Jerry,
Ignoring how you've set up your station for the moment (every station
has compromises but some push that to an extreme); the shutdown of the
connection is likely that RF got into the USB cable (as demonstrated by
the hot ferrite) which caused the USB port hardware to lock up.
USB hardware can 'stick' so it won't work properly, a complete power
cycle empties it of any charge, 'unsticking' the hardware. (Yah a gross
simplification, but you get the point.)
The only SURE way to restore it to function (assuming it's not blown) is
a complete power down (unplugged from all power, let the power supply
drain, disconnect the laptop battery, count another ten seconds) and
restart. That is why it worked after you 'cooled it off'.
If you can shift to a real serial port (not a serial dongle), that will
help. USB is RF intolerant compared to serial. It's simplest to avoid
USB as much as feasible near any RF.
If you can't avoid USB, you'll need to add a lot more ferrite or better
yet, improve the antenna situation dramatically.
In the cases I MUST run a USB connection, I distance the antenna from
the computer as much as possible and I run <100 watts (QRP to me), but
generally that's when I run a portable station. Jim, K9YC will tell you
it's related to 'Pin 1' and the short version is that is has to do with
bonding all things to a common ground; USB devices often ignore this.
In a few cases, improved bonding between the computer and radio /may/
help, but I'd have low hopes if the antenna is mere feet away. Take the
hot ferrite as a warning sign, it's not a healthy environment.
73,
Rick NK7I
On 4/18/2020 5:46 PM, ae...@carolinaheli.com wrote:
Today I was working a digital mode (FT8) and lost connection to the radio. I
cycled power with no success. On reseating the USB connection at the
computer I felt the ferrite core was HOT. The cable didn't feel hot at all.
I'm using a 20m hamstick in the office as my antenna. I shut everything down
to cool off. Afterwards everything seems to be working correctly.
Any ideas?
Tnx and 73
Jerry D. Moore
AE4PB
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