[1000mp] MpFilters and Mpcw4Win Updates

Sun, 23 Dec 2001 12:00:21 -0500

I won't say that its impossible to multiplex a COM port among two separate
Windows applications, but it would certainly involve some serious low-level
programming. It would be easier to do this with a dedicated microprocessor
(a BasicStamp or an 8051) that performed the appropriate buffering and
routing externally. Each application would require a dedicated COM port, but
all would have direct access to the transceiver.

In DXLab I took a different approach. I created one application (Commander)
to provide transceiver control, but set it up to serve as a "transceiver
control server" for the other DXLab applications such as DXKeeper (logging
and QSL card/label generation), WinWarbler (soundcard PSK31 and RTTY), and
SpotCollector (realtime telnet/IRC DX spot collection and analysis). These
applications all interoperate by exchanging messages using a standard
Windows protocol known as DDE; thus, exactly one COM port can handle all
transceiver interactions (unless you're using FSK rather than AFSK for RTTY
transmission, in which case a second port is required for an FSK interface).

The most recent development release of Commander -- version 3.1.8 --
displays and provides direct control of MP1000 and MP1000 Mark V filters.
Over the next weeek, I'll be extending this to support user-defined Filter
Groups. You might create a Group named "DXing" that looks like this:

       2nd IF      3rd IF        Sub

SSB      1800        1800       2400
CW        250         250        500
RTTY      500         500        500

or a group named "RagChewing" that looks like this:

       2nd IF      3rd IF        Sub

SSB      2400        2400       2400
CW        500         500        500
RTTY      500         500        500

Switching between Filter Groups will be accomplished via a single pull-down
control.

All DXLab applications are free; they're available via www.qsl.net/dxlab .

    73,

       Dave, AA6YQ

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of Tom Rohlfing
Sent: Sunday, December 23, 2001 10:51 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [1000mp] MpFilters and Mpcw4Win Updates

Question for the group:

I see lots of cool computer programs that do good things with the MP --  rig
control programs, S-meter reading programs, memory control programs, etc.
etc.

But I never use any of them for one simple reason:  my logging program
(Logger) uses the radio's CAT control connector to get band, frequency, and
mode information from the radio.  I really like this feature, and so I
always leave the logging program active, and it therefore eats up the COM
port that the radio is connected to.  If I try to run some other program to
connect to the  radio, the first thing it does is ask for the COM port
number, and of course that fails because the radio's COM port (COM1) is
already busy, and can't be connected with.

So, is this just a fundamental limitation, or is there some way around it?
Do I really have to decide what ONE program I want to use to communicate
with my MP?  Or is there some clever way to have two programs actively
sharing communications with the MP?

I hope this question makes sense.  What we need is some program that
abritrates asynchronous communications from two separate programs and acts
as a traffic cop to pass traffic between the one radio and two separate COM
ports (for two different programs).  Any such beast out there?

73,
Tom / W7GT

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