Hercules MIDI with 6300

Ken - NM9P

Does the main dial on the PL1 have the fast/slow function that you have on the CMD Micro?  If so, then you wouldn't need the "fast" or 10x button, just let where you grip the knob determine that.  That might free up a button.

W4WHL

I like the 10x button, it aint going anywhere  LOL.  But yes the fast slow thing works with the pl-1.  But trust me you need the fast slow on this one.  Its a high res encoder, and very touchy.  But even at full speed its not fast enough to cruise to the other side of the band. 

Ken - NM9P

Hey William,
I just got home and my PL-1 was waiting for me on the porch!
I plugged it in and have been looking at it with a midi monitor and discovered that the main tuning knob throws different values depending upon how hard you throw it.
Looks like it might have a built in variable speed capability that could be utilized relatively easily in your software.

Neutral seems to be 64, then a slow up is 65, then moves through 66 all the way to over 80 as you go faster.
The same way tuning down, it starts at 63, the all the way down into the 40's.  After I grease the wheel I may be able to throw it even faster.

A simple calculation might be able to create a speed number that would automatically shift gears for quick QSY's .

The MIDI codes are very simple and laid out sequentially.  
I won't have much more time to play tonight, but wanted to give you this report and a couple of ideas.

Al K0VM

William,
   1_9f was working when I had my radio connected to the router, but since I now have the radio directly corrected to the PC, the radio is no longer discovered by your software..  Any ideas ??  I have rebooted both the radio and the PC..  I IP addresses for the two configurations are different of course. 

AL, K0VM

W4WHL

Good luck with that speed thing, I tried several times and it just was not repeatable.  Its used for dj scratching.  Its more of a g-force meter vs speed.  Everything I tried started out fast then slowed down.  Kind of like an accelerometer.

But if you get repeatable results let me know.  Either way its WAY to **** fast and you will need a slowdown routine for accuracy.  This is why I created nudge.

But speed is not the issue how I see it.  no matter what you do your at the mercy of your selected step size.  If its too fast , its too touchy and hard to tune to an exact frequency.  The more available step sizes the better.  I can do 1,10,50,100,500 with combinations of step size and x10 button.

I use 50hz mostly and in a busy band I rarely use the 10x button.  But  50hz is fast enough to move up and down the band, and with nudge its easy to tune exact.  However when I want to zoom across the band fast, 10x is awesome.

But good luck!

W4WHL

Al,

How do you have the PC directly connected to the radio?  Are you using a second NIC card for internet access?  My guess is my program is trying discover on the wrong interface.

Please elaborate on your setup.

Thanks

William

Ken - NM9P

50 Hz is my standard step on SSB, too.  I use 5 almost exclusively on CW and click tune for larger excursions, and move down to 1 Hz when trying to dig a weak one out of the noise with APF.  I will often use 50/5 for RTTY/DIGI modes, but also with a lot of click-tune action. On AM phone, it depends upon the band.  Sometimes I use 250, others 500 or 1 K.

I have three important meetings this week, and a funeral, so I may not get to play as much as I though I was going to enjoy.

The PL-1 looks nice, but WOW is it bigger than I though it would be.  It is as large as my Hercules DJControl LE!  But it may be more versatile than the Herc.

I look forward to your first release of the software.

Ken - NM9P

W4WHL

Yes its a monster.  Its HUGE.  I am very very close to a release Added NB,NR,VOX,  the filter addition will be the next challenge.  I will have a preview in a couple days I'm sure.  I'm very close.  Its just taking a bit of time, as I want the dials to give LED feedback. 

Doug Hall

William,
You haven't, by chance, taken the PL-1 apart have you? I'm curious as to whether there is room inside to mount a Raspberry Pi. Given that the Pi can run the Processing environment, supports midi devices, and works well with a WiFi dongle it might be possible to make a completely wireless controller. Power up, let it discover and connect to the radio, and you're up and running. No software on the PC at all. Whatever configuration changes are necessary could be done via a simple web interface. I'm curious enough to try it if the RasPi will fit in the box.
73,
Doug K4DSP
 

W4WHL

Yes I have taken it apart, and its fairly tight.  I doubt you could fit a Pi in there.

William

Ken - NM9P

As a second resort, you might build a small box and mount it alongside the MIDI controller using the docking ****.

W4WHL

speaking of taking apart.  A dab of white lithium grease works wonders on the jog wheels.  Just pull the c clip holding the jog wheels in place, pull the wheel out, re-grease, and reinstall the c clip.  Its a 2 5 min job!

