Winkey compatibility problems

[N6IE]

I just set up Winkey keying into the RemoteRig COM3 using N1MM and found two problems.  One, any macro that uses "<<" and ">>" (keyer speed UP and DOWN) will stop all further macros unless {END} is placed at the end.  The other is that the 'half-space' "~" causes a full space to be sent.

I got the following response on the N1MM Logger Plus reflector:

"This is not an N1MM+ issue. It is most likely an issue with the RemoteRig implementation of Winkey emulation.

73,
Steve, N2IC"

Is there anything that can be done about this?

Thanks, Ron N6IE

[VK3ALB]

Hi Steve,

I have had success in trouble shooting CAT issues by using a comport monitor. I don't know exactly what your setup looks like but if you can monitor the destination you should be able to determine if it really is RRC that is to blame.

[W1UE]

Ron, I'm going to agree with Steve N2IC.  There are Winkey emulations, and there are Winkey emulations.  RR says it offers a "Winkey Emulator", which often translates to "not a complete set of Winkey functions".  Sounds like the functions that you mentioned are not supported in this Winkey emulation.

The only thing that can be done is to add those functions to the RR Winkey Emulator.  I've been using N1MM+ and RR for several years, and while I understand why someone would want to use those functions, have never found their absence to be critical.  YMMV.

Dennis W1UE 

[N6IE]

Dennis:

I guess emulations are never as good as the original!  Since your call ends in a 'e' as does mine, you probably get your call busted a lot during contests.  My call, with a '6' followed by an "I" then an "E" is very hard to copy, so I put the half-space between those three characters which helps a lot.  It's just too many dits in a row for many ops to copy, especially in QRM.  That's why I'm hoping there is a solution.

I have found that Winkey connection to N1MM works better when sent over the internet since it appears to be more resistant to the packet collisions that have been ruining about one out of every ten contest exchanges.  I still have problems running Winkey, but not as many as with straight serial port keying out of N1MM.

Ron, N6IE

[W1UE]

Ron

I have also used a real outboard Winkey connected to a USB port of the computer, and used that to key the RR box.  I had to build a cable to attach to the RR box, but it wasn't difficult to do.  Then I had the best of both worlds- it ran quite well.

My contesting experiences using the RR Winkey have not been as bad as yours.  I've had several hours with rate >150 on CW.  You can't do that if you have many fills.  I'm also fortunate that both ends of my connection use broadband. 

FYI, where is your remote station? 

Dennis W1UE

[N6IE]

Dennis:

I see we have worked many times in contests, most recently in the CA QSO Party where we worked on CW on 5 bands and on phone, two more.  I was using N1MM to key using RTS then, but I have since changed to something like you have where N1MM connects by Winkey mode, and the paddles go direct into the remote rig.  The remote station is only about 5 miles away and we have Comcast on both ends, plus a 'double hop" Ubiquiti link to go from the property owner's home to the garage about a quarter mile away.  You can see most of the equipment on my QRZ page. 

I'm running the K3 through RCForb Server at the remote site and at the shack, RCForb Client and a K3/0 Mini.  RemoteRig can work between the K3 and K3/0 Mini, but you lose the ability to run things like a SteppIR, band scope and CW Skimmer at the remote site and N1MM at home, so I only use it for CW keying and for the audio codec.  I have enough bandwidth to run a real-time NaP3 band scope at the remote site that I view with Team Viewer.

It all works extremely well except once in a while when a few packets start to drop somewhere in the Comcast system.  Round trip latency is usually about 27 ms, but with occasional jump to 100-130 ms.  That's when 'dits' can turn into very long 'daaaaaahhhs', or get skipped altogether.

Ron, N6IE

[N6IE]

Ha!  I just found how to make a half space with N1MM the right length when using the Winkey interface to the RemoteRig. 

It's the "|" character (hex 0x7C) is interpreted as a quarter space, but seems to sound about the same as the "~" half-space in the N1MM direct keying I had been using before.

"N6IE" is hard to copy with so many dit's in a row, so I'll program it as N6|I|E in N1MM from now on.

Ron, N6IE