Remote Rig and N1MM ASCII Commands to the K3

[K3TN]

With a local K3 connected to N1MM, I can use the following Function Key string:

F3 TU,{CLEARRIT}<<r>>{END}{CATDELAY 3}{CAT1ASC SWT11;}

This Clears the RIT setting, sends the letter r. The {END} macro tells the N1MM software "wait until the message is sent before executing anything to the right"

After the r is sent, the CAT1ASC command tells the K3 to swap VFOs. The CATDELAY command says wait 3 ms before sending the CAT1ASC SWT11; string - I needed that to make it work since stopping sending took a few ms.

Trying this over RemoteRig results in the R being sent but no VFO swap. Upping the CATDELAY to 3000 (3 seconds) didn't make it work.

Without the END macro, the VFO swap happens (after the CATDELAY) but the R never gets sent.  That is to be expected. But, the END macro should work - but it doesn't seem to.

I'm guessing that the interleaving of data comms between the RRCs is causing this issue - but not sure how/why.

Is there some reason this shouldn't work? Or some setting for one of those mysterious Serial Settings that would enable it work?

Thanks, John K3TN

[Jan (Microbit)]

Without digging deep into things it "feels" like either the commands used not being handled in a way that works, or possible the {END} messing things up since it is used to have N1MM waiting for CW being sent.

[K3TN]

Is there some reason the RRC software/protocol would handle those commands differently than anything else?

That command string works in a directly connected setup, doesn't work when the RRCs are between N1MM and the K3. The {END} and {CATDELAY} macros should not really travel over the RRC connection - the {END} tells the N1MM software to wait until CW is done before executing any following commands. {CATDELAY" tells the N1MM software to wait x milliseconds before doing anything following.

So, the CAT1ASC value of SWT11; is really the only thing that gets sent over the RRC "wire".  But it appears to rarely get to the K3. I've tried very long delay values, doesn't seem to change the problem.

I have F9 as a dedicated VFO swap key that sends the CAT1ASC SWT11; command by itself - that works fine.

It appears that sending Winkey CW and then trying to send an ASCII command does NOT work, yet I have K3 commands like CLEARRIT after CW strings and that works.

Is there something about the ; that might honk things up in the RRC handling?

[Jan (Microbit)]

Yes, there could be reasons for the RRC to handle some commands differently. However, I am not able to answer more detailed without investigating it further, and for the time being there is lack of time for doing that. I will put it on the to-do list.

[K3TN]

OK, Jan - I'll try to gather more data after the ARRL CW contest this weekend.

[W1UE]

I just tried the command string that you used: 
F3 TU,{CLEARRIT}<<r>>{END}{CATDELAY 3}{CAT1ASC SWT11;}
and got the same result that you did- no VFO swap.  If you check the manual on the CATDELAY macro, the number after the CATDELAY is multiplied by 50ms and has a maximum value used is 20, which corresponds to a 1 second delay- higher numbers will all revert to a max 1 sec delay.

I then tried the Function Key Message:
F3 TU,{CLEARRIT}<<R>>{CAT1ASC SWT11;}
and that did exactly what I think you wanted- zeroes the RIT, sends the R, and swaps VFOs.  I found it works on my system every time, using N1MM+, K3Mini0, Firmware 2.85, baud rate of 38400, Microbit Com1 for radio control.

[K3TN]

Dennis - check one thing: did the VFO swap happen before the 'r' was sent??

I first tried that macro in one of the 30  minute NS Sprints and everyone complained I wasn't sending 'r' even though I heard it being sent. I looked carefully - without the {END} statement, N1MM executes the SWAP macro first then sends the 'r' - too late!

[W1UE]

Checked it out- it appears that the "r" is being sent before the swap is made.  It happens pretty fast, though.  Another observation is that the speed up characters don't seem to be speeding up the "r"- whether they are there are not, the R seems to be sent at the same speed.

I'm also using the RR Winkeyer to key the rig.

[K3TN]

After the ARRL CW I will try it over RemoteRig with the {END} and {CATDELAY} removed - without those two commands, on a local radio the QSY happens and then the R gets sent - I listened on my TS-850! maybe the RemoteRig "time slicing" is performing the equivalent...