Elecraft

LP Bridge crashes with K3

Classic

List

Threaded

16 messages Options

Kidder, George

LP Bridge crashes with K3

OK, gang! I've tried everything I can think of, and am now looking for
some additional thoughts.

Equipment: K3 (unmodified) with firmware 5.53, computer (2.99 GHz dual
core, 4 GB memory) running Win 7, LP-Bridge (LPB) set for 200 mS delay.
The computer is not connected to the internet, and all programs are
brought in from another computer using a flash drive.

Problem: At random but long intervals (hours) LP-Bridge crashes,
displaying error 13 (type mismatch). Clearing this window causes
program to close. This behavior is seen with no external programs
connected to LPB, and with LPB set to any polling rate from 200 mS
(default) to as much as 1000 mS. It is seen when LPB2 is used and the
baud rate is reduced to 4800. When the crash occurs, the error seems to
be in a response from the K3 - for instance, the "Rig Received Text"
window shows "IS 0|00;" while it should show "IS 0600;". In this case
the K3 was set to CW mode. In LSB mode, the same window shows "CW 6+;"
where I presume it should have been "CW 60;". This damaged text shows
up in all windows (Rig received, K3 Com port, Power SCR-IF Aux CAT port,
etc.)

Attempted resolution includes reloading the K3 firmware and reloading
LPB from the website after clearing out all remnants of the old
program. Nothing helps - LPB still crashes when allowed to run for
several hours. Other programs not affected. Computer is on a UPS, so
momentary power outage would not be a cause (even if there should be one
every night!)

Clearly, there is a communication failure between the K3 and LPB, since
it occurs with nothing else connected. Is the problem with the K3, LBP
or the Win 7 operating system which sits between them? And what more
can I try to fix it?

Your thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

George, W3HBM

______________________________________________________________
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
Message delivered to [hidden email]

Don Wilhelm

Re: LP Bridge crashes with K3

George,

I think you have an LPB problem rather than a K3 problem.

With LP-Bridge (Not LPB2), you should be able to use a rate of 38400
between LPB and the K3. As the baud rate goes down, the polling rate
must be increased.

Since you have the K3, you should be using LP-Bridge instead of LPB2.

You will find excellent support for LP-Bridge on the LP-Pan reflector,
or contact Larry directly. He is quite responsive to problems.
There is excellent setup information for LP-Bridge at www.telepostinc.com.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 12/3/2016 9:33 AM, George Kidder wrote:

> OK, gang! I've tried everything I can think of, and am now looking for
> some additional thoughts.
>
> Equipment: K3 (unmodified) with firmware 5.53, computer (2.99 GHz dual
> core, 4 GB memory) running Win 7, LP-Bridge (LPB) set for 200 mS delay.
> The computer is not connected to the internet, and all programs are
> brought in from another computer using a flash drive.
>
> Problem: At random but long intervals (hours) LP-Bridge crashes,
> displaying error 13 (type mismatch). Clearing this window causes
> program to close. This behavior is seen with no external programs
> connected to LPB, and with LPB set to any polling rate from 200 mS
> (default) to as much as 1000 mS. It is seen when LPB2 is used and the
> baud rate is reduced to 4800. When the crash occurs, the error seems to
> be in a response from the K3 -

Vic Rosenthal

Re: LP Bridge crashes with K3

In reply to this post by Kidder, George

Are you transmitting when this happens?

Vic 4X6GP

> On 3 Dec 2016, at 16:33, George Kidder <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> OK, gang! I've tried everything I can think of, and am now looking for some additional thoughts.
>
> Equipment: K3 (unmodified) with firmware 5.53, computer (2.99 GHz dual core, 4 GB memory) running Win 7, LP-Bridge (LPB) set for 200 mS delay. The computer is not connected to the internet, and all programs are brought in from another computer using a flash drive.
>
> Problem: At random but long intervals (hours) LP-Bridge crashes, displaying error 13 (type mismatch). Clearing this window causes program to close. This behavior is seen with no external programs connected to LPB, and with LPB set to any polling rate from 200 mS (default) to as much as 1000 mS. It is seen when LPB2 is used and the baud rate is reduced to 4800. When the crash occurs, the error seems to be in a response from the K3 - for instance, the "Rig Received Text" window shows "IS 0|00;" while it should show "IS 0600;". In this case the K3 was set to CW mode. In LSB mode, the same window shows "CW 6+;" where I presume it should have been "CW 60;". This damaged text shows up in all windows (Rig received, K3 Com port, Power SCR-IF Aux CAT port, etc.)
>
> Attempted resolution includes reloading the K3 firmware and reloading LPB from the website after clearing out all remnants of the old program. Nothing helps - LPB still crashes when allowed to run for several hours. Other programs not affected. Computer is on a UPS, so momentary power outage would not be a cause (even if there should be one every night!)
>
> Clearly, there is a communication failure between the K3 and LPB, since it occurs with nothing else connected. Is the problem with the K3, LBP or the Win 7 operating system which sits between them? And what more can I try to fix it?
>
> Your thoughts will be greatly appreciated.
>
> George, W3HBM
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> 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
> Message delivered to [hidden email]

