[WriteLog] Belkin F5U409 Question.

[James M. Galm, W8WTS]

Thanks for the input, Mike.  It was VERY relevant!  

Based on Mike's suggestion, I disabled rig control (No Rig in all serial
port slots) and set the frequency and mode manually.  With that setup, the
Belkin F5U409 SENT SERIAL PORT DTR CW PERFECTLY, either from the Alt-k
dialog box or from the F key memories.  

That is a very important result, since it shows that of the two problems
that I originally described (no rig control and no DTR CW), the CW problem
is nothing but a direct consequence of the rig control problem.  Now that
serial port DTR CW is solved, I will try to focus on why rig control doesn't
work.  

I don't use a rig interface box, since Yaesu FT1kMP has a true RS-232 serial
port on the back.  There is a Maxim MAX232CWE chip on the control PCB in the
FT1kMP, so the signal levels on TxD and RxD are perfectly compatible with
PCB serial ports.  

Thanks again for the tip, Mike.  That's just the kind of information that
makes working with a large and knowledgeable user group successful.  

73, Jim, W8WTS.  

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike McCarthy, W1NR [mailto:lists at w1nr.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 8:28 AM
To: jim at w8wts.com
Cc: writelog at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [WriteLog] FW: Belkin F5U409 Question.

One thing that I have noticed is that WriteLog memories via the F keys are
dependent on the mode read from the rig.  If the mode is not CW, the Fx keys
don't work.  That is true for RTTY also.

What type of rig interface are you using?  I have found that W1GEE
interfaces don't work with USB cables that use the Prolific PL-2302 chips.
Must have something to do with deriving power from the serial port, but I
never did look real close at it.  A standard Kenwood IF-232 has no problem
with it.  These chips also don't do FSK RTTY properly.  I have found them
used in the RocketPort II and USBGear dongle cables.

I have a Silicon Labs CP2102 development board coming in a few days that,
from the data sheet, might be programmed to work properly.

You might be better off getting one of the USB rig interface boxes.  
They are more expensive, but at least they are designed to work with
WriteLog and the various rigs.

73 de Mike, W1NR

James M. Galm, W8WTS wrote:
> Here's a very interesting new result from tinkering with my Belkin 
> F5U409 USB/serial converter.
>  
> I posted earlier that it does not do rig control with my FT1KMP and it 
> does not send WriteLog generated DTR CW.  More testing showed that it 
> DOES send WriteLog generated DTR CW when sent from the Alt-k keyboard
window.
> Characters typed into the Alt-k keyboard window send correctly from 
> the Belkin F5U409 DTR signal.  Characters sent from the CW memories 
> never cause the Belkin F5U409 DTR to change state.
>  
> Perhaps this fact could help those with more detailed knowledge of how 
> WriteLog interfaces with its serial ports to understand why the Belkin 
> F5U409s fail to do rig control or send CW from the memories.
>  
> All insight is appreciated.  
>  
> 73,
>  
> Jim, W8WTS.  
>
>   _____
>
> From: GARY ELLIOT [mailto:k7ox at msn.com]
> Sent: Sunday, February 11, 2007 7:57 PM
> To: James M. Galm, W8WTS
> Subject: Re: [WriteLog] Belkin F5U409 Question.
>
>
> Jim,
>  
> Let me know if you get it to work...I have a F5U409 and could not get 
> it to talk for rig control to a Icom 756 PRO. Installs just fine and 
> the comm port shows up in Device Manager as COM 3 but the radio will not
talk to it.
> About ready to give it up and look for a PCI serial card.
>  
> Gary
>  
>  
>
>  
>
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>
>