[WriteLog] Using a USB-to-serial adapter for Kenwood radio control

[Don Hill AA5AU]

Thanks to everyone who responded directly. It was Steve, KW3A, who provided
the clue to getting both the UNITEK and TrippLite USB-to-serial adapters
working with the TS-870 and WriteLog. He suggested I try the other Kenwood
options in the WriteLog Port setup screen > Rig Type pull-down menu. Those
options are Kenwood TS-2000, Kenwood TS-590, and Kenwood TS-850.

First thing I had to do was edit the INI settings and change the stop bit
from 2 to 1 for the COM port in the [RIG] section like this:

Com4:=9600,n,8,1

With the USB-to-serial adapter plugged in (either UNITEK or TrippLite) I
then selected either Kenwood TS-2000 or Kenwood TS-850 in the Rig Type
pull-down menu in WriteLog's Port setup screen (Kenwood TS-590 doesn't work
well) with the appropriate COM port number and I was then able to fully
control the TS-870.

I'm still a little skeptical because it all stopped working for a while.
Windows has a tendency to assign whatever COM port it feels like when these
devices are unplugged and replugged into the USB ports. Sometimes if you
plug a device into a different USB port, Windows will assign a different COM
port number to it than what it previously assigned. There is a way to clear
out old unwanted hidden serial port assignments in Windows. I wrote a
procedure on how to do that with XP many years ago and I just found out
recently you can do it the same way for Windows 10 (and Windows 7). So I
cleared out all the ones I'm no longer using.

https://www.rttycontesting.com/tutorials/removing-hidden-com-ports/

Also, I ended up clearing out all old entries in the [RIGS] section of
WriteLog INI file by manually deleting them.

I have been shutting WL down and restarting and also restarting the PC
(doesn't take any time at all with an SSD!) and so far it still works. I've
settled on the TrippLite because it has a shorter cord and the Kenwood
TS-850 setting in WL (the TS-850 sure was a damn good RTTY radio too).

This will all be moot when I eventually install a Syba SD-PEX15011 4-port
serial card in the PCI Express x1 slot in the future. I have one of these
cards installed in the main shack PC that has been working for many years so
I'm hoping the same card will work in the other PC. I may first take that
card out of the main PC and try to install it in the other PC to make sure
it does work, but AFTER the contest. HI

Again, thanks for all the replies. We learned something new today.

73, Don AA5AU

-----Original Message-----
From: WriteLog [mailto:writelog-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Don
Hill AA5AU
Sent: Wednesday, February 5, 2020 5:57 PM
To: writelog at contesting.com
Subject: [WriteLog] Using a USB-to-serial adapter for Kenwood radio control

I have set up a clean Windows 10 install on a PC for my Kenwood TS-870.
Since I don't have any legacy COM ports on this machine yet, I ran the XE
RTTY contest with WL using a Mortty for FSK/PTT and a Cool Gear
USB-to-serial converter for radio control of the '870. This combination
worked great and I couldn't be more happier with it.

However, the Cool Gear converter doesn't belong to me and even though I can
use it any time I want, I would prefer to use one of two that I do own. The
ones I own are a UNITEK that has a genuine Prolific chip in it and the other
one is a TrippLite U209-000-R.

Neither the UNITEK or the TrippLite works with WriteLog to control the
TS-870. I don't think it's a driver problem because both installed fine and
both can communicate with other devices using Procomm. They just don't want
to talk to the Kenwood.

What happens when I try to use them with WL is that the little button in the
Entry Window that usually displays the frequency will read something like
"kHz LSB" or "kHz FSK". On startup, I was able to type a frequency in the
Entry Window and the radio actually did change to that frequency but then it
wouldn't do it again. This happens on both converters. Neither reads the
frequency. The display changes when I start WriteLog and CTRL shows on the
radio front panel suggesting there is control, but the frequency is not
showing.

I have tried changing some of the port settings but nothing seems to be
working.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Don AA5AU


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