[Dxbase] Fw: [icom7600] CIV Transceive setting

Tue Oct 25 21:37:54 EDT 2011

Additional insight from Dave AA6YQ and my "solution" to the problems associated with DXB polling the IC-7600 for Split status and VFO frequencies for logging. After reading Dave's reply I've decided to return to the default of CIV Transceive ON in the 7600. This means I will continue to see some erratic frequency jumping when logging a split QSO, but that is small potatoes compared to blowing up the PW-1!
My work around solution is as follows:
- Use the IC7600_SPLITOK driver when chasing DX S&P. Just be aware that the frequencies may change after logging the QSO. Be sure to recheck the VFO's for correct frequencies prior to imitating a spot to a DX Cluster.
- Switch to the normal IC7600 driver if I running a frequency and the pile up builds to the point I need to run Split. Changing the radio driver will allow me to run split and log the QSOs without fear one or the other of the VFO's will jump to a new frequency. Having the exact TX frequency in the log would be nice, but is not an absolute requirement as most QSL card requests will have the band or my listen frequency on the card.
73,
Gary AL9A
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Dave AA6YQ 
To: icom7600 at yahoogroups.com ; ic-PW1 
Sent: October 24, 2011 6:29 PM
Subject: RE: [icom7600] CIV Transceive setting
 
With CI-V transceive enabled, your IC-7600 will transmit "here's my new
frequency" and "here's my new mode" messages on the CI-V bus whenever you
QSY or change your 7600's mode via its front panel. In order to track your
transceiver's frequency and mode, your logging application is continuously
sending "report your frequency" and "report your mode" messages to your 7600
via the CI-V bus, to which your 7600 responds by sending "here's my
frequency" and "here's my mode" messages over the CI-V bus.
Some of the "here's my X" messages sent by your transceiver as a result of
your QSYing with "CI-V transceive" enabled will collide with the "report
your X" messages sent by your logging application. If your logging
application is designed to deal with such collisions, there should be no
problem, but most are not, and explicitly require that "CI-V transceive" be
disabled.
Your situation is more complex, however, because you evidently have your
PW-1 connected to the same CI-V bus that connects your PC to your 7600. If
the PW-1 doesn't receive a "here's my new frequency" report from your 7600
every so often, it starts sending the 7600 "report your frequency" messages
over the CI-V bus, to which your 7600 responds. This set of actions further
increases the probability of collisions. Unlike your 7600, however, the PW-1
is not designed to detect and discard CI-V messages mangled by collisions.
Icom engineers evidently assumed that the PW-1 and transceiver would have
the CI-V bus to themselves, with no pesky logging application sending
"report your X" messages that force the transceiver to respond, and saved a
few bucks by omitting the collision-detection logic.
The configuration you're using places your PW-1 at risk. A CI-V bus
collision at an importune time could send your PW-1 off to the wrong band
while you're transmitting, possibly letting out the smoke.
For the details, see Larry K8UT's excellent "Riding the CI-V Bus", which can
be found here:
<http://www.k8ut.com/tiki-index.php?page=Riding+the+CI-V+Bus+-+FAQ>
73,
Dave, AA6YQ
-----Original Message-----
From: icom7600 at yahoogroups.com [mailto:icom7600 at yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of
Gary AL9A
Sent: Monday, October 24, 2011 8:12 PM
To: Icom 7600 User Group
Cc: ic-PW1
Subject: [icom7600] CIV Transceive setting
I use DXBase as my general logger. Recently Joe WA6AXE, modified a bunch of
drivers for Icom radios in that program's radios.ini file to take advantage
of the recent firmware upgrade by Icom to allow software to determine the
Split condition and report the frequency of both VFOs. After updating to
the new drivers I was delighted to see the logger could now tell when the
IC-7600 was in Split and would log both VFO frequencies. However, after a
bit of time I began to notice a bug in the behavior of the 7600. Frequently
after logging a QSO in Split mode the 7600 would flash the frequency on the
Rx VFO A and then sync that VFO to the frequency of the Tx VFO B. The radio
remained in Split, but both frequencies were the same. Occasionally the
reverse would happen and the Tx VFO would change frequency to match the Rx
VFO.
This would happen intermittently with no rhyme or reason. A minor annoyance
when chasing DX S&P, but a major problem when running a pile up and the Rx
or Tx VFO would suddenly decide to change frequency! Joe had me try
modifying some parameters in his new driver to slow down the communication
in hopes the 7600 would settle down. After hours of experimenting nothing
seemed to work . Then, in my rather aged and rapidly diminishing memory
banks, I began to think a CIV communication problem might be the culprit. I
soon proved my suspicion correct when I went into the Set/Others menu and
turned CIV Transceive OFF. Since then the DXBase driver for the IC-7600 has
performed without a glitch.
The 7600 manual states that CIV Transceive ON is the default and that,
"Changing the frequency, operating mode, etc. on the IC-7600 automatically
changes those of connected transceivers (or receivers) and vice versa." I
have a single radio station connected to a Microham MKII keyer and the
IC-PW-1 amp. With CIV Transceive OFF the PW-1 still tracks band changes
automatically which is great. So my questions for the group are the
following:
1. Why would CIV Transceive ON cause the VFO frequencies to change in Split
mode when queried by external software?
2. With CIV Transceive OFF is there any potential problem with the tracking
of the PW-1 that could cause damage?
3. If I add a second radio, such as my old IC-756PRO, can I run as SO2R with
CIV Transceive OFF?
Any info greatly appreciated.
73,
Gary AL9A
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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