Kidder, George

Re: LP Bridge crashes with K3

In reply to this post by Kidder, George

Hi all,

Lots of good thoughts there. I should have mentioned a number of
things: The connection is via a RS-232 cable, not by USB converter.
There is only one "real" com port on this computer (COM 1) so I cannot
check this by substitution unless I were to use a USB to RS-232
converter. The failure occurs with no RF output, and with any mode I
have tried. The LPB version is 1.1.0; I only tried LPB2 as a way of
using a slower baud rate, since LPB is fixed at 38K. LPB2 crashes as
well! Re-starting LPB does not re-establish connections if other
programs are used on the virtual ports; killing these other programs
does restore connections. I have not carefully investigated a total
power cycle.

As I noted before, the failure occurs without any other programs
connected to the virtual COM ports, and indeed even when these COM ports
have not been created.

Wiping the computer and reloading the OS seems a rather drastic cure for
a small ill, especially when there is no guarantee that it will work. I
do have another computer running XP, and have used LPB on it in the
past. It's problem is that it is slow enough that when all the programs
I want to run are on it, there are precious few CPU cycles left. This
was why I got the Win 7 machine!

VA2FSQ's solution is possibly one way out. I will have to consider it
and other similar options.

Thanks for all the good and very prompt feedback. BTW, in the time
between my sending my first question and the present, the computer was
left running with LPB on it alone, and it crashed, reading IS Q500!

George, W3HBM

On 12/3/2016 11:47 AM, Mike Flowers wrote:

> Hi George,
>
> Just some thoughts:
>
> - how is your K3 attached to the PC? A real RS-232 COM port or a USB/Serial converter?
>
> - if by an RS-232 COM port, could you try a different one?
>
> - if by a USB/Serial converter, what kind? Can you try another one?
>
> - Are you transmitting at all between failures? If so, RFI may be playing a role. Try just leaving the rig on but no TX.
>
> - if you have a dummy load, try TX into it if the above test indicates RF may be the issue.
>
> - How close are your antennas? Are the rotatable?
>
> - How are the rig, PC, coax shields, etc. bonded in a 'ground' system? RF can induce voltage on cables if various units are not at a common 'ground'.
>
> - Do you have really good quality cable connecting your rig and PC?
>
> - Have you tried any ferrites on the cables?
>
> Just some thoughts.
>
> -- Mike Flowers, K6MKF, NCDXC - "It's about DX!"
>
>> On Dec 3, 2016, at 6:33 AM, George Kidder <[hidden email]> wrote:
>>
>> OK, gang! I've tried everything I can think of, and am now looking for some additional thoughts.
>>
>> Equipment: K3 (unmodified) with firmware 5.53, computer (2.99 GHz dual core, 4 GB memory) running Win 7, LP-Bridge (LPB) set for 200 mS delay. The computer is not connected to the internet, and all programs are brought in from another computer using a flash drive.
>>
>> Problem: At random but long intervals (hours) LP-Bridge crashes, displaying error 13 (type mismatch). Clearing this window causes program to close. This behavior is seen with no external programs connected to LPB, and with LPB set to any polling rate from 200 mS (default) to as much as 1000 mS. It is seen when LPB2 is used and the baud rate is reduced to 4800. When the crash occurs, the error seems to be in a response from the K3 - for instance, the "Rig Received Text" window shows "IS 0|00;" while it should show "IS 0600;". In this case the K3 was set to CW mode. In LSB mode, the same window shows "CW 6+;" where I presume it should have been "CW 60;". This damaged text shows up in all windows (Rig received, K3 Com port, Power SCR-IF Aux CAT port, etc.)
>>
>> Attempted resolution includes reloading the K3 firmware and reloading LPB from the website after clearing out all remnants of the old program. Nothing helps - LPB still crashes when allowed to run for several hours. Other programs not affected. Computer is on a UPS, so momentary power outage would not be a cause (even if there should be one every night!)
>>
>> Clearly, there is a communication failure between the K3 and LPB, since it occurs with nothing else connected. Is the problem with the K3, LBP or the Win 7 operating system which sits between them? And what more can I try to fix it?
>>
>> Your thoughts will be greatly appreciated.
>>
>> George, W3HBM
>>
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> 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
>> Message delivered to [hidden email]

tomb18

Re: LP Bridge crashes with K3

In reply to this post by Kidder, George

Hi,
Three and a half years ago I ran into much the same as you had with
LPBridge. I was trying to get a small utility running using LPB and ran
into many issues the most important for me was that it does not pass all
serial port commands to the K3. Only a subset.
So I decided to write a small program that allowed me to do what I wanted
without LPBridge. One thing led to another and Win4K3 was born.
To be fair I am not sure that instability in LPB is really due to it's code
or the underlying virtual serial port technology it uses. It uses Eltima
serial port drivers and even products from Eltima such as their serial port
monitor will crash on their own if left running long enough. Even then, the
MicroHam uses Eltima drivers and they have no issues I believe.
However, LPB does not pass all K3 commands and this will cause issues.
73 Tom
va2fsq.com

