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K2 and FLdigi

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Bob-19

K2 and FLdigi

I've recently setup my K2 for digital modes using HRD and DM780. After some
fiddling with audio levels, HRD/DM780 seems to work reliably with my K2. It
was subsequently suggested that I try the FLdigi set of software (FLdigi,
FLrig, FLmsg and FLwrap) instead since it includes additional features for
reliable communications that are being adopted for emergency communications
by some organizations. After setting up FLrig for my K2, FLdigi/FLrig at
first seems to work OK, but after a short period of time, the control of my
K2 becomes unstable, e.g., either not releasing from transmit mode or not
going into transmit mode; and the only way to clear the problem is to power
cycle my K2. I've now tried both HRD/DM780 and FLdigi/FLrig several times
and the HRD/DM780 has been consistently reliable and FLdigi/FLrig has been
consistently unstable. Does anyone know how to get FLdigi/FLrig to work
reliably with a K2?

Thanks and 73,

Bob W1SRB
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Mike Heitmann

Re: K2 and FLdigi

Bob,

I've used FLRig/FLDigi on Linux with my K2 for a while now and had no issues - I ran the ARRL RTTY Roundup that way this year. I don't know about the windows version, I'll give it a try this evening and see what happens.

73,
Mike, N0SO

--- On Tue, 2/22/11, Bob <[hidden email]> wrote:

> I've recently setup my K2 for digital
> modes using HRD and DM780. After some
> fiddling with audio levels, HRD/DM780 seems to work
> reliably with my K2. It
> was subsequently suggested that I try the FLdigi set of
> software (FLdigi,
> FLrig, FLmsg and FLwrap) instead since it includes
> additional features for
> reliable communications that are being adopted for
> emergency communications
> by some organizations. After setting up FLrig for my
> K2, FLdigi/FLrig at
> first seems to work OK, but after a short period of time,
> the control of my
> K2 becomes unstable, e.g., either not releasing from
> transmit mode or not
> going into transmit mode; and the only way to clear the
> problem is to power
> cycle my K2. I've now tried both HRD/DM780 and FLdigi/FLrig
> several times
> and the HRD/DM780 has been consistently reliable and
> FLdigi/FLrig has been
> consistently unstable. Does anyone know how to get
> FLdigi/FLrig to work
> reliably with a K2?
>
> Thanks and 73,
>
> Bob W1SRB
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>

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Julian, G4ILO

Re: K2 and FLdigi

In reply to this post by Bob-19

Are you using a USB to serial adapter? I had trouble with Fldigi and my K2 when using an adapter with the Prolific chip set. I enabled the diagnostics and some of the data from the radio was getting garbled. I tried an FTDI adapter and that worked. Don't ask me why some programs work and some don't. It's a mystery.

Julian, G4ILO

Bob-19 wrote

I've recently setup my K2 for digital modes using HRD and DM780. After some
fiddling with audio levels, HRD/DM780 seems to work reliably with my K2. It
was subsequently suggested that I try the FLdigi set of software (FLdigi,
FLrig, FLmsg and FLwrap) instead since it includes additional features for
reliable communications that are being adopted for emergency communications
by some organizations. After setting up FLrig for my K2, FLdigi/FLrig at
first seems to work OK, but after a short period of time, the control of my
K2 becomes unstable, e.g., either not releasing from transmit mode or not
going into transmit mode; and the only way to clear the problem is to power
cycle my K2. I've now tried both HRD/DM780 and FLdigi/FLrig several times
and the HRD/DM780 has been consistently reliable and FLdigi/FLrig has been
consistently unstable. Does anyone know how to get FLdigi/FLrig to work
reliably with a K2?

Julian, G4ILO. K2 #392 K3 #222 KX3 #110
* G4ILO's Shack - http://www.g4ilo.com
* KComm - http://www.g4ilo.com/kcomm.html
* KTune - http://www.g4ilo.com/ktune.html

Mike Heitmann

Re: K2 and FLdigi

In reply to this post by Bob-19

Hi Bob,

I ran my K2 all evening using Fldigi 3.21.3 / Flrig 1.0.1. About half the time I used a Dell XPS1530 (Intel Core 2 Duo CPU and lots of RAM, Windows 7 Pro). Then I switched to a Dell Mini 9 Netbook (Intel Atom CPU, Windows XP Pro). I use the netbook for portable/travel/demos.

