Messages

1

General discussion forum / Continuous 1kHz tone from RRC-1258 MkII control heard on K3/0 Mini

« on: 2023-06-12, 00:07:08 »

I have a K3/0 Mini with a RRC-1258 MkII at my control site. I use the Elecraft "octopus" cabling between the K3/0 and the RRC.

I am hearing a continuous 1kHz tone from the speaker in the K3/0. On an oscilloscope, looking at the SPKRS output of the K3/0, it appears as a noisy 1000 Hz triangle wave.

It is present and constant no matter the AF or RF gain settings on the K3/0. Changing keyer sidetone settings on the RRC has no effect. Disconnecting the AUX/MIC jack, or the I/O jack, or the USB jack, or the ethernet jack from the RRC have no effect. Unplugging the SP jack from the RRC does not stop it, and in fact makes it slightly louder (!). Unplugging the TTL jack stops the tone, as does disconnecting power from the RRC.

Anyone seen this, and knows what to do about it? Any help gratefully accepted.

73, Paul K6PO

2

General discussion forum / Re: RRC-1258 mkII pair: Can connect to remote, but cannot control it

« on: 2023-03-05, 20:05:59 »

Replying to my own post here...

This weird problem appears to have been ISP related. The ops that were affected by it were using two particular ISP's. Within 48 hours those ISP's changed the routing to the remote site to use Twelve99's backbone instead of Comcast's, and the problem has gone away. I don't know if the local ISP's noticed a problem and changed their peering arrangements, or if the change was already scheduled and didn't go smoothly, or what. But anyway the issue is resolved and we hope it stays that way.

73, Paul K6PO

3

General discussion forum / RRC-1258 mkII pair: Can connect to remote, but cannot control it

« on: 2023-03-04, 09:06:10 »

Here is a puzzle.

Several of us around here regularly connect to a particular remote radio site using RRC-1258's. K3/0's at control sites, K3's at the remote site.

Recently some of the group have found they can still connect, but cannot control the remote radios at this site. Meanwhile the rest of us can still connect and run the remote radios fine.

The symptom is: Turn on power to the K3/0 at the control site, and the connection "beep" is heard. The remote K3 turns on. The control K3/0 shows the remote radio's frequency, and audio is heard. But adjusting the AF gain at the K3/0 does not change the audio volume, and tuning the K3/0 VFO does not change the remote radio's tuned frequency. Band change, mode change, etc. does not work. Turning off the control K3/0 turns off power to the remote K3.

Again, this has occurred suddenly and affects some, but not all, of the remote operators. The operators that it does affect can still use their RRC's and K3/0's to connect to other remote sites as before.

Has anyone seen this kind of partial connectivity -- can connect and can receive some data (remote audio and VFO setting) but can't control anything? Any help gratefully appreciated!

73, Paul K6PO

4

Feature Requests / Support Winkey half dit delay

« on: 2022-11-18, 04:09:35 »

RRC 1258's Winkeyer emulation is missing various features.

One that is missing is "Gap (Extra Space) Insertion", where the Winkeyer protocol interprets the | character (hex 0x7C) as a ½ dit delay time.

This is very useful, particularly in CW contest exchanges where adding space between some characters, or removing space between some words, can help message intelligibility. All major contesting programs such as N1MM+, DXLog, WinTest, etc. support this, but this feature doesn't work when using the 1258 Winkeyer.

My feature request: Implement this in the 1258 Winkeyer.

Thanks!

73, Paul K6PO

5

Configuration, RRC 1258 / Re: K3/0 Mini to K3S: PTT problem with audio-shift digital modes

« on: 2022-11-16, 02:33:47 »

Found the problem.

I had MIC+LIN set ON for USB, but that is per-mode, and it was OFF for DATA.

So turning on MIC+LIN ON for DATA, PTT over CAT now works as it should with fldigi and WSJT-X.

I guess with MIC+LIN OFF, activating the front-panel-connected foot switch directed the K3S to take audio from the front panel, which it otherwise wasn't doing? Got to say, I don't understand some things about this setup.

For example, trying to fix this, somewhere I made some change where now CW doesn't work! But, onward.

73, Paul K6PO

6

Configuration, RRC 1258 / Re: K3S + K3/0 Mini: Remote powers off, but not on

« on: 2022-11-16, 00:40:35 »

That's easy enough.  Just make sure you get the correct 15 pin plug!

Yes it was pretty easy and works like it should. Thanks again for pointing me to it.

If you're going to play in CQWW CW, make sure to work us!  I'll be at HQ9X, M2.

I'll be on a bit from home, and if I can get this K3/0 Mini control side sorted, I'll also do some hours remote with the KX6T team.

Roatán looks like a terrific spot to operate from, you should have a strong result.

73, Paul K6PO

7

Configuration, RRC 1258 / K3/0 Mini to K3S: PTT problem with audio-shift digital modes

« on: 2022-11-15, 20:17:58 »

Trying to get audio-shift digital modes (various fldigi and WSJT-X modes) working with my K3/0 Mini control, K3S radio setup.

I'm close (I think) but it seems that PTT is not working quite as it should.

When I start a transmission from fldigi or WSJT-X, the red TX LED's on the K3/0 and the K3S turn on. So PTT is working to some extent. However the K3S is not modulated -- no output RF.

But if I connect a footswitch to the front MIC connector on the K3/0, and while transmitting from fldigi or WSJT-X I activate PTT by pushing the footswitch, the K3S immediately becomes modulated as it should be.

So it seems that PTT initiated from the digital mode engine is working to some extent, but requires front panel PTT input to the K3/0 to fully activate the K3S somehow.

I've tried both PTT over CAT and PTT over RTS and the result is the same.

Any help appreciated!

73, Paul K6PO

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Configuration, RRC 1258 / Re: K3S + K3/0 Mini: Remote powers off, but not on

« on: 2022-11-12, 18:37:51 »

Dennis --

Ah OK that is no doubt the problem. The picture on p. 217 of the RRC 1258 user manual doesn't show a RRC I/O to K3 ACC connection, and a cable for that wasn't included with the units I got, so I completely missed it. I'll have to make one.

Thanks!

73, Paul K6PO

9

Configuration, RRC 1258 / K3S + K3/0 Mini: Remote powers off, but not on

« on: 2022-11-12, 08:41:19 »

K3/0 Mini at control site, K3S at remote site. RRC-1258 MkII's. Controlling everything on the K3S from the K3/0 works fine, including powering off the K3S from the K3/0. That is, everything except:

If the K3S is powered off, turning on the K3/0 does not turn on the K3S.

I guess some configuration setting is wrong somewhere, but what?

Any help gratefully accepted.

73, Paul K6PO

10

General discussion forum / Re: Remoterig out of business?

« on: 2022-06-30, 07:27:48 »

I did however order a set through the UK distributor and they are in stock.

Not anymore. Out of stock there, with no ETA.

We live in a global market place

A global marketplace with no NXP chips available anywhere in it.

73, Paul K6PO