/polling" of the USB port by the computer we can prevent the
jumbled
> CW. I have had strings of contacts without an error, then all of the
sudden,
> "junk" for a couple of contacts and then it clears up. Frustrating,
knowing
> that no two computers are the same once you open the box and start doing
> "your" thing. If you watch the MicroHam USB interface when installed and
> running Writelog, (you assign both the CW keying and the rig control to
the
> same USB/Serial port) polling the radio is evidenced by the light on the
USB
> interface blinking. When you send CW, the polling/blinking stops (as does
> the "CAT" blinking on the rig). This tells me "you can't do both at the
same
> time", or at least you can't do them at the same time "all of the time".
I'm
> no expert and I'm not "knocking" the interface, it just doesn't work as
you
> would think and there's no obvious way to get it to work.
>
> Fearing that I would be in the middle of SSCW last weekend and have a
> problem, I ran Userport which added an LPT port to Writelog and had no
> hiccups. By-the-way, I am running XP (without SP2 installed) on a
relatively
> late model machine.
>
> 73 Bill K3SV
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: <WB3LGC at aol.com>
> To: <writelog at contesting.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 9:42 PM
> Subject: [WriteLog] poor PC Generated cw
>
>
> > I tried to play in the SS this past weeekend.  Things worked ok at the
> > beginning, but after 30 odd contacts, the PC generated cw became
> "jumbled"?  It
> > din't matter if I typed or punched "F" keys.  I am guessing the speed of
> the pc?
> > It is a 333mhz machine (CPU useage seemed to be less then 100%).  Since
25
> wpm
> > CW isn't my thing, it's no big deal.  I thought some may want DE.  I was
> > using a MicroHam USB interface, into an orion w/tuner @ 100w.  It didn't
> matter
> > the band, so I don't think RF in the shack (G5RV antenna).  restarting
> writelog,
> > didn't help either.  any ideas for the next time?
> >
> > 73, Steve  "A WB3LGC 78 DE"
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>