-----Original Message-----
From: George Kidder
Sent: Saturday, December 3, 2016 1:05 PM
To: Mike Flowers ; 'Elecraft Reflector'
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] LP Bridge crashes with K3

Hi all,

Lots of good thoughts there. I should have mentioned a number of
things: The connection is via a RS-232 cable, not by USB converter.
There is only one "real" com port on this computer (COM 1) so I cannot
check this by substitution unless I were to use a USB to RS-232
converter. The failure occurs with no RF output, and with any mode I
have tried. The LPB version is 1.1.0; I only tried LPB2 as a way of
using a slower baud rate, since LPB is fixed at 38K. LPB2 crashes as
well! Re-starting LPB does not re-establish connections if other
programs are used on the virtual ports; killing these other programs
does restore connections. I have not carefully investigated a total
power cycle.

As I noted before, the failure occurs without any other programs
connected to the virtual COM ports, and indeed even when these COM ports
have not been created.

Wiping the computer and reloading the OS seems a rather drastic cure for
a small ill, especially when there is no guarantee that it will work. I
do have another computer running XP, and have used LPB on it in the
past. It's problem is that it is slow enough that when all the programs
I want to run are on it, there are precious few CPU cycles left. This
was why I got the Win 7 machine!

VA2FSQ's solution is possibly one way out. I will have to consider it
and other similar options.

Thanks for all the good and very prompt feedback. BTW, in the time
between my sending my first question and the present, the computer was
left running with LPB on it alone, and it crashed, reading IS Q500!

George, W3HBM

On 12/3/2016 11:47 AM, Mike Flowers wrote:

> Hi George,
>
> Just some thoughts:
>
> - how is your K3 attached to the PC? A real RS-232 COM port or a
> USB/Serial converter?
>
> - if by an RS-232 COM port, could you try a different one?
>
> - if by a USB/Serial converter, what kind? Can you try another one?
>
> - Are you transmitting at all between failures? If so, RFI may be playing
> a role. Try just leaving the rig on but no TX.
>
> - if you have a dummy load, try TX into it if the above test indicates RF
> may be the issue.
>
> - How close are your antennas? Are the rotatable?
>
> - How are the rig, PC, coax shields, etc. bonded in a 'ground' system?
> RF can induce voltage on cables if various units are not at a common
> 'ground'.
>
> - Do you have really good quality cable connecting your rig and PC?
>
> - Have you tried any ferrites on the cables?
>
> Just some thoughts.
>
> -- Mike Flowers, K6MKF, NCDXC - "It's about DX!"
>
>> On Dec 3, 2016, at 6:33 AM, George Kidder <[hidden email]> wrote:
>>
>> OK, gang! I've tried everything I can think of, and am now looking for
>> some additional thoughts.
>>
>> Equipment: K3 (unmodified) with firmware 5.53, computer (2.99 GHz dual
>> core, 4 GB memory) running Win 7, LP-Bridge (LPB) set for 200 mS delay.
>> The computer is not connected to the internet, and all programs are
>> brought in from another computer using a flash drive.
>>
>> Problem: At random but long intervals (hours) LP-Bridge crashes,
>> displaying error 13 (type mismatch). Clearing this window causes program
>> to close. This behavior is seen with no external programs connected to
>> LPB, and with LPB set to any polling rate from 200 mS (default) to as
>> much as 1000 mS. It is seen when LPB2 is used and the baud rate is
>> reduced to 4800. When the crash occurs, the error seems to be in a
>> response from the K3 - for instance, the "Rig Received Text" window shows
>> "IS 0|00;" while it should show "IS 0600;". In this case the K3 was set
>> to CW mode. In LSB mode, the same window shows "CW 6+;" where I presume
>> it should have been "CW 60;". This damaged text shows up in all windows
>> (Rig received, K3 Com port, Power SCR-IF Aux CAT port, etc.)
>>
>> Attempted resolution includes reloading the K3 firmware and reloading LPB
>> from the website after clearing out all remnants of the old program.
>> Nothing helps - LPB still crashes when allowed to run for several hours.
>> Other programs not affected. Computer is on a UPS, so momentary power
>> outage would not be a cause (even if there should be one every night!)
>>
>> Clearly, there is a communication failure between the K3 and LPB, since
>> it occurs with nothing else connected. Is the problem with the K3, LBP
>> or the Win 7 operating system which sits between them? And what more can
>> I try to fix it?
>>
>> Your thoughts will be greatly appreciated.
>>
>> George, W3HBM
>>
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> 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
>> Message delivered to [hidden email]

briancom

Re: LP Bridge crashes with K3

In reply to this post by Kidder, George

George,

To follow up our personal email.

1) I'm using WIN7 on a quad core 2.8 GHz 32 bit machine. Using a real
serial port to the K3.

What PC are you using?

2) The ERROR 13 failure I experienced several times recently was after
pressing the ATU tune button on a K3. It was 100% reproducible. That
was a month or two ago. Now it doesn't. Go figure that.