Fldigi/Flrig never failed to control or key the rig and never locked up.

That said, Julian's suggestion to look at the USB<-->serial adapter is a good one, the one I was using tonight also uses the FTDI chip set.

You might also experiment with some clip-on ferrite RFI beads - I do have another USB adapter that I use with one of my Linux systems on a D-STAR radio. It works OK on in the shack with the antennas located far away from the adapter, but I had it "lock up" repeatedly one time when I was using it for a D-STAR demo using an HT with the whip antenna in close proximity to the netbook/usb adapter. When the HT transmitted the adapter stopped working until it was unplugged, then plugged back in to the netbook. It apparently is susceptible to the presence of an RF field, so I stopped using it for the demos.

Also, turn off any "extra" processes Windows may be launching at boot time like MS Office fast start, iTunes helper, etc.

Hope this information helps!
73,
Mike, N0SO

--- On Wed, 2/23/11, Bob <[hidden email]> wrote:

> From: Bob <[hidden email]>
> Subject: RE: [Elecraft] K2 and FLdigi
> To: "'Mike Heitmann'" <[hidden email]>
> Date: Wednesday, February 23, 2011, 12:24 AM
> Mike,
>
> Fldigi 3.20.34 and Flrig 1.0.1.
>
> Bob
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mike Heitmann [mailto:[hidden email]]
> Sent: Tuesday, February 22, 2011 4:25 PM
> To: Bob
> Subject: RE: [Elecraft] K2 and FLdigi
>
>
> Hi Bob,
>
> For reference, which versions of FLrig and FLdigi?
>
> Mike
>
> --- On Tue, 2/22/11, Bob <[hidden email]>
> wrote:
>
> > From: Bob <[hidden email]>
> > Subject: RE: [Elecraft] K2 and FLdigi
> > To: "'Mike Heitmann'" <[hidden email]>
> > Date: Tuesday, February 22, 2011, 6:42 PM
> > Thanks Mike - I'm running it on a
> > netbook computer under Windows 7.
> >
> > 73,
> >
> > Bob W1SRB
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Mike Heitmann [mailto:[hidden email]]
> > Sent: Tuesday, February 22, 2011 12:44 PM
> > To: [hidden email];
> > Bob
> > Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K2 and FLdigi
> >
> >
> > Bob,
> >
> > I've used FLRig/FLDigi on Linux with my K2 for a while
> now and had no
> > issues
> > - I ran the ARRL RTTY Roundup that way this year. I
> don't know about
> > the windows version, I'll give it a try this evening
> and see
> > what happens.
> >
> > 73,
> > Mike, N0SO
> >
> >
> > --- On Tue, 2/22/11, Bob <[hidden email]>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > I've recently setup my K2 for digital
> > > modes using HRD and DM780. After some
> > > fiddling with audio levels, HRD/DM780 seems to
> work reliably with
> > > my K2. It was subsequently suggested that I try
> the FLdigi set
> > of software
> > > (FLdigi, FLrig, FLmsg and FLwrap) instead since
> it
> > includes
> > > additional features for
> > > reliable communications that are being adopted
> for emergency
> > > communications by some organizations. After
> setting up FLrig for
> > my
> > > K2, FLdigi/FLrig at
> > > first seems to work OK, but after a short period
> of
> > time,
> > > the control of my
> > > K2 becomes unstable, e.g., either not releasing
> from transmit mode
> > > or not going into transmit mode; and the only way
> to clear
> > the
> > > problem is to power
> > > cycle my K2. I've now tried both HRD/DM780 and
> > FLdigi/FLrig
> > > several times
> > > and the HRD/DM780 has been consistently reliable
> and FLdigi/FLrig
> > > has been consistently unstable. Does anyone know
> how to get
> > > FLdigi/FLrig to work
> > > reliably with a K2?
> > >
> > > Thanks and 73,
> > >
> > > Bob W1SRB
> > >

Bob-19

Re: K2 and FLdigi

Mike and Julian,

Thank you both for your information and suggestions - that gives me
some things to look at.

