Frank Haas KB4T
Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:58:36 -0800
A Breakthrough at last!!! After correcting my error in setting the PA BIAS, I found that the "No Power Output" problem persisted. I would get into a QSO and within one or two transmissions (after listening for a short period) I would key the F5K and no watts. I could hear my voice in the MON with my headphones but no watts.
I had exhausted all hardware-related troubleshooting possibilities. The problem was NOT an RF intrusion problem (the problem occurs after LISTENING for a while. The only other option was software. When I first started troubleshooting this problem, I figured that since everything had been running fine for nearly 3 months, the problem couldn't possibly be software. I was wrong. Since I first started using the Flex 5000a I have successfully run several other programs simultaneously including Ham Radio Deluxe (HRD), Firefox, an email client and a variety of TSRs (Terminate but Stay Resident programs that hang in memory.) This setup had worked quite well until just recently. Something must have changed. I found that my "no watts out" problem would occur if I clicked out of PSDR to HRD or Firefox or my email client. I could easily repeat this. Aha!!! I thought...finally...a pattern! More experimentation revealed that I could bring the watts back by quickly switching between Firefox and PSDR. Again a repeatable pattern. I concluded that some recent update to Firefox or Windows (the only programs that update automatically) must have pushed the computer up against some sort of memory resource wall. PSDR was running out of memory resources. Switching between running applications apparently shuffles things around enough to give back to PSDR what it needs to work properly again. I uninstalled a few system tray items that I rarely use. I used MSCONFIG (Startup Tab) to make sure nothing was loading during startup that hung in memory without a good reason. After removing only a few programs and rebooting, I engaged in a few QSOs and never had the "no watts out" problem at all. Finally!! A Breakthrough. My CPU is a Pentium Dual Core running 2.4 GHZ with (only) 2 GB of RAM. Even though my CPU usage was fairly low most of the time (averaging 20%) it seems that PowerSDR was running out of memory resources creating the "odd no watts out" problem. Despite nearly 3 months without such a problem, the automatic update process or something else allowed precious resources to be whittled away creating an issue for PSDR. I have ordered a 2 GB RAM upgrade for my motherboard. Hopefully with 4 GB total RAM and fewer memory resident programs that weren't needed anyway, the no watts out (and any other odd behaviors) will not return for a long time. Good luck! 73, Frank N. Haas KB4T Florida _______________________________________________ FlexRadio Systems Mailing List FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ Knowledge Base: http://kc.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/