3) I previously used a dual core 2.6 GHz XP machine. It would
experience some random error 13 failures. I could see no rhyme nor
reason to them. The frequency of those errors may have been higher.

I assume you had WINDOWs erase LBPRIDGE and the virtual port programs
and then re-installed them. There was a recent update in the virtual
serial port creation program but that may have been addressing WIN10.

Have you done a virus scan? The presence of a virus could slow up your
PC to the point that the timing issues show up.

If I had to hazard a guess, it would be a timing issue trashing the
LPBRIDGE/K3 interface. I know that doesn't help you.

Is there some other program/s you can run on your one serial port to
confirm it's OK?

What you are experiencing is not normal! Have you tried contacting the
LPBRIDGE author? He has a wealth of experience and is quite helpful.

73 de Brian/K3KO

On 12/3/2016 18:05 PM, George Kidder wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> Lots of good thoughts there. I should have mentioned a number of
> things: The connection is via a RS-232 cable, not by USB converter.
> There is only one "real" com port on this computer (COM 1) so I cannot
> check this by substitution unless I were to use a USB to RS-232
> converter. The failure occurs with no RF output, and with any mode I
> have tried. The LPB version is 1.1.0; I only tried LPB2 as a way of
> using a slower baud rate, since LPB is fixed at 38K. LPB2 crashes as
> well! Re-starting LPB does not re-establish connections if other
> programs are used on the virtual ports; killing these other programs
> does restore connections. I have not carefully investigated a total
> power cycle.
>
> As I noted before, the failure occurs without any other programs
> connected to the virtual COM ports, and indeed even when these COM ports
> have not been created.
>
> Wiping the computer and reloading the OS seems a rather drastic cure for
> a small ill, especially when there is no guarantee that it will work. I
> do have another computer running XP, and have used LPB on it in the
> past. It's problem is that it is slow enough that when all the programs
> I want to run are on it, there are precious few CPU cycles left. This
> was why I got the Win 7 machine!
>
> VA2FSQ's solution is possibly one way out. I will have to consider it
> and other similar options.
>
> Thanks for all the good and very prompt feedback. BTW, in the time
> between my sending my first question and the present, the computer was
> left running with LPB on it alone, and it crashed, reading IS Q500!
>
> George, W3HBM
>
>
> On 12/3/2016 11:47 AM, Mike Flowers wrote:
>> Hi George,
>>
>> Just some thoughts:
>>
>> - how is your K3 attached to the PC? A real RS-232 COM port or a
>> USB/Serial converter?
>>
>> - if by an RS-232 COM port, could you try a different one?
>>
>> - if by a USB/Serial converter, what kind? Can you try another one?
>>
>> - Are you transmitting at all between failures? If so, RFI may be
>> playing a role. Try just leaving the rig on but no TX.
>>
>> - if you have a dummy load, try TX into it if the above test indicates
>> RF may be the issue.
>>
>> - How close are your antennas? Are the rotatable?
>>
>> - How are the rig, PC, coax shields, etc. bonded in a 'ground'
>> system? RF can induce voltage on cables if various units are not at
>> a common 'ground'.
>>
>> - Do you have really good quality cable connecting your rig and PC?
>>
>> - Have you tried any ferrites on the cables?
>>
>> Just some thoughts.
>>
>> -- Mike Flowers, K6MKF, NCDXC - "It's about DX!"
>>
>>> On Dec 3, 2016, at 6:33 AM, George Kidder <[hidden email]> wrote:
>>>
>>> OK, gang! I've tried everything I can think of, and am now looking
>>> for some additional thoughts.
>>>
>>> Equipment: K3 (unmodified) with firmware 5.53, computer (2.99 GHz
>>> dual core, 4 GB memory) running Win 7, LP-Bridge (LPB) set for 200 mS
>>> delay. The computer is not connected to the internet, and all
>>> programs are brought in from another computer using a flash drive.
>>>
>>> Problem: At random but long intervals (hours) LP-Bridge crashes,
>>> displaying error 13 (type mismatch). Clearing this window causes
>>> program to close. This behavior is seen with no external programs
>>> connected to LPB, and with LPB set to any polling rate from 200 mS
>>> (default) to as much as 1000 mS. It is seen when LPB2 is used and
>>> the baud rate is reduced to 4800. When the crash occurs, the error
>>> seems to be in a response from the K3 - for instance, the "Rig
>>> Received Text" window shows "IS 0|00;" while it should show "IS
>>> 0600;". In this case the K3 was set to CW mode. In LSB mode, the
>>> same window shows "CW 6+;" where I presume it should have been "CW
>>> 60;". This damaged text shows up in all windows (Rig received, K3
>>> Com port, Power SCR-IF Aux CAT port, etc.)
>>>
>>> Attempted resolution includes reloading the K3 firmware and reloading
>>> LPB from the website after clearing out all remnants of the old
>>> program. Nothing helps - LPB still crashes when allowed to run for
>>> several hours. Other programs not affected. Computer is on a UPS,
>>> so momentary power outage would not be a cause (even if there should
>>> be one every night!)
>>>
>>> Clearly, there is a communication failure between the K3 and LPB,
>>> since it occurs with nothing else connected. Is the problem with the
>>> K3, LBP or the Win 7 operating system which sits between them? And
>>> what more can I try to fix it?
>>>
>>> Your thoughts will be greatly appreciated.
>>>
>>> George, W3HBM
>>>
>>>
>>> ______________________________________________________________
>>> 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
>>> Message delivered to [hidden email]
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> 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
> Message delivered to [hidden email]

N8LP

Re: LP Bridge crashes with K3

In reply to this post by Kidder, George

Have you tried adjusting the buffer settings in Device Mgr for your
serial port?