The USB to serial adapter that I'm using is made by Belkin, but I
have no idea what chip set is used. However, I'll try some clip on ferrite
beads, as well as trying PSK at QRP levels - that might tell me if RF is
affecting the USB to serial adapter.

I'm using a Toshiba netbook computer, which, needless to say,
doesn't have a lot of processing power, so I've already turned off many of
the extra processes and that hasn't affected things - and if it were a CPU
resource problem, I suspect that it would be more likely to occur with
HRD/DM780 since that's much more of a resource hog than Fldigi.

Thanks again and 73,

Bob W1SRB

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Heitmann [mailto:[hidden email]]
Sent: Tuesday, February 22, 2011 11:43 PM
To: Bob
Cc: [hidden email]; G4ILOJulian
Subject: RE: [Elecraft] K2 and FLdigi

Hi Bob,

I ran my K2 all evening using Fldigi 3.21.3 / Flrig 1.0.1. About half the
time I used a Dell XPS1530 (Intel Core 2 Duo CPU and lots of RAM, Windows 7
Pro). Then I switched to a Dell Mini 9 Netbook (Intel Atom CPU, Windows XP
Pro). I use the netbook for portable/travel/demos.

Fldigi/Flrig never failed to control or key the rig and never locked up.

That said, Julian's suggestion to look at the USB<-->serial adapter is a
good one, the one I was using tonight also uses the FTDI chip set.

You might also experiment with some clip-on ferrite RFI beads - I do have
another USB adapter that I use with one of my Linux systems on a D-STAR
radio. It works OK on in the shack with the antennas located far away from
the adapter, but I had it "lock up" repeatedly one time when I was using it
for a D-STAR demo using an HT with the whip antenna in close proximity to
the netbook/usb adapter. When the HT transmitted the adapter stopped working
until it was unplugged, then plugged back in to the netbook. It apparently
is susceptible to the presence of an RF field, so I stopped using it for the
demos.

Also, turn off any "extra" processes Windows may be launching at boot time
like MS Office fast start, iTunes helper, etc.

Hope this information helps!
73,
Mike, N0SO

--- On Wed, 2/23/11, Bob <[hidden email]> wrote:

Don Wilhelm-4

Re: K2 and FLdigi

Bob,

It may be that your USB to serial adapter does not like the slower data
rate of the K2. I have an adapter with the prolific chipset, and it
works fine with the K3, but is quite intermittent with the K2. On the
K2 it will connect with HRD/DM780, but balks at running for more than a
few minutes, however with the K3, communications is reliable.

This adapter is strictly an emergency device for me, I have plenty of
serial ports on the computers I normally use, so I have not tried to
upgrade to an FTDI chipset adapter - I only paid $4.99 for the adapter,
so no big loss.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 2/24/2011 1:45 PM, Bob wrote:

