[WriteLog] IC PW1 interface

Sat Oct 9 15:47:07 EDT 2004

First, thanks to all who replied to my missive.  A point of clarification is
needed.  Dick is correct in stating that the manual says all CI-V devices
should be set to the same SPEED.  However, my manual has an addendum sheet,
with picture, that clearly states and shows that the PW-1 remote jack should
be connected DIRECTLY to the single remote jack on the IC-756Pro.  The
addendum picture shows the CT-17 Level Converter and PC interface
connections X'd out - in other words, according to Icom, NO PC CONNECTION is
allowed!

Now I know for a fact others have their PC's, radios, and amps interfaced
through the CT-17 so I called Icom Tech Support for clarification.  One of
their techs is the one who said I needed to change the CI-V default address
on either the amp or the rig so that they would all work correctly through
the CT-17 and allow PC connection.  Of course, he didn't mention that this
would lead to issues with software incompatibility!

After assurances from several others on the reflector that connections
through the CT-17 work with default CI-V addresses I have reset everything
back to square one.  Now I have good news and bad news.  The good news is
the rig, the amp and the PC are all apparently communicating fb.  Band
changes, auto tuner, antenna selection, etc. all work, as does the bandmap
in WriteLog.  The bad news is I can't get the PW-1 to key up!

This one is probably pilot error.  I used to have an Amp Supply LK-500ZA
amplifier and once tried to drive it with the 756Pro.  Unfortunately I
didn't remember the note in the manual about current draw in the keying
circuit and I didn't know then, as I do now, about using a relay circuit
between the rig and amp.  When the amp keyed up it stayed up and wouldn't
drop out.  I had to manually turn it off to stop the output.  I suspect I
have toasted a diode or something in the rig and will be shipping it off to
Icom for repairs next week.  In the meantime, I intend to pull the
IC-706MKII out of the truck and use that as the back up rig for the shack.
Hopefully I'll be able to get the amp keyed with that rig - stay tuned!

Thanks again for all the helpful comments.
Gary AL9A

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dieven" <dieven at msn.com>
To: "'Gary Senesac AL9A'" <al9a at pobox.mtaonline.net>; "'Writelog Reflector'"
<writelog at contesting.com>
Sent: October 07, 2004 7:14 PM
Subject: RE: [WriteLog] IC PW1 interface

> I didn't come to the conclusion you did.
>
> The PW-1 manual says that all CI-V devices have to be set to the same
SPEED,
> but I saw nothing to lead me to the conclusion that they should be the
same
> address.  I didn't change my PW-1's address.  I set my transceiver to 9600
> baud, followed the instructions in the manual (plus the addendum) and it
> synchronized just fine.
>
> It worked just fine with Writelog using the same address I'd used before
> with the rig.
>
> 73 de Dick, K6KR
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: writelog-bounces at contesting.com
> [mailto:writelog-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Gary Senesac AL9A
> Sent: Thursday, October 07, 2004 6:02 PM
> To: Writelog Reflector
> Subject: [WriteLog] IC PW1 interface
>
> Just got a new "toy" yesterday, an IC-PW1 amplifier, that I am trying to
get
> interfaced to the rig and the PC.  The manual says all CI-V addresses
should
> be the same, as should the baud rates.  The default CI-V address of the
> IC-756Pro is 5Ch, but the default of the PW1 amplifier is 54H.  Changing
the
> default address on the PW1 to 5Ch requires adjusting an internal switch,
> that looks like a trim pot, with a screwdriver.  However, in its inifinite
> wisdom, Icom neglected to put any instrucions in the manual that indicates
> what setting on the pot is needed for a specific address.
>
> It's much easier to change the CI-V address in the IC-756Pro to 54H via
the
> setup menu, which I have done. After doing this I started up Dxbase 2003
and
> discovered I had lost communication between the radio and the log program
> even though I adjusted both the radio and Dxbase to 9600 baud (per Icom's
> recommendation).  I checked the Radios.ini file in Dxbase and found an
entry
> under the 756Pro of 0X5c.  Changing this to 0X54 fixed the communication
> between the radio and Dxbase.
>
> I then started Writelog, Vers 10.48F, and went to Setup/Ports where I
> modified the baud rate down from 19200 to 9600 and saved the
configuration.
> I then noticed that the bandmap window is no longer communicating with the
> rig to obtain band and frequency info.  Assuming that there is a similar
> configuration or ini file in Writelog I searched the Writelog Ham/Programs
> directory for files containing the string "IC-756Pro" and got one hit -
> Wlogri32.dll.  I assume this file contains the various radio
configurations
> info Writelog uses to communication with the rig.  I tried opening the
file
> with Notepad to browse through it, but everything comes up in jiberish.
>
> Am I on the right path here?  Anyone done this before?  Any ideas on how I
> can get Writelog back to communicating with my rig so the band map works
> again?  Should I be trying to edit the Wlogri32.dll file or not?  If yes,
> how?
>
> Gary AL9A
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