Keying Tomeout

[VE3ZI]

Remote Rig will only allow a maximum 1s CW key down, and this is fine. However, it has occasionally caused me some problems.

My remote station is controlled over a 900MHz radio link which is usually very good, but tends to fail with freezing rain/wet snow on the remote yagi antenna (which is very high). Although Remote Rig is the key part of the system there is also a homebrew controller to allow antenna and power switching. There have been times when the remote RRC1258 has thought that the key has been down for more than 1s and prevented any more keying - even though the remote radio has not actually been on. When the link has recovered I have tried to operate and found no keying. The solution is to reboot each end, but that only works when I remember what the problem is!

I wonder if it would be possible to make the RRC1258 try to confirm that key down really is happening after a period rather than the remote end has got some garbled data at some point?

Sorry if this has already been addressed. Sorry also that I'm bad at updating the firmware - I'm using 2.80 - but I can't get to the remote site at all in the winter.

Thanks
Roger VE3ZI

[Jan (Microbit)]

We have had a look at this and we are not able to see anything causing that besides if the control RRC was to consider the IN0 input staying active(low). In that case no further keying will be possible. When it happens you could take a look at the control RRC's Status page which status "Input 0" has and if you are able to change its status by toggling the physical input.

[VE3ZI]

Many thanks for your reply and sorry for the delay Jan.

I'm quite pleased when we don't have freezing rain, but I need it to test things properly  . I am however certain of some things:

The condition only occurs when the link is error prone and marginal - the link will have been completely lost for some period and then have recovered;
I have thought that the radio RRC thinks it is being continuously keyed and therefore stops the keying. However, I realise that I don't actually know which RRC decides the keying has been going on too long;
There is definitely no continuous physical keying input to the control RRC;
The problem is cured by rebooting both the local and remote RRC - either one alone will not fix it - and no other changes are necessary for a fix.

My memory is that the control RRC is not showing that it is continuously keyed, but that is a year ago and my memory could be wrong. I will check when we next get some horrible weather.

73 Roger
VE3ZI

[Jan (Microbit)]

Regardless of what happens to the control RRC and/or the connection between it and the radio RRC the radio RRC should timeout an active keying and be ready for further keying.

Being forced to reboot both of the units is even more strange. It sounds more like something has gone wrong with the IP communication, maybe some resources being exhausted from which recovering isn't possible.