Problem with DDUtil and anplifier keying

Bill Turner

Running a Flex 6300 and Alpha 9500. Latest software. I got DDUtil up and running, works fine when fist started up but quickly stops keying the 9500. When I say stops, I mean stops dead. The only way to get it to key is reboot the computer, the 6300 and the 9500. This is a real hard case. Simply restarting SmartSDR or DDUtil will not fix the problem.  I'm about ready to give up on DDUtil. Any suggestions?

73, Bill W6WRT

Neal_K3NC

Hi Bill

Welcome to our little club!

You could probably recover the PTT port by quiting SDRCat and restarting it. One thing that happens is that people forget that for PTT they have to have SDRCat running all the time (just like DDU). They will close the SDRCat window instead of hiding it and the PTT ports have disappeared.

73

Bill Turner

I wish it was that easy. It doesn't matter if I close and restart SmartSDR, reboot the 6300 itself, reboot the Alpha 9600 or perform various Satanic Rituals. The only way to get the amplifier keying back is to shut off EVERYTHING and start over from scratch. Oddly enough, DDUtil continues working in all other respects. Band changes work, amplifier parameters such a Ip and Ig continue to be reported, etc. Only the amplifier keying stops.

Am I the only one having this problem?

73, Bill W6WRT

Neal_K3NC

Hi Bill

I can almost promise you that its either SmartCAT is not running or needs to be restarted. When it happens next, send me an email  at nealk3nc@gmail.com and let me connect via Teamviewer. I can help you figure it out!

Neal_K3NC

Bill,  let me ask a clarifying question first! How are you sending PTT key to the amp? Are you using the ptt RCA port on the radio itself or are you passing PTT virtual comm port  to the 9500 control program?

Bill Turner

I am using the RCA PTT on the back of the 6300.

WX7Y

On the DDUTIL main window is the third button from the top right Green "OPER" or Yellow "STBY" by chance? Should be GREEN if it's YELLOW then it has the RCA PTT Jacks turned off and simply clicking on it toggles it between operate and standby. 73's Bret WX7Y

Bill Turner

Yes, it was green all the time.

Bill Turner

Just found something interesting. If I start SmartSDR and DDUtil, the amp keying problem starts right away, although everything else on DDUtl works ok, i.e. band changes, parameter reporting and so on. However, if I invoke one of my saved profiles such as RTTY 20 meters, the amp starts keying again and continues for the rest of the session. Does that make any sense?  At least I know how to work around the problem for now.

73, Bill W6WRT

Larry _ NY8T

It makes sense if the key line is getting shut off in the radio setup until you pick that profile that you have saved with it turned on.

WX7Y

Boy this rings a bell, I did have a very similar problem turned out I had a glitch in the radio's default profile, I had this problem several months ago so I forgot about it. I hard reset the Radio and loaded a backup profile which I always have on hand of a known good profile or restore the settings manually. learned to always keep a backup in a safe place clear back in the early FLEX5K days. Your mileage may vary. 73's Bret WX7Y