[WriteLog] PK232 CW interface to WriteLog...

[M. Edward Wilborne III]

Hi All!

I enjoyed working several of you in the SS.

Before the SS I tried to get WriteLog to use my PK232 to key CW.  It ended
in "disaster", so in the SS I ended up using PCPakRatt on an old DOS laptop
to key CW, which means I had to enter the serial number and call manually,
which resulted in a few typos here and there, also I sent the wrong CK for
the first 40 contacts.  Fortunately, I've manually fixed the first 40
entries in the cabrillo log so that when I send it in all the exchanges with
other stations are correct.

Anyway, before the SS, I tried to get WriteLog to key using the PK232 and
although I finally got it to key a few things, it wouldn't key what was in
the FN keys properly, for example, when I hit the FN key for 5NN (just to
test), it would send the SS exchange.  I hit the FN key for my call, and it
would send the SS exchange, so this is why I gave up on using the WriteLog
to PK232 interface.

Actually getting WriteLog to talk to the PK232 was an entirely different
animal:

First I just told WriteLog that it had a PK232 on Com1 and to use it to key
CW.  The PK232 when turned on was setting at the "autobaud" prompt, i.e. it
says key * several times to set baud rate.

It appears that WriteLog doesn't do this.  So it always ended with a "failed
to initialize pk232" error dialog.  I looked at the help and it said to make
sure the default setting for the port in windows is the speed of the pk232,
and I set it to 1200, retested, writelog still failed.

So, I connected to the PK232 with a terminal program, set mycall.  When I
did this, the pk232 would remember its baud rate, so I powered it off/on,
ended the term program and restarted writelog.  Writelog still couldn't
initialize the pk232.

I went back to the term program and "guessing" set the pk232 to opmode
morse, since the default is packet.  Ended terminal program restarted
writelog, and it still couldn't initialize the pk232.

I restarted the term program and I entered the "x", the transmit command,
and was able to type characters and have my radio key it.  So I know the
pk232 would key cw.  I left it in the "transmit" mode, exited the terminal
program and restarted writelog.

Now writelog was able to "initialize" or whatever it is doing and would key
CW, but as I described above, it never sent what I asked it to send, and
this is where I punted and went back to known working technology.

Does anyone else out there use a PK232 and have working configuration?  If
so, can you enlighten me on what it takes to make this work correctly?  My
PK232 is perhaps one of the oldest ones out there, and doesn't have any
later firmware installed.

I would like to have it working before CQ WW CW, but will use pkpakratt if I
am unable to either build an lpt inteface for WriteLog or get my pk232 to
work with writelog.

Thanks & 73!
Ed
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http://mew3.com/