Just don't loose the c clip


William

MH_Flexer

Second thoughts, the PL1 has really large footprint, sticking to the CMD Micro

MH_Flexer

Having some issues with Dropbox.  Can't seem to connect and create a file link.  I have updated the CD Micro Version History but will have to try and post a link tomorrow.

Duane

W4WHL

Ken,

I played around with the jog speed sensor again, and was able to come up with a solution that x10 when turned fast.  So this is really a viable solution.  Just need to tweak it a bit more for stability.  Here is whats working ok for me:

  //VFOA Frequency Control
  if ((channel == 0) && (number == 31) && (value > 64)) {
    if ((stepcount == 1) && (value > 72)) {Fstep=10;}
    if ((stepcount == 1) && (value < 72)) {Fstep=1;}
    if ((stepcount == 2) && (value > 72)) {Fstep=100;}
    if ((stepcount == 2) && (value < 72)) {Fstep=10;}
    if ((stepcount == 3) && (value > 72)) {Fstep=500;}
    if ((stepcount == 3) && (value < 72)) {Fstep=50;}
    if ((!slowdown) || (slow >=10)) {
      if (Fstep != 1) { //if step = 1, no snap tune/ else snap tune
      int freq = round(FreqA * 1000000);
       freq = Fstep*round(freq/Fstep);
       freq = freq + Fstep;
       FreqA = (float) freq/1000000;} else {
        FreqA = FreqA+0.000001;}
        CommaFix = nf(FreqA, 1, 6);
        CommaFix = CommaFix.replaceAll(",", "."); //Fix for German computers
        c.write("C44|slice tune 0 "+CommaFix+"
"); slow=0;
    }else {slow++;}
  }

  if ((channel == 0) && (number == 31) && (value < 64)) {
    if ((stepcount == 1) && (value < 56)) {Fstep=10;}
    if ((stepcount == 1) && (value > 56)) {Fstep=1;}
    if ((stepcount == 2) && (value < 56)) {Fstep=100;}
    if ((stepcount == 2) && (value > 56)) {Fstep=10;}
    if ((stepcount == 3) && (value < 56)) {Fstep=500;}
    if ((stepcount == 3) && (value > 56)) {Fstep=50;}
    if ((!slowdown) || (slow >=10)) {
      if (Fstep != 1) { //if step = 1, no snap tune/ else snap tune
      int freq = round(FreqA * 1000000);
       freq = Fstep*round(freq/Fstep);
       freq = freq - Fstep;
       FreqA = (float) freq/1000000;} else {
        FreqA = FreqA-0.000001;} 
        CommaFix = nf(FreqA, 1, 6);
        CommaFix = CommaFix.replaceAll(",", "."); //Fix for German computers
        c.write("C44|slice tune 0 "+CommaFix+"
"); slow=0;
    }else {slow++;}
  }

The Micro has this ability also

William

W4WHL

All,

I have finished coding the PL1, of course it needs tweaks but I'm ready to release a preview.  All functions listed on the app window work.  I'm not even sure anyone other than Ken has one.  But anyway here is the layout.  App is uploading now, will post a link shortly.

W4WHL

Here is the code for the CMD PL1.  This has a completely redesigned VFO frequency tuning section.  I was getting bad math due to floating point errors.  This caused inconsistent frequency increments.  This is an issue with the CMD Micro also, but nobody has complained yet.  Anyway here it is.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1drmmpq68uecnup/CMDPL1Flex6k_v0_2.zip?dl=0

Al K0VM

I use wifi for the internet connection..

I use either Radio<cat5>PC<wifi>router  (prefered) or Radio<cat5>router<wifi>PC

AL, K0VM

W4WHL

That is the issue.  The APP is listening for UDP on the wifi interface which is the default.  Do this :

• Open Control PanelNetwork and InternetNetwork Connections
• Press your ALT key, then choose the Advanced menu and select Advanced Settings.
• Under Adapters and Bindings, move the multicast NIC (local lan connection) above the Internet Access NIC (wifi) in the Connections field.

William

Al K0VM

William,
   I tried reordering the interfaces as you suggest but the problem remain... It now seems that I had a firewall issue.  When I switched to the direct connection, my network type changed from private to public but the firewall never asked me if I wished to allow the software through..  Turning the firewall off allowed the connection to happen.. I turning it back on and was then prompted to allow the connection..  Everything running since then..   ( I have since reverted the interface order and the SW still runs with the direct connection. )
    Thanks..

AL, K0VM

W4WHL

As long as it works

Ken - NM9P

William,
I have been playing with it for about an hour, and looking at the code at the same time.

Really nice job!

Good use of boolean functions for switches, toggles, and multi-functions.
Good use of count-ups for things like filter and band switches.

I like the automatic quick-tune and nudge functions.  I may add a 5/50 option to mine to round out the possibilities.