Larry N8LP

Date: Sat, 3 Dec 2016 09:33:33 -0500
From: George Kidder<[hidden email]>
To: 'Elecraft Reflector'<[hidden email]>
Subject: [Elecraft] LP Bridge crashes with K3
Message-ID:<[hidden email]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed

OK, gang! I've tried everything I can think of, and am now looking for
some additional thoughts.

Equipment: K3 (unmodified) with firmware 5.53, computer (2.99 GHz dual
core, 4 GB memory) running Win 7, LP-Bridge (LPB) set for 200 mS delay.
The computer is not connected to the internet, and all programs are
brought in from another computer using a flash drive.

Problem: At random but long intervals (hours) LP-Bridge crashes,
displaying error 13 (type mismatch). Clearing this window causes
program to close. This behavior is seen with no external programs
connected to LPB, and with LPB set to any polling rate from 200 mS
(default) to as much as 1000 mS. It is seen when LPB2 is used and the
baud rate is reduced to 4800. When the crash occurs, the error seems to
be in a response from the K3 - for instance, the "Rig Received Text"
window shows "IS 0|00;" while it should show "IS 0600;". In this case
the K3 was set to CW mode. In LSB mode, the same window shows "CW 6+;"
where I presume it should have been "CW 60;". This damaged text shows
up in all windows (Rig received, K3 Com port, Power SCR-IF Aux CAT port,
etc.)

Attempted resolution includes reloading the K3 firmware and reloading
LPB from the website after clearing out all remnants of the old
program. Nothing helps - LPB still crashes when allowed to run for
several hours. Other programs not affected. Computer is on a UPS, so
momentary power outage would not be a cause (even if there should be one
every night!)

Clearly, there is a communication failure between the K3 and LPB, since
it occurs with nothing else connected. Is the problem with the K3, LBP
or the Win 7 operating system which sits between them? And what more
can I try to fix it?

Your thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

George, W3HBM

______________________________________________________________
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
Message delivered to [hidden email]

Kidder, George

Re: LP Bridge crashes with K3

No I have not, Larry. What settings do you recommend for starters?

George

On 12/4/2016 11:02 AM, Larry Phipps wrote:

> Have you tried adjusting the buffer settings in Device Mgr for your
> serial port?
>
> Larry N8LP
>
> Date: Sat, 3 Dec 2016 09:33:33 -0500
> From: George Kidder<[hidden email]>
> To: 'Elecraft Reflector'<[hidden email]>
> Subject: [Elecraft] LP Bridge crashes with K3
> Message-ID:<[hidden email]>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed
>
> OK, gang! I've tried everything I can think of, and am now looking for
> some additional thoughts.
>
> Equipment: K3 (unmodified) with firmware 5.53, computer (2.99 GHz dual
> core, 4 GB memory) running Win 7, LP-Bridge (LPB) set for 200 mS delay.
> The computer is not connected to the internet, and all programs are
> brought in from another computer using a flash drive.
>
> Problem: At random but long intervals (hours) LP-Bridge crashes,
> displaying error 13 (type mismatch). Clearing this window causes
> program to close. This behavior is seen with no external programs
> connected to LPB, and with LPB set to any polling rate from 200 mS
> (default) to as much as 1000 mS. It is seen when LPB2 is used and the
> baud rate is reduced to 4800. When the crash occurs, the error seems to
> be in a response from the K3 - for instance, the "Rig Received Text"
> window shows "IS 0|00;" while it should show "IS 0600;". In this case
> the K3 was set to CW mode. In LSB mode, the same window shows "CW 6+;"
> where I presume it should have been "CW 60;". This damaged text shows
> up in all windows (Rig received, K3 Com port, Power SCR-IF Aux CAT port,
> etc.)
>
> Attempted resolution includes reloading the K3 firmware and reloading
> LPB from the website after clearing out all remnants of the old
> program. Nothing helps - LPB still crashes when allowed to run for
> several hours. Other programs not affected. Computer is on a UPS, so
> momentary power outage would not be a cause (even if there should be one
> every night!)
>
> Clearly, there is a communication failure between the K3 and LPB, since
> it occurs with nothing else connected. Is the problem with the K3, LBP
> or the Win 7 operating system which sits between them? And what more
> can I try to fix it?
>
> Your thoughts will be greatly appreciated.
>
> George, W3HBM
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> 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
> Message delivered to [hidden email]

Kidder, George

Fwd: Re: LP Bridge crashes with K3

Larry and all,

I have now tried adjusting the buffer settings. Originally, they were
set full "right" (High, 14 for receive, High 16 for transmit) I moved
the sliders to about 3/4 of full scale - still got a LPB crash in about
7 hours, while running NaP3 and FLDigi through LPB. I next tried the
"correct connection problems" setting, full left (1) on each. This time
it ran more than 3 but less than 20 hours (overnight run) and while LPB
did not crash, NaP3 did, which requires complete computer reboot. So it
is not clear that the buffer settings are doing anything except to slow
down the reaction of FLDigi to frequency changes - takes about 5 seconds
now.

