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 <gkid...@ilstu.edu> 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
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