[WriteLog] poor PC Generated cw

[Bill Gillenwater]

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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