So again I am at the end of my short rope! Maybe I should shut down the
system EVERY night. That seems to cure it.

George

-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] LP Bridge crashes with K3
Date: Sun, 04 Dec 2016 18:43:53 -0500
From: George Kidder <[hidden email]>
Reply-To: [hidden email]
To: [hidden email]

No I have not, Larry. What settings do you recommend for starters?

George

On 12/4/2016 11:02 AM, Larry Phipps wrote:

Lynn W. Taylor, WB6UUT

Re: Fwd: Re: LP Bridge crashes with K3

Computers that are turned off are safe from all kinds of potential
evil. That would be my recommendation.

On 12/6/2016 10:37 AM, George Kidder wrote:
> So again I am at the end of my short rope! Maybe I should shut down
> the system EVERY night. That seems to cure it.

______________________________________________________________
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
Message delivered to [hidden email]

tomb18

Re: Fwd: Re: LP Bridge crashes with K3

In reply to this post by Kidder, George

Honestly, I don't believe this is an issue with LPBridge but rather Eltima
drivers. I can run the Eltima serial port monitor and even without traffic
it will always crash after a number of hours.
Always.
There is not much that can be done other than rebooting after some time or
closing it all when you are not using it.
73 Tom

-----Original Message-----
From: George Kidder
Sent: Tuesday, December 6, 2016 1:37 PM
To: 'Elecraft Reflector'
Subject: [Elecraft] Fwd: Re: LP Bridge crashes with K3

Larry and all,

I have now tried adjusting the buffer settings. Originally, they were
set full "right" (High, 14 for receive, High 16 for transmit) I moved
the sliders to about 3/4 of full scale - still got a LPB crash in about
7 hours, while running NaP3 and FLDigi through LPB. I next tried the
"correct connection problems" setting, full left (1) on each. This time
it ran more than 3 but less than 20 hours (overnight run) and while LPB
did not crash, NaP3 did, which requires complete computer reboot. So it
is not clear that the buffer settings are doing anything except to slow
down the reaction of FLDigi to frequency changes - takes about 5 seconds
now.

So again I am at the end of my short rope! Maybe I should shut down the
system EVERY night. That seems to cure it.

George

-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] LP Bridge crashes with K3
Date: Sun, 04 Dec 2016 18:43:53 -0500
From: George Kidder <[hidden email]>
Reply-To: [hidden email]
To: [hidden email]

No I have not, Larry. What settings do you recommend for starters?

George

On 12/4/2016 11:02 AM, Larry Phipps wrote:

______________________________________________________________
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
Message delivered to [hidden email]

______________________________________________________________
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
Message delivered to [hidden email]

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

______________________________________________________________
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
Message delivered to [hidden email]

Guy Olinger K2AV

Re: Fwd: Re: LP Bridge crashes with K3

Hi George,

I have to agree with Tom on this one, either suspect drivers, or some as
yet undiscovered conflict running on your PC. The slowdown you describe is
a dead giveaway. That the dying program sends some garbage to the K3 as it
expires is irrelevant.

Whatever the program/driver is the problem, it's now so lost in itself that
it has called for a writeout to an external device when there is no data to
send. It has clearly lost its mind.

A common bug in a poorly written program is called a "memory leak". That is
where a program allocates a certain amount of memory for a transient task,
and when the task is done, does not release all the memory back to the
"memory pool". This causes available memory to creep down until there is
not enough to run. The offending program often crashes, because the same
stinky programming causing the memory leak also does not provide a smooth
shut down at out of memory with meaningful messages to inform which program
is exiting and why.

There are variants of this malady, like the one where the program assigns a
FIXED large buffer to a usage, and then exhausts it in the same manner.
This is a lazy solution to a memory leak that they can't find, hoping to
crash just the program and not the operating system. Sometimes these
buffers are without boundary code which detects end of assigned space and
gracefully exits with understandable messages. The stinky code then
proceeds to gradually *overwrite its own program instructions* until it
encounters code it is actually running and then it simply goes insane. This
is possibly a blue screen or PC hang moment, though later OS are getting
better and better at trapping code like this.

Outward symptoms to the PC user could be anything. There are other specific
kinds of stinky programming that present in the same "What the h*ll is
that?" fashion. But there is a way to spy on this stuff as it runs.

