Roger, You are quite right there does seem to be a trend in DX4WIN's management and it doesn't look good if they don't start getting things in order again.
I have been a long time loyal DX4WIN user. I had stuck to ver 5.03 for a long time and while not saying it didn't have any bugs there were none that bothered me so I was happy. I seem to have found a few in ver 7.01 though. I will be watching for some fixes. Having said that, with all the stuff we expect to happen from logging programs controlling things I guess problems will occur. We also do need to have the right hardware and understand how to get the best out of it, or it may be a case that some of the troubles are our own doing. Some others might like to comment. I don't have any experience but does this CW PSK RTTY keying PTT com port snarl up shape up better when using an intermediary handler, something like micro keyer that uses a usb port and virtual com ports. I'm guessing some of the issues may be overcome with these. 73 John ZL1BYZ. -----Original Message----- From: Roger Borowski [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, 25 January 2006 1:29 p.m. To: dx4win@mailman.qth.net Cc: John Shaw Subject: Re: [Dx4win] PSK and PTT setup This is a "problem" that was added in Version 6 and caused me to return to Ver. 5.02. It still exists in Ver 7 and I've brought it to Paul's attention numerous times over the past 3-4 years and it seems to haven fallen on deaf ears. With the advent of the Control Tab in Preferences, you can EITHER use the CW keyboard / memories OR use PTT for PSK31, but not both unless you go into Preferences and change the Control Interface at the top for EITHER the COM port used for the CW Keyer OR the COM port for PSK31 PTT and ALSO you must choose in the DTR line setting whether you are using CW Keying OR PTT control. This makes it a royal PIA to switch between CW and PSK31, requiring one to go into Preferences with every mode change to alter the COM port and purpose for which mode you may be operating at the time. In Version 5, you could select the PTT COM port from the PSK31 window and the CW Keyboard, once set up for it's COM port, never needed to be addressed again. Why this was ever changed to an "Either / OR" situation in Ver. 6 still escapes me, but it was a move in the wrong direction for anyone who uses the CW Keyboard / Memories as well as also operates the PSK31 mode. If you go from CW mode to PSK31 and bring up the PSK31 window, get yourself set to make a QSO and find you have no PTT because you didn't go through the ritual of going into Preferences, then Control Tab, and making the two changes. After this, hopefully the station you desired to work is still there! Then a CW spot comes up and you are ready to hit the F Key on the CW Keyboard that sends your callsign, you find it does nothing and you must repeat the Preferences ritual. I got tired of that in short order and reported this enhancement BUG first a week after Ver. 6.01 became available, and about 4 times since. Maybe nobody else works both CW and PSK31 ??? I'm still using Ver. 5.02 as Ver. 5.03 had label printing bugs and Ver. 6 and later, although I paid the upgrade fee, turned out to be a big step backwards for me, and others who operate both CW and PSK31, like me. I've monitored the reflector and even downloaded Ver. 7 and found nothing has been done about this problem in the latest Version 7. Maintenance upgrades and bug fixes have been almost non-existent in any calendar year of late, while I and some others I know and who I originally turned on to DX4WIN have become disenchanted with DX4WIN and the lack of response to reported Bugs and show NO Present Bug exist in the present software! We've been using a different logging program that I've found to have added embellishments as well as being much more responsive to maintenance fixes. DX4WIN was the best in the 90's but other software vendors have seen the light and made vast improvements while DX4WIN seems to be running on it's past reputation. I was a dedicated DX4WIN user for a good number of years and I still monitor the reflector hoping to see change for the better, but not much has changed of late and I likely won't be doing it for much longer. I was quite comfortable with DX4WIN but not being able to use the latest LOTW enhancements and bug fixes with the operational aspects of Ver. 5.02, along with other unanswered problems creeping up on the reflector finally made me take a hard look at other options. Had I worked only CW, OR PSK31, OR neither, I would most likely have stuck with DX4WIN. There still seems to be quite a good following so maybe it's just the small group like myself that tired of poor and untimely response to software problems that we have reported and lived with much too long. Good Luck & 73, Rog-K9RB ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Shaw" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <dx4win@mailman.qth.net> Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2006 5:02 PM Subject: RE: [Dx4win] PSK and PTT setup Carl, Wouldn't be sure but check what you have set for CW keying/PTT control under the Control tab in the preferences, if you are using the same port for anything there it wont let you use it for PSK or RTTY even if you select it in there respective windows. So what I am saying is under Control select none and then select what you want to do in the PSK or RTTY windows themselves. Seems a little muddled I know but that is what works for me. Also note that if this is the problem and you change it so that the other modes can use that com port you need to go out of DX4WIN and start it up again to release control of the com port. Hope that helps. 73 John ZL1BYZ. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Cal Sent: Sunday, 22 January 2006 3:12 a.m. To: DX4WIN Group Subject: [Dx4win] PSK and PTT setup I am using DX4WIN 7.01 on a W98 machine. I cannot key the transmitter when using psk. I have no problem with the set up in Digipan (settings COM2 with both RTS and DTR checked as PTT). Works FB. BTW, radio control is via COM6 on both Digipan and DX4WIN which works FB. I have tried many combinations of COMs and DTR/RTS assignments in the CONTROL tab of the preference screen. The help screen describes only a 25 ping DB and I am using a 9 pin DB on my laptop. Radio control via COM6 uses DTR as High and RTS as High. Can anyone tell me what settings I need to make this thing work? Tnx Calvin N9KO _______________________________________________ Dx4win mailing list Dx4win@mailman.qth.net http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/dx4win _______________________________________________ Dx4win mailing list Dx4win@mailman.qth.net http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/dx4win