> Mike and Julian,
>
> Thank you both for your information and suggestions - that gives me
> some things to look at.
>
> The USB to serial adapter that I'm using is made by Belkin, but I
> have no idea what chip set is used. However, I'll try some clip on ferrite
> beads, as well as trying PSK at QRP levels - that might tell me if RF is
> affecting the USB to serial adapter.
>
> I'm using a Toshiba netbook computer, which, needless to say,
> doesn't have a lot of processing power, so I've already turned off many of
> the extra processes and that hasn't affected things - and if it were a CPU
> resource problem, I suspect that it would be more likely to occur with
> HRD/DM780 since that's much more of a resource hog than Fldigi.
>
> Thanks again and 73,
>
> Bob W1SRB
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mike Heitmann [mailto:[hidden email]]
> Sent: Tuesday, February 22, 2011 11:43 PM
> To: Bob
> Cc: [hidden email]; G4ILOJulian
> Subject: RE: [Elecraft] K2 and FLdigi
>
>
> Hi Bob,
>
> I ran my K2 all evening using Fldigi 3.21.3 / Flrig 1.0.1. About half the
> time I used a Dell XPS1530 (Intel Core 2 Duo CPU and lots of RAM, Windows 7
> Pro). Then I switched to a Dell Mini 9 Netbook (Intel Atom CPU, Windows XP
> Pro). I use the netbook for portable/travel/demos.
>
> Fldigi/Flrig never failed to control or key the rig and never locked up.
>
> That said, Julian's suggestion to look at the USB<-->serial adapter is a
> good one, the one I was using tonight also uses the FTDI chip set.
>
> You might also experiment with some clip-on ferrite RFI beads - I do have
> another USB adapter that I use with one of my Linux systems on a D-STAR
> radio. It works OK on in the shack with the antennas located far away from
> the adapter, but I had it "lock up" repeatedly one time when I was using it
> for a D-STAR demo using an HT with the whip antenna in close proximity to
> the netbook/usb adapter. When the HT transmitted the adapter stopped working
> until it was unplugged, then plugged back in to the netbook. It apparently
> is susceptible to the presence of an RF field, so I stopped using it for the
> demos.
>
> Also, turn off any "extra" processes Windows may be launching at boot time
> like MS Office fast start, iTunes helper, etc.
>
> Hope this information helps!
> 73,
> Mike, N0SO
>
> --- On Wed, 2/23/11, Bob<[hidden email]> wrote:
>
>> From: Bob<[hidden email]>
>> Subject: RE: [Elecraft] K2 and FLdigi
>> To: "'Mike Heitmann'"<[hidden email]>
>> Date: Wednesday, February 23, 2011, 12:24 AM
>> Mike,
>>
>> Fldigi 3.20.34 and Flrig 1.0.1.
>>
>> Bob
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Mike Heitmann [mailto:[hidden email]]
>> Sent: Tuesday, February 22, 2011 4:25 PM
>> To: Bob
>> Subject: RE: [Elecraft] K2 and FLdigi
>>
>>
>> Hi Bob,
>>
>> For reference, which versions of FLrig and FLdigi?
>>
>> Mike
>>
>> --- On Tue, 2/22/11, Bob<[hidden email]>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> From: Bob<[hidden email]>
>>> Subject: RE: [Elecraft] K2 and FLdigi
>>> To: "'Mike Heitmann'"<[hidden email]>
>>> Date: Tuesday, February 22, 2011, 6:42 PM
>>> Thanks Mike - I'm running it on a
>>> netbook computer under Windows 7.
>>>
>>> 73,
>>>
>>> Bob W1SRB
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Mike Heitmann [mailto:[hidden email]]
>>> Sent: Tuesday, February 22, 2011 12:44 PM
>>> To: [hidden email];
>>> Bob
>>> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K2 and FLdigi
>>>
>>>
>>> Bob,
>>>
>>> I've used FLRig/FLDigi on Linux with my K2 for a while
>> now and had no
>>> issues
>>> - I ran the ARRL RTTY Roundup that way this year. I
>> don't know about
>>> the windows version, I'll give it a try this evening
>> and see
>>> what happens.
>>>
>>> 73,
>>> Mike, N0SO
>>>
>>>
>>> --- On Tue, 2/22/11, Bob<[hidden email]>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I've recently setup my K2 for digital
>>>> modes using HRD and DM780. After some
>>>> fiddling with audio levels, HRD/DM780 seems to
>> work reliably with
>>>> my K2. It was subsequently suggested that I try
>> the FLdigi set
>>> of software
>>>> (FLdigi, FLrig, FLmsg and FLwrap) instead since
>> it
>>> includes
>>>> additional features for
>>>> reliable communications that are being adopted
>> for emergency
>>>> communications by some organizations. After
>> setting up FLrig for
>>> my
>>>> K2, FLdigi/FLrig at
>>>> first seems to work OK, but after a short period
>> of
>>> time,
>>>> the control of my
>>>> K2 becomes unstable, e.g., either not releasing
>> from transmit mode
>>>> or not going into transmit mode; and the only way
>> to clear
>>> the
>>>> problem is to power
>>>> cycle my K2. I've now tried both HRD/DM780 and
>>> FLdigi/FLrig
>>>> several times
>>>> and the HRD/DM780 has been consistently reliable
>> and FLdigi/FLrig
>>>> has been consistently unstable. Does anyone know
>> how to get
>>>> FLdigi/FLrig to work
>>>> reliably with a K2?
>>>>
>>>> Thanks and 73,
>>>>
>>>> Bob W1SRB
>>>>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>