You run a CPU monitor that displays what is going on in the PC. One of the
displays will be active memory, Possibly called memory set, listed by
program. Sort on this column and then watch stuff on your system. Often the
offending program sticks out like a sore thumb. There may be multiple
issues that point to conflicts among things you run at the same time.

A better good and free monitor, can be found at
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb795533.aspx.

On the upper right of this page, under Top Ten Downloads, download Process
Explorer and install. This well done monitor does not suffer from a lot of
the clunkies that the Microsoft monitors and some of the other 3rd party
monitors seem to have.

The only complaint I have ever had about it is the default color line of
black text on dark grey or purple for suspended processes and packed
images. Those can be easily fixed in menu bar>options>configure colors,
which also has the color code for what kind of thing each color is. Click
on the column headers Working Set, CPU, and CPU Time. Here you can remove
or add types from the display by checking or unchecking the line.

I would expect Windows 7 should run Process Explorer just fine, though
currently I only have an ancient laptop with XP and all else is upgraded to
Windows 10 Pro, which at this point seems the best OS Microsoft has ever
written. If you really like it, in Windows 10 you can do Process
Explorer>menu bar>Options>Replace Task Monitor. I think MS bought it and at
some point will simply replace their "Resource Monitor" with this one.

It's not yet time to disassemble your K3 and send the pile of pieces back
to Watsonville.

Let us know what you find spying on stuff.

73 and for sure Good Luck

Guy K2AV

On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 3:21 PM, Tom <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Honestly, I don't believe this is an issue with LPBridge but rather Eltima
> drivers. I can run the Eltima serial port monitor and even without traffic
> it will always crash after a number of hours.
> Always.
> There is not much that can be done other than rebooting after some time or
> closing it all when you are not using it.
> 73 Tom
>
> -----Original Message----- From: George Kidder
> Sent: Tuesday, December 6, 2016 1:37 PM
> To: 'Elecraft Reflector'
> Subject: [Elecraft] Fwd: Re: LP Bridge crashes with K3
>
>
> Larry and all,
>
> I have now tried adjusting the buffer settings. Originally, they were
> set full "right" (High, 14 for receive, High 16 for transmit) I moved
> the sliders to about 3/4 of full scale - still got a LPB crash in about
> 7 hours, while running NaP3 and FLDigi through LPB. I next tried the
> "correct connection problems" setting, full left (1) on each. This time
> it ran more than 3 but less than 20 hours (overnight run) and while LPB
> did not crash, NaP3 did, which requires complete computer reboot. So it
> is not clear that the buffer settings are doing anything except to slow
> down the reaction of FLDigi to frequency changes - takes about 5 seconds
> now.
>
> So again I am at the end of my short rope! Maybe I should shut down the
> system EVERY night. That seems to cure it.
>
> George
>
>
> -------- Forwarded Message --------
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] LP Bridge crashes with K3
> Date: Sun, 04 Dec 2016 18:43:53 -0500
> From: George Kidder <[hidden email]>
> Reply-To: [hidden email]
> To: [hidden email]
>
>
>
> No I have not, Larry. What settings do you recommend for starters?
>
> George
>
>
> On 12/4/2016 11:02 AM, Larry Phipps wrote:
>
>> Have you tried adjusting the buffer settings in Device Mgr for your
>> serial port?
>>
>> Larry N8LP
>>
>> Date: Sat, 3 Dec 2016 09:33:33 -0500
>> From: George Kidder<[hidden email]>
>> To: 'Elecraft Reflector'<[hidden email]>
>> Subject: [Elecraft] LP Bridge crashes with K3
>> Message-ID:<[hidden email]>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed
>>
>> OK, gang! I've tried everything I can think of, and am now looking for
>> some additional thoughts.
>>
>> Equipment: K3 (unmodified) with firmware 5.53, computer (2.99 GHz dual
>> core, 4 GB memory) running Win 7, LP-Bridge (LPB) set for 200 mS delay.
>> The computer is not connected to the internet, and all programs are
>> brought in from another computer using a flash drive.
>>
>> Problem: At random but long intervals (hours) LP-Bridge crashes,
>> displaying error 13 (type mismatch). Clearing this window causes
>> program to close. This behavior is seen with no external programs
>> connected to LPB, and with LPB set to any polling rate from 200 mS
>> (default) to as much as 1000 mS. It is seen when LPB2 is used and the
>> baud rate is reduced to 4800. When the crash occurs, the error seems to
>> be in a response from the K3 - for instance, the "Rig Received Text"
>> window shows "IS 0|00;" while it should show "IS 0600;". In this case
>> the K3 was set to CW mode. In LSB mode, the same window shows "CW 6+;"
>> where I presume it should have been "CW 60;". This damaged text shows
>> up in all windows (Rig received, K3 Com port, Power SCR-IF Aux CAT port,
>> etc.)
>>
>> Attempted resolution includes reloading the K3 firmware and reloading
>> LPB from the website after clearing out all remnants of the old
>> program. Nothing helps - LPB still crashes when allowed to run for
>> several hours. Other programs not affected. Computer is on a UPS, so
>> momentary power outage would not be a cause (even if there should be one
>> every night!)
>>
>> Clearly, there is a communication failure between the K3 and LPB, since
>> it occurs with nothing else connected. Is the problem with the K3, LBP
>> or the Win 7 operating system which sits between them? And what more
>> can I try to fix it?
>>
>> Your thoughts will be greatly appreciated.
>>
>> George, W3HBM
>>
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> 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
>> Message delivered to [hidden email]
>>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> 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
> Message delivered to [hidden email]
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> 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
> Message delivered to [hidden email]
>
> ---
> This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
> https://www.avast.com/antivirus
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> 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
> Message delivered to [hidden email]
>