I Really like the Pan Zoom control.

The only problems I am having so far are:

1) the Slice B tuning control makes Slice A jump to the B frequency, then it tunes Slice A, not B.  Strange, and probably a simple logic fix.
I have not had time to trace it down.  I need to look a little deeper to see what you are doing there.

2) The band- does not wrap around from 160 to 6 meters.  It goes the other way just fine. You probably have one number too large on the indexing counter test.

When I have more time, I plan to reprogram some of the controls for other functions.
I might try to make the slider the pan-zoom, and use a couple of knobs for separate volume and balance of the A & B slices.  I will probably sacrifice the MIC Gain control.  Once I set my various TX profiles, I never change it.  Probably the same for PROC.  

I will need to add another option to the RX ANT selection and preamp routines, because the 6500 has more options.  I need to ad RXA to the RX antenna selections so I can select my receiving loop.

I notice that it is going to be really easy to customize the filter selections for the different modes.  Just change a few numbers!
 
You have done yourself proud, William.  You have dug out the most difficult parts of the access code and made it possible for others to modify not only other CMD controllers, but other Hercules controllers as well.  Thanks for your hard work!

I have a busy week ahead so I won't be able to do a lot of programming this week.
I may play with a few simple options and see how well I do, then hit it next week on my day off.  I won't have a day off this week.

BTW... Do you know how easy it would be to do a serial interface using CAT commands to the 1500/3000/5000 models or other rigs?  I am sure there would be a lot of interest in that!

Again, Very Nice Job.  (I thought you were only going to add a couple of functions each day?  <grin>)

Ken - NM9P

Jeffrey Kerber, N3VE

Just accidently hit the right arrow key on my keyboard and every click changed a few things in SSDR.  The RF power, mic profile, tx band width and others.  Does this happen to you?  I am using the cmd micro 1.9e  Any comments?  I closed the program and unplugged the usb and the right arrow makes no changes. 

Jeff N3VE

W4WHL

Ken Both of those issues were simple fixes.  The Freq section for B just had a typo.  And the band wrap around was just as you said, A misplaced value.  All is working now. 

It was a piece of work for sure.  Tear into it and make it your own.  I have no intention of supporting the PL1 past the basic first go.  I will however fix anything that is broken in this initial release.

I think it has all the basic building blocks for anyone to sit down with processing and figure out how to mod it.   I have not coded in 25 years, and never in processing.  So I think anyone with a bit of time can figure it out from here.

Serial commands are very easy.  My first Hercules control used cat, see the first post in this thread.  PSDR has very extensive CAT commands, unlike smartsdr with just the bare minimum.  With PSDR you can control almost every function via cat.  So I see no reason you could not make a controller for those rigs.  Also the ANAN comes to mind.

But I'm about burnt on this project..LOL  I want to do a few new releases of the CMD micro.  I would like to change it as follows;

1.  Update Freq tuning to fix floating point errors
2.  Add more functions with a "shift" key
3.  Add a toggle for canned TX filters
4.  Get rid of the oncreen toggles

William

W4WHL

Jeffrey,

Wow I just developed keyboard shortcuts.  Kidding.  I have no idea.  I will load up 1.9e and see if I can reproduce it.

William

W4WHL

Jeffery,

I tried everything I could think of and could not reproduce this issue.  The program itself does not read any key presses, so not sure whats going on there.  But I would be interested if others could try reproducing this issue.

William

Jeffrey Kerber, N3VE

William, I will try to reproduce this tonight.  It was very strange as a lot of setting changed.  Don't know if this has anything to do with what I had clicked on last in SSDR.  I did not think your program had anything to do with it, but when I shut it down, nothing happened when I pressed the arrow keys.  It was very strange.  Is 9e the latest version?

Jeff

Bob - W7KWS -

Right & left arrows are tuning frequency up & down here.  No time to understand this until tonight but my first thought is that SmartSDR has some keyboard shortcut commands.

W4WHL

The arrow keys do not do anything for me.  But interested

W4WHL

All here is a new alpha (possibly buggy) version for the CMD Micro.  This version has the following new features.

1.  Improved Frequency control - no more floating point errors (1+1 no longer = 3 LOL)
2.  New steps 1 -amber/10-blue/50- flashing
3.  Jog wheels x5 step when spun fast, for quick movements
4.  Vox key replaced with "Shift" button.  If shift is lit, the functions listed above the button/dial are available.  This opens up the possibility for more future functions.

Give it a test and report back!  Much more work to clean this up and add new features.  But before continuing, I would like this tested thoroughly.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ln4hq84g663808c/CMDMicroFlex6k_v2_0.zip?dl=0



William