Kidder, George

Re: Fwd: Re: LP Bridge crashes with K3

In reply to this post by Lynn W. Taylor, WB6UUT

Lynn: Since the computer is not connected to the network, there should
be little potential for evil except that which I generate myself! The
major evil is the power that it draws!

Tom and Guy: It certainly begins to sound as if the drivers are at
fault. I formerly ran the program on my old XP machine with no
problems, although I don't really remember if I gave it the "24 hour
stress test". But that machine is too slow to use all the programs I
want to use. But, Tom, I don't think it is memory leak, since running
Task Manager and looking at the memory usage, I get a steady value
around 1.1 GB for everything that is running, and this value does not
change over 24 hours. Curiously, however, NaP3's CPU usage shows big
spikes about every 20 seconds, going from ~20% to about 60% and back
again. Both processors do this in parallel. This is not a LPB problem,
however, since LPB shows a steady, low usage if NaP3 is not running.

So, with a big thanks to everyone who replied, I will take the easy way
out and shut down the computer at night. Maybe some day I will
understand enough to use a different cure.

73 - George, W3HBM

On 12/6/2016 2:07 PM, Lynn W. Taylor, WB6UUT wrote:

> Computers that are turned off are safe from all kinds of potential
> evil. That would be my recommendation.
>
> On 12/6/2016 10:37 AM, George Kidder wrote:
>> So again I am at the end of my short rope! Maybe I should shut down
>> the system EVERY night. That seems to cure it.
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> 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
> Message delivered to [hidden email]

Lynn W. Taylor, WB6UUT

Re: Fwd: Re: LP Bridge crashes with K3

On 12/6/2016 3:36 PM, George Kidder wrote:
> Lynn: Since the computer is not connected to the network, there
> should be little potential for evil except that which I generate
> myself! The major evil is the power that it draws!
The major evil would be power spikes. I've not lost a computer that was
off, but I've lost computers to power spikes that were turned on.
______________________________________________________________
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
Message delivered to [hidden email]

N8LP

Re: LP Bridge crashes with K3

In reply to this post by Kidder, George

The largest option that they offer for both xmt and rcv buffers.

Larry

On 12/7/2016 7:34 PM, [hidden email] wrote:

> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] LP Bridge crashes with K3
> >Date: Sun, 04 Dec 2016 18:43:53 -0500
> >From: George Kidder<[hidden email]>
> >Reply-To:[hidden email]
> >To:[hidden email]
> >
> >
> >
> >No I have not, Larry. What settings do you recommend for starters?
> >
> >George
> >
> >
> >On 12/4/2016 11:02 AM, Larry Phipps wrote:
> >
>> >>Have you tried adjusting the buffer settings in Device Mgr for your
>> >>serial port?
>> >>
>> >>Larry N8LP

Kidder, George

Re: LP Bridge crashes with K3

Sorry, Larry, but that didn't do it. (Testing takes a long time!) Ran
OK with both sliders max left, for about a day. Then crashed after 2
hours, reset with full reboot, crashed again after after several more
hours. In short, no change. Did I change the right thing? ["control
panel, device manager, ports, communications port (com 1), port
settings, advanced. "Use FIFO buffers" was checked, moved both sliders
from full right to full left]

Or should I have been putzing with the Eltima settings (virtual Com 19
and com4) which are called up by LP-BRIDGE? I cannot seem to find any
buffer size settings for these virtual ports.

I just now unchecked the "use FIFO buffers" box. Sliders are grayed
out. Seems to work, except now NaP3 has lost it's memory for the last
frequency used. Will run this way and see what happens.

Thanks

George, W3HBM

On 12/7/2016 10:43 PM, Larry Phipps wrote:

> The largest option that they offer for both xmt and rcv buffers.
>
> Larry
>
>
> On 12/7/2016 7:34 PM, [hidden email] wrote:
>> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] LP Bridge crashes with K3
>> >Date: Sun, 04 Dec 2016 18:43:53 -0500
>> >From: George Kidder<[hidden email]>
>> >Reply-To:[hidden email]
>> >To:[hidden email]
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >No I have not, Larry. What settings do you recommend for starters?
>> >
>> >George
>> >
>> >
>> >On 12/4/2016 11:02 AM, Larry Phipps wrote:
>> >
>>> >>Have you tried adjusting the buffer settings in Device Mgr for your
>>> >>serial port?
>>> >>
>>> >>Larry N8LP
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> 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
> Message delivered